♪ >> hello, and a very warm welcome indeed, to "the journ al." i am peter craven in berlin and these are the top stories. seven people are killed in clashes in egypt as rallies mark the third anniversary of the country's uprising. the syrian government and opposition meet in geneva and there are grave doubts about whether they have any common ground at all. picks up her second grand slam title, after winning the australian open. ♪

>> we begin in egypt, where the situation remains very volatile. we just had reports coming in that the health minister says 29 people have been killed in another day of violence and the divided country. saturday, which marks the third anniversary of the uprising against autocratic ruler hosni mubarak, has seen rival rallies and antigovernment marches and smaller gatherings backing the egypt, al- forces in cici. >> another day of violence highlighting the three years of mubarak.n since hosni security forces used tear gas and fired automatic weapons to keep government activists from reaching tahrir square. hundreds of thousands of egyptians had gathered there to

support al-cici. the general led the military overthrow of the muslim brotherhood government last year and has promised fresh elections to the egyptians. muslim brotherhood supporters rallied on side streets outside of tahrir square. they accuse the general and his allies of undermining the egyptian democracy. >> we are talking about a military institution that blocked the road to democracy. the minister of defense is planning to nominate himself as president. whoe oppresses anyone opposes them, the muslim brotherhood and anyone else attending these demonstrations. one day we will have justice and revolutionaries will rule the country again. of military rule will be tried for treason. freedom fighters will be returned to power. >> three years on from the arab

spring, egypt is on edge. >> egypt is certainly on edge and to get the latest we are joined from cairo by or correspondent -- another day of violence. we have a report of as many as 29 killed in the latest unrest. what is the latest you can tell us? >> a whole day, one side is having celebrations for the and ony chief al-cici the other hand we have demonstrations for those demonstrating against him, those who are entrenched by the police or they were beaten up i the ce that went mob for after these demonstrations. we have ongoing demonstrations to this point and at least 30 people dead. and we fear the numbers will rise in the coming days. we are far away from any stability in egypt now. >> this is the third anniversary of the ousting of hosni mubarak. egypt is more divided than ever.

is that a fair assessment? >> this is a fair assessment. -- one side is celebrating and the other is demonstrating. -- tahrir rear square people called for bread and freedom and social justice. they are standing there, demanding a strong man to be solving the problems. will not clear if al-cici be able to solve their problems see theirople may problems are not solved. >> is there any way out of the ?ycle of violence he e >> >> it is very hard to see if there be any stability, whether or not there is any political reconciliation that is the base for any stability.

>> thank you very much for keeping us up-to-date from the egyptian capital. we go next to the city of geneva, where the syrian government and opposition have started their first face-to-face meeting since the civil war in their country began nearly three years ago. gave a report -- saying the talks had achieved little so far but negotiations will continue, possibly for weeks. but the two sides to discuss a cease-fire and possible aid to has beenof homs, which under siege for a year. he said he also hopes to open negotiations over a prisoner swap. covering developments in geneva is our correspondent. we have not achieved much but we are continuing. that is the official line from ibrahimi.

i know he is the nations diplomat but does he have his work cut out for him here? >> he did say things were off to a good start, a good start at the fact that both parties were there. this has been a very formal and witholled process today opposing parties coming into different doors. adding they did talk, "through me." not direct but an important talk about homs and he says he hopes that if local issues fall into place there will be a supply issue going -- a supply run going into the city. >> there is a rational hint of progress for people in places like homs. what we saw earlier this week, we saw the government and opposition expressing what can only be construed as hatred for each other. is that any way to build bridges?

