thousands flee of city of aleppo assyrian forces backed by russian air power intensify their offensive. also ahead on this half hour, peacekeepers in car face new allegations of sexual abuse. up to three years trapped inside the embassy in london, has the court thrown him a life line. the two u.s. democratic front runners go head to head for the

first time in a televised debate. tens of thousands syrians are trying to reach safety in turkey from the aleppo province. as the situation on the ground worsens, the u.n. council is due to speak to staffan de mistura about the talks in geneva. >> reporter: out of their homes and out of aleppo and out in the open they spend the night under the sky on the border with her key hoping to get in. over the past few days syrians in their tens of thousands have escaped aleppo since the syrian government and its russian ally began a new offensive in the province. under pressure like never before syrian rebels end a call to end

their opposition. it is the last remaining base in the north for groups allied with the secular free syrian army. for the past three and a half years the city has been divided. the opposition controls the east, government forces the west. the regime is trying to be siege rebel held districts and cut the rebel supply line from turkey's border to the north. the development is raising new concerns. >> we're trying to end the siege of a number of besieged areas across syria and yet what is being done by now russian and syrian forces could create a new siege. so this is incredibly hurtful in terms of real lives. it is a major obstacle to the pursuit of the political solution and it needs to stop. >> reporter: another siege could mean another madaya, starvation, malnutrition, mass suffering. once a holiday resort, this town

outside damascus has become the most dire example of what happens when cut off from food and humanitarian aid by besieging forces. it is a path nobody wants for aleppo. gerald tan to our correspondent live on the border. can we expect to see refugees cross the border today, do you think? >> reporter: we have been trying to find out from turkish authorities whether or not they're going to open the border. we haven't been able to confirm whether this is going to happen or not. like you see hipped me, that border is closed and thousands of syrians are just on the other side. we saw dramatic pictures of hundreds of families heading to the border on foot, escaping the bombardment, escaping the government offensive and they have been appealing to the authorities to let them in. but like i mentioned, we still have no confirmation whether

that will happen. really mass displacement, a lot of suffering, people's homes have been targeted in the air strikes, intense bombardment and from where we're standing we can actually hear the sound of explosions in the distance. this offensive is continuing. now, the thousands of people who have been displaced have been displaced from the countryside. we still haven't seen a mass exodus of people from inside the city and aleppo and if that happens we're going to see tens of thousands of people. we know the government is trying to encircle the city. already half of the population has been displaced in the five years of conflict. millions as refugees and millions displaced in the land. this is the fourth time one man said he has been displaced since it began the come backyardment continuing, the offensive is

ongoing as you say. >> reporter: yes. what the government is trying to do now is push further south towards the north-eastern entrances of aleppo p aleppo city. this is the only road, really, that opposition controlled districts inside that divided city. what they want to do is cut off that road and basically encircle the city and lay siege to the opposition portions of that city where between 200 to 300,000 people live already because of the ongoing fighting. a lot of supply routes have been cut off which means that the prices of essential goods are on the rise. we also understand from people inside that fuel hasn't been able to reach the areas which means there is shortage of bred. so this is a humanitarian

crisis. while all ice are on aleppo-- eyes are on aleppo, we have to mention there are government offensives on other areas. we understand air strikes are happening in the northern countryside of homs and the government has given an ultimatum to rebels there to withdraw and also the government pushing ahead in their offensive in the southern province of zeraa. what has become clear is the government and allies are trying to take as much grounds as possible as the international community is pushing for negotiations which undoubtedly gives them leverage on the negotiating table thank you very much for that. the u.n. peace-keeping mission in the car says it has identified seven new cases of alleged strl abuse by its troops. human rights watch says the alleged victims were gang raped. u.n. peacekeepers were deployed to restore order in the country

