>> welcome back to "france 24." here are the headlines. johnsecretary of state kerry continues his diplomatic drive in paris, trying to shore up support ahead of the peace talks on syria later this month. thousands protest in bangkok, the latest move in their push to oust the prime minister. hollywood awards season gets into full swing with the golden globes. let's get the inside scoop on the big winners and losers.

also coming up this hour, bad news for man u fans. their midfielder has banged up his knee. we will look at the personal and political fallout from resident francois hollande's rumored affair with -- from president francois hollande's rumored affair. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is continuing his diplomatic push on syria. he met with russian foreign minister sergey lavrov today. talksre pushing for peace to take place between the government and opposition later this month in geneva. john kerry just gave a press conference at the u.s. embassy in paris alongside the russian foreign minister. >> we talked today about the

possibility of trying to encourage a cease-fire, maybe a localized cease-fire beginning with aleppo. both of us have agreed to try to work to see if that could be achieved. has alreadyon agreed that if the assad regime were willing to declare that, they would live up to that. they are prepared to do that. we also discussed the possibility of prisoner exchanges. we have discussed that with the opposition. the opposition has declared that they are prepared to put together lists, they are prepared to entertain such an exchange. begins,e the conference we are going to try to send signals to all sides in syria on the need of establishing localized cease-fires, on the need to consider lists of prisoners of war and civilian prisoners.

we are also trying to expand the opportunities for providing humanitarian access to those areas, which are now blocked by the government or by the opposition. set ising me now on the our international affairs editor. there wasn't a lot of confrontation. it seems like the friends of syria think any meeting is better than no meeting at all. >> it would be hard to find an instance of a peace conference where, going into it, you had lower expectations. the bar is about as low as you can get. there was a sense, when you listened to what they were saying, all they have concretely agreed to do, we agree that we should be holding this priest -- peace conference on january 22. we have repeated this time and again. three years now of this conflict. the u.n. has stopped giving a daily update on the death toll

because they cannot verify how many people have been killed. we hear upwards of 130,000 or more. millions displaced. it has defied all solutions. while the diplomats have dithered and been unable to reach any sort of consensus, you have the configuration of the battle, the -- the dynamic of the battle on the ground shifting away from where it was, this sort of monolithic rebel opposition versus the regime of bashar al-assad to, in the last days and weeks, a scenario in which you have the rebels, fightingrebels, amongst themselves, a very dirty, down in the dirt turf or. it has become almost to the point where some of the rebels are not even fighting, the al qaeda-linked rebels which have been coming into the battle little by little, aren't even taking aim at the government but rather aircraft,

turning the guns against other rival islamist groups they see as not wanting the same things they do. this is where it is getting to be a very dark scenario. at this conference, they have agreed to hold the talks. we still don't know exactly who is going to be there. yes, the syrian national coalition agreeing to be there. but who are they? they don't have that much credibility with the groups on the ground. they are seen as ineffective and out of touch. will andepresent the hopes and aspirations of the people on the ground? caught in between all of this, the syrian people themselves. most of them just want to see an end to the fighting. a lot of them are mad at everyone, not just the government of bashar al-assad, but these extremist rebels who they think have co-opted their original battle and made life miserable for them. overere are question marks who is invited to the conference, perhaps the biggest question being iran and whether

it will actually come. >> russia wants iran to be there. it is a crucial, key element. if you have the saudis around the table -- and we say this has become a proxy war between saudi arabia and iran, if you're going to have saudi arabia there, you way,iran there in some shape, or form. john kerry trying to pointedly answer those questions. we have no problem with iran going. but they have to be ready to implement the agreement made in the so-called geneva i back in july, 2012. it was the famous round of talks which was the latest parameters for a transitional government. the u.s. says that would be a government without the charlotte sought -- without bashar al- assad. that is something the russians and iranians are not on board with now. >> thanks so much for that.

just aeva talks are now few days away. staying with iran, a date has been set for the start of the landmark deal on its disputed land -- disputed nuclear deal, that is january 20, one week from today. they should begin diluting their stockpile of enriched uranium. in return, the u.s. and other world powers with the guilty ease -- would begin to ees sanctions -- would begin to ease sanctions. >> the practicalities are in doubt. for iran toset begin limiting its nuclear activity. >> as of january 20, for the first time in almost a decade, it ran's nuclear program -- deca nuclear program will not be able to advance. part of it will be rolled back. negotiating a comprehensive agreement to address the international

community's concerns about iran's past nuclear program -- >> representatives met on thursday and friday to finalize the deal. barack obama says he is under no illusion of how hard it would be to reach a comprehensive final agreement with iran. but to give diplomatic efforts their optimum chance for success, he warned dozens of senators who want to pass a bill imposing new sanctions that he would veto any such legislation during the new negotiations. iran agreed to and rich uranium uranium-- to enrich only to reduce its weapons grade stockpile. in exchange, the sanctions are said to be ees. -- to be eased. >> the conversion of 20% and richmond -- 20% enriched material will be diluted.

