this is al jazeera welcome to the al jazeera news hour. coming up in the next 60 minutes. turkey continues attacks on kurdish fighters inside syria hours after the u.s. asked ankara to stop. the death of the conservative supreme court justice

overshadows a heated debate between republican presidential hopefuls. why more and more women and children are being killed in afghanistan. hope for a return to peace as voting begins in the car to elect a new leader. find out which films and actors are looking to score big this year in the baftas first, turkey has shelled parts of northern syria for a second day. now, these are the latest pictures from outside the town of meneg. that's where rebels have been pushed out from a former military air base. ar car awants the fighters to withdraw from areas that are close to turkey's border - ankara. the u.s. has urged turkey to

stop the military strikes around the city of azaz. saudi arabia military personnel and it's have arrived at the turkish air base. the base is used by the u.s. led coalition in the fight against i.s.i.l. >> translation: the latest deployments when it comes to the land forces or increasing our air campaign emphasize that saudi arabia is continuing to work with the international coalition to fight i.s.i.l. they are matching their words are action. today we're reinforcing our air campaign and we will wait for military details on how to start the land operations. teams have already arrived at the air base. some planes have arrived. the rest will arrive in hours. they should be operationally ready soon going live to our correspondent in the south of turkey close to the border with syria. let's start with turkey's

bombardment of y.p.g. positions. tell us what has provoked this sprons it from ankara. -- response from ankara. >> reporter: for the second day turkey bombarding positions of the y.p.g. and their allies. the turkey prime minister making it clear that it considers the y.p.g. advances in this corner a threat, a threat to turkey's national security. this is how they are justifying their actions inside syria. we have spoken to the head of the group allied to the y.p.g. he told us was that they will not be phased at the turkish shelling will not force them to retreat to their enclave of afreen. the authorities telling the y.p.g. that they want them to withdraw from recently captured territories from the syrian opposition. over the past week what has been

happening in the northern countryside of aleppo, the government backed by others have been taking more territory from the opposition. this alarmed the turkish government because from the start of the conflict turkey's policy in syria has been clear. they want to see regime change. they do not want to see the kurds creating its own state along the borders. they want to stop this advance. this is what they can do now. they can shell y.p.g. positions but they cannot cross into syria because russia controls the skies are. turkey making clear it is still holding on to its lines but the other groups making clear they will continue their advance many of us have little of the y.p.g. since the battle for kobali which they won, they beat

back the onslaugt from i.s.i.l. what are they doing while it is being battled over for the most part government forces and other rebel groups. >> reporter: the turkish government calls them a terrorist organization linked to the p.k.k. the government is at work with them, has been for the past few decades. the u.s. considers the y.p.g. as an ally in the fight against i.s.i.l. they have been a partner. they have taken ground from i.s.i.l. but many in the opposition will tell you that the y.p.g. has their own project in syria, has their own plan. they want to breakaway from syria. already they control much of the north-eastern corner of syria. what many in the opposition will tell you is what they're trying to do is advance from their enclave in aleppo to towards areas they control in the west.

they're using the excuse of fighting i.s.i.l. to take more ground. the turkish authorities say that they're ethnically cleansing areas from arabs and collaborating with the government. the y.p.g. denies any links with the regime. a complicated set of alliances. the u.s. called on the y.p.g. to stop taking territory but at the same time the u.s. called on turkey to stop targeting the y.p.g. positions we now learn that within the last hour or so the russian president putin and the u.s. president obama they have had a telephone call and they've talked about how to end the fighting in syria. there you can see the live shot of john mckain, the u.s. senator, who has been addressing that security conference that is taking place in munich where we

have heard so many of the world leaders talking about the situation in syria. as you know, there was an agreement between the united states, russia and other interested parties with regard to syria to try to get acisation of hostilities. today is the last day of this conference and the conference has been hearing from the former u.n. secretary general because me, of course, is a former special envoy to syria as well, but this time he was talking about africa and he said that africa is a lot better than many believe to be the case. he said the threat of groups like boko haram and al-shabab continue to destabilize the continent. >> we cannot ignore that from the west to the east the flood of jihad is being raised. more than a dozen subsaharan

countries are concerned and tens of thousands have already died. boko haram actually killed more people last year than the islamic state. attacks in many places are a daily or a weekly occurrence to other news. one of the u.s. supreme court's most conservative members died. he was 79 and his death has the potential to shift the balance of power in the court. the appointment of a successor will now sit firmly at the center of the ongoing election campaign. republican nominees fought hard in a debate a little earlier. more on that in a moment, but first on the life and legacy of justice scalia. >> reporter: as the flag dropped to half staff over the u.s. supreme court, the death of the justice sets off what could be an epic battle of the white house and the u.s. congress.

