6-month resident of the european union. we will take a closer look at whether or not the struggling nation is up to the task. 2022 world cup in qatar seems ages away, but it won't be held in the summer. we will find out more about that later in the hour here on "france 24." let's look at our top news story for you. no breakthrough in talks to end the conflict in south sudan. members of residents offered ir's -- resident salva ki

rabinet and those of riek macha met but talks broke down. >> tuesday was supposed to be the start of peace negotiations proper, but the 2 sides met only briefly before members of the government delegation left. returned to the south sudanese capital along with members of an east african delegation for consultations with president salva kiir. opposition demands for the release of detained rebels remain a major sticking point. >> they seem to be demanding there can be meaningful discussions, they have to be released. he would be happy to set them free as long as the legal processes have taken place.

>> the rebel delegation has accused the government side of destroying the peace process by not releasing detainees immediately, but they have vowed to stick with the talks. negotiations are due to resume on wednesday. the slow pace is frustrating many. in this country and i want those brothers and sisters -- we are telling them war.we don't need enough is enough. over 1000 people have been killed. it is enough. they should not get delayed and allow other people to die. betweenonflict began salva kiir and former vice president riek machar but it anckly turned -- took on aspect i mention. thousands of flee their homes in fear of violence. chief joined by our

foreign editor. what chance is there at all of any success in these talks? >> if you listen to what the negotiators are saying, you would think that things are going relatively well. fullre talking about reconciliation on the opposition side, the rebel side, and from the government side. you would think that things are going well, but the reality is that there are not. as the 2 sides and manipulate themselves into stronger positions further down the line one imagines, but at the moment lockedare pretty much into position they were at the start of the negotiations and the key demand from the opposition side is that the government as a condition for the tax getting underway released the 11 members, pro-rebel members, released them before talks could get underway. the government, for its part,

says under no circumstances. those people were arrested because they were involved in a coup attempt against the state. riek machar, the leader of the opposition, says that that is an absolute concoction and that the reality is that those evil were arrested in a provocation to provide -- those people were arrested in a provocation to provoke people in december to put pressure on the opposition and maneuver them out of position. it does not look optimistic at this stage, but perhaps these are just the initial maneuverings. perhaps once the military phase comes to an end, the possibility of some sort of meaningful negotiation will start to take place. >> what kind of international pressure has there been? >> there has been and is enormous international pressure. the united states, first of all, which has a huge clinical and financial investment in southern sudan, the youngest country in the world -- it would probably

not exist were it not for the united states -- is putting enormous pressure. investor the biggest in south sudan at the moment, has a big stake in south sudanese oil, upon which the country defense, is telling the south sudanese the ethiopian government. >> thank you for giving us that look at south sudan. the hearing on ousted egyptian president mohamed morsi has been postponed.

rsithat weather prevented mo from reaching the courthouse. the ousted president is accused of inciting supporters to kill opposition activists. at the time, about a dozen people were killed outside the presidential palace in violent protests against a decree sweeping powers. he may face the death penalty. last november's court hearing, the interim authorities declared at the muslim brotherhood a terrorist group. most leaders are in jail awaiting trial. the leader of the organization has continued to lead almost daily protests despite a ban on demonstrations. for its members, the president's trial is political and the members in power are not legitimate. >> a coup d'état is a blow to

institutions, to the executive and legislative branches of government. it turns everything upside down. we are still in the context of a coup. >> a security source says the general who was instrumental in ousting morsi will probably run for president in the upcoming elections. as for morsi, he faces charges of plotting with terrorist organizations abroad. rebel forrom several dates have seized the headquarters of the main jihadist group in aleppo, and that group, the islamic state of iraq, was pushed from the children's hospital where they had set up their headquarters. they have been linked to al qaeda. there has been more fallout in the battle against corruption in turkey. thea reports their say government has fired police

chiefs in 16 provinces, including big cities like ankara. it comes one day after another 350 low ranking officers were let go or move on to other jobs like traffic control at late last night, the turkish prime minister said new plans to parliament that would give the government more say over the appointment of judges and prosecutors. theor the latest attempt in government's fight against the damaging corruption inquiry that pulled in key allies of the prime minister. more details have come out about the skiing accident that left formula one champ eiko schumacher in -- michael schumacher in an induced coma. a press conference earlier today, they said the slopes where schumacher was skiing were accurately marked at the ski resort where the accident took place. there has been speculation that that wasn't the case. prosecutors also confirm that the skis were in good condition.

