while we are here to discuss the united nations, around the world, the united nations has launched an initiative called, "turn the world u.n. blue." the state building is washed in blue lights, the great wall of china, the egyptian pyramid. there is a festive party atmosphere to celebrate this. to move on, i am very pleased that we have distinguished speakers. we will begin with slauson juror -- schleschinger, a prominent author. he is a lawyer by training and a journalist. he edited the book of his father, arthur. a great pleasure to introduce you. thank you. >> thank you for the nice introduction and having me at this occasion. i am delighted to be honoring the institution of united nations on the anniversary. it is remarkable. member the league of nations only lasted 20 years and most alliances have short shelf lives. for a modern day security organization like the united nations to be around for seven decades is an extraordinary accomplishment and we oh the survival to the man whose library we are visiting today, franklin roosevelt. he single-handedly brought the organization into

it's the seedy underbelly of the united nations effort in haiti. nearly six years after an earthquake rocked the country, i'm ali velshi, welcome to a special edition of "on target," haiti on shaky ground. the united nations can be a blessing and occurs but for latte, the western hemisphere's poorest country it's been both. six years ago haiti was devastated by a massive earthquake. its worst natural disaster in more than two centuries. millions of haitians, looked to the united nations for help. the u.n. set up temporary housing for thousands of residents. it built schools, hospitals and sanitation systems. and the u.n. currently maintains a $380 million annual budget to pay for its peace keeping force in haiti. that pays for more than the 6,000 u.n. soldiers tasked with upholding public security. but the u.n. effort may have also made some things worse. many blame u.n. peace keepers with a cholera epidemic that has left thousands dead. dogged by allegations of sexual abuse and coalitio exploitationf haitian women. we hold u.n. to account. david ar

understanding of how the united nations works, how it doesn't work. the program today, the idea for this program came from something -- a question david roosevelt asked to last year where he said "whatever happens to my parent'' united nations?" ae idea was that there was vision president roosevelt and mrs. roosevelt had about how the world would respond. would try tod prevent a catastrophe like world war ii. president roosevelt did not live long enough to see it come to .ruition eleanor roosevelt did and was one of the united nation's first female representatives and wrote the first declaration of human rights. today, we look back that they had a vision. the united nations was created, and what happened to it. linda, i turn it over to you. >> thank you. first, i would like to welcome you and say it is an honor to be here on the 70th anniversary of the human i find it exciting you are here in the home of fdr and mrs. roosevelt. one can only imagine, i believe they came to work here or lived here in 1941, the u.n. charter was approved in june of 1945. i

this is making decisions at the united nations and it is binding. only five nations are given the to power. veto power. all of the states, all of the vetos, in the league had a and a single state could block any action. change. the biggest graspted a more realistic on the power reality in the league, creating a controversy about the countries having veto power and, protestsy, you hear about why these five countries are selected. all the states, no matter how big or small, had equal votes and could advance ideas openly and debate world problems. the resolutions were not binding on the united states. , when they assembly would pass a resolution, had moral and not obligatory force. the final thing i think is important in the way that roosevelt addressed the charter is that he made sure the language in the charter was very flexible, much like the american constitution. it was responsible and adaptable to all crises, not necessarily the printable ones in 1945. since then, the u.n. has pioneered programs and departments that were never mentioned, from peac

van boven: our primary duty is towards the peoples in whose name the united nations charter was written. bertie ramcharan: he was by far the greatest human rights leader the u.n. has ever had. van boven: my name is dale van boven. i was the director of the united nations for human rights from 1977 to 1982. tom mccarthy: there was a lot of pressure of all kinds from certain governments, having their secret service agents in the corridors looking after what we were doing, following what the ngos were doing, threatening people, putting pressure on other governments. latin america had strong dictatorships. ngos couldn't mention government names in the commission for violations. van boven: it is inexplicable and indefensible for the united nations not to react urgently to situations of gross violations of human rights. ramcharan: it was entirely unheard of that a human rights director would take vigorous positions. everything that a senior u.n. official did was closely monitored, and so it was his great breakthrough that he decided to act, and in some instances to speak out publicly against