>> he was a larger than life president on the bench. a brilliant legal mind with an energetic style and witt and colorful opinions. >> reporter: he was a consistent conservative who often tilted the scales of justice. he was confirmed by a senate vote of 98 to 0 after promising not to transform the court >> i am not going onto the court with a list of things that i want to do. my only agenda is to be a good judge >> reporter: for 30 years he pushed the court in favor of the death penalty and the individual right to bear arms. >> he will best be remembered as a witty and powerful writer, very, very distinct >> reporter: he believed in an unchanging constitution saying the founders would have scoffed at gay rights, abortion rights.

>> you can't deny it is evolving and the supreme court will tell you what it means. you cannot do that without causing the supreme court to become a very political institution. >> reporter: his critics say that's exactly what he did. his vote on key five to four decisions struck down campaigns and helped to decide the election in favor of the george bush. his death sets up a titanic struggle. president obama says he intends to name his successor >> there will be plenty of toim for me to do so and for the senate to fulfil its responsibility to give that person a hearing and a timely vote. >> reporter: it com the u.s.

constitution says the president names the supreme court candidates and the president supports them. that decision should be made by the next president said mcconnell. it is likely he will have a nominee confirmed by the november presidential election. that could mean all three branches of the u.s. government, the presidency, congress and the high court are all in play in the november election more now from our correspondent. >> reporter: the death of u.s. supreme court justice is not just going to impact people in the u.s. but it could have an impact on the broader globe. u.s. obama recently helped make that deal in the paris climate summit. he came back and said there were new rules that state had to curb greenhouse gas emissions. it was seen that s krrngs alio said that those rules could not

go into effect until the case had worked its way through the court system. now he has passed away it is likely that the supreme court is not going to be able to weigh in on this. however the lower court decides, if he does have that authority, that it is likely that those regulations will go into effect meaning it is much more likely that the paris climate touks are implemented. -- talks his death came up in a debate between republican presidential hopefuls. a report from greenville south carolina. >> reporter: a moment silence to mark the death of a supreme court justice announced just before the republican debate. the question of replacement dominated early exchanges. the question should president bomb appoint another one? >> i think he is going to do it whether i'm okay with it or not. it's called delay delay delay. >> i think we ought to let the

in the meantime president decide who is going to run that. >> reporter: the significance of the supreme court which decides on an important constitutional questions >> the senate needs to stands strong and say we're not going to give up the u.s. supreme court by allowing obama to make one more liberal appointee >> reporter: there was a bitter exchange on the role that the president played in iraq. jeb bush was happy to defend his brother. >> jeb is so long. he is absolutely so wrong. >> he gets foreign policy from the shows, who is a great negotiator. this is a man who insults his way to the nominations. >> reporter: marco rubio had an awful debate in new hampshire but got back into bra groove here. >> this is a disturbing pattern

now. ted cruz has been telling lies. he lied about ben carson in iowa, he lies about marriage and lying about all sorts of things. now he makes things up >> reporter: this was a bad night for donald trump. his most hot performance yet and he came under attack from everyone. but he still leads the polls by more than 20 points. lipped say graham says the death of the justice makes the supreme court nomination a huge election issue >> if you don't win the election you can't appoint a supreme court justice. i hope conservatives will look at this as an opportunity to make sure that we nominate somebody who can win the white house >> reporter: this is the loudest and angriest debate so far

a public policy professor has given us his view >> it's very rare for americans of either party to take the supreme court into consideration when they cast the presidential vote. they are voting for president. the supreme court occupies this center stage in this election drama. that escalates the stakes for people on both sides. it is not only the supreme court appointment but it's the majority on the court. four of the justices what remain on the court are conservative. four are liberal. many decisions have been five to four. so everything is at state here. the supreme court is the voice of the constitution. this the highest stakes you can imagine for the election. i imagine president obama has a