>> eu foreign policy chief catherine ashton said they would keep checks on the deal's implementation. ailand, protesters plans to shut down -- the demonstrators are trying to paralyze the capital, putting -- stepping up prime minister on yingluck shinawatra -- stepping up calls for -- stepping up pressure on prime minister yingluck shinawatra to resign. >> tens of thousands continue to walk in the roads. paralyzing-- bangkok. it is their latest attempt to topple the democratically elected prime minister. >> for this round of operations, we are staying a long time.

we are staying for the long haul, till we reach our goal. >> while support for prime water -- forld the prime minister should allow truck -- for prime minister abroad -- is strong >> we cannot compromise on any of this. this is nonnegotiable. if we lose this fight, then we lose. if we win, then we win. there is no win-win for both sides. rife that the military will step in and stage a coup, not uncommon in thai politics. they could get violent at the protests to invoke military invention -- intervention.

the u.s. embassy has urged its citizens in bangkok to stock up on essential items like food, water, and medicine. >> the central african republic. the interim president says "the party is over." that comes amid reports of police returning to duty. it is an encouraging time for the central african republic of horrific sectarian violence, including some reports of cannibalism. what is the situation like in the streets? are things calmer? >> things are calmer. the forces are deployed all over the city. they have passed the message on to all parties. anyone who opens fire will be shot back at by the international forces, and that has worked quite well. it does seem that both the

militias and the seleka are in garrisons inside seven basis in town, are not moving. -- inside seven bases in town, are not moving. there is a big question mark fo rthe -- for the seleka forces. there is a food problem. they haven't been paid for weeks. are they going to stay in garrison? that is the big security question. thehe political front, president is consulting with all parties to try and form a new government that will be more acceptable by all parties and should probably manage to calm things down. there are a lot of meetings going on. there is an assembly of the national transition council at the parliament. all this is ongoing. we don't know who is emerging

right now. >> thank you for that. look at something lighter. hollywood awards season is officially in full swing now. it kicked off last night at the star-studded golden globes ceremony in los angeles. a few of the top winners seemed to be she wins -- to be shoe- ins, but there were a few surprises as well. ofwe were expecting a couple films to dominate. 26 awards across all these different categories. they got quite a broad spread in the end. the bigng awards in film categories went to amy adams for "american hustle," take blanchett in "blue jasmine," -- cate blanchett in "blue jasmine." " american hustle -- "american hustle" was expected to

dominate. it did win best film. jennifer lawrence got best supporting actress. it was far from the suite people were predicting -- the sweep people were predicting. in the drama category, "12 years a slave." it is a really raw first-person account of what it is like to be a free black man who was kidnapped in america in 1800's and sold into slavery. it has gotten so much acclaim. it won only one award. people saying that this could be symptomatic of the golden globes being what they are. they are seen as the more frivolous little sister of the academy awards. often a predictor of the oscars, but we can't say these will definitely be copied straightaway into the oscars. all of these films could have a chance at the oscars. >> there are always lots of

people who are disappointed. this year was particularly disappointing for the french. >> the friends felt they had a strong contender in the best foreign language film category they had ach thought strong contender in the best foreign language film category. it won the top prize at cannes. it has done so well at the box office. it is a three-hour lesbian love story in french. it is a film that has heart. it has won all the awards going. it was expected to win the best foreign language film prize. instead, it went to an italian film, which translates as "the great beauty." it sounds like a bit of a curveball. it isn't, actually. it was also in the running at cannes last year. they got a lot of press. people were really split at cannes.