political solution. >> we thank you, from the norwegian refugee council. >>> right now from the united nations in new york we understand that members of the security council are being briefed on the humanitarian situation inside syria by stephen o'brien who is the united nations senior advisor. members will be coming out to the stakeout position to give their thoughts and we'll give you information as soon as we get any. >>> united nations has allegedly killed 12 children in the rebel held town of anjar a, five adults, also a teacher have been reportedly killed. >>> turkey offers syrian refugees work permits to encourage fewer of them to migrate. after the european union said it was in its words far from satisfied with turkey's efforts to prevent people from capturing the aegean sea. ownership 2.2 million syrians have sought refuge but only 6,000 so far have been given official work permits. more than 40 people died in shootings and bombings across iraq. i.s.i.l. said it was behind this attack on a shopping mall in the capital baghdad, at least 19 died, 48 others were injured. seven people die

kenneth craig, cbs news, the united nations. ((brian loftus)) military experts say, one of the goals of north korea's missile program is to develop a warhead capable of reaching the u-s mainland./// ((brian loftus)) > the eyes of the nation will be on las vegas tonight.. as all three democratic presidnetial candidate compete for your vote. the important role nevada plays in the early decision making for the next president... and what you need to know about making your voice heard. /// all three demott2waty#`*4 p bt@q4 8 tt2waty#`*4 p "a@q$,\ tt2waty#`*4 p bm@q/'p tt4waty#`*4 r dztq 4* tt4waty#`*4 r entq d.@ tt4waty#`*4 r gzt& ])8 tt4waty#`*4 r hnt& m't tt4waty#`*4 r iztq 'n, tt4waty#`*4 r jntq 5>l tt4waty#`*4 r lzt& -s0 be in las vegas.. trying to earn your support. they're attending the "battle born/ battleground first in the west" caucus dinner.... hosted by senator harry reid. he says.. all three still need to prove to democratic voters.. they deserve nevada's support ahead of our caucus. (( sen. harry reid: what's taking plac

the strong and mighty nations. most of the countries of the third world have signed the charter of the united nations and have been members of the united nations. agreementsrnational following the same procedure and methods as western countries. it is regarded as a subject of international law. but we all know that international law is in need of effective sanctions. infective -- effective sanctions have not been developed. so, there are some states that are compelled by domestic regions, domestic pressures, not to observe fully the rules of international law. iran is one example. >> once small states, no matter how small, came into being. -- they had all of the rights and duties under international law. here at the united nations, we see this all the time. states with populations, 100,000, in the general assembly, those states have the same voice as countries like china, which has close to a billion people. that basic principle of respect, sovereign quality of the states has benefited very small states. they are able to express their selves and those positions and views have been respected. in that general, basic

of third world even more than the interest of the strong and mighty nations. >> most of the countries of the there have been admitted members of the united nations and signed off on other international agreements. inlowing the same procedure the same network. we all know that international law often needs sanctions. and effective sanctions have not yet been fully developed between these foes in international law. but there are some states who feel compelled by domestic fullyres not to observe the rules of international law. iran is one example. >> once small states come into being, they have all the rights and duties under international law even as the bigger states and here in the united nations we see this all the time. nowadays we are having states with relations in 100,000. the general assembly those states have the same voice as a country like china which has close to a billion people. respectic principle of has been a principal that has benefited very small states wherever they would express themselves even to their views and positions in international affairs and they have been respected. in that general basic principle it has pro

the force to resist unreasonable demands. i would argue that international interest ofhe smaller nations even more than the strong and minor -- mighty nations. -- the specific members of the united nations have signed agreements. the samewing became method for western countries. it is regarded as a subject of international law. but we all know that often is i'm law -- in need of effective sanctions. so, there are some states that by domesticd regions, domestic pressures, not to observe fully the rules of international law. >> once small states, no matter how small, came into being. that all of the rights and duties under international law. here at the united nations, we see this all the time. in the general assembly, those states have the same voice as countries like china, which has close to a billion people. that is a basic principle of respect for the sovereign quality of states. that has benefited very small states. and views have been respected. in that general, basic principle, it has protected them very well. >> in the political arena, international law that is ,nshrined in the united nations joining the respects by all nationstates of these sovereignty and territorial in

talks to end the fighting failed. united nations has more than 80% of the yemeni population, and now requires emergency help to civil. united nations said that air strikes on civilians in yemen could amount to crimes against humanity. they are responsible for widespread and systematic attacks on civilian targets, according to a group that monitors the conflict. for the u.n. security council, 3,000 civilians died in yemen since the saudi coalition went into war. one of the targets included schools, medical clinics and markets. they have been accused of mounting attacks against civilians that may be thought of as crimes against humanity. i spoke to the united nations earlier. i asked if his government accepted the deaths of any civilian death in yemen. >> i'm not saying that we don't be responsible, but this report is based on hearsay, was complied without the panel of experts setting foot on yemen. it was based on social history reports and statements from the houthi, it can't be taken seriously as a credible report of event. the sco