100% chance of nominating one. then it has to be confirmed by the senate. i think there's about 100% chance that the senate will not confirm anyone he nominates. so it is likely to go to the next president more coming on the al jazeera news hour, including hopes of piece in the philippines with be secured after a 2-year-old agreement with rebels could be ratified. >> reporter: i'm with the soldiers of oden, patrolling the streets of finland protecting the citizens from refugees in sport a look at the english premier league as arsenal try to topple the top

going to afghanistan now which a report says 11,000 people have been killed in 2015. it is a 4% increase of casualties on the previous year. out of the 11,000 civilian casualties more than 3.5,000 people were killed and just under 7.5,000 were injured. fighting on the ground caused the most fatalities and injuries, anti forces including the taliban caused the post harm. the u.n. assistance mission in afghanistan documented a 37% increase in female casualties and a 14% rise in child casualties. let's go live now to our correspondent who is in the afghan capital. what does the u.n. say is the main reason for in record number of civilians being both killed

and injured? >> reporter: this is a report that was produced by the u.n. assistance mission in afghanistan. their function, their mission, is not necessarily to assess an analyse the violence. they're only out to compile the statistics of the death toll, but if you look at the rising violence, the number of civilian casualties, it coincides with a gradual draw-down of u.s. and international forces that began a couple of years ago aas u.s. and international forces have left afghanistan. the violence has increased and that raises a couple of questions. first off, is the taliban looking to capitalise on the re-dukes of u.s. around international forces and take more territory. the rise in violence seems to suggest that that is the case. another question, do afghan security forces have the capacity to phenyled off the taliban. this report was released this

morning by this u.n. agency. its head demanding for the violence to end calling on all fighting factions to not arm civilians. it has been a call made many times, but never heeded. it is an indication that it's uncertain times here in afghanistan, a time when the afghan government is pushing for peace talks, but, again, no indication that the taliban is going to come to the table or if they're going to stop the violence at a time when many indications are that they're gaining territory interestingly, the report talks of anti-government forces, including the taliban having caused the most harm. who were the other anti-government forces who were targeting civilians, including women and children? >> reporter: that's what fuels the uncertainty.

there is just not one faction here, it's not an monolith. there is a variety of groups. the afghan government says they want to speak to whoever wants peace and they're going to continue to fight others who don't want peace, but, again, this report tunk actuates the-- twunk actuates-- there are groups out there that are continuing to target and gain territory. if they succeed, it remains uncertain whether those key groups are going to come to the table and many argue that they're gaining ground and succeeding in their fight. thank you for that. voters in car are choosing between two formers prime ministers. the election is being held after two years of fighting between muslim and christian communities. this has left thousands dead and

nearly a million people displaced. over 11,000 u.n. peace-keeping troops have been deployed to safeguard the elections. the candidates, they're promising to end years of religious and ethnic violence. >> reporter: waiting for change in the car and hoping for a new leader to take the country into a more peaceful phase after multiple delays. there was no clear winner after a december vote to select a president. a porltly election in january was anulled for irregularities. this one received 24% of the votes in the first round. >> translation: the people think i'm sexy, i'm kinder, i have more experience and that i'm decisive. i think that will guide their choice. >> reporter: he served as prime minister under ousted president bozeze. he gained the support of the

former leader. bozeze is banned from running again as he is being investigated for human rights violations. th there the alternative is independent candidate this man on who received 90% of the first round the votes. he served as the most recent prime minister until 2013 when the president was ousted by armed groups, i was prime minister for five years. they have seen me develop and i love my country too. we are in difficult times. i like all central africans. i want to bring a solution to our problems. >> reporter: for two years majority christian fighters fought an alliance of muslim

groups. more than 6,000 people were killed according to the u.n. there was an opportunity for new elections to provide a clean start. last month's elections were cancelled after voting irregularities. there's another chance on sunday. many hope this vote will bring about real change haiti law makers have chosen and interim leader who will replace the former president. the country's senate chief has a government which is intending to last for 120 days. haiti has been plagued by violence two palestinians have been killed according to the

palestinian health ministry. they were killed in the area of jenin. both are reported to been 15 years old. the teenagers apparently opened fire at soldiers after throwing rocks at passing vehicles. 175 palestinians have been killed by israeli forces since october it is time for the weather now. richard is here. record breaking cold weather across northern either u.s. >> yes. mainly across the north-east. by the time we get through to tuesday it will warm up significantly. the temperatures are going as low as minus 18 to plus 10 degrees in the space of about three days. if you look at the satellite imagery, it circulates around