in 2013 after violence. it comes on top of 2340r7b allegations last year of sexual abuse by u.n. peacekeepers >> due to the gravity of these allegations, the u.n. has decided to take immediate measures, including the repatriation of the 120 soldiers from the republic of congo. this repatriation will occur after the investigation is carried out. in the meantime the soldiers will be confined to barracks democratic u.s. white house hopefuls have faced off in the most contentious debate yet. they went one-on-one in relation to questions. more from our correspondent in new hampshire >> reporter: outside the democratic debate hall here not

a hillary clinton sign in site. new hampshire is bernie sanders's territory. among young voters here he enjoys more than 85% support, especially when it comes to issues of income and equality >> the rich are getting richer. i absolutely would like to see a candidate who supports radical changes in the economic structure, dictate more equality and justice. >> i don't trust her. i think she has been flippy floppy and he seems more genuine and consistent. >> reporter: the issue of reforming america's economic structure is where the two democratic presidential hopefuls argued most. sanders criticized clinton for receiving 675,000 for mading paid speeches to one bank on wall street. he says it makes her ill suited. >> reporter: one of the things we should do is not only talk

the talk but walk the walk. i am very proud to be the only candidate up here who does not have a super pact, who is not raising human amounts of money from wall street on special interest >> there is this attack that he is put forth which really comes down to anybody whoever took donations or speaking fees from any interest group has to be brought. i just absolutely reject that senator. >> reporter: when push for transparency to reveal whether promises had been made to corporate america, clinton dodged the issue. >> reporter: are you willing to release the transcripts of all your paid sfeechs? >> i will look into it. i don't know the status, but i will look into it gentleman her defiance may not be enough to convince the voters >> she has to prove that she is as progressive as bernie sanders. he has answers to say no she is

not. she takes money in a time when many, especially the more progressive left wing, is really angry about that. >> reporter: clinton has little time to change the minds of new hampshire voters. the primary is days away and clinton trails her opponent. in some polls by as much as 30 points a u.n. panel has ruled in favor of wikileaks founder, who has been held up for more than three years. our correspondent is outside the embassy. tell us more about the panel's findings. >> reporter: i can give you the findings. the embargo has just been released. the panel says that mr assange has not been guaranteed the international norms of due process that guarantees of a

fair trial. that his continued depravation of liberty has been conducted - i'm quoting all the sections - in breach of principles of reasonableness necessity and proportionality. the working group, that is the panel, is concerned that the only basis of the depravation of liberty of mr assange appears to be a european arrest warrant issued by the swedish prosecution based on a criminal allegation that there has never been a formal indictment. if i can just carry on, it talks about his stay in the ecuadorian embassy, which is that building me me, on the first floor, that little building, it talks about the indefinite nature of his detention there. it says that that embassy is not and far less than a house or detention center equipped for prolonged pretrial detention,

lacks appropriate and necessary medical equipment or facilities; in other words, it is not an appropriate place for somebody to be detained for such a period of length. here the conclusion. the depravation of liberty of mr assange is arbitrary and in contravention of the articles of the declaration of human rights. consequent upon this opinion, the working group requests the government of sweden and the governments of great britain an and northern island to assess the situation of mr assange to assure his safety, physical integrity and to facilitate the exercise of his right to freedom of movement in annex peed yent manner-- an expedient manner. as we expected and he must have expected, the u.n. panel on the arbitrary detention has fan found in his favor. excuse me nor some of the legalistic language that i threw

at you reading the conclusions there that legalistic language has left questions. what does this mean, what will the british government do, what will he do, will he be arrested. what happens next? >> reporter: who knows is the short answer. the initial sounds, both from sweden and from the british government are not favorable to mr assange. these two governments are saying that the findings of the u.n. panel are not legally binding on them. the british authorities are saying that there is a european arrest warrant for him that they are still legally obliged to arrest him should he try to leave the building behind me. the metropolitan police here in london say that the operation to arrest mr assange is still very much in exercise. so i don't think understand these circumstances we will see

him walking out of this building behind me today. he would be arrested if he were to do so. having said all that, has he secured an important moral victory? yes. are the british and swedish bound to be embarrassed? yes. they see themselves as important defenders of human rights on the international humanitarian rights seen and this is embarrassing and this will cause discomfort undoubtedly here and elsewhere as well thank you very much for that. coming up late in the program thousands protest in greece against the government's economic policies. plus nothing official about it. why a legal food trade is

thriving in the under ground economy. economy.

