reports of heavy fighting in syria despite the cessation of hostilities, but the u.n.'s envoy says he is more optimistic about peace. >> we do have momentum. and the syrian people are det t detecting it themselves. ♪ >> i'm lauren taylor. this is al jazeera live from london. the u.n.'s human rights chief denounces the plan to repel

refugees. ♪ hello. the u.n.'s special envoy to syria has told al jazeera he is more hopeful than he has ever been that peace can be achieved in the war-torn country. ahead of the meeting, he has been speaking to our diplomatic editor, james bayes. >> reporter: this is a crucial moment for syria. it is almost five years since the start of the war. we're almost at two weeks since the start of that cessation of hostilities. it is holding. there have been violations, but also a significant reduction in the violence, and of course, talks between the two main sides are supposed to be taking police here in geneva, so far neither side has turned up for those talks. despite that, the u.n. special

envoy is upbeat. he once described getting peace in syria as almost mission impossible. what does he think the chances are now? >> higher. certainly higher than ever before. for three reasons. the first one we do have a momentum, and we can see it in the syrian people are detecting it themselves. you can ask them and they will tell you that. both on the human side, not enough, but momentum, and then on the cessation of hostilities a reduction in violence. not enough, but moving in that direction. think about what it used to be three weeks ago. the second reason is we do have something that both cofee annan, and his predecessor did not have, some unity at the security council. and three, we have the so-called vienna group. 18 countries from saudi arabia

to iran, from qatar to turkey, from u.s. to russia, sitting in the same room and in theory and so far quite a lot in practice, discussing how to get a political solution, not a military solution in syria. all of that is potentially good news. doesn't mean solution, but potentially it is in the right direction. >> reporter: in our interview to be broadcast on the "talk to al jazeera" program this weekend, the special envoy tells me that he is prepared to discuss the possibility of a federal option in syria, if the syrian parties agree to it, but he says partition of syria, dividing the country completely is not something that is on the table. >> reporter: and you can see the full interview with the u.n. special envoy to syria on "talk to al jazeera" at this time. well, despite the cessation of hostilities, there have been reports of heavy fighting in

syria between government forces and opposition fighters. at least two are reported to have died in duma. government forces also said to attacked another town, taking control of a tv station. elsewhere, russia has been accused of carrying out air strikes on opposition positions in idlib, while targeting isil fighters in palmyra. there have been heavy clashes in palmyra as government forces try to push isil out. they were excluded from the truce. elsewhere in syria, the u.s. backed mainly kurdic syrian defense forces are making gains in the country. bernard smith reports. >> reporter: three weeks ago the syrian defense forces took control of the northeastern city. now they have gained another

2.5,000 square kilometers of land from isil. that's according to u.s. central command. it says the mainly kurdish group now controls 20,000 square kilometers of northern syria. losing the town deprived isil of a strong route. there are also oil and gas fields here. the city was once home to 40,000 people, but many left before the battle began. others fled as u.s.-lead coalition air strikes were called in to prevent isil attempts to take the city back. >> translator: there are those who fled to other towns, some fled to nearby villages. >> reporter: as it retakes ground the syrian defense forces work to create an image of a professional fighting force. here releasing video, showing the help it has offered to an isil fighter. the u.s. government believes the

sdf has the most effective fighters on the ground against isil in syria, but not every anti-isil, and onty syrian government group is an automatic ally. here fighters from the free syrian army targeted an sdf vehicle. it is because some fsa groups say they are suspicious of the kurdest long-term ambitions for the territory they control. bernard smith, al jazeera. ♪ germany's federal criminal police say they have obtained files containing personal information about isil fighters, and believe them to be authentic. it gives real names, where they are from, telephone numbers, and even names of those who sponsored and recruited them. dominic kane reports from berlin. >> reporter: the developments regarding these documents that