that way. you draw the cold air in from the north. the cold air is coming down on the jet stream which is driving all the way down from james bay and that is going to continue for a time before we start to see the winds turning more towards the south. then a big change coming along. so that's how it is going to work out in the next few days. you will see the greens replacing the blues across the eastern side of the map. in the meantime, for the chinese community in new york, it is a case of making the best of the really cold weather temperatures, about minus 9 celsius when they celebrated the lunar new year on saturday. looking at the forecast, you can see we've got these big temperatures across the eastern seaboard extending up to canada. gradually you will see snow pushing but also milder conditions pushing as we head through into the early part of next week. a big thaw taking place thank you very much, indeed. a man has been killed in a fight

at an asylum center in sweden. at least four people were involved. this is the second killing involving asylum seekers in a month. sweden very versed its open-- reversed its open door policy after a record 163,000 people entered. inland's government announced that it will deport around 20,000 refugees. an economic downturn coupled with a small population means finland has struggled to deal with the volume of asue limb seekers-- asylum seekers. some have formed a group to protect people from refugees. jonah hull reports. >> reporter: named after a god of war, the soldiers of oden take their self-appointed mission seriously. patrolling the streets keeping women and children safe from

refugees. >> translation: about 80% of the refugees are men of fighting age. to me it doesn't look like they need help. >> reporter: back in their clubhouse in the woods, they insist they're just concerned citizens, although the nazi-type par fern nail i can't-- paraphernalia suggests otherwise. >> translation: of course a person has the right to defend himself. if we see a crime, then we intervene. >> reporter: finland is in economic trouble and the soup kitchens are busy. a cautious welcome in the summer has turned frosty. it is far more likely than not that asylum seekers will be turned down >> the main thing is to make good picture for refugees. we have a good day, helping and we are good people. >> reporter: this man helped

hundreds of refugees who crowneded into this concert haul before formal reception centers were established. he regrets the change in mood. >> translation: i've heard hundreds of stories of why they come. some are true, some are lies, but who has the right to decide. that makes me sad, especially as a christian. we should help all people. >> reporter: as the public mood seems to be hardening here in finland towards the refugees, it seems that the prime minister himself has been forced into his own about turn having said that refugees were welcome to come and stay here in his country house in the north of the country, he has now said they can't. for security reasons. the house is said to be too public. at a refugee center the tightening controls are sinking in. >> there are some good people and bad people, and even

refugee, there is good people and there is bad people. >> reporter: will you respect if it comes to a decision to send you home? >> if they send us back, i will respect that, but you know, we will face death there. yeah. >> reporter: you have to wonder why they want to live in the freezing cold anyway. such is the desire for safety. jonah hull still to come on this al jazeera news hour, pope francis has been doing some straight talking during his visit to mexico. bangladeshi's government sets up a train iing company to help refugees. mickelson comes close to end the the draught in his clear.

welcome back to al jazeera. these are our top stories. turkey has renewed its shelling of kurdish positions in northern syria despite calls from the u.s. to stop them. these are the latest pictures from the air base. ankara wants kurdish y.p.g. fighters to withdraw from the area near its border with syria. the death of the conservative supreme court justice scalia has over shadowed a debate between republican presidential hopefuls. he died at the age 79.

there is bickering over who should replace him already. more than 11,000 civilians have been killed or injured in afghanistan in 2015. most deaths were caused by groups opposed to the government including the taliban. it pass been more than two days where humanitarian assistance was pledged to syrians trapped in besieged areas. the aid is ready to go but yet to be delivered. let's look at the areas in syria that are in dire need of humanitarian supplies. the u.n. says up to 45,000 people in moudam iya are ket off from aid since government forces stepped up their offensive. in madaya more than 40 people have died from starvation. hundreds need to be evacuated.

