>> only on al jazeera america. >> noz noz announcer: this is al jazeera. hello, welcome to the newshour. in the next 60 minutes - calls for billions in aid for syrian refugees as world leaders meet in london. in geneva, syria's government and opposition trade blame as talks collapse. >> protests as the controversial transpacific trade pact is signed in new zealand. >> i'm lucia newman in brazil,

where thousands have been infected by the zika virus. coming up, what we know and don't know about its consequences so, then, first to the conflict in syria. the blame game is on after talks in geneva to end the war is suspended. on the ground government forces are closing in on the rebels, the regime making inroobs into territory held by the opposition. with no political solution, the focus is moving to humanitarian assistance. 70 world leaders are gathered in london, hoping to drum up 9 billion in aid. at the moment we'll have the latest on fighting near the syrian border. first more on the conference from barnaby phillips, who is in london. barnaby, the failure of the talks in geneva makes the focus

of talks where you are at all the more important. >> yes, it does. and it only confirmed the depressing assumption, i think, which underlines this donor appeal, which is that this terrible problem of syria, and the millions of displaced people will be with the international community for years to come. that is why the focus of the kind of aid that the united nations is trying to raise has changed somewhat, not just daing with the immediate emergency, but looking ahead, planning in the long term. essentially, the message of the organizers from this conference that the syrians who fled in their millions to turkey, lebanon and jordan in particular are going to need assistance for many years to come. . so they need to go to school. you can't just go to school for one year, you need to go to

school for an education. that is a commitment that needs to go ahead for 7-8 years in the future. they need employment if they are to have some semblance of a life in the region, of course, this has been extremely problematic in countries like lebanon and jordan, feeling a political strain by the presence of many refugees, there's a kid pro quo on the table, particularly from the wealthier countries in europe and the united states, and the gulf countries, and they are saying will open up our markets to goods like countries, like jordan and lebanon, we'll invest more, our companies will put more money into your countries if you, in return, open up labour markets and give more opportunities for syrians to work and have some semblance of a decent life in these

tragic years to come when it will be impossible tore them to return home. >> you can argue that there's an enormous political emphasis behind this conference, not just humanitarian. >> yes. there is a healthy dose of self-interest here - make no mistake about it. implicitly the message is let's cough up money to help syrians, that way they can stay in the region. that you could strongly argue be syria's own best long-term interests, because that way educated people, and, indeed, this massive humanity would be able to return home as so many of them have strongly desired and stated their will to do so. however, let's not mince words, there are strong political pressures in europe over the extraordinary influx of hundreds

of thousands of syrians who have arrived in accelerating numbers. we saw the numbers peak in the summer of 2015, and we have seen a strong political reaction against it across the european union. european solidarity under great strain, the swedens and germany that took the lead in emitting syrian refugees, the politics changing, a greater hostility to the influx in 2016. the british argument or the british approach has been one of giving a lot of aid, a lot of funny to the region, but not admitting several refugees at all. i think the british feel confident that their approach will be increasingly popular with european partners in 2016. >> barnaby phillips in london. let's go to zeina khodr, live

from the turkish side of syrian border. there's a conference in london. the geneva talks are in tatters. what is the situation in syria? >> well, like you mentioned. there's no political break through in geneva, on the ground, the syrian army - really they launched a massive offensive in the northern country side. the opposition saying they were not able to confront the approach. the syrian observatory for human rights saying that there were 500 air strikes in the past three days. what the government has done now is cut through rebel held territory in the north, reach the pro-government towns, listing the siege, and, in effect, cutting the only road linking turkey to opposition controlled districts in the city.

it's not just that. they'll give the government a launching pad to launch further offensive in the area. as of now, the government will not be able to circle the opposition-controlled districts in aleppo district. what we understand is that they are trying to do so. there is fighting in that area. for the timebeing there's a road out for civilians, hundreds of thousands of people living in opposition-controlled districts in the city. that road is not safe, it's a long road, leading to the western countryside of aleppo, and the north-western province of idlib to the north-west border. we understand from activists that the price of goods is rising inside the city. there is a lot of fear. so the government on the offensive. there has been many turning points in the conflict over the past five years, undoubtedly it's a decisive turning point, a consequential one, what is clear is the government is negotiating on the battlefield and activists

expect more offensives in the coming days and weeks ahead. before the u.n. is scheduled to resume talks on january the 25th. as the opposition lose more and more territory, they lose traction in the future talks? >> undoubtedly, the opposition cannot negotiate from a position of strength at the time being. while all eyes are on aleppo there are other eyes. government war planes dropped leaflets, warning rebels to face an onslaught. in the western province, where the government has been able to make advances. they have taken control of rebel strongholds in the country. there's heavy shelling in areas close to the border.