apparently refer to want to be aspiration members of the islamic state of the levant and iraq, first emerged on monday. they are working to determine if they are legitimate. if genuine they were required to give detailed information about themselves, personal identification data and their apparent skill sets, attributes for joining the organization that clearly the officials in the intel gefrs services and the police services in germany are very keen to make whatever use they can of this information, because it is understood that new sources say that individuals from perhaps as many as 50 countries are implemented in these documents. and if officers are able to track down individuals who

traveled to iraq and syria, to work, fight with isil, in iraq and syria, and who are looking to return to this country and the european union, then it will be very useful for policing and intelligence services to access whatever data that can perhaps to try to intercept these individuals before they can do anything in any european union. that's the spectertive that the police services have with regard to this matter, and they hope they will be able to use this data to their utmost potential. a senior fellow at a london think tank who specializes in radicalization. >> first of all there is a lot of biodata in terms of who these people are. you have had details of names, dates of birth, blood type, et cetera. secondly, in terms of, i guess, there are -- for example, there are mentions of who are the

people who has recommended them; who has given them [ inaudible ] or vouched for their validity so to speak. so there will be evidence of things like networks that may be determined, recruiters in the area, and as -- you know, we have hear from different countries, the germans, dutches, and experts here in the u.k., whether the documents are deliberately leaked or whether they have been, you know, leaked by people who are defectors, the information is correlated with lots of other data we have already. so for security personnel and analysts i think there is a lot of information there. thousand of hostages held by isil have been freed. the city was taken back from isil in december. iraqi officials say a government-backed armed group spearheaded the fight.

the u.n.'s most senior human rights if i recall has accused europe of violating the fundamental principals of solidarity, human dignity, and human rights in what he called the race to repel refugees. he warned plans to return migrants to turkey may be illegal. >> among my concerns is the potential for collective and arbitrary expulses, which are illegal. border restrictions, which do not permit determination of the circumstances of each individual, violate international and european law. >> despite the balkans route being closed for refugees, more attempt the dangerous crossing from turkey to greece. at least five people, including a baby drowned when their boat capsized. the ever-increasing number making the crossing has lead to 13,000 being stuck at the border

from where hoda abdel hamid sent this update. >> reporter: yesterday we were calling it appalling, today there is no word to describe it. it might look like there are less tents. what happened is the tents were sinking in the mud, so we say a lot of people move them and they relocated on the gravel between the rail tracks. many people are still trying to come to terms with the fact that the borders are closed. they are trying to figure out what are their options, but after waiting for so long under these very hard conditions, they also find themselves in a very vulnerable situation. many told us they have run completely out of money, and they have no other option at the moment than to wait to speak to the u.n. who would relocate them somewhere else in the country. those who have money, a tiny minority, did take buses that will go back to athens, but once

they arrive there, they are on their own. this morning i was walking around and saying hello to people i knew already. and they couldn't hold their tears. they said they have reached a level of humiliation that they never expected. specifically because they thought that once they were in europe, things would get easier for them. footage has emerged allegedly showing a israeli security forces shooting a palestinian man lying on the ground. the palestinian man was suspected of killing an american tourist and stabbing several others in tel-aviv on tuesday. a senior fat ta official and ambassador at large for the state of palestinian. he says he is not surprised by what the video appears to show. >> this is what we experience and live on a daily basis. this is not a revelation for us. number one israel from its inception has a security

doctrine of excessive use of force, of terrorizing the nation, of trying to inflict its political agenda via the use of disproportionate power. if we shout, they shoot. if we throw a stone, they break bones. if a bullet is fired, they bring their apaches and f-16s. what would justify the firing of almost 50 bullets of the laying body of a young boy except that mentality of shoot to kill and making sure that this person has died. it has nothing to do with continuement or rules of engagement or the threat of this individual or that, it's just a revenge, and that revenge is very well rooted in the hatred, and we in palestinian have also witnessed the victimizer, i.e., israel, hate the victim, more than the victims hate the