up to 200,000 people are living under an i.s.i.l. siege in deir az, zchlt or where food and water is running out. the secretary of u.n., from that conference that is winding down, are you convinced that the leaders there who have made a fairly grand pronouncement about acisation to-- cessation to hold the fights in syria, that help will be reached to those in need? >> i think munich is a long way from the half a million people in syria who are living under siege conditions, so on the ground we are yet to set any significant change. it shouldn't be so difficult. there have been conflicts and wars in many other places in the

world. this is a very fundamental rule in any kind of war situation, that you cannot block medicine, food and absolutely essential necessities that people need. this is not happening in syria so many are suffering. there is not light at this point in time. there is some trickling in, but there is no - i can't be assuring any great signs of optimism at this point john kerry did say that the trucks were loaded, they're ready to go. what's stopping those trucks from delivering the aid to the people that we've mentioned in syri syria? >> unless the humanitarian workers, the agencies feel that it's safe enough for them to be able to go into these places and give the basic necessities to the people who are suffering on a daily basis, the trucks can't

move. the local actors need to provide the protection to the humanitarian workers, to the agencies, to take their food and essential supplies in, but unfortunately what we're seeing primarily from the government, but also from many of the other warring parties that they're playing politics instead of supporting the lives of people first. also we have to also remember that one of supply of humanitarian aid is not going to be the solution. we need something which is much more lasting and durable because this is a problem which has been going on for five years. just today, munich meeting needs to cessation of hostilities. we need something more lasting than a few days. respectful of international humanity and law. this is not charity. this is a legal requirement every since the announcement of the cessation of hostilities within a space of a week was

made, there seems more fighting is taking place. the turks are now firing upon the kurds in the north of syria. are you optimistic that this cessation, which is far short of a ceasefire, are you optimistic that this can be put in place? >> we are clutching at straws. everyone is in december prayer. there is-- despair. there is a lot of negativity. you're right that there has been further hostility on the ground since the announcement was made. our call is very simple. first and fore most, let's stop killing civilians. all sides are doing this. this has to stop. let's make sure that unfettered humanitarian aid reaches the person most in need. this cannot be delayed any further you've mentioned that a lot

of humanitarian law, international law, the geneva conventions are being breached, aren't they, almost on a regular basis by all parties to the conflict in syria. how confident are you that accountability is going to follow once there is an end to the fighting that those responsible will be brought to justice? >> i think those days are gone when bashar al-assad's father also had committed a lot of atrocities but nobody came to know about it and he got away with it. those days are gone. these days there is scrutiny. even if there is no justice today, it will come tomorrow t i think the parties whorm are committing the war crimes, the crimes against humanity now need to understand there's no place to hide. i'm very confident that there is

no way to get out of this. we, in fact, are calling right away for independent human rights monitors to be allowed. again, independent access because everybody is blaming each other and we're saying that, okay, if you think the other side is actually committing haum rights abuses, then let's have independent monitoring assessing what's going on. i'm absolutely sure that there is no place for the bashar al-assad regime and the opposition groups committing human rights violations or breaching international humanitarian law. they will be held to account thank you, the secretary of amnesty international pope francis has had some rather tough words for mexico's political and religious elite warning them that they must stand up to drug trafficking gangs. the catholic leader will

celebrate the mass in one of the country's most violent districts. >> reporter: this is a sprawling poor suburb on the edge of mexico city. are represents the problems and promise of mexico and perhaps that's why pope francis is coming here to say mass. hundreds of thousands come here to work hard an save. they are held back by corruption and violent gangs. this man moved here from mexico city 25 years ago. land was cheap and he wanted to be his own boss. after being beaten and kidnapped by police, he is afraid he will be targeted again. u we're their prisoners. we're more afraid of the police than criminals. if a patrol pulls you over, you don't know if it's a legitimate stop or they're going to rob

you. >> reporter: robberies on buses is common. victims groups are hoping to meet the pope and tell him about the violence and corruption here. >> translation: the government is absent. it puts a false face on the area. reality is much crueller here. i don't want my country to have this image of total chaos, but we want international attention so help tackle these huge problems. >> reporter: local government appears to be doing its best to make the area look clean and safe, at least for sunday's mass. i asked him why they're out painting. they're out painting bushes and trees to make it look nicer when the pope arrives. >> reporter: the local mayor sees opportunity in the pope's

visit. >> translation: it is a big boost for the economy and motivates us to move forward and work hard to make the area better. >> reporter: residents say it will take more to make the area safer and hope the visit of the pope will provide the spark they all need 5.7 magnitude earthquake has hit christchurch. vehicles could be seen shaking in driveways. there were no reports of any major damage, nor of injures, but a 6-- injuries, but in 20111 a people were killed. as many as nine million bangladeshis go to work abroad efr year and they send more than 15 billion dollars home every year. many face difficulties as they