welcome back. the top stories here on al jazeera. tens of thousands of syrians are fleeing to turkey's border for safety. fighting has intensified in aleppo. a united nations panel has ruled in favor of wikileaks founder. he has been holed up in the embassy in london for more than three years. the u.n. group says he has been

arbitrarily detained. returning to syria's humanitarian crisis. the fighting intensifies on the ground and the world leaders have plenningd to donate-- pledged to date more than ten million dollars but the peace talks broke down. james bays has this report. >> reporter: there's no doubt the conference in london was somewhat over shadowed. as well as the business of raising money for the dire humanitarian situation, diplomats were dealing with another crisis. the first attempt at talks between the syrian government and the opposition for two years lasted just a few days. the talks put on hold after being undermined by a massive military operation by the syrian government backed by aerial bombardment by russia. opposition members are not just incensed by that. they can't understand why u.s. secretary of state john kerry isn't being stronger in his

condemnation. here just quoting the relevant u.n. security council resolution. >> paragraph 13 demands that all parties immediately cease any attacks against civilians and civilian objects as such, including attacks against medical facilities and personnel in any indiscriminate use of weapons, including through shelling and aerial bombardment. russia voted for that, russia has responsibility as do all parties to live up to it. >> reporter: his comments are very different from those made by the man standing next to him. earlier this week phillip hammond suggested russia might be helping the syria regime create a new mini state dominated by the sect to which bashar al-assad belonged. he says it will be very hard to

resume the geneva talks. >> in less than two weeks we had a hard time to convince syria opposition to come to gene eve atto support despite the be siege, starvation and humanitarian crimes being committed there, but this time it will be much more difficult. >> reporter: i spoke to the u.n. special envoy, staffan de mistura as he arrived here. he said he wanted to give a full assessment to his boss, ban ki-moon, of the situation. insiders tell me they know it will be very difficult to get the opposition back to the table, but postponing the talks was the only chance of keeping this process alive the israel eye supreme court has suspended the detention of a palestinian journalist. he has been held without charge since november. he has been on hunger strike strike for 72 days. he is being held according to a

law which allows people to be held without trial. he says he will continue his hunger strike until he is freed. >> translation: listening, don't be fooled by the israeli decision. don't let the call for solidarity die. we are all suffering, all of us, all the people used to come and tell me, although we are crushed, that they are astonished by our plight. tell the world. my morale is high but my body is feeble. i am about to collapse, but i have hope thanks to god. >> reporter: thousands of people in venezuelan have marched to remember a coup by the fomplyer president. he was a colonel when he tried to overthrow the government in 1992. many people had supported the intended coup because the leadership at that time was seen as corrupt. this march comes at a time when

the successor is struggling to deal with an economic slowdown. that slowdown has been partly blamed on the socialist government's policies, including complex exchange rate system. the trade minister says it has been corrected in the latest bid to bring down one of the highest inflation rates in the world. awe correspondent reports now. >> reporter: from this street corner the this man's business is illegal. with shortages, underground food traiteding can be seen as a solution. on any given day reselling sugar or dipers that he has brought, he says he can make as much as ten times the minimum wage. >> translation: we work directly with the chinese shop owners who sell us the subsaid

diesd-- subsidized products and we sell them at a profit. >> reporter: with inflation, resting value from salaries, more and more people are joining the illegal line of business. so much so that a new word has even been coined for this new breed of entrepreneurs. it is after a nativant. like their name sake, they work hard and usually at a small scale. >> translation: i don't see it as a crime, but i do see it as a deterioration of society because in the long run, we are all harming each other >> reporter: most of the items on this table have gone missing from market shelves. i'm standing in front of a table of what many would consider to be got dust and for which many are willing to queue for hours. six out of ten people in these