it's clear the government strategy and backers is clear. they want to reach the border. that way they close the life line of the opposition, and for the timebeing it controls two border crossings along the border, and now that route to the city has been cut, and they have another border crossing. the government and its allies exert more pressure on the ground and is negotiating on the battlefield. >> zeina khodr, thank you for that update. zeina khodr reporting let's get more on the diplomatic effort to end the war. the u.n. special envoy declared the talks in geneva, between the opposition and the government are suspended. there's no guarantee that the two sides will return to the negotiating table later this month. mohammed jamjoom has the latest from geneva. >> the day after peace talks broke down in geneva, it's becoming clearer how much harder

it will be to get all the parties in geneva back as the u.n. special envoy stated to the press yesterday evening, saying it was a temporary pause in the peace talks that we heard many times since last night since the aegean sea, the main negotiating body in geneva. they'll depart today. they said they have no intention of coming back to geneva on january 25th until they see demands being met. until they say lifting the siege happened in syria, and there's more aid getting in, and perhaps political prisoners or some are released. these are the decisions they said had been stipulated in the security council resolution. these are the conditions that they insisted needed to be met for formal negotiations to happen. that's going to be very

difficult, to convince them to do that. the syrian regime has been getting advantage in aleppo, aided by russia, russia stated he has no intention of backing off. they say they will not do that while there are terrorists in syria, it's a complex situation. it will be more difficult getting all the parties in geneva than it was this time, and this time it was riddled with many, many difficulties. >> let's unpick this now. joined by senior political analyst to do that. u.s. and francaise the talks were torpedoed by the syrian government and russia, indeed. is that the case. >> yes. it's difficult to be naive and agree with the persons and the french. clearly, listen. everyone in the world would have

noticed that negotiating like that was difficult. while everyone tried to be diplomatic including mistura and kerry, on the ground. they would try to be diplomatic. between monday and wednesday when the talks were to take off. more than 280 raids u it's a phenomena that one of the parties to the talk increased the attacks when they were supposed to be talking about slowing off. >> it gives the syrian government a huge leg up. >> clearly, that's been going on for a while now. the russians wanted to push to

make progress on the ground so they'll have more say on the negotiation table. clearly we heard from the syrian opposition, that the logical force at this force in time might work tactically speaking. at the end of the day, how many more syrians will have to be killed. what we saw over the last four years is a simple calculation. the syrian regime was responsible for the death of 100,000 people. that did not work. iranians and hezbollah - another 100,000 died. that didn't work. then they brought the russians, another 50 pore 100,000 died. and we are back to square one. does bashar al-assad have a future or not. there's a consensus that he doesn't. >> when we look at it. mistura says the talks have not

failed. in three weeks time they'll be reconvened. it's looking likely that the opposition will want do more. >> there's a certain carnival feel to these talks. i've written a website, an article about why the talks remind me of the oslo process. it's a 25 year process. what is clear to me is that there's - we'll see the language that says the syrian talks would continue to fail successfully. >> i'll just jump in there. as we see from the picture on the screen, david cameron is speaking at the donor conference, it's taking place in the heart of london. let's listen in to the british prime minister. >> fear they have no algeneralive than to put their lives in the hands of evil people smugglers in search of a future. meanwhile, syria's neighbours

are struggling under the strain much hosting huge numbers of refugees. they'll try to create jobs for their own people. as we know, the long-term solution will only be reached to a political transition, to a new government that meets the needs of all of its people. they'll continue to work towards that. while we assume a solution to this conference, we can take vital steps now that make a difference today and into the future. we can provide the needs with prejudices of aid, food and supplies, literally surviving lives this year and years ahead. we can provide refugees with skills they need to yeahate a life for themselves. equipping them for the day they

eventually can return home to rebuild the country. critically we can for the host countries and communities, providing refuge to syrians. before we turn to the steps we can take together, let's take a moment to remind ourselves what five years of conflict meant or syria and the millions suffering as a result. >> listening to david cameron at the donor conference taking place in the other of london, talking about how the long-term solution is a transition to syria, how they can provide help for prejudices for aid, opportunities and skills that they need, giving viable alternative to staying in the region. we'll drop into that conference.

