protesters have fill the streets of self-brazilian cities-- several brazilian cities. rousseff has announced lula da silva, an appointment shielding him from approximate. - shall approximate. >> reporter: others-- the appointment of meant to restore public trust, but it has done the opposite. lula da silva who is credited lifting many out of poverty is

now charged money laundering in relation to petrobras. taking the position saves him from prosecution. >> translation: i am sorry. he is coming. we're going to look at returning to growth and controlling inflation. >> reporter: sharlt after she said that a federal judge who was leading a wide corruption investigation released details of a conversation between dilma rousseff and lula da silva. he had been tapped by federal polic police. >> reporter: although she and lula da silva have denied allegations of wrongdoing,

demonstrators say they've had enough. not just of politicians, but of the entire system of deep-rooted corruption. corruption investigation into petrobras has been ongoing for two years. it has brought down 100 business people and politicians. this has been insisted that she is doing what's best for brazil. many people don't agree. some politicians are already leaving the rule coalition government. brazil is the in the midst of the worst recession it has seen in decades. they feel her leadership isn't confident enough to lead them out regional and international powers are waiting to see when the three kurdish controlled aergs of northern syria-- areas of northern syria will be divide. the announcement was imminent

that they would form a federation. the move has alarmed neighboring turkey and drawn criticism from both the syrian government and the opposition. >> reporter: the syrian border town of kabani was almost taken by i.s.i.l. that victory was crucial for the system in the political wing control which would stretch all the way to the border with iraq. there is evidence here of support for the y.p.g. in the conditions that people live, it is just as much backing for kurdish economy. >> translation: i support it. kurds are also people. they deserve to have a home. nobody recognises us. they hit ut wherever we are. >> reporter: now the kurds across the border have stolen the initiative. >> reporter: it is the timing on this, not only just day three of the geneva, even though they

weren't invited, managed to insert themselves back into the talks, the announcement comes just a few days before the kurdish new year on march 21. could it be that the kurds want to announce autonomy in syria as part of the new year celebrations the proposals have immediately come across opposition from many sides in aleppo many said partitioning off the kurdish area went entirely against the aims of the revolution as being one syria for all respectivive of ethnicity or religion. >> translation: this announcement is a tyranny. they are a group on the terrorist list. this is just like i.s.i.l. announcing a caliphate. >> translation: this is really bad. the occurred are making themselves enemies of the syrian revolution. they're part of the syrian people like everyone else what is they say they want their own state. it is unacceptable >> reporter: the delegation is

holding these talks and trying to offset these arguments by claiming their block would be a home for turks as well. nor once the people of aleppo and the governments in damascus an ankara have something to agree about, they all insist that partitioning syria is a mistake which could make things worse than they have been the u.s. has added its voice against the idea for kurdish awe tonne most region. the state department says it would be a threat to syria's reunification >> we won't recognise any self-rule semiautonomous jones in syria. the broader question ask, as i said, really this is something that needs to be discussed and

agreed upon by the relevant parties in geneva the u.s. secretary of state has told his russian counterpart that the need for a political transition in syria is urgent. john kerry spoke to lavrov on the phone and emphasised the importance of maintaining the limited truce. their latest call took place as representatives of the syrian government and main opposition attend talks in geneva. our diplomatic james bays to join us. set the scene and tell us what's expected later on thursday? >> reporter: we're continuing these proximity talks. so it was the government side that was here 24 hours ago, although there were in the afternoon here some other invite ees from the opposition who are not part of the main opposition block, but in the main hours it is the main opposition block who are back here for the talks.

it's not just that meeting that is important, because if you remember some of the key issues, not being dealt with in the main talks, they're being dealt with by two separate task forces that have been set up. i think here those task fors in the next hour or so thereby fresh pressure on the syrian government. not only is the syrian government feeling the pressure because of that pull out, but you have the esation of hostilities that has-- - cessation of hostilities going on. the main invite lator is the-- violator is the syrian government. think will come under pressure in the task force on that. i think they will come under pressure in the other task force on humanitarian affairs because again it is being said the syrian government is the one not doing its bit, letting supplies in certain areas. nothing has gone in despite this

task force being set up some weeks ago now. again, the syrian government under pressure there. then there's a third area that was laid out in the u.n. security council resolution that set out this process that had to happen before the talks took place and nothing has happened and, again, i think the pressure is on the government. that's with regard to detainees, particularly women and children being held by the government in their cells. we understand in staffan de mistura, the mediator, he is adding that task, a third way that the government is coming under pressure thank you for that update. the kurdistan freedom falcons or t a.k. have claimed responsibility for a car bombing in the turkish capital on sunday. that explosion at a busy transport hub killed 37 people. the p a.k. made the announcement