queues will resell goods for as much as ten times for what the shobs allow. >> translation: the problem in the country is not this. it is an absurd model of pricing. >> reporter: a primitive distribution system through which as much as one third of basic goods gets sold. >> translation: i used to be offended by the termant, but i see women, police and the national guard doing it. half the country is doing it. >> reporter: with an economy strapped for cash, the government is likely to slash imports. as food becomes scarer, theant like selling will be different. those involved will stand to lose their livelihood there have been violent scenes in the greek capital during a protest against

government pension reforms. five bombs were thrown and cars torched awhile police responded with tear gas. the government says it has to cut spending. >> reporter: this is a parade of broken promises. everyone here has a story to tell. this small group represents private day care centers. they were promised government money if they took in children whose parents couldn't pay. >> translation: to promise free benefits to parents, members of society, families and entrepreneurs that cannot be met is one more lie in this orchestrated master piece of deceit >> reporter: pensioners have already seen their benefits cut a dozen times. >> translation: when we applied for our pensions, we did so under certain legislation. so we're entitled to receive that amount of money. >> reporter: caesar came to

power a year ago to end austerity. now it is the enforcer of austerity. it says its 93 billion dollar loan will be greece ace bail out. the social security which is a key condition for that loan was the spark for this unrest >> reporter: this has brought support from the urban middle-class and the countryside, particularly self-employed professionals and farmers. it is they who comprise the one million taxpayers who would be called upon to pay 27% of their income for health coverage and pension contributions. effectively, dushling their taxation. ahead of the bar association says a lawyer earning $22,000 now spends 54% of that income on taxes and social security. under the proposed law, it would rise to 69%. >> translation: all these tax demands won't be met. the result will be that a very large number of freelance professionals will simply leave

the economy. they will enter a grey zone and won't pay taxes and social security because there won't be any choice. the whole system will collapse because it is not realistic. it doesn't take into account people's ability to pay. >> reporter: widespread taxi invitation would, obviously, undermine the very purpose of the law which is to increase the government's revenue. so caesar might be squeezing more money from a small economy film sensors are not allowing bangladeshi to see a movie movie in their own language. hour correspondent has more. >> reporter: movies are a rare occasion. these are not just for a global audience but for bangladeshis

themselves. the local cinema is in decline with crowds dwindling since the 1990s. >> the old cinema halls are dying and the new theaters have not replaced them in that way. this is one crisis that you cannot show to the larger audience >> reporter: at the time local movies have been receiving recognition abroad. this film won't be screened at home any time sppm. my bicycle, the first movie about the indigenous communities, is having trouble getting clearance from the sensors. the director is from the indigenous community. another first for the country's film industry. >> translation: we finance the film by asking around. my wife and friends gave money. the crew worked for free. it was sort of a crowd-funding model. >> reporter: he showed us a letter from the sensors saying

his movie isn't getting compleerns because of concerns that it prosecutor days the military in a negative way. a long running rebellion by people want iing certain things ended. >> reporter: it is pretty difficult for any kind of independent film maker here to get their movies screened in theaters like this one, but the stakes are particularly high with my bicycle. it is a rare glimpse into the indigenous minorities. their culture is in danger of disappearing. >> translation: a language survives through its use. we can't afford to print books in our language. >> reporter: it is a state of affairs he hopes his film will help change, but for that to

happen, he needs a board of sensors who are less sensitive you can catch it all on our website on aljazeera.com. you can see all the movies that we cover there. [♪ music ] this week on "talk to al jazeera" - chef and restaurateur marcus samuelsson. >> being able to have windows into three, four different communities is something that i feel privileged to the swedish-raised celebrity cook was born if ethiopia but group in scannedan ava. he and his sister were adopted after their mother died om