as we listen, as we listen in to that. the conference that is going on there. it's evident that it's not just aid as david cameron required, it's a back up to encourage people to stay in the countries that they are leaving from. there are three levels to this conversation. level number one, bombs in syria, level number 2, diplomacy, and level number 3 is dollars in london. these are the three levels of conversation in syria. unfortunately bombs are the loudest in this conversation. and so while we speak about dollars and possibility of aid slash human rights of syrians, notably refugees, displaced so on and so forth, it's like a drainage. you know, on everyone at this point in time. meaning the more you help, as long as the bombing and displacement continues, this would be like an exercise from

the international community of pyromaniac fireman. at one point they want to put off the fires, but at some point they are bombing the heck out of them. so, really, unless they put an end to death and destruction in syria, we'll see more of that type of conference coming. >> the point is there was a similar one 12 months ago and it didn't reach the target. imagine an entire country displaced. we have 12-13 people. we have more than a quarter million deaths, and that is aside from injuries, entire towns, communities and cities have been destroyed. and now we are beginning to deal with the tip of the iceberg here, which is those that are

displaced and some of the children in the examples in lebanon and jordan that need help. a lot of people lost a lot of schooling days. it's the tip of the iceberg. >> david cameron is back on stage, let's have another listen. >> we have the medical aid and assistance they need. that is a vital task number one. vital task number 2 is to make sure that the children of refugees are not kept out of school. we do not want a generation to miss out on schooling and all that it means. we want every child to be educated in the region, in refugee camps by the end of 2016. the third thing we must do, and this is where i think this conference can be mould-breaking and creative is to help the neighbouring countries to provide jobs and livelihoods for people whose first choice is to return home to syria to rebuild the country, they cannot do

that. the second choice is to stay in the region and provide for their families, and i want to single out jordan and lebanon and turkey for the incredible work that they are doing, and the incredible work we hope they'll do more of following the ground-breaking conference. if we can achieve those three things, this day in london will be worthwhile for everyone and people that are suffering in our world today. i'll introduce those who are co-chairing the conference, and then we'll hear from representatives of jordan, lebanon and turkey about the important work they are doing. >> first, secretary general of the united nations, ban ki-moon. >> your excellencies, prime minister, and david cameron, and

german chancellor angela merkel, prime minister and your high ns and your majesties, distinguished heads of state and government. honourable ministers, ladies and gentlemen. thank are now being here, for your leadership and engagement. this is the fourth time we are getting together to show solidarity. i thang his highness for hosting three conferences, for the syrian people. i thang the conveners sitting here, and in particular prime minister david cameron of the u.k. for hosting today's meeting. the crisis in syria is about to

enter the sixth year. the international community we thank. we hope for a good deal of process. this temporary pause shows how difficult it is. it is deeply disturbing. initial steps have been undermined by humanitarian access and bombings and activities within syria, the progress has been lost. i and my special envoy, we

should not have the talks for the sake of the talks. the coming days should be used to get back to the table, not to secure more claims on the battlefield. i urge the security council, and the i.s.s. g to press the parties, to engage seriously with each other on syria's future. the later political relevance, easing the suffering of millions of men, women and children. we are here with three objectives. first, to commit the enormous humanitarian leav humanitarian needs, and this year $7 billion, twice as much

as last year, disputed the of some donors, the international community failed to get through. if it ends tomorrow, the enormous humanitarian has continued for years, and decades. it stands ready. they need the chance to work and provide for their families. today. let us commit to getting all syrian children on school. within months, not years, offering hope is the best way so prevent the radicalization of the generation.

