as efforts are made to salvage syrian i can't talks in geneva, killings continue in aleppo-- syria talks. the world news from al jazeera. also ahead, war of words, japan warns north korea over a planned space rocket launch. yemen's historic treasures go up in blames. why some in zambia worry are

worrying we begin in syria where an offensive by government forces is being blamed for threatening fragile talks involving the warring sides. activists say many were killed by russian air strikes. emergency workers are searching for survivors around amid the destruction small signs of hope. this child was trapped in rubble for hours. he is presumed to have been killed, but rescue crews found him just in time and he survived. a look at the map to give you an idea of what the government is fighting for in the aleppo province. its advance began is sunday and

included this area. the regime is trying to link up with territory it controls in another area. the aim is to cut rebels inside aleppo city, the largest city in syria. in a moment we will get the latest on those talks in geneva, but we have our correspondent on the turkish side of the syrian border. what is the situation like there now in aleppo from the word that's reaching you? >> reporter: the opposition is describing the assault as the most intense yet. they're saying that the bombing that is happening is really unprecedented. russian air power is playing a key role in the government offensive. in fact, the russian air strikes is allowing the government as well as its allies to push forward to capture towns because the syrian government and its allease have been trying to reach that area for months now.

they haven't been able to-- allies-- make it. the russian air power is why the government is able to advance. now, what is the objective. you did mention that the government wants to reach these loyalists towns because in those towns there are fighters, man power, really, that the government needs. if they're able to reach those towns, the fighters will help them capture even more territory because the whole objective of this offensive is to cut rebel supply lines. they want to separate rebel-controlled districts in aleppo city from the countryside, the aleppo countryside, and they also want to block the rebel supply groups from turkey. this is the object iive. the government is advancing. they have called on other factions to send reinforcements and the rebels are calling their foreign backers to send weapons. the opposition are saying that this offensive is really that

the government is not serious about negotiations and that negotiations are taking place on the battle field > aleppo has been a very important bastian. do you get the feeling this is a key moment in the battle? >> reporter: undoubtedly. aleppo is the last remaining area where they actually control an urban center. this is syria's second largest city, but it's not just that. the aleppo province is where groups, allied, or who operate under the free syrian army banner, with the international community call the moderate groups. this is really their last praming prevention. yes, they are in southern syria, but the government has taken the area stopping the advance there. the last remaining stronghold for the ssa in the north of the country. when speaking to those in the opposition, they say it is a

plan by the government and the russians to wipe out any remnants of the ssa, to tell the world they're left with the syrian government or the terrorists on the ground thank you for that. syria talks in geneva say the strikes threaten to derail negotiations before they even begin. james bays is there. >> reporter: the delegation from the syrian regime receiving at the u.n. they're supposed to be talking peace. instead their government has launched a major escalation. the man in charge of convening the talks, staffan de mistura, has called for the lifting of sieges and have asked all the countries that are the sponsors of this process to help arrange a nationwide ceasefire. one member says russia has been doing the opposite, in recent

hours carrying out heavy bombing around aleppo. >> we were hoping for a good supplies, a nice supplies that would have given us some oxygen to hope and to reassure our people that we made the right decision by coming to geneva. instead we have this enbelievable attack of this morning, unprecedented air bombings on the city of aleppo and the city of homs. aleppo is currently under huge attacks. we have not seen that since the beginning of the revolution. it looks even like aleppo might be besieged >> reporter: members of the main opposition block have been having almost continuous meetings in this hotel. they decided not to go to the u.n. again to see the special envoy, but for now they're staying in geneva. they know very well that their position has been undermined by the russian and syrian government military operation

which they believe was carefully timed for this moment. they want their allies to speak out, the ongoing bombardment is not only causing problems is syrian i can't it is risking these talks to yemen where about 40 houthi fighters have been killed by saudi-led air strikes. it happened north-east of the capital in a mountain range where pro-government fighters are trying to take back control. six yemeni soldiers and allied fighters from the resistance armed group were also killed in clashes around the camp. further south shelling in the city of taiz has destroyed yemen's national museum. historical artefacts have been lost forever. >> translation: i stand here inside the national museum in the city of taiz. the museum

has been under heavy shelling now under the forces of the president. you can see the fire is in every corner here in the building. everything was burnt down. the manuscripts. here in my hand the left over of the prophet. he was the leader of the family and the last monarch in yemen. this historical treasure melted because of the fire. this is our heritage burned to the ground. various belongings of the rule family and now everything is turned into ashes. this is the hill where the houthi forces shelled the museum from and even until now they keep bombing this area. nothing is left. only pages of old karan transcripts japan has put its military

on alert to shoot down a north korean rocket if it threatening japanese territory. the north koreans insist that the rocket they plan to launch this month will carry a harmless satellite. many are far from convinced. >> translation: when north korea says it will launch a satellite, it really means a ballistic missile. in addition to the nuclear tests, these is an obvious violation of security council decisions. in terms of important security decisions for our country, it is a provocative act the latest from seoul. >> reporter: given the coordinates that north korea has pub publicized as to where the first and second stages of this rocket is likely to fall, it seems it will go along a very similar path to the one that was launched in december 2012.

