on the move. aid is finally on its way into some besieged towns and villages in syria. ♪ hello, you are watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up, china is accused of deploying an advanced weapons system to disputed islands in the south china sea. thousands demonstrate in kosovo, telling the government to resign. and we report from northern myanmar where a national ceasefire is having little effect. ♪

aid trucks have started to move towards besieged towns and villages in syria. there are more than a hundred vehicles loaded with food, water, and medical relief. the humanitarian operation comes after the syrian government agreed to allow further aid in to help people who are stranded and starving as the violence intensifies. the truck spent most of wednesday waiting for the go ahead to start moving. the they have trucks heading to the south to four towns. 29 trucks are heading to idlib province, and two other villages encircled by rebel forces. further aid is to be sent to a town surrounded by isil. aid has previously only made it there by air drop. zana hoda joins us live now.

zana what are we hearing about the movement of aid trucks? >> reporter: well, there they are on their way to these besieged areas like you mentioned following a deal late yesterday, undoubtedly progress, especially for the thousands of people who are trapped in these areas. you mentioned that some of these areas are government controlled and besieged by rebels, other areas are rebel controlled besieged by government. and among them is madaya, and in madaya since october more than 40 people have died, and since the last aid delivery in january, 16 people have died. so activists welcoming this, but saying this is not enough. we need an open humanitarian corridor. we need sustained aid deliveries, but undoubtedly they are welcoming this. but the agreement involves seven besieged areas, including 18 besieged communities.

and this is why the opposition is asking a question, why does the government only allow aid to reach areas where there is some sort of local truce, or an area where rebels have surrendered. they are not allowing aid into active conflict voens, like in homs where the u.n. says more than 120,000 people risk starvation and illnesses because of the lack of supplies. many in the opposition accuse the syrian government of using this tactic, laying siege, and starving people to force them into submission and surrender. >> reporter: the other thing we're watching is the possibility of a cessation of hostilities perhaps looking bleaker by the end of this week, at a time when we know that bombardment has been intensifying zania. >> reporter: yes, the war on the ground continuing, a pause in the fighting highly unlikely at

this moment. we understand the international task group charged with trying to implement a cessation of hoes illties on the ground will hold their first meeting on friday, but this is going to be very difficult, because in the initial agreement, we heard the rebel commander say there is a loophole. russian air strikes will continue because of this deal, because of the very fact like isil and the al-nusra front are not included, means that russia can use their presence on the ground, really, as a pretext to target the moderate opposition. we heard the syrian president say everyone who carries a gun is a terrorist for us. a highly divisive issue is the international agreed list on who is a terrorist and who is not. they need to agree on this list in order for it the cessation of hostilities to be implemented on the ground, but many will tell you, that what the government is

trying to do is change the balance of power on the ground to find a military solution to this conflict, and they are not interested in a political settlement or a negotiated deal. >> thank you very much, zana hoda. ♪ u.n. says it is concerned about hundreds of civilians who have been stranded by fighting in the north of iraq. more than 500 sunni arabs are stuck here any town of sin ja jar. our force has more from baghdad. >> reporter: there's dire and very desperate situation has been going on since december. what happened in november is the coalition and kurdish forces took control of sinjar mountain. sunni arab families fled, at least 559 sunny arabs were then

stuck in this no man's land. now they haven't been allowed to leave. there have been negotiations that have gone on between sunni arabs and the kurdish forces, but they haven't been able to cross into safe territory. we have been told unishlally and very privately is that a lot of the kurds see the sunni arabs as siding with isil. but the sunni arabs they are being bombed by isil. and it is becoming a very desperate situation at least two women and two children have died as a result of starvation. it just goes to show you that there is real suspicion of sunni

ararabs. a lot of the kurds simply don't trust them. they are saying they are isil fighters in disguise, and the sunni arabs say they just want to get to safety. a proposal by four major oil producing countries to cap output has been rejected by iran. tehran inning tends to increase crude exports to their previous level. on tuesday, russia, saudi arabia, qatar, and venezuela agreed to cap their out put at january levels, but only if other big producers did the same. u.s. secretary of state john kerry has increased china's increased militarization of the south china sea.