third, we are here to find ways to protect civilians. all sides in the conflict committing human rights abuses of a shocking scale, and creating refugees that are vulnerable in a desperate position. we must end sieges, and star viing people. the situation is not sustainable. we cannot go on like this. there's no military solution. only political dialogue. inclusive political dialogue will rescue the syrian people from intolerable sufferings. i want to close by paying trish out to the aid workers. present, the united nations agencies, n.g.o.s and others

that have been risking their lives to reach people in need under such very difficult and dangerous circumstances. ladies an gentlemen, today let us change the narrative and compassionate leadership to bring home to the people of syria and the region. thank you, thank you very much thank you very much secretary-general for that speech. we are going to do everything we can to help make sure that we fill up that vital funding basket for the united nations and all the work that you and your team are doing. now we'll hear from someone whose foundations we are building on today. kuwait has chaired three previous consequences and has

done extraordinary work, brilliant work in getting the world to be generous towards the vital syrian refugee situation. his highness has been described as a world humanitarian leader for his work on alleviating suffering around the world and civilians in particular... . >> david cameron british prime minister there, hosting the donor conference in the heart of london. we heard ban ki-moon, the headline of what he said is he was echoing what occurred and talking about the lack of humanitarian access, and the increase in bombardment and meeting humanitarian leads with raising at least 7 billion, laying the foundation for long-term international support and to end the speeges, as that

conference -- sieges. as that conference goes on, let's bring in barnaby phillips, who is outside that conference center. the key thing is raising money, but not just spending it on much-needed food and aid that is expected, but laying the foundation for the future and a situation likely to go on for some time. >> yes, that's right. of course short-term aid is important. david mentioned food and shelter for people caught up in immediate fighting. undoubtedly he and others are looking ahead. ban ki-moon admitted as such, it would take a miracle for the fighting to end tomorrow. it's not going to end tomorrow. millions displaced in their own

country and those that fled to neighbouring countries need to lead meaningful, dignified and worthwhile lives, that means employment and above all trying to make sure they do not waste their childhood. and receive an education so they can leave worthwhile lives when they are adults, we hope back in their own country. i was struck by ban ki-moon's terms, i thought it was a counsel of despair, of intensified bombing as the talks were under way in geneva, and the shadow of geneva and its failure hangs over the event in london. the u.n. secretary-general outlaying the enormity of the ask, saying he mentioned the

miracle of it happening tomorrow. if it ended tomorrow, the conflict. it would take years, decades to put things right for the people, for the refugees. >> that's right, the former british prime minister was talking about the need for a new marshal plan. let's put it in an historical perspective. we said it before. that it is the biggest humanitarian emergency that the world has faced since the world war ii. the numbers can be numbing, but they are extraordinary. a country of 22 million people where half of them have been displaced. millions fled abroad. many displaced within her own country. we showed the damage.

we know they showed extraordinary pictures. this will be a long-term commitment, the message coming out of the conference. >> the timing, thank you, we'll be back with you as the conference goes on, as an illustration to what barnaby has been talking about and the enormity of what is facing the whole area, we heard of king abdul ale who learned that his country is at boiling point. and many are educated and would like to work but are struggling to find employment. we have this report from jordan. >> reporter: these people are studying two days a week to become pharmacists. they have scholarships from an aid organization, as syrian refugees, when they graduate, they will not be allowed to work. he lives with his sister and her children. in syria he studied engineering. after arriving, he learned how

to repair cellphones. but he can't do it either. >> i have the certificate. but i can't find work. they say syrians cannot do work. and if you find someone that nose someone, they ask for a full set of tools, and it is expensive. >> reporter: it's hard to find work. one by one his friends left. many heading to europe. they spend a lot of time walking around the streets. window shopping for things they can't buy. akmed has a bullet in his shoulder after being shot in syria. in jordan he worked in a sweet shop, but was put in gaol for working illegally. >> jordan says the economy and infrastructure were overwhelmed by many refugees, and said that the west wants to take in more syrians, including thousands stranded at the border, it has

to do more to help. not just the refugees, pore jordanians. they do work, most earning less than the legal minimum wade. with cuts in aid to refugees, more syrian children and older people are working illegally. abdul sits on the side walk, eight hours a day selling stuffed toys. two years ago they took toys away. he had to pay to get them back. jordanians also struggled to make a living. this man works 14 hours a day, on a good day he makes $10. >> i leave the house at 7am and finish at 9:00pm. i reach the house at 10 or 11. sometimes i have dinner, sometimes i sleep out eating because i'll tired. >> there's close ties between the two, but they have been a poor county, and as here, the