try to adjust to their new lives overseas. in dakaar efforts are underway to help them prepare for life in a different country. >> reporter: the washing machine is very daunting if you have never seen one before. she had never seen one before nor had she seen a dishwasher or mike wave or vacuum cleaner. most high grants come from a similar background making a steep curve to learn for jobs. she is here at this training center. >> translation: when i go abroad i won't be able to speak the language if i don't know how to use the equipment they won't keep me long. they will send me back. what if i burnt all the clothes? >> reporter: with the vast majority of migrants heading to the gulf states, lessons are

also on offer here as our seminars on migrants rights. back in a kitchen that is more familiar to her, a former migrant is trying to recover from some severe trauma. she says she was sexually abused and tortured by her employers abroad. she said the training center was useful to teach her how to use kitchen appliances ares, but fell short to teach her how to protect herself. >> translation: i went there to work and send money back for my family. i got unwill bey. when i tried to seek justice, no-one listened to me. >> reporter: the government says the situation for migrants abroad isn't too bad >> translation: there are allegations of abuse here as well. are women not being tortured here. we are not considered. it's not that bad abroad. reports on how domestic workers

are particularly vulnerable to the abuse. despite the efforts of the government's training centers, going abroad still means taking a great risk for bangladeshi women, not just in turns of looking out of place because they don't know how to use a micro wave oven the awards at the season for films is well on its ways and the 2016 bafta awards look to shine a light on british films. >> reporter: the golden globes out of the way. now baftas another indication of what we're likely to see in holiday wood. there are 24 categories.

let's start with best director. he was in town for birdman. he lost. he stands a very strong chance here for the revanent. he has strong competition from these two and then the next two,-- live to riyadh where you can see the swiss foreign minister who is addressing the media. let's listen to what they have to say. >> translation: it was a verbal offer.

they have agreed in principle and accepted this principle this initiative or this offer and we will discuss some more details about how to do that job. the two teams will discuss during this in the next few weeks and we will have formal agreement and, accordingly, switzerland will behave in a way to protect the interests of iran in riyadh and the interests of riyadh in tehran. >> translation: another question. is there any intention to develop this initiative into a sort of mediation to end the differences between iran and the kingdom of saudi arabia. is there any understanding about

this? is there any intention, the minister of saudi arabia is explaining and translating the question to his counterpart from switzerland. >> translation: we don't have any ambition without more discussion, but if there is a desire from both iran and the kingdom of saudi arabia to do more than that, we will be willing to do that and we will discuss it with quite-- we are open to do more, but for the time being, it is not a mediation, it is only a will to do the basic things of the consulate and we have discussed this with both foreign ministers in both countries before any sdengs to the offer and-- extension to this offer and we

need to discuss things with our partners in both parties. if you allow me, i would like to add something regarding your question and the question given to me. the aim to give switzerland that right to protect the interests is to pave the way for the iranians to go for pilgrimage and to go for to the kingdom of saudi arabia. we need the iranians, the muslims in iran not to be affected by the conflict between the two governments. this is the role. it is a limited role. we don't ask for elimination. what they have to do.

iranians have to stop their way of aggression, the iranians have to stop putting cells in the sleeping cells in the saudi arabia. the iranians have to stop smuggling weapons and drugs in the saudi arabia. they have to stop supporting the houthis with equipment and with the money. this is not accepted at all. the iranians have to stop tourism in the saudi arabia. they have to stop increasing the rift in the kingdom of saudi arabia between the different sects. iranians have to stop the interference in the countries iraq, syria, lebanon. this is not accepted. there are so many things that the iranians have to stop if they want good relations with the kingdom of saudi arabia.

over 36 years saudi arabia has done nothing against iran. we have never killed them, stormed them, put sleeping cells in iran, never interfered in the iranian internal affairs. iran geographically is our neighbor. we cannot ignore that. we need to have the best relations with iran, but we need to have a positive way. both sides have to behave in a positive way. saudi arabia cannot extend the hand the friendship to iran and iran replies back with aggression. to build their relations, to restore their relations, we need amendment in the acts. iran is doing in the region. that's why mediation for the time being is of no need.