victimizer. >> a chief inspector with israeli police rejects claims that the officers use disproportionate force. >> the israeli police are responsible for saving innocent lives by people walking through the streets that are being stabbed by palestinian terrorists, who are stabbing and looking to kill israelis and our police officers on the front lines. that is unacceptable. and there has to be a fast and rapid response by our police officers. if there are attacks anywhere across europe, if there would be attacks in the united states in public areas, in main cities, you would expect for every police officer to react in the same way. and therefore, our police officers are responsibility, but at the same time, of course, all incidents are looked into and examined as well. still to come on al jazeera. friends reunited the canadian prime minister is hosted at the white house for the first time

in nearly two decades. plus choosing myanmar's next president, why the women who lead her party to election victory isn't in the running. ♪

htin kyaw. w. ♪ hello again a reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. despite alleged truce violations any u.n. special envoy to syria has said he is more hopeful than he has ever been that peace can be achieved in syria. five people including a baby have drowned trying to reach greece from turkey.

and an israeli security official who alleged shot dead a palestinian murder suspect while laying on the ground. the next secretary general of the arab league has been appointed. his predecessor served in the transitional government after the 2011 uprising in egypt. just continue trudeau is on a three-day visit to the u.s. he has been welcomed to the white house where he is the first canadian leader in 19 years to be honored by a state dinner. ties suffered during the rule of his predecessor. >> your election and first few months in office have brought an

excitement. and i have to say i have never seen so many americans so excited about the visit of a canadian prime minister. [ cheers and applause ] >> the president and i have announced today that we'll take ambitious action to reduce methane emissions nearly by half from the oil and gas sector, reduce use and emissions of carbons, and implement aligned greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy duty vehicles amongst other plans to fight climate change. tom akerman was at the ceremony. >> reporter: this visit comes in the waning months, just ten months left to the end of the obama administration, and no one knows who his successful might be. and that question came up, sort of anticipated by trudeau, saying that relations would continue to be maintained with the -- with washington no matter who the next president is, but in a followup, in a news

conference when the question of republican presidential candidate donald trump came up, a man who has been outspoken about his relationship at least with mexico, his hostile relationship with mexico, trudeau maintained a diplomatic dodge, let us say, while obama used the occasion to rail about -- what he called the circus that people are observing in the american presidential campaign. >> a man has been charged for punching a protester at a donald trump election rally. the protester was hit in the face as he was escorted from the rally in north carolina. he was then forcibly restrained and arrested by police. but authorities have since charged a 78-year-old man with assault and battery. the united states ambassador to the u.n. has criticized the organization for not taking quick enough action over allegations of sexual abuse by

its peace keepers. a recent report shows a sharp rise in allegations of abuse, from 52 to 69 last year. the u.s. has put forward a draft proposal which calls for the repatriation of peace keepers if no move is made by their country to investigation serious allegations. >> let me pose the question this way to the skeptics, when governments attack civilians, it is our job. when armed groups, non-state actors attack civilians, it is our job. when terrorists attack civilians, it is our job. so why in the world when the u.n.'s own peace keepers are the ones attacking civilians, when peace keepers commit the sickening crime of raping children is it someone else's job? explain that. masked men have attacked

foreign and local journalists and rights activists in southern russia. they were forced to leave their mini bus as they tried to enter the area of chechnya. rory challands has more from moscow. >> reporter: six journalists, two human rights workers, and their driver were in their mini bus when it was forced off of the road. about 15 masked men then stole equipment, and beat them with bats. it seems the norwegian got the woes worst of it, though none of the injuries, it seems are life threatening. then later on wednesday evening, the office of the committee to prevent torture, the human rights group, was raided by more masked men. underscores this recent attack, how dangerous it can being a journalist or human rights worker in parts of russia.