strain is showing well the european union struggles to deal with arriving refugees, serbia is seeing the crisis as an opportunity, the government feels by welcoming refugees, serbia deserves to join the e.u. >> these are the refugees rejected by europe because they are from the wrong place. having got so far, they cannot leave serbia, they can move neither forward nor back. >> did so all they have left is the kindness of strangers in the food center in belgrade. >> where do you sleep at night? >> there is no - no proper place. no proper place. >> reporter: do you sleepoutside? >> yes, outside. >> reporter: they are safe here in comparison to the for forest

of macedonia or the sea of turkey. serbs, it appears, do not mind a few hanging around. >> you have to look at the grassroots organizations, and we have a few, even like 16, 17-year-olds, you need to get a letter from their parents. >> it's not serbia's treated refugees well, after all the main function it to pick them up on one border and dumping them at the next. the political class made a calculation that it can turn the crisis into an opportunity. serbia behaved in a less horrible way than others like hungary, and why should they be in the european union. they are arguing this, at the poisoning are point when the schengen zone may collapse and serbia may be forced to accept tens of thousands of refugees

whilst not being in the european union. >> reporter: the snp lobbies for serbia. europe's broken gifts a prize for them. >> we treat the migrants better. we show we are qualified to join the european union. >> reporter: serbia has a problem. it has nowhere to house a few hundred refugees. what happens when e.u. countries expel more and more back here? >> it's difficult. lack of capacity, lack of experience, lack of accepting all that is coming, especially a lack of any kind of sense of intercontinental migration. at the syria conference, the e.u. will offer serbia fund to get around this, and keep failed refugees here more successfully. how strange while the e.u. is in such a mess, the country that

it's so hostile to is turning into such a friend german chance lor mercosur is speaking at a donor conference in london. let's listen in. >> thank you ban ki-moon, and the special envoy stefan de mistura for your work in order to further this development. thank you to everyone who has contributed to this. today we need to make sure that the period of reflection needs to be used in order to improve the humanitarian situation in syria at up to a ceasefire. this is what the people expect in order to promote the political process, and everybody is called upon here, but in particular, the bashar al-assad regime. here and today it is about alleviating the plight and opening pertect ifs for people

that are fleeing syria, and also in the neighbouring country, it's meant to be a day of hope for the people. that is why, first of all, i would like to thank countries like jordan, lebanon and turkey, who are willing to accommodate. they need our support. let me start with the most important, with the daily food rations. and last year we saw that cuts had to be applied, which were unbearable, and then made people flee, and that is why the federal government would like to fledge for 2016, 1.1 billion euros for the humanitarian aid programs of the united nations. [ clapping ] >> translation: $570 million of

those for the world food program as a contribution to cover 50% of the money required of the food programme, and hopefully at the end of the day, we can then say that we do not worry - need to worry about food rations. we want more, we want shelter, clothing, work, and that is why we are also involved in the programme partnership. and this is about community centers, schools, hospitals that can be built by the people themselves, which are also giving jobs to those fleeing germany in 2016, will be involved with 200 million euros, and that 1.2 billion euros this year, pledged by germany. for the coming years we need to create a certain degree of security, and that's why we make available $1.1 billion in 2017

and 2018, the german contribution totalling 2.3 billion euros. i am very glad to say that the e.u. has agreed doubling the efforts for turkey, we make available 3 billion euros for refugee projects in turkey. another aspect that we'd like to set going, and those are partnerships between communities and munize palt yigs are, we use an internet based flat form. we promote this, with the cities in jordan, in lebanon and turkey, in order to offer assistance, and perhaps you can promote this in your countries, and we can get going with this work, and 1,900 grounds will be -- grants will be given for university students to guarantee

the education. ladies an gentlemen, if we all work together and contribute our share, this can be a day of hope for people that had to witness so many dreadful things and are still living them. it cannot replace the political process, it can give hope and humanity and the hope that we will be successful. thank you very much. [ clapping ]. >> thank you very much, angela. that is an extraordinarily generous pledge from germany, over 1 billion euros in this year alone, 50% of the world food program's needs. that, i think, you said today should be a day of hope. that is a great way to get things started. we'll hear from prime minister sal burg from norway. norway has been generous at