this previous satellite image of woody island, shows considerable development by china, including a runway. the island is part of a chain that has been under chinese control for more than 40 years, but is also claimed by taiwan and vietnam. they also lay claim to two other islands which it says falls into its territory area. harry fawcett reports from seoul. >> reporter: woody island has been in beijing's hands since 1974. in 2012 china formally declared a city on this tiny speck of land, home to more than a thousand people. now according to taiwan, which claims the island along with vietnam, it is also home to two advanced surface to mistile batteries. china's foreign minister blamed

the western media's appetite for creating news stories, but didn't deny that the reports were true. >> translator: as for the limited and necessary self-defense facilities that china has built, this is consistent with self protection and preservation that china is entitled to under international law. >> reporter: for what china sees as self-defense, the u.s. sees as military aggression. president obama has promised more pressure. >> i think it is clear that this is part of a trajectory towards china preparing these islands for possible deployment of military fighters or missiles, and this has been the great fear in washington, that this would deny these areas of the ability of u.s. navy ships and other navy ships to deploy freely

without the threat of the use of force. >> reporter: taiwan's president elect is due to take office in may with a mandate to cool recently improved relations with beijing. she has called for self restrain. j -- japan issued a stronger rebuke. >> translator: they are building bases in the region and utilizing them for military purposes. we have deep concerns and want to reemphasize that japan cannot accept this. >> reporter: the tensions extend here to the korean pence la as well. after north korea's recent nuclear test and rocket launch, the u.s. is in talking with south korea about deploying a anti-missile system here in south korea. that is something that beijing is opposed to, seeing it as a direct threat to its own

interests. seoul and washington want to pressure china to reign in its influence over pyongyang. this is a show of force that will have been noted just as much by the leadership in beijing. harry fawcett, al jazeera, seoul. still to come for you on aljazz, now the boom in car numbers in china leading to this. [ screaming ] we'll tell you what is being donetsk to fight the road rage epidemic. also pope francis is angered as he is pulled into a crowd during his visit to mexico.

♪ welcome back. you are watching al jazeera, a recap of the top stories now. more than a hundred trucks, loaded with food, water, and medical aid has started to move towards besieged towns and villages in syria. meanwhile the u.n. says it is concerned about hundreds of a sunni iraqis stranded by fighting in northern iraq. they don't have access to fresh food or drinking water. and taiwan has accused china of deploying surface to air missiles on woody island, a disputed bit of land in the south china sea. libyans are marking five years since their revolution began. there have been rallies to

celebrate, but the country remains divided between militias and two rival governments. thousands of people have gathered in kosovo's capitol, demanding the government resign, and opposition mp's have been disrupting parliament since october of last year. it comes as they mark eight years since declaring independence from serbia. so tell us a bit more about why these protesters are out in force, and what they want the government to do. >> reporter: well, another opposition protest here is over, and even though there were more than 15,000 people here, according to police sources, the area was cleared out in a matter of minutes, but the demands remain. the opposition representatives, and people gathering here are asking for the immediate resignation from the prime minister and the foreign minister. the other one is actually also

the presidential candidate here in the kosovo parliament in two days. that is why the opposition has scheduled another meeting here in front of the kosovo government building in two days, and they are organizing another, as they say, big protest in ten days. the main reason for the protests in the last several months, is the agreement with serbia that was reached in april 2013, and it was facilitated by the european union. the other agreement was also reached in 2015, and that agree between kosovo and serbia is aiming at organizing association of the municipalities with the serbian ethnic majority. people who are gathering here are saying it is unconstitutional, and the constitutional court declared that some parts of that agreement are unconstitutional. they are saying that it is allowing serbia to interfere into internal affairs of the