a lot -- not the complete curveball. the people behind "blue iws the warmest color" can't expect to win at the oscars. they might get some nominations in the acting categories. >> we look forward to hearing more about that. thank you so much. let's take a quick look at the headlines for you this hour. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is continuing his diplomatic drive in paris, trying to shore up support ahead of the peace talks in syria later this month. a date has been set for the start of a landmark deal on iran's disputed nuclear program. on january 20, iran should begin diluting its stockpile of enriched uranium. in return, the u.s. and other world powers say they will ease

sanctions. and in bangkok, the latest moves to oust the prime minister. the protests in thailand are the subject of today's "inside look." coming to see us. let's give our viewers some context. these protests are the latest chapter in a conflict that has been going on for eight years, between the red shirt and yellow shirts. who is who? >> the red shirts are the supporters of thaksin shinawatra , the former prime minister. his sister is now the prime minister. they are from the north and northeast and also people in bangkok itself, the poor in bangkok. the yellow shirts claim they are pro-democratic. the present manifestation of that is what some call the people's's democratic reform council, which is number -- neither of the people or --

it is a middle-class establishment of bangkok. behind this political conflict, we have a social cleavage, a quite deep social cleavage. >> what kicked off this conflict? >> it began with an attempt by yingluck shinawatra to have an amnesty bill pass by the parliament, which would have allowed her brother, who is in self-imposed exile in dubai, to return. it would have amnestied number of people from the opposition democratic party. that was rejected by the senate. the senate is partly appointed. she had to withdraw that bill. that was the pretext under which these demonstrations began. >> the protesters this time are very well organized. they say they are ready to stay in the streets until the prime minister stepped down. how likely is that to happen? >> i think she has the situation under control. the protesters want to create a violent situation, which could

mean there would be a coup to talk -- who do talk -- would be a coup d'etat. to military seem unwilling do that. it was not very effective. 2006 did not really work. such a coup would lead to a civil war -- such a coup to talk -- a coup d'etat would lead to -- civil war is too strong. i don't think they will get the nod from the king or the palace for such a coup d'état. >> can they hold back the military from taking on the protesters? securityare 18,000 forces, 10,000 police. the police are loyal to the government. the military has remained fairly loyal. trayna watch raw -- shinawa has played a rather clever game. they say they can postpone the

elections if the opposition wants to come in and stop boycotting. i think she has the situation, to some extent, under control. the profound, deep malaise in thai society will not be resolved quickly, particularly in a time in which the king is -- he is 86. after he goes, the crown priest will arrive at crown prince will arrive. he is very unpopular. he is considered a supporter of thaksin. there are deep problems that need to be resolved in thailand, especially problems about democracy. what is a legitimate government? an elected government or one which is appointed? the thais need to find a compromise between a buddhist view of a virtuous monarch or the virtuous leader in the notion of representative leader and- virtuous the notion of representative

democracy. >> thank you for coming in. a lot of anxious man city fans out there after a serious knee injury. in to thea moved second round of the australian open after golubev was forced to retire. the swiss claimed the set 6-4 before racing to a 4-1 lead in the second. falla inwill meet the second round. last year's semifinalist david for error -- david ferrer advanced over gonzalez.

ivo karlovic.t produced almost a perfect display to beat her opponent, taking the first set 6-2. the chinese star has advanced to the fourth round every year since 2010. she sent volleying winners from the middle of the court several times. a 16-year-old, qualifier of switzerland. jarmila gajdosova. kudryavtseva beat garcia. round one for in only the second time in her career. a 2-1 win in the north, marsel

ille. and nantes over local rivals lorient. in second place. manchester city secured a 2-0 victory away. they are now one clear of chelsea. liverpool edging their opponents. eanchester city coach -- th manchester city coach was upset. the midfielder was stretchered off, suffering a serious knee injury. if that is the case, he could miss the rest of the season and likely the world cup. clupstrian won the world

-- cup slalom for the third year in a row. his second time was five seconds slower than the first. the lead from his fellow scandinavian. swedish fans celebrated. the austrian had the second-best time on his first leg. the 24-year-old was the new leader as he bid for a hat trick of consecutive wins here. he had to settle for second best. reproduce it on his second leg, eventually missing out in the podium -- on the podium.

>> it is and was definitely a really tough fight from the top to the bottom. it is every year. this year it was really tough because it was warm, 10 degrees celsius. i want to thank the organization for preparing the slopes that good with these really tough temperatures. it was a tough fight against andre and henrik. >> neureuther crashed out in the second leg. it was a day to remember for a canadian skier as she came from the back of the field to win the to theombined, much disappointment of a competitor who had looked invincible in her

performance. she was a member of the austrian team that collected gold at last year's road championships -- world championships. the 30-year-old produced a superb performance and achieve the quickest time. she went into this event in good form. 1.73 seconds behind -- no pressure, no reason to hold back. they had their hopes of winning the european world cup, but they were beaten 21-11. foul penalties kept them in the hunt. saracen's --

the man of the match award, scoring all 21 points. he gets a topa7guc>>