we don't need mediation. the iranian sigs is well-known and no need to more interpretation. regarding your question to me, what is needed to be done by russia and the states is quite simple. the syrian regime has to open the way for the humanitarian support and aids immediately and the regime has to stop the attacks against the civilians, including the bomb barrels that are being used. this has to be stopped immediately. the syria regime have to be bold in the political process in order to start to political positional period in syria. the act of the syrian regime has to stop and russia can put

pressure on the syrian regime. russia can stop its error attacks against the moderate syrian opposition. regarding the u.s., they can continue because honest to god the work on that, but america has no increase pressures on russia in order to do what i have told you. in case it is a big failure, what are the options, the fighting the continue. the support to opposition will continue, will be more and more and at the end of the day bashar al-assad will be defeated. the problem started or the crisis has started, bashar al-assad may use thugs and gang to kill children, to rape women, to kill innocent, to destroy

houses and homes and he has made use of his army. he has resorted and asked for the revolutionary guard, but this is also a failure. militias from iraq and iran and afghanistan, but they have made use of russia. it is quite impossible for someone who killed 300,000 people and made 12 million of his people displaced, it is impossible for him to stay. it is a matter of time and god willing, sooner or later this regime will fall and we will open the way to build the new syria without bashar al-assad.

thank you. >> translation: don't you think the u.n. is to be blamed because of the situation in the middle east and the arab world because it was not serious to apply the resolutions of the security council for the sake of the ash world. >> translation: thank you. i think the u.n., a lot of the u.n. has been implemented at all whether there is resolution to 142 regarding the palestinian issue or the situation regarding lebanon, regarding syria 2216, regarding yemen, 22, 54 regarding syria, i feel sorry to say that the united nations used

to issue resolutions that represented the viewpoints of the member states, but when it comes to how to apply these resolutions we cannot find countries who are quite committed to the resolutions and we have no mechanism in the united nations to force countries to apply resolutions. i think the resolutions that have never been implemented, it's not only in the islamic world, this is the general impression of the whole word. so many resolutions when it comes to logic and understanding, we can say it's not like - it just expresses the will of the security council members of the united nations. resolution are based on what we call the hope of these countries to adopt, particularly those who

have a role to play in complex, to find a way or another to apply. the reality is that we don't have a mechanism in the united nations to impose countries and to force countries to be committed to such resolutions. >> translation: i want to ask about what has been said by syria regarding involvement of saudi arabia in syria. do you think this is a final decision and the syrian foreign minister say what they are on

the border, when do you think the saudi ground forces would arrive? the kingdom of saudi arabia was amongst the very first country to support the coalition to fight i.s.i.l. in syria. saudi arabia has hosted a meeting in 2014. we have invited so many countries from the region and john kerry was also there and we have made it clear to the u.s. secretary of state that the kingdom of saudi arabia is ready to be a part of coalition and some other countries in the region are ready to be part of this campaign of this coalition and the operation started late september 2013 and the saudi war planes have taken a role in this regard.

the kingdom of saudi based in turkey put some of the weapons to be used against i.s.i.l. and saudi arabia was ready to help with the special ground forces in syria if we have a decision to form a ground forces against i.s.i.l. the coalition is led by the u.s., so the timing is not or doesn't depend on us. the timing will depend on the coalition like the u.s. to take a decision to use ground forces in syria. in this case, saudi arabia will be ready to put some special saudi forces to play a role with the other ground forces, but once again, the volume of the forces, the mission and the

timing will be stied later and there is - we will know then what is the mission of the ground forces in syria, what are the requirements needed to help in starting the mission and then i can later tell you how many soldiers will be there. but we have adopted the position of supporting with the special ground forces within the coalition led by the u.s. against i.s.i.l. and we are still waiting we have been listening, then, to the saudi foreign minister and his syrian

counterpart, but it was interesting with the saudi foreign minister had to say with regard to relations with iran because the swiss have offered to host saudi interests in iran and facilitate the travel of iranian pilgrims to saudi arabia for the one part and also, obviously, on the other side, they will then facilitate iranian interests in riyadh. so that's what the swiss have offered. the swiss - there was a question posed as to whether switzerland was offering its mediation services to mediate between saudi arabia and iran and the saudi foreign minister was cat gorical and say there was no need for nemediation at this stage. he said there would be a containing in iranian policy and he listed a host of accusations against iran which he said