they want peace talks, but they have some questions they want answered by the united nations about the these talks are going to be conducted. they have sent a letter to ban ki-moon and to the u.n. envoy, they want to know, for example, whether all of the different people that have been invited -- and there is already another group of opposition that the high negotiating committee don't really feel are proper opposition, but they certainly -- the people who are already here in switzerland, they have already arrived where i was earlier today, they say they are very much opposition -- they are here already. so the decision from riyadh, i think is the important decision, and that is taking some time. we are expecting at some point today. so far we haven't heard a final decision, because they have asked for the clarification from the united nations. i think if they can't make that decision at some point on thursday, then the start date of friday starts to be in doubt. >> james one thing we do know is that the syria government has said it will be attending. do we know anything about the peop

we never interfere in the domestic affairs here at the united nations. it must be libyan-led not u.n.-led. it is libyan-led with the-- >>> we seem to have lost that press conference there. let's take a short break and then when we come back, we will talk more about the situation in libya. we will also join the search for unaccompanied children in france as they wait to join their family. do stay with us. stay with us. >> we tend to band together, so we have a voice. >> we're just surviving. it's really hard. >> to have reservations on article 8. and here our line is very clear. after this agreement there was a security council resolution 2259, which is our united nations but also should be the libyan's guideline. and it says that the libyan political agreement is the only alternative here for the libyan political process and it should be implemented in its entirety. now, it is if somebody wants to change the libyan political agreement, there are mechanisms inside the libyan political agreement. and this mechanism is very clear. it says that any changes on

. >> now to the united nations security council in session an emergency meeting to discuss the body'sesponse of north korea's claim of another nuclear test. pyongyang said it has successfully tested a hydrogen bomb. that would an jump in the country's capability. it's a claim met with widespread skepticism. experts say that the explosion was nowhere near large enough to be a hydrogen bomb. the bomb was more like an atomic one, and a group who has watched the test said it was nowhere near as the one just a few years ago, but any nuclear test would be a violation of the u.n. resolutions and the counci security council is discussing what sanctions north korea should face. >> in pyongyang people stood to watch what they've been told would be an important announc announcement. on cue they cheered the country's military success. it showed kim jong-un signing off on the order. he is a man who likes attention particularly close to his birthday which falls on january 8th, this may have been his way of celebrating early. but it could take months or years to prove if north korea has successfully

i degrean brown, al jazeera, beijing. >> and our diplomatic editor james bays is live at the united nations for us. huge concern being expressed there as you would expect, james. but what options are open for the security council? >> you're right, felicity, concern and condemnation and promise that there will be new measures. which begs the question what will those new measures going to be? the they don't really have the power to decide on exact measures. they have to go back to their capitals. they have to consult and decide what to do, and there is a very limited toolbox they have. normally what they do when a country disobeys rules of the international community they put sanctions in place. and there already are some of the stricters sanctions in north korea. having said that, notably one of the newest members who joined five days ago, japan, an important regional player and the one of the country's more fearful for north korea, they say they want extremely tough measures. >> we think if no further significant measures are taken by the security council, it is the authority and credibilit

secretary-general carrying the weight of the entire united nations. in recent days when they've been discussing the situation in besieged areas, it in particular from madia, they say it may amount to war crimes and could be war crimes. ban ki-moon, the u.n. secretary-general pronounced on that issue with these comments. >> let me be clear. the use of starvation as a weapon of war is a war crime. both sides including the syrian government, which has the primary responsibility to protect syrians, are committing this and other atrocious acts prohibited under international humanitarian law. >> james, the impression we get now is while the small amount of aid is reaching that particular area, this kind of starvation issue is happening elsewhere in syria as well. >> absolutely. 400,000 people, the u.n. estimates, are in inaccessible besieged areas. they even gave details of the numbers that they think are besieged by each group. it's clearly hard to get to half of the people because they're besieged by isil, an organization that is not cooperating with the h