on their website saying their attack was in retaliation to a security crackdown by the kurdish government in kurdish areas. a splinter group of the kurdistan workers party also in turkey, bee understand the consulate in istanbul has been closed over security concerns. in south africa opposition party is calling for a judicial inquiry into the president's relationship with a wealthy family. the finance minister admitted that he offered a promotion to become finance minister by a member of the goupta family. they're said to have pressure with the president. our correspondent joins us, a political editor with the radio station power f m. tell us how the allegations are

being received. it is important to note that the guptas are describing these as totally false. >> i can tell you overnight working for a local radio station they have expressed their complete an dper and shock at what has transpired. it is not the first time we've heard about these very series allegations about an influential business familiar. the guptas coming out to say they have huge influence in the state. as they debate the refreshings c kroshgs olonisation, we're seeing it's not the president who is using his own progressive to appoint-- prerogative, but handing that over to his power who are the gupas. this comes as in a time when the country depose to a local

election but also an international rating agency moodys is in the country as we speak deciding whether to down grade us to junk status > [indistinct] what will happen there? do you expect any sort of drastic measures to be taken and how far are they willing to go especially considering that this is an election year in south afri africa? >> let's not forget that it was in 2008, around september that year, that the anc decided to recall former president and those conversations are currently happening in the country in the build up to this big meeting of the national executive. the last time the president faced his national executive in the ruling party 85% of that rule supported him even though

they're discussing matters, the majority of the national executive in the country comes from the executive meaning there's little room for them to be held accountable. party leaders are coming out to say under the president we're seeing an mafia state and how the anc responds to the dilemma will chart the course for the anc, old liberation movement as well as the future of the country and like i said again, this happens under the watchful eye of moodys, an international rating agency in the country assessing whether we should be downgraded if we are downgraded, we may go into economic recession and it may take us up to five years to get out of it we thank you for speaking to us for johannesburg. lots more coming up on al

jazeera including angry protests in morocco over comments by the u.n. secretary general. plus find ou how the u.k. is trying to kick its sugary habit. bit.

the top stories on al jazeera. nationwide protests against brazil's presidential after shia pointed her predecessor to a post.

post post. the t a.k. have claimed responsibility for a car bombing in the turkish capital on sunday which left 37 people dead. the t a.k. is a break-away group of the kurdistan workers party that has long fought against the turkish government. in south africa opposition parties are calling for a judicial inquiry into the president's relationship with a wealthy family. the deputy finance member admitted that he was offered a promotion to become finance minister by a member of the gupta family. syria's war has been ranging for five years. it has killed more than a quarter of a million people. it has caused a refugee crisis that the u.n. has said is the worst of all time. some of the images in the next report may be disturbing. >> reporter: there is an anonymity in greece and despair

when you're just one among hundreds of thousands >> i'm not a tourist. this is not tourist. we are humans. where is the humanity. >> reporter: then occasionally there are moments when the world does want to know your name. this mass forced migration is a result of the five-year war in syria. a war with many different allegiances. on the ground and beyond syria's borders. three and a half years ago the man who first tried to resolve the conflict resigned and had this to say. >> at the time when we need, when the syrian people are desperately need action, there continues to be finger pointing and name calling in the security council. >> reporter: that hasn't changed. no-one seems to be able to find common ground on how to end this war. everyone has their own interests. so-called red lines were crossed. ist first hand accounts for humanitarian organizations on the ground.

these all strongly indicate that everything, these images screaming at us are real. the chemical weapons were used in syria. >> reporter: syria's civilization has been described as one of the most ancient in the world, full of treasures, some that have survived for almost 2000 years t parts of it now no completely destroyed. entire communities forced to leave not just their homes, but their country. nobody wants to be a refugee and there is little international appetite to find a home for the constant flow of syrians fleeing from this war. their future is vulnerable and uncertain. they all say they long to go home, but nobody knows when that will come and what syria will look like when it final does the saudi-led military operation in yemen may soon be winding down. a spokesman for the coalition said they will focus on

destabilization and reconstruction. it wasn't specified when the bombing mission will be complete. the u.n. estimating that since it began almost 6,000 people have been killed by the strikes and in-fighting. leaders from the e.u. and turkey will meet later on thursday to try to finalise ace deal that they hope will solve the refugees crisis. the post controversial proposal is to send new refugees arriving in greece back to turkey. for each migrant returned, one syrian asylum seeker will be settled in the e.u. for return turkey is having the amount e.u. provides is doubled. they want visa travel to be provided. it won't make much difference to those stranded in greece. thousands who are stuck at the greek macedonian border have

broken out in fights after aid trucks of food and clothes arrived. nearly 14,000 refugees remain at the camp and a volunteer with hope for children says it's difficult to make sure everyone has enough aid to survive >> we tried to do our best, but also it is important to don't give the supplies in the same time for all the people because there is not enough. it may be that the people that really needs cannot reach these things. so these people are already hamper there is a massive protest in more owe could. ban ki-moon says that the territory is under "occupation".

our correspondent has the latest from the u.n. headquarters in new york. >> reporter: u.n. secretary jern ban ki-moon said the sahara is in occupation. as a result, morocco says it intends to remove its civilians presence in the u.n. western submission, stopping helping fund it and reconsider all of its other peace-keeping operations >> the secretary general crossed a red line and it's a parlance that hasn't been used by him before. it has not been used by united nations security council. ou nighted nation $and the secretary general are supposed to be impartial in this conflict. >> reporter: hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the street angry with what they said was banned, perceived lack of impartiality.