funding international appeals, a county of 5 million people and ... that is british prime minister david cameron hosting the donor conference at the queen elizabeth conference center in central london, we heard from german chancellor angela merkel, who mr cameron reintimated that is pledged half the money for the food programme and she talked of the need for hospitals et cetera within syria the. >> the day goes on for discussion. in fact the government forces surrounded the forces. the siege is making it very difficult to get food and medicine. imran khan has this report. although it's not a humanitarian

disaster, there's concern the situation could escalate. it's straight. we've been speaking to people inside the city. the markets are out of food. there's no fruits, vegetables and meat. medical supplies are running low. one mother told us there's no baby supplies, and these struggling to feed her child. the governor of anbar province says there needs to be an air drop. none have commented on the situation. >> it took the city of ramadi, they cut off a supply line and besieged the city of fallujah. this is a common tactic. we see the security forces and cities before they go in and take the cities from i.s.i.l.

there's 5,000 families t 110,000 trapped in the city itself. supplies don't get in, it will humanitarian disaster. the iraqis are aware of this. this is part of a military campaign to take the city from i.s.i.l. i.s.i.l. control the city. the only food stuff they have is stockpiles of wheat. they are rationing it out to the people, but we are told there's not enough to go around and if something it not down, the city will face a humanitarian disaster. >> a u.n. panel considering the unlawful detention of wikipedia's julian assange reportedly ruled in his favour. he has bg hole upped in the -- been holed up in the ecuadoran embassy and is trying to avoid extradition to swede yen where he's wanted for allegations of sexual assault the transpacific partnership

has been signed in new zealand. it's 12 nations after years of negotiations the trans-pacific partnership is a step towards reality. new zealand is a driver and hosted the signing ceremony in auckland. >> i am personally delighted to be here to mark the signing of this most important agreement. what brings us together is a shared belief that opening and integrating our market through trade and investment will enhance the prosperity of people. >> outside the venue it was n so welcoming. opponents say the deal undermines the sovereignty of member nations. they are not happy many of the finer details will be street for another six years, and believe it hands too much power to big

business. >> that is important that we build solidarity and strength, to say many new zealanders are opposed to the deal. not just because of what it does to the country economically. it's been sold out from under us. >> the government says the economic boost received from the breaking down ever trade barriers outweighs negatives, many numbers are conservative, with new zealand forecasting the pack will increase gross domestic product by 0.9% by 2030. the signing is described as a technical step in the process. it's not the end. each country has two years to ratify the t.p.p. the protesters say they'll continue to oppose the deal. ratification may be the most difficult in the united states where there's political opposition to it in the middle of an election campaign. trade representatives that signed say the deal is solid and

are confident all 12 members will remain in the pact. >> dozens of civilians in yemens have been killed in fighting in taiz, between houthi rebels and forces loyal to the government. the drone strikes left 12 dead, including a senior commander. >> more attacks on civilian areas, more children caught up in the fighting. people in tiaz saying these were wounded. four died. >> translation: my friend was injured. >> tiaz, the third largest city had been besieged. hospitals are fast running out of medical supplies. the relentless fighting created a dire humanitarian situation.

basically services have been suspended. people fear outbreaks from the disease. and fears from explosives used from all sides. >> fro government fighters faced stiff resistance, and are trying to push through. >> pro-government fighters say they have taken call of a crossing thinking sanaa to promises. fighters say taking over the mountains will cut off supplies loyal to former president ali abdullah saleh. in the fight to take over a military camp, 60 soldiers and fighters have been killed. >> translation: battles are ongoing, our troops crossed the mountainous region from the east. here we are close to eliminating

houthis in the district. >> reporter: the houthis have some support, and that slowed the progress in taking back territory. the group, massimilano allegri in the south, claimed control of several areas in several weeks. it's been targeted by u.s. drone strikes and a local commander was killed. they were also a field commander of many provinces in yemen. his death, if confirmed, is seen as a blow for massimilano allegri. yemen has been torn apart by conflict and for millions struggling to survive, military gains by any side do not mean much now, all around the world oil producing countries and companies reel from the record plunge in oil. shell announced it's cutting 10,000 jobs. it's taking a look at some of the biggest winners and loser. nigeria and angola are in talks

about the world bank about support to help strained finances. budgets in russia, venezuela, in columbia, ecuador, saudi arabia and in canada are in deficit. less money for public spending. big oil is cutting jobs and capital spending in response for plunging revenues, b.p. reported a worst annual lose. there are winners, china, india and japan are among the largest importers of oil, and they are benefitting from the drop. and falling oil price means airline tickets are costing less and it's cheaper to fill your car with petrol. >> kazakh stand is a rich economy. let's go to robin forrester worker who went to al-marty to meet some struggling to make ends meet. how bad is the situation there?