the kremlin has called the assault outrageous, and the commissioner for human rights has called on russia to make sure that it is properly prosecutions. but in many ways this region seems to operate outside of russia's normal frameworks. it has been calling journalists enemies of the people, jackels, behavior that hasn't been noticeably condemned by the kremlin. and they have pushed back against the accusation that this latest attack has anything to do with the arguably incendiary language, or it that it has anything to do with them at all. >> aung san suu kyi may have lead her party to victory in the election, but she won't become the next president, the constitution won't allow it

because her children have foreign pass ports. >> reporter: this was another important step in myanmar's transition to democracy. members of parliament gathered in the capitol to hear nominations for the next president. >> translator: i'm happy because the hope for our country starts here, hope for myanmar citizens starts from today too. that's why i'm excited. >> reporter: aung san suu kyi lead her national league for democracy party to a big win in november's election, but under the military-drafted constitution, she is barred from becoming president. negotiations to change the rules failed amid signs that political transition is not going smoothly. but the next president will come from the nld, because it dominates both houses of parliament. the favorite is the higher house's nominee, htin, kyaw, a

trusted loyal friend of the party leader. in fact it is believed there will be another push for constitutional amendments within the next year, but to achieve that, relations with the military will need to improve significantly. and whoever is elected by members of parliament next week will have to be someone who is happy to stand aside, and allow, suu kyi to take over. >> i hope she will be president after the amendment of the constitution, 2008 constitution. we have to try to amend this constitution with full force. >> reporter: the military will also nominate a presidential candidate and the two unsuccessful nominees after the vote will become vice presidents. wayne haye, al jazeera. the european central bank has surprised markets by cutting all three of its interest rates, and expanding its asset-buying

program. it cut its main rate to zero. the aim is to boost the economy, and to stop ultra low inflation from becoming entrenched. one of the brightest minds, and they site einstein as inspirati inspiration. efforts are being made to nuture the big thinkers of africa. nicklas hawk reports from senegal. >> reporter: this man sees the world in numbers. he believes everything from the universe so the decisions fisher intake out in the ocean have a mathematic equation.

>> what inspired me about einstein was his ability to equation everything, to try to have another way of looking at everything. try not to say okay there is a universal truth in a sense. >> reporter: he works at the african institute of mathematical sciences. top academics, including nobel laureates, teach african students who can't afford to go to mit or harvest, but are just as bright. sol spent his childhood hungry, staring at the sky. >> believe you me, we are going to make better things, and yes, more of [ inaudible ] and in the [ inaudible ] is going to come from here. i will share that idea.

just wait and see. [ laughter ] >> they have started the next einstein forum. organizers of this forum seek to address what it calls research discrimination. they say there is much african research with plenty of findings but the work is often overlooked just because it comes from the continent. 17 einstein fellows, are sharing their innovation with top policy makers, business leaders, and academ academics. >> it's something the world has totally overlooked, you know, $1 trillion has been spent over the last few decades in aid to africa. almost none of it on generating expertise in africa to design and implement its own solution, and we have seen the

consequence, solutions from outside don't work. >> reporter: for sol being an einstein fellow is an opportunity of being part of something bigger. he hopes his mathematical skills may some day unlock the deepest mysteries of this world and its untapped resources. a palestinian woman who teaches non-violence to her primary students, has been short-listed for the world's best teacher prize. she is one of ten finalists picked from 8,000 nominees for the teaching accolade. the winner of the award, and the million dollars prize will be announced on sunday. >> translator: i am not only a school teacher, i work as an educational supervisor and a psychologist, to try to change the behavior of the students and the psychological difficulties they suffer from this i develop their ethics and values in the

beginning, and then teach them new knowledge. this is why i'm a finalist. plenty more stories for you at anytime on our website. the address for that is aljazeera.com. and you can also watch us live by clicking on the watch-now icon. the address again, aljazeera.com. ♪ >> about the fact that human beings could heal themselves. >> offering insights about coping with fear and anxiety. >> stress is the perception. i like to think of stress like waves on the ocean. if you're a skillful surfer then every was