people in the besieged city in yemen are calling for help from the united nations. protesters in thies formed a human chain to highlight their suffering. people are asking the u.n. to help lift the houthi rebel siege which is blocking vital supplies. pro-government forces backed by saudi arabia have set up their own blockade of the rebel-held capital. a ceasefire in yemen which began last month is now officially over. the saudi-led coalition fighting against anti-government forces made the announcement. the truce had been repeated lip violated by both sides. i'm underby the saudi-led general. why was the truce called to an end? >> i will tell you will and your audien audience, since two weeks the president asked the coalition to have chance to negotiation and to be flexible. we respect this request and we - unfortunately, the militia starts by keeping attack the border of saudi arabia and they escalate in firing targets towards the area. we were in control of all of this, but we expected the see fire. we asked for the ceasefire to extend. unfortunately, we had more t

because of the difficulty of corroborating evidence, the united nations believes the 18,802 deaths are a gross underestimation. survivor testimonies, the report goes into detail about the atrocities committed by the jihadist group. >> isil has been employing the most gruesome methods of executing people. anding bulldozers over them burning them alive. people are being murdered for the most obscure reasons. children have been abducted by .sil and then forced to fight >> the report says around 3500 people are currently being held as slaves by the group. -- barbarityarathi , crimes against humanity, and genocide. illustrate horror in the homeland. a group of conservative lawmakers from angela merkel's own party sending an open letter to the chancellor demanding she reverse her liberal policy on excepting migrants. they say germany is on the verge of being overwhelmed and they want the law to be applied. in norway, the question of how to an great -- integrate new handled headeing down. >> refugees are given classes on norwegian culture and the place of women in society. today's class is on

very positive with the united nations to deal with these conflicts in syria, ye yemen, if the u.n. is involved they can say that this is an example that diplomacy that negotiating a peace can work. >> all right, kristin saloomey live at the u.n, thank you. >>> the former president of the maldives say he may not return. he was allowed to travel on the condition he return to serve the remainder of the of of his 13 year sentence. jonah hull reports. >> appearing with his lawyers in london mohammed rasheed said his travel did not signal political change at home. >> either every opposition leader is in jail, or intimidated by the regime. medias are under constant threats and everyone day the uniquelregime taking an additiol step. it is essential the international community is not deceived into thinking that because i am here today, that the battle is over. >> democracy activist and the first democratically elected maldives president, rasheed who famously held an underwater cabinet meeting, was jailed a year ago by the current mals deefmalmaldives government for so-called terrorist activ

>> yes, indeed. >> so reports of mass starvation issued by the united nations and other humanitarian agencies and these deeply disturbing pictures of the town's population, including children suffering from malnutrition are, he claims, fake. he also seemed to have a different, second explanation. >> the terrorists are stealing the humanitarian assistance from the syrian red crescent as well as from the united nations and they are keeping these in their warehouses and use it as a leverage of political and financial gain for them. >> the u.s. ambassador samantha power told the u.n. general assembly she had no doubt who was to blame. >> look at the grotesque starved or surrender tactics the syrian regime is using right now against its own people. look at the haunting pictures of civilians, including children, even babies in madaya, syria. these are just the pictures we see. there are hundreds of thousands of people being deliberately besieged, deliberately starved right now and these images remind us of world war ii. >> on the ground in madaya, one woman seemed to back the syrian ambassa

close to the office of the united nations. >> as you can see in the video there are bodies. three bodies at least. and we can also see that one of the them is clearly the perpetrated the other has exploded himself the and the other shot. last year we had a lot of warning from our police and security office that there is probably a planned attack. >> reporter: indonesian television has released these pictures of a man they say is a suspect. he's carrying a gun. one bomb is known to have gone off near a starbucks cafe and the police post was destroyed in one of the blasts. the attacks were concentrated around a busy thoroughfare in central jakarta which is close to the u.n. offices and the presidential palace. the traffic and people which normally clog these streets are gone. replaced with heavily-armed security forces, including armored vehicles which have been deployed across the city. indonesia has been conducting operation to his crack down on people with suspected links to islamic state. indonesia's president has cut short a visit to singapore to oversee the operation. ri

the united nations for talks that were supposed to take place and be underway, proximity talks with keyes from the opposition and key figures from the government, the government side yes they are ocean specificed any moment to land at the geneva airport and will be led by the u.n. ambassador coming in with a large delegation we understand from damascus and he will make his way from the airport here in geneva to the u.n. headquarters by lake geneva in this grand building where he will meet staffan de mistura the u.n. envoy. we have some other opposition figures who are in geneva, been here for some days and are not part though of the main opposition block, that main block of political groups and armed groups who were convened in saudi arabia, the so called riyadh list and they have written a letter making their position very clear to the united nations and security council we are not coming to geneva until our conditions are met and having said they they are coming to geneva, a small group of the negotiating committee we understand to begin with and maybe three or four people are actuall