>> yes, as you say, with the oil prices falling, hurting the kazakh economy. kazakhstan exports is a major exporter of oil, and with revenues going down, that has a direct impact on their own currency, the tenge has fallen by as much as 53% in the past six months after the government was forced, really, to allow it to free float on the markets, on the currency markets. that has a major impact on pockets of ordinary people, who see the salary halved, because this is a dollar rise to the economy, where people have their rent, property rents fixed or set in dollars, finding that they have huge amounts to pay, and food imports too, because kazakhstan is a major importer of food. they do not have an ability to

grow very much. all this led to ordinary kazakhs, getting their wages, if they have something to save, taking it to the foreign bureau exchanges, and converting it into dollars. their confidence in the tenninga has diminished. >> reporter: protests like this, organized without approval are against the law in kazakhstan are against the law, but they want to be heard. the u.s. dollar for the payments for their home loans rose beyond their need and the property market collapsed in a contracting economy. >> let's say they have a mortgage of 200,000 that is worth 50,000. people are in such trouble that they cannot pay. >> they may be a small, if vocal

minority, but there's a silent so far struggling majority whose lives have been impacted by a falling currency kazakhstan's capital was built with oil money and now it halved the tsanga's value, dramatically raising the cost of living. >> it's hurting everyone from employers like restaurateur, to her employees, and her clientele. >> the suppliers and landlords raise prices and customers spending less, two problems to deal with at the same time. >> public spending is cut, and so, too, are jobs. at the president's palace in astana, officials admit how serious the problem is. >> the budget has been cut by 40%. we understand the difficulties citizens are facing and we are

taking every access to stablilize the situation. >> reporter: unless it happens, public unrest, a rarity, may be more routine well, what exactly can kazakhstan do to resolve this, to stabilize the situation the kaz abbing stanies -- kazakhstanies are are known for a high level of corruption. they might be looking to move the money abroad. what the government would want to do is introduce capital controls to stop the outflow of things. some believe they have to go gap in happened to international offenders like the i.m.f. as we see other experts do.

both looking like they may need a series of injections of money. to be able to pay off huge debts that the oil producers have accrued before this oil price collapse said. >> thank you very much. let's take it on a little bit. we can speak to oil market analyst focussing on trends. what will it take to turn things around. >> well, the objective is taking away market share from producers like kazakhstan. the first thing that needs to happen is for there to be evidence of production falling. the moment that there was precise evidence. they expect that it will fall by

800,000 barrels in the second quarter compared to the first. o.p.e.c. can claim a degree of success and if supplies come back into the market. they can precede in the second part of the year. it would definitely do something too raise prices. china is one of the bigger importe importers. with the economy not growing, it was expected the market would decline. well in fact, chinese crude imports have been harkably resill yesent because of liberalization towards tea kettle refineries, importing from the international market. that is an increase of command

to record levels, we expect to see that. the slow down in the chinese economy is not translating into slower demand. >> thank you very much indeed for that analysis. an oil market analyst speaking to us there. >> that is just about it for this news, back in a couple of minutes with more on the donor conference going ahead with the lebanese prime minister, at the podium, talking about this need to raise up to 9 billion for the situation in syria. high level delegates from more than 70 countries of there, including representatives from n.g.o n.g.o.s to help the refugees. that's it for this newshour. see you in a couple of minutes. bye for now.

no topic off limits. >> 'cause i'm like, "dad, there are hookers in this house". >> exclusive conversations you won't find anywhere else. >> these are very vivid, human stories. >> if you have an agenda with people, you sometimes don't see the truth. >> "talk to al jazeera". monday, 6:00 eastern. only on al jazeera america.

calls for billions in aid for syrian refugees as world leaders meet in london. hello, i'm nick clark in doha with the world news from doha. also a had dash dash in geneva, syria's government and opposition trade blame as talks collapse. julian assange looks to have won his case at the u.n., he's still in the ecuadoran embassy and british police say he's facing arrest