that is pretty much direct south from the western launch pad in north korean territory, the first stage dropping to the west of south korean territory, the second stage dropping to the north-east of philippine territory. however, japan has said if it in any way endangers japanese territory, then japanese forces reserve the right to try and shoot it down. the japanese prime minister saying that this was a grave provocation against japan's security, also a clear violation of u.n. security council resolutions banning north korea from carrying out any missile launches. north korea, of course, calls this a rocket launch, but as far as its neighbors, south korea, japan and the u.s. is concerned, this is a missile test. the south korean national security council met early on wednesday, the defense minister has come out and called this a grave escalation of tensions on the peninsula, but such words in

the past haven't prevented north korea going through australia's high court ruled that the government's offshore detention program is lawful. anyone who tries to reach australia by boat to claim asylum is held on the pacific island of nauru or png. it could see the way for the return of over 200 people to detention centers. in the past people in the camps have reported human rights issues. zambia is seen as one of africa's most stable democracies. some are worried free dpoms are being eroded. our correspondent explains from the capital. >> reporter: zambia's richest

man now wants to become the most powerful. hh tells me he wants to become president to save his country and its democracy. he already contested the presidency last year when snap elections were called after the former president died, but he lost by the smallest of margins, less than 2% of the vote >> there's no doubt that the elections were manipulated of 20 january 15. there were elements of manipulation in the counting of votes and the consolidation of votes and announcement of votes >> reporter: despite gaining independence in 1964 freedom to form political parties was only secured around 25 years ago as zambia became the final steps of becoming a democracy. they believe that democracy is now under threat >> the law we call her public right which is being abused by the ruling party restricting the opposition from movement, from

assembly, from basically the freedom of conscience. >> reporter: it does enjoy a free press though. although there is a noticeable absence of opposition voices, journalists believe that when it comes to democracy there is nothing to worry about. >> you have media on the left that is highly critical of the government, you have a media on the right that supports the government and then in the middle, like ours, who are interested-- ourselves, who are independent. so i don't think there's any obstruction to media freedom in this country. >> reporter: in response to public demands, the president signed a series of constitutional amendments earlier this month. they include a revision of the law making it necessary for any candidate to exceed 50% of the

vote to become president. his supporters say it is a sign of how he is trying to improve the country. his opponents describe tasmania a pr stunt ahead of the presidential poll. >> this new constitution is a way forward which we are seeing a new democratic country. >> i think it speaks for all of the people of the country >> reporter: it is considered to be one of the most democratic countries in africa. as the race heats up towards this year's presidential polls, the hope is regardless who wins, those elections will further enrich and protect that democracy still to come on the show, a peace deal between the philippines government and government rebels comes under threat. we will tell you why. pl plus, anger in pakistan as workers rage against plans to privatize the national airline.

welcome back. let's recap our headlines. activists say 45 civilians have been killed in aleppo. opposition delegates attending talks in geneva say the talks are undermining efforts to end the war. japan has put its military on alert to shoot down a north korean rocket in if threatens japanese territory. they insist that the rockets that they plan to launch is just

a satellite. in yemen 40 houthi fighters have been killed by saudi-led air strike where pro-government fighters are atrying to take back control from the rebels. at least three pakistan airline employees have been killed and several injured during a second day of protests. aneffigy of the prime minister was burned. they are furious about plans to privatize the national airline. more from the capital islamabad. a lot of conflicting claims and counterclaims about what happened. tell us what we know. >> reporter: well, first of all, just to give you a little bit of a background, the strikes started nine days ago, today being the ninth day, and unions who run the pia unions were

threatening that they would halt all flight operations on tuesday morning. however, the pilots and all the technical staff turned up, flights were operating normally, but then the protesters decided to march on the airport to hold a peaceful protest. that is when the situation got conflicted, the police and the para military forces had to resort to using force and that's when the people were killed. after that flight operations were suspended. as of tuesday evening they are still suspended and there is a huge backlog. civil aviation authority has asked the para military forces to come and secure the airport and asked the private airlines to double the flights because of the ongoing pia suspension of flight operations coming back to the question, what exactly happened in the

area where they're-- in karachi where the issues started. do we know exactly what happened? >> reporter: first of all, it is interesting to note that all three employees who were killed in that shoot-out were employees who were not part of the political organization, that is, the trade unions, because of the heavy manipulation by the political parties, so, obviously, they're now using this to policity size-- politicize the issue. it's not sure whether it was the government or forces or someone else that targeted these people thank you for that. the when the president became president five years ago, he said he would give more power to