>> there is not a lot of common ground but the idea is to start with the easier issues like humanitarian access and tomorrow's discussion, a possible prisoner release and there may be some common ground on those issues. i think it is a confidence building process to get both parties used to talking to each other because they have not faced each other in three years during this brutal conflict. the opposition was hoping to talk about the transition of government by monday but judging by the pace of things this is a little bit optimistic. >> we are being told that this could last for weeks. the people of syria don't have weeks to wait. >> they waited for three years. this is giving them some kind of hope. millions have been displaced and there are people in critical situations in syria with no food or supplies coming in. talks are expected to continue with the discussion of prisoners and they hope to be talking

about the transitional government by monday, and talks are expected to continue through next week. there was talk about a break and this could go on for weeks. certainly, i think that they are pleased that discussions are ongoing and they hope that some kind of result will come out of this. whether a political solution will be reached is yet to be seen. this is a long way off. >> logan with a tiny hint of optimism from the geneva talks. thiser power struggle, time the one in the ukraine. antigovernment demonstrators are spreading across the country with opponents of president yanukovych demanding that he quit. he has met with opposition leaders again offering them posts within the government and is offering changes to the constitution. earlier, crowds briefly occupy the imagery -- energy in mr. -- energy ministry.

any protesters who stay in independent square -- are being labeled as extremists. for the latest developments from the ukraine, we bring in marcus arra--we have been getting these reports that president yanu kovych as offer them positions in the government, will this have any impact? >> this is very unlikely to have a positive impact because people on the streets say that the man that he offered to post as prime minister -- one of the opposition leaders, should not accept this offer because they think this is another tactical maneuver to divide the opposition and to weaken them further. kovych issident yanu turned down by the opposition, what does this mean on the street? >> i think it will further

inflame the protest, the situation on the streets of kiev is rather tense right now because we have some conflicting information reports that the government and the president, viktor? yanukovych isr bringing in more riot police to crack down on the protests. the demonstrations are very tense and many people see more violence and bloodshed in kiev. tell usre in kiev, about the protests in other parts of the ukraine? >> there are reports in the other part of the ukraine, the western and central parts of the ukraine, where people blockaded and even seized government buildings of local or regional administrations, they want to force governors to step down -- everyovernors

governor who steps down is a little victory for this opposition movement. >> it sounds like an explosive situation. is there any way out of the cycle of violence? afraid there is not because none of these sites, neither the opposition or ukovych are ready to step down and they are not willing for a compromise. we will see things getting even worse. >> thank you for that update from the capital of the ukraine, kiev. francois hollande has announced partner,ation from his trielweiler, on allegations of his private life. they were together for six years. francois hollande was accused of having an affair. she was admitted to the hospital after the affair became public. francois hollande says his -- has not commented on his

possible affair with actress gayet, but she is suing "closer" magazine. we have some good news, sports. the bundesliga is back after their break. there have been plenty of goals and one or two upsets. november failed to win a game in the first half of the season but banished that ghost with a 4-0 win over half a time. meanwhile, another disappointing day for dortmund. --- oldsberg fought back. friedberg beat leverkusen. and hanover picked up a win over wolfsburg. hanover-berlin and frankfurt aay now and beyern picked up

2-0 victory. no surprises. has gone for 32 in the league. --re is how they dealt with th >> a new year, but buyer munich is dominating. munich is- dominating. the defending champions .eapplied the pressure fending off a barrage of shots before being called for handball. the referee pointed to the spot. mueller easily converted, 2-0 for bayern. >> from football to handball. denmark and france will handoff in the -- face-off in the final.

denmark earns the chance to defend their european title with a narrow victory against croatia. in the other semi final, spain was defeated dirty 2-27 by france. li na has stormed to victory at the australian open, the third time after twice being runner up at melbourne park. finally has the australian open trophy in her grasp. after losing the finals in 2011 and 2013. she was the favorite against but she cibulkova, threw down a challenge with a tiebreaker. she regained from the baseline. with the set under her belt, she turned the tide in devastating style. after 90 minutes she was 5-love

up on match point. second grand slam title and at 31 and she is the oldest woman to win the australian open. >> more sports and more news at the top of the hour. don't go away. >> someone is hurt again. i am following the mountain rescue squad on the slopes above the austrian alps. a woman is injured but conscious, for now that is all we know. she fell and took a ski pole in the face. the woman will need stitches.