>> mr. schumacher was skiing beyond the signs marking the boundary, in an area that was not safe, not marked, dangerous mountain zone. his skis are not the cause of the accident. their findings were in good condition. said,r, as the prosecutor there were scratches, leading us to believe he hit a rocky surface, which would explain why they were damaged. >> some sports news for you. cup in qatar may seem ages away but one thing has just come out -- it won't be held in the summer. the announcement was made earlier today and for more on this major development in the football world, i will bring in a sports journalist based in abu dhabi. thanks for joining us. you yourself have been pushing

for the world cup in qatar not to be held in the summer. what did you think when you heard the news? >> thank you for having me. i think it was the right decision. it was, as they say, one of the worst kept decisions from people . i think everybody already knew it was going to be the winter. i think it is a good decision. the winter, most of the leak, arepean meet -- league, off anyway. why not do it in the winter? officials just came out and made a decision public. i'm sure there will be a backlash from different sectors of the media but what can you do? >> let's talk more about that.

i imagine this will be a planning nightmare, moving the entire world cup off-season. >> it is. i agree. it will affect a lot of things. it will affect the champions league. it will affect transfer window. it will affect tv around the world and tv from america, who won the rights -- i think it won thesports who rights. i heard australian officials who came on record and said that if it happens in winter they will take legal action because they bid for the summer and now they are doing it in the winter and they say they will take legal action. it will be an organization nightmare, as you put it, and africant to forget, the cup of nations, which happens in 2023, will affect of that as well.

most of the african teams will play in december or january for the world cup and then during the summer they have to play the african cup of nations, which might be tricky. it will affect a lot of things, as you said. >> well, thank you for that. wrong in abbery gone crime that shocked the already crime-plagued venezuela. gunmen shot dead a former beauty queen and popular soap actors alongside her british-born partner in front of their young daughter. venezuela is the fifth most dangerous country in the world, with ngo's citing more than 20,000 homicides a year. she was 29 years old and had become a successful soap opera actors after making a name for herself in beauty contests. found that ms. venezuela in 2004, -- crowned miss venezuela

in 2004, she was under attack on a highway in central venezuela. the couple were killed in an attempted robbery while the child survived a bullet wound in her leg. the attack shocked the venezuelan nation, and its president gave the latest details on the inquiry. >> they came across some obstacle on the road aimed at stopping the traffic. it caused one of the tires to blow. then armed men criminals arrived. personally, something similar happened to me on that same highway in the year 1988, 1989. i asked those criminals who killed a young woman, what is your excuse for killing good men and women who have a right to life? >> shortly after the death of the venezuelan celebrity, president maduro gathered singers and actors to pay tribute to her memory. he asked the government not to seek political gains from this tragic loss. the united nations has rank of venezuela the fifth most

dangerous country in the world, with ngos saying that 90% of murders go unsolved. the president has declared the fight against crime is utmost priority. polls regularly show that it is the venezuelan people's main concern. >> elsewhere in the united states, freezing temperatures are still racking most of the midwest but it looks like relief is on the way. weather forecasters say more normal temperatures will take over in the second half of this week. the bad weather, however, has artie taken its toll. over the past few days, thousands of flights were canceled nationwide. treacherous road travel led to several deaths throughout the midwest. in talks to end the growing conflict in south sudan. opposition demands for the release of detained rebels is still a major sticking point. other headlines for you -- a french prosecutor says the slopes where formula one champ

michael schumacher had his tragic accident were marked according to regulation. that seems to limit activation -- accusations that the ski station was to blame. deposed egyptian president mohamed morsi is postponed until february. his islamist backers had called for a million man march, but new anti-protest laws that kept people away. sports on "france 24," news with bad news for american skier lindsay vonn. >> bad news for the american winter olympic team. vonn announced she will not be competing in next month's games in sochi. the american, who won an olympic for medal in vancouver years ago, will undergo surgery in geneva. she toured -- she tore ligaments.

she sat on a social network that she is devastated she cannot get picked. the dakar rally is revving up nicely. stage three, racing around the stunning pre-and these wine region. the n, the first ever spaniard -- the cattle and, the first finishediard to win, 57 seconds down. 3 of the dakar rally, 55 kilometers of sand and june at a multitude of 4300 meters in argentina. back in the saddle, he led from the front again. the spaniard dominated the opening stage to take a vice like grip on the race.

he finished five minutes ahead of the reigning champion, now writing -- riding a yamaha. this ukrainian was the hero. the french came through their first match in the round of 32, edging the italians. it changed in the third. it gave the french a seven-point lead going into the fourth. 3-pointer put them in front. 52 seconds left, struck again from distance. at 63 points apiece, forced overtime. it was finally settled with his seventh triple of the game.