the areas minority, but the plans have stalled in congress. our correspondent reports from manilla. >> reporter: this was the beginning of the end of the basic law which would have been the basis for greater muslim autonomy in the philippines. 44 police commandos killed in what was called an unintentional clash with rebel fighters. it was the largest tragedy of government troops in eent years. both sides violated a ceasefire. >> i find difficult in understanding how this peace process will be saved. >> reporter: there was much support for the peace deal between the government and the islamic liberation front when it was signed two years ago after over a decade of negotiations and years of fighting. the killing of the 44 police commandos ended what was a fragile trust between the two sides and exposed deep-seated

frenchs within the country's christinity and muslim minority. >> reporter: they were dlutd and then dismissed. many say this reflects the erosion with the capital with which the pt began his rule six years ago. >> a lot of people in congress only work on the basis of incentives that directly benefit them. that's the name of the game. we all know that, but if you are trying to reform that kind of system, then you can see how congress will not be able to catch up with further for achieving national unity and reconciliation in the country. >> reporter: the president's term ends in june and there are fears over what should happen should his successor not fulfil

the autonomy promised in the signed peace deal >> there is frustration and room for radicalization. if there is a splittering, the groups shifting alliance to the sthizers group, it is anyone's guess what will come next >> reporter: it will be at least six months before the government can start the process. negotiate yrs on both sides are doing what they can to ensure that the appeals agreement remains intact a peace advocate and a former member of the assembly joins us now. first of all, what do you make of this? is this the end of the road for the peace deal? >> the end of the road for that filed in the lower house which jump starts the deal. it is the end the legislative

process and a very big rally was held calling the president a traitor what is the sentiment there? are people willing to give this another chance to be more patient to see what happens after june or do you fear that there will be a return to violence? >> the fill pin owe muslim-- filipino muslim, they're mostly young, more 50% are below 30 years old. many are in the schools. if the sentiments based on the internet social media, a lot of rage and disappointment by even the moderate professionals on how the miss handled situation, who were supposed to be present,

and that did not happen for the past year. most of our ledge straighters with outside the president's term ends in june. congress is about to enter a three-month break. does that mean that all hope, really, is over for the basic law to ever be adopted? >> the political candidates are several. the administration candidate has a challenge to reenforce the promise that was given by the akino administration since eight years ago. the other candidates can also bank on the muslim vote which is all over the country at about six million people, so this is an opportunity for the milf, the two major fronts in the

philippines, to even consolidate and converge on a common platform of supporting and affirming the agenda thanks very much for that. myanmar's parliamentary upper house has convened for the first time. the lower house met on monday and now parliament will choose the new upper house speaker. the first case of the zika virus being transmitted within the u.s. has been reported in texas. the infected person in dallas reportedly contracted the disease through sexual transmission. the world health organisation has already warned the avirus could spread not just across latin america but also into africa and asia. a health emergency was declared

by brazil. >> translation: we will apparently with the american government, with p.m. obama. we have talked, established our capacity and improved in the sense of creating as soon as possible a vaccine for the zika virus refugees on the greek border with macedonia are blocking the main highway demanding to be allowed with onward passage. hundreds of refugees head off into the main road after being stranded. taxi drivers on the macedonian side blocked the road protesting that police gave priority to westerners travelling in into europe. a ceremony in new zealand on wednesday. a controversial free trade pack between north and south america and these seven states in the asia-pacific region. aims to lower or eliminate

tariffs on most goods and services, as well as eliminate some trade laws. this could create a single market where 12 countries have a combined population of 800 million. they represent around 40% of global gross domestic product. critics say the deal could cause jobs in the u.s. to move to low wage nations. they say voters have no knowledge of the potential impact of the deal because the negotiations have been done in secret. all 12 countries have to ratify the deal before it comes into force two years later. mexico is one of them. adam raney has more from mexico city on the hopes and concerns of the pact. >> reporter: by joining the pact, more free trades have her. there are some 44 agreement agreements in place. that's balks mexico are hoping

by ip emgracing free trade they will diversify the market. that hasn't been the case. the main partner u.s. has received more than 800 million from exports. it is so cheap for both mexico and the u.s. to have this huge amount of trade every year. when you talk about free trade in maximum co, one of the biggest players are car manufacturers. that's because mexico is the 8th largest producer of cars in the world. most of those are for export. auto industry has helped mexico feed a small but growing middle-class in certain parts of the country where these jobs are, mainly in the north of the country and also in the center of the country, and there are new plants opening up all the time, but there are some concerns in agriculture that this ppp like other agreements is not going to live the promise that planners continue to say will finally arrive because more than 20 years now after the

passage of the north american free trade agreement millions of mexicans continue to live in poverty and the concern is this new trade agreement, as big as it is, is not going to deliver any more prosperity than the previous ones if you want to see more on that story, go to aljazeera.com. [ ♪ ] burn thanks for joining us on "america tonight", i'm joie chen, years in the making, the turbulence in our economy has led to a new normal in the housing market. re