kosovo. and they were not only people voting for the opposition parties here during the day. many people just were in the streets to celebrate the independence day, and then just stayed in the opposition rally, because they are on the same stance with the opposition. many people are actually opposing to the establishment of the serbian municipality association here in kosovo. >> all right. thank you very much. bringing us the latest on protests in kosovo. thank you. myanmar's newly elected parliament is trying to agree to ceasefires with a number of rebel groups. the outgoing government signed what it called a nation wise ceasefire agreement, but didn't involve more than half of the armed groups. wayne haye has been given rare access to one of the armed

groups heavily involved in the latest fighting. rrm soldiers from the myanmar army stand triumphantly on the ridge. their enemy has been pushed deeper into the forest, for now. the people fled when the gunfire started. a new men stayed behind, and they accused the rebels who came here of looting their homes. >> translator: i have never seen this before. in the past there has been fighting, but i haven't seen a situation like this. >> reporter: on this occasion the enemy was the national liberation army. which denies any wrongdoing, and says it is the one under attack. it's a rebel group fighting for control of parts of myanmar's northern state. >> woe are not asking for cessation, we are not asking for independence, we would like to build a real [ inaudible ] in

burma, with other national ethmoiditis. >> reporter: their mights are usually against the government, but lately it has been increasingly against a larger force. the tnla wasn't invited to sign a ceasefire agreement with the outgoing government last year. it believes groups that did sign are now being backed by government forces. they say government troops tried to take this key from them. they say they killed many enemy soldiers and buried them here. now those on the front lines are looking to the new government. >> we need to -- to develop our country, in a short time, so if we cannot stop this peace problem, and then we cannot make -- we cannot develop our country. >> reporter: but the groups have a deep mistrust of the myanmar

army, and they believe peace is a long way off. >> we are worried that the burma military leaders, they might create a lot of problem -- a lot of violence to our country. to make it difficult for [ inaudible ] the country. >> reporter: old alliances are being tested more than ever in this divided area, where instead of a ceasefire, many solders are preparing for a major fight. wayne haye, al jazeera, myanmar. >> reporter: nearly 4,000 people are known to have drowned in the mediterranean trying to reach europe. many are unidentified. but there are others who were never found. john psaropoulos reports from the greek island. >> reporter: the girl was lying face down in the pebbles, the palms of her hands were so white, this worker thought she was wearing gloves.

she was 10 or 11 years old. 30 kilometers down the coast a woman was later found bobbing in the water. possibly from the same wreck. >> translator: we found a woman, age 25 to 35 in a state of decay. she was completely naked. she had her arms and legs, but her face was missing there was no skin or flesh, just skull. >> reporter: the bodies with among more than 160 found in greek and turkish waters this year. this island sits across the north winds that predominate here, so it acts as a net for bodies stirred up from the depths. jury kish fruit juices, anti-nausea pills, and the life vest that didn't save those that wore them are still on the beaches. some dead are found, identified, and shipped home for burial. some are listed as missing but never found. some are found but remain

unidentified like the girl who washed up on this beach. and there are those who are never sought and never found, the sea has simply claimed them without a trace. >> reporter: along the mediterranean people have long spoken of the drowned as being eaten by fish. >> translator: we have a serious problem with this. many of my customers won't eat fish because of this. other fishermen have told me the same. >> reporter: these unmarked graves mark the final resting place for a young girl, two men in their 20s, and the woman who's only distinguishing marks were five gold bracelets buried with her. all that remains are dna samples that may one day tell their families what happened to them. >> i will never forget this. she was wearing a pair of pink sweat pant pants with a mickey mouse patch a on the thigh, white boots and a pink overcoat,

and herb facial features were not visible, had been lost to the sea. >> reporter: this is all we know about one little girl. she is among the unnamed dead. john psaropoulos, al jazeera. pope francis has shown his frustration at one member of a crowd during his visit to mexico. as he greeted well wishers he was knocked off balance by an overenthusiastic member of the crowd, almost falling on a person in a wheelchair. the pontiff told the person who told him, not to be selfish. >> reporter: and pope francis is now on his way to juarez on the border with the united states. for years the city was one of the most dangerous places on earth. as adam raney reports. >> reporter: this is how this father tries to lift the spirit of kids in this poor neighborhood. the daily workouts keep them off