rooms at this stage. >> i, just on a personal note, if you will, i've met him before he came to the unit nation or the international communities envoy to syria. i met him in rome. he actually asked for that. we sat down and talked about various things. you can till he is the kind of guy, he is proud to speak arabic, proud to know the region. he is a seasoned diplomat. one thing about him is he's a very charming diplomat and probably more than willing to talk to civil society and women group but at the end of the day, is that the real nugget and axis of power in syria? to have some kind of a discussion about different groups, about their wishes? at the end of the day, the syrian government is the one that's coming now with basically blood and fire to these talks and saying we have just changed our constitution. elections, we just had elections, so whatever you're asking, we as a regime have already started this. it's going to be very hard to pinpoint some of these issues that are crucial to the opposition, that are crucial to the syrian people. if he is going to carry these object tract over mon

. >> people working for the united nations and the causes of peace and security feel. >> allegations of child sex abuse by european peace keepers in the central african republic, the youngest victim is a seven-year-old girl. after 36 days trapped underground four chinese miners are rescued, more are missing. >>> an ancient form of art is making a come back. talks aimed at ending the war in syria have finally started in switzerland. the main opposition group is on their way to geneva. jaibs lasjames bays has more. >> the start of the talks on day 1, just one side was rent. the syrian government delegation, headed by bashar al jaffray, greeted by staffan de mistura. news emerged that the main opposition group said it would travel to geneva. mr. dee mistura said he was optimistic. >> i have good reasons to believe that they are actually considering this very seriously. and ther therefore, to be in a position on probably sunday to actually start the discussions with them, in order to be able to proceed with the intra-syrian talks. >> one opposition member already in geneva later confirme

to put it on a warhead and deploy it beyond the korean peninsula. >> reporter: diplomats at the united nations scheduled an emergency meeting to discuss the developments. >> this act is profoundly security. >> reporter: japan mobilized reconnaissance planes to test for radiation. it could take weeks to happened. kenneth craig, cbs news, the united nations. >>> military experts say one of the goals of north korea's warhead capable of reaching the u.s. mainland. >>> it unnerved investors around the world. markets remain down 214 down. the nasdaq and s&p 500 are also lower. >>> relief could be coming for commuters tired of traveling through pen station. governor cuomo is expected to announce plans for renovation. >> reporter: caulking through pen station in the morning rush hour, this transit rider did not mince words. >> this is a cesspool, it really is. >> reporter: the rail hub is one of the busiest in the country and as most commuters will tell you one of the dingiest and most outdated. >> it's chaotic and archaic. >> it's time to be redone. it really is. >> reporter: a long delayed reality i

talks are underway right now, in terms of talks between the syrian government delegation and the united nationse syrian government i think making clear its position. in fact we are expecting in the next few minutes to hear from the syrian ambassador to the united nations in new york, because he is heading this delegation that's come here to geneva. a large delegation came from damascus. he was back in damascus before he headed here. he will be coming a short time from now if you look over there to the microphone. there are a great deal of press gathered to hear the words from the one side that is here at these negotiations. there are some opposition figures who have been invited in an individual capacity here. but the main opposition block though one that includes the main political figures, the main armed groups, they are not here in geneva. they have written letters to the u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon copied to the u.n. security council, saying they have conditions before they come here. they say they cannot negotiate here in geneva about peace when they are still being bombarded on the

the syrian ambassador to the united nations in new york, is heading his country's delegation, and came here to set out his case to the u.n. special envoy. it was during their meeting that word came through from saudi arabia, that the main opposition block, which for days said it will not come to geneva, unless its demands are met, said that they would finally make the journey here to switzerland. when he spoke to reporters, stefan de mistura said he couldn't confirm the news until he got a written confirmation, from the high negotiating committee, but he had heard good signs. >> they raised important points of their concerns. they'd would like to see addressed from the government authorities regarding some type of improvement for the people in syria during the talks. for instance, really, the lifting of some matters. >> reporter: members of the high negotiating committee have told al jazeera that they have been in touch with the u.n., u.s. and russia, who have given them reassurances that some of their concerns will be addressed, particularly with regard to the humanitarian situation,