>> we move to a more constructive relationship. we will have to deal with the decisions they've taken. the secretary general said what he said. he does not walk away from it. he expressed through what i said yesterday, expressed regret that there was a misunderstanding over the use of the word. >> reporter: the secretary general also no longer plans to visit morocco in the near future as previously announced. he took most over-- morocco took over this area in 1975. it fought a local independence movement until a u.n. brokered ceasefire in 1991. a key part of that settlement was a referendum on self determination. now backed by u.n. security council member, the moroccans say they're only able to offer

autonomy. >> translation: there will be no peace and no stability in the region as long as the people are denied the right to determination and independence. >> reporter: for decade a humanitarian emergency has unfolded in the area with little attention. some here wonder whether ban had enough in his final year in his position of secretary general washington dc's metro rail system will start up again on thursday after being completely shut down for security checks. many workers were scrambling for buses, taxis and bicycles. >> reporter: hundreds of rail cars serving the washington area's 91 metro stations idle as workers inspect all the cables supplying power to the trains after a tunnel fire raised safety concerns.

it's the first non-rertd related incident since it opened. it has forced 7,000 commuters to search for further transportation. all in all the situation might have been a lot worse because all nonemergency government workers were ofrdz the option of taking this as an unscheduled leave day or working from home. the systems passengers have become accustomed to chronic breakdowns >> it's not the worst but it's not the best either. >> there is a lot of work to be done. i think it's a sign that there's an ageing system and we need to replace the cars and the infrastructure. >> reporter: government resources have failed to keep up with the challenge >> the growth, the sheer growth that the country has been experiencing is, i think, a troubling trend given how much we're investing and how we're investing today. >> reporter: experts say the u.s. has been dangerously

necessity fwlektful of its infrastructure. american society of civil engineers rates the energy grid, roads, aviation systems and dams in poor conditions. a recent report warned that a large proportion of the country's water supply infrastructure is approaching or has already reached the end of its useful life. as witnessed in the crisis in flint michigan where they switched their source to a polluted river. the u.s. would need to come up with more than 3 trillion dollars to tackle the infrastructure needs in the next five years. where the money would come from is a question that both the federal and state governments are struggling to address britain will impose a levy on sugary drinks. government says it's a way of ensuring that the next generation stays healthy. >> i'm not prepared to look back at my time here in this parliament doing this job and say to my children's generation,

i'm sorry, we knew there was a problem with sugary drinks, we knew it caused disease, but we ducked the difficult decisions and we did nothing. so today i can announce that we will introduce a new sugar level on the soft drinks industry. it will be levied on the companies. it will be introduced in two years time to give companies plenty of space to change their product mix. it will be assessed on the volume of the sugar sweetened drinks they produce or import australians on average have a longer life span than almost anyone else in the world but it is not the case of indigenous people who live 10 years less than other australians. into across australia close the gap events like this are

intended to draw attention to indigenous australians. they're about keeping pressure on the government to meet targets to address them. >> in some cases things are getting worse than better. we need to be vigilant and we need to be - not to be complacent around the huge job that still has to be done >> reporter: initiatives like this one, mid wives specifically trained to understand how aboriginal cultural norms differ from western ones have helped keep one target on track. a decade ago aboriginal infants were almost twice as likely to die as other young children. the infant mortality gap is to be halved by 2018 >> they can relate to you in everything. you get to know your mid wives and they know your family, all about your history >> sometimes the hospital setting it can be a little bit off putting for a woman who hasn't been in the system before. we've got clinics in the

community, we do home visits, we also offer trance part if women can't get there, i will pick women up >> reporter: the project has made a difference, but at 7 closing the gap targets, only two are on track to be achieved. on average aboriginal people die 10 years earlier than others. they're also likely to be unemployed. leaders in australia would like another tarring introduced around incarceration. the differing prison rates between aboriginal australians and efb else. an 18 year old aboriginal man is more likely to go to prison than university. aboriginal women make up just 3% of australia's female population but 33% of those are locked up campaigners say alongside health and education, justice disparity should be a focus too. their aim is for parity with

nonindigenous australians to be across the board you can read much more about that story that andrew thomas filed from australian on our website aljazeera.com. there you will find the day's top stories. aljazeera.com