100 horsepower snowmobile carries her to the rescue station. it is a routine case for dr. d irk lohr. he treats 30 injured skiers per day. the fullhey see spectrum of trauma surgery. ski injuries are the most frequent, with torn ligaments and dislocated shoulders. severe head injuries -- almost everyone wears a helmet now -- severe head injuries are more sporadic, almost everyone wears a helmet now. what causes these accidents? i decided to find out.

modern materials definitely play a part. glide faster and are easier to steer than a few years ago. that makes people feel more secure and perhaps overconfident. as morees are fuller and more people become winter sports enthusiasts. zeigler manages the ski slopes and several times a day he checks for potential danger. but while icy surfaces and stones can be taken care of, human error will always remain. some people always overestimate their ability and go too fast. out of shape or not warmed up, chances are you will suffer an injury. while others relax on the lift, he worked there. he says he looks around the

terrain, especially for possible avalanche threats, for any changes and he checks the ski slope. up here, there is a different view. danger is right along the market ski line. rocks and boulders can cause grievous injury. macher's accident was a reminder of that but many people still ski outside of the market area. here in the fun park with its ramps and jumps -- testing your limits has become part of the winter sports experience. i want to better know my own personal ability, so i take a speed test. the run is short and not too steep, and yet i reach 89 kilometers per hour.

ski instructor jurgen has a new pupil. he says the legs have to do the work, don't stand as straight as a ramrod. your legs have to do the work. how fast do today's beginners learn? in the old days, a ski vacation lasted two weeks. now, most folks tend to be here for one long weekend, like lars, a plumber from cologne. jurgen has to keep reminding him that this is all in the legs. he says people learn faster with good equipment and perfect slopes. >> earlier, it took a while to teach people to ski but now it goes very quickly. >> at midday, the weather changes in visibility deteriorates.

the skiers are getting tired and accidents multiply. the rescue squad is working nonstop, helping the injured. any have only minor troubles but not this man, who took a spill in the fun park. his injury may be serious so he is flown out to the nearest hospital. the helicopter takes 10 minutes to get there. on the roads it would be an hour and a half. he is taking no chances. he says that the man fell on his head and was unconscious for an unknown amount of time. when he arrived here, the rescue squad had a mobilized the vertebrae in his neck. they examined him and did not see any line -- any sign of fractures. patient is the young

man from romania. >> i tried to avoid it but i couldn't. >> the rescue squad is back on the slopes. a snowboarder fell and his suffering great pain in his lower arm. it may be fractured. are less common, it is mainly injured tendons and ligaments. like this man, many people on holiday come from eastern europe, and that can make matters more difficult for the first aid workers.

joseph says there are often language problems with the injured. ory cannot speak german english and they have to improvise. gestures with the hands and feet usually do the trick. >> perhaps i should be more careful. but i like a challenge. i booked a tour off of the market ski area, by the guys who grew up here. >> and avalanche beeper for extra security, now equipped and ready to go. he tells me to keep leaning forward.

the snow has been packed -- and requires extraordinary skill. herbert says thre is a problem -- and even the guards find it hard to ski. deep snow would have been far better. on the pith, the snow is back up, too.

how is lars doing? >> jurgen is working him. look forward, down into the valley. >> after words of encouragement, he asks if they should head to switzerland. nice, long run. an easy blue one. no problem for lars. lars is not a born athlete. he makes it on his first day. >> lars says he lokoks back up the slope, eh can barely

believes he made it. safety has absolute -- at all times. using gps measurements he knows how deep the snow is so he can tell the snow caps how to concentrate their efforts. the lifts close at 5:00 pm but for the rescue teams, the work is not over yet. they have to make sure all skiiers and snowboarders are off the slope. they don't have to search long.

two skiiers underestimate the differences. two rescuers take them down on a sleigh. and the co-workers have an open road. still, some have to be shown the right way down. not always so simple in the darkness. but then it is quitting time for the rescuiersers, too. most don't live here and have to take the bus to surrounding villages. it is now firmly in the hands of

the tourists. for them, the party has started in the pubs and bars. most seem to have gotten their second wind.