of the streets. and while the streets are somewhat safer than a few years ago, they still offer few opportunities. >> translator: these places are full of young people, young people that don't go to school, don't have a job, or work on the border factories for a low wage. i think we have a lot of work to do, neither the church, me includes, nor the government is doing enough for them. >> reporter: there is still much to be done, but for the police the first step was taking back control of the city. in 2010 more than 3,000 people were killed in juarez, last year, just over 300 were killed. the lowest number in a decade. in fact it is now safer than some american cities. the police chief says the key to this happening was the removal of corrupt police and improved tactics. >> translator: the visit from his holiness is important because it shows the world that this place has changed. >> reporter: and by ending his

trip here, pope francis is able to come right up to the u.s. border and be very critical of immigration policies in the united states. thousands have died crossing the desert from mexico into the u.s., and we'll end his trip by saying a prayer here for migrants. pain of loss is still seen and felt throughout juarez, a waive of abductions and killing of women has marked this area. this woman's daughter was kidnapped and forced into the sex trade. and was found dead in a mass grave. >> translator: every day when i take my children to school, i am just hoping to pick them up and find them there. >> reporter: memories of the darkest days are fading for some. they are embracing what feels like a new juarez. >> five years ago this city was very lonely, sad.

now as you can see, it has crowds all over the place. >> reporter: adam raney, al jazeera, juarez. apple is refusing to comply with a u.s. judge's order to unlock an iphone. the fbi is investigating any possible links between this woman and isil. the pair shot and killed 14 people. apple's ceo says agreeing to the order would set a precedent. this man says if apple is forced to break into its iphone it could be a master key that could be used on millions of other phones. >> we don't create precedent based on circumstances. we base it on legislation. congress has been considering this, and they have not put forth legislation to do this. the white house has been considering this, and they have

proactively decided not to put forth legislation requiring companies to do this. there is no case creating precedent that allows fbi to ask this. they are citing a law from 1789, in asking apple to do this. and yes, the precedent is terrible. we all wan the victims of san bernardino to receive justice, but we have to create a balance when we consider what we're willing to do and how we protect the rule of law to make sure that the privacy and security of all users around the world are protected going forward. china's roads are some of the most congested in the world, and that has lead to an increasing problem with road rage. as adrian brown reports. >> reporter: just 25 years ago, bikes still outnumbered cars on beijing's roads. today the city's traffic jams are among the worst in the world. and this is the consequence.

road rage. police say they investigated more than 17 million cases last year, helped by the surveillance cameras that seemed to be everywhere in today's china. many cars are now fitted with dashboard cameras, capturing in often startling detail what would once have seemed unthinkable. [ screaming ] >> hold. okay. seat belt is on. >> reporter: this man is on a drive to change that. inspired by his expenses living in britain, he set up a volunteer organization to teach driving driving etiquette. >> i think back to u.k. the drivers are very good. and the driver have very good quality of driving skills. >> reporter: he has signed up more than 600 volunteers. this is the latest recruit, now

dedicated like the others to helping build a better civic society. >> road rage, i think has happened because in china we have so many drivers, so many people. some of them, and -- cause some problem with their [ inaudible ]. i think that's true. >> reporter: china's economy may be in the slow lane, but the number of cars continues to accelerate. government statistics show that in 2015 car ownership soared by 20% to more than 110 million cars makes wide. the good driver logo is proudly displayed on all of the volunteers' cars. but if the good samaritans do see a fight, they don't interfere, instead they are trained in first aid, and equipped with rescue gear to help drivers in distress. he is still hopeful his

volunteer group is setting an example that will eventually be taken up nationwide. more on that story and everything else we're covering right here, the address is aljazeera.com. you'll find comment analysis and video on demand there as well. ♪ ♪ apple is refusing a court order to hack an iphone used by one of the san bernardino, california shooters. hours after president obama calls for the south china sea to be demilitarized, beijing sends missiles to a disputed island. and pope francis making a police statement with a visit to the u.s.-mexican border. ♪