manchester united suffered their third defeat of the week. >> i've always been happy with how they responded. there's a tough game but only the first part of the game so we will have more to do in the second. the last two games we have not won. it's a difficult time. it is never going to be an easy ride. >> we make it difficult for them. something going for you. difficult for both teams, i think. use one, -- draw,

lose one, whatever. the argentine will play for the league of champions november 10. the last in a series of muscle injuries that plagued him last year. barcelona.e coach of he trained 2 or 3 times in this work is the only thing left is to play a game. he is in good enough physical condition to play. he has been called to the squad. it is not yet certain if he will even start. there will be more difficult the german -- it will be more

difficult to determine what shape he will be when he takes the field. whenever you talk about him, anything is possible. i remember when guys were alarmed because he hadn't been scoring a lot. making a definitive judgment about him is always tricky. the return will be a welcome boost ahead of saturday. >> next for you here on "france 24," an inside look at egypt. the hearing of ousted president mohamed morsi was scheduled today. it has been postponed to february. state media said it was pushed back due to the bad weather that helicopter from getting where he needed to go. he is facing charges related to the deaths of protesters killed during an anti-morsi rally in

2012. he was the first democratically elected president in egypt but he was forced from power last summer by the army. the situation in egypt is the subject of today's "inside look." here we go. >> the former egyptian president standing behind bars at the cairo police academy. the second hearing in his trial was to take place wednesday. but it has been postponed until next month. that weather prevented morsi from reaching the courthouse. the ousted president is accused supporters to kill opposition activists back in december 2012. at the time, about a dozen people were killed outside the presidential palace in violent protests against a decree awarding morsi sweeping powers. he may face the death penalty. since last november's court hearing, interim authorities have the courtesy muslim brother -- have declared the muslim brotherhood a terrorist group. most leaders are in jail

awaiting trial. islamist organization has continued to lead almost every protests despite a ban on demonstrations. for its members, the president's trial is political and the generals in power are not legitimate. >> a coup d'état is a blow to institutions, to the executive and legislative branches of government. it turns everything upside down. we are still in the context of a coup. >> a security source said the general who was instrumental in -- weremorsi was probably run for president in the upcoming elections. as for morsi, he faces charges of plotting with terrorist organizations abroad to both free prisoners during the 2011 revolution -- >> to get a bit more on the situation in egypt, i am joined by a policy specialist. thank you for taking the time to speak to us on "france 24." this trial was adjourned, according to state media, due to this bad weather that kept morsi

from getting to the courthouse in the first place. what did you think when you heard that? >> the weather in egypt today, frankly, is pretty good. it is pretty sunny. oftena problem quite early in the morning in the of fog. it is quite possible that was a lot of fog. be ahether that would reason for him being unable to attend isn't really clear. it is not really convincing but people are looking for other reasons. >> but the trial would've been adjourned anyway? >> yes, this is pretty common. long time last a here. they get really quite often. -- they get delayed quite often. in this case what is interesting is that this is coming just a week before the referendum. it is a very tense situation. it is very important for the authority. i think it is possible that

morsi's nonappearance was in the interest of ensuring that things go better for the authorities because the last time he ,ppeared, in the first session he made quite a publicity grab for attention by saying that he did not recognize it as legitimate. it is quite interesting. i don't think he would've been so good for the authorities if the same thing happen again. >> obviously, these new anti-protest laws have been put in place and as our correspondent was telling us there were a few protesters who turned out today, if any at all. tell us more about these anti-protest laws or are they going to be as effective as the army would like? >> i think they have been affected -- effective, although it away, the authorities succeeded in making it difficult for people to protest. there weren't that many people -- turned up at promo see

pro-morsi or pro-government protests. one way or another, the protesters are able to get out the word even though the government has made it difficult for media to operate. i think what is interesting about the protest law is those -- it enables the government to prosecute not the psalmist supporters of the former president. it is more aimed at -- not the islamist supporters of the former president. it is more aimed at the youth activists or the revolutionaries who were involved in setting up this whole uprising situation in the first place. that is exactly what happened. there are a couple of trials quite striking could just this week a group of activists were sentenced over charges that were widely seen as not very convincing. a couple weeks ago, the same thing happen again.

a charge of jail for 2 years over taking part in a protest. it is not specifically aimed at the islamists. but it is aimed at these activists who have the potential to be kind of spoilers for this new system that we have since july 3 of last year.  a7guc?ññ