the efforts of local firefighting teams. >> i appeal to the national oil company and also the united nations -- if there is any kind of responseen if it was just a little help, because we are facing a disaster, environmental and economic. richard: while it is no the so-called islamic state was behind the attack here, so far, no group has admitted carrying out thursday's bombing, which killed and injured so many police recruits. what is beyond doubt is that libya's descent into chaos continues unabated. for more on the situation in libya, i spoke a short time ago with the senior associate in the middle east program at the carnegie endowment for national peace. you recently returned from libya. what can you tell us about the tensions in the area where this attack took face? frederick: this is an area where the islamic state has tried to mount attacks. they have their base in an area to the east, and what they are clearly trying to do is disrupt the formation of an effective government and effective police force so they can expand their rule. are we seeing increasingly that libya is becoming some kind of a backstop for islamic st

james bays, al jazeera at the united nations. >> qatar has been the latest country to side with saudi arabia in its dispute with iran. jordan, joobt an just a djibout. today iranian officials accused saudi arabia of work against iran in recent years opposing the nuclear deal and deliberat deliberately suppressing oil prices. iraqi government is concerned the crisis could jeopardize its fight against i.s.i.l. but hundreds of shia demonstrators in baghdad called on the iraqi government to support iran and cut dies with saud ties with sa. >> translator: they don't know they are in front of the honorable iraqis weaker than a spider's net. >> the saudi embassy in baghdad is in the highly fortified green zone protected from protestors. mary beth long served at the first senate confirmed secretary of defense and mary beth, very good to have you with us. you have had extensive contact with the saudis. >> i think that they made the calculation that they could live with the consequences. they obviously had him under arrest for quite a period of time and made the decision to execute him along wi

kenneth greg, cbs news, the united nations. mollie: military experts say one of the goals of their missile program is to develop a warhead capable of reaching the u.s. mainland. police in germany are investigating whether a string of sexual assaults and thefts at new year is linked to a known criminal network. the assaults in cologne last week have prompted outrage in germany and a fresh debate about immigration after police said the attackers appeared to be of arab or north african origin. police have identified more than 2,000 suspects of north african origin in connection with organized theft offenses since 2014. will twitter get rid of its 140-character limit? technology news service recode reports the social media giant is working on a product that would allow users to share twitter ceo jack dorsey took to -- suggest people might like having more characters. and check out this video out of australia where three anglers had a close call with a marlin while fishing this past new years day. you can see the fish nearly impaled

of the united nations and so on. so it is really striking at the heart of both jakarta and indonesia. >> having said that, how would you characterize the safety of jakarta? >> look, jakarta is a very large being sprawling city and i think anybody away from that central district would be quite safe. but obviously that particular area is still under lockdown and is very likely to stay that way. until the police are absolutely certain that it is safe to open up. but that will be sometime. they have to conduct investigations obviously in to the causes of the explosions, in to whether there are any of these perpetrators still in the area alive, interestingly, the person who has been identified as a potential attacker wearing white would seem to indicate that this person is associated with an organization such as gemma [ inaudible ] or one that's very closely associate word that. he's a the garb, if you like, that's what we like to wear to demonstrate their religions. >> so these reports that we are hearing that there were

the united nations estimates their number will rise to 50 million people by 2020. among them other women from the island. they are already on the move, searching for a better place to live. nicholas hawk, al jazeera. >> and you can find out more on the website aljazeera.com. a unique way. this is a show about science... >> oh! >> oh my god! >> by scientists. tonight: techknow's journey to the arctic. 13 days... subfreezing temperatures...

the united nations secretary-general has voiced concerns. >> violence could deepen inside the country spill across borders. government must take steps to build confidence, including releasing prisons -- prisoners of conscience and lifting restrictions on society. >> tensions between the tutsi minority and hutus have conflicted the region ever since independence in 1962. now there are fears the east african country could be on the brink of a new civil war. >> sports news, real madrid and their are to appeal against transfer bans imposed by isifif. the two teams will not be able to transfer players after breaking rules over signing under age players. the club's the ruling is unjustified. >> real madrid has a new coach. the new face in charge of the spanish giants has his sights set on new championships, but for now that will have to be achieved without any new players. the reason for the sanction, fifa found problems with the signing of players under 18 between 2005-2014. the club failed to register the place with the spanish football association. two players are sons of the new coach.

no group has claimed responsibility. >>> a disturbing report out of the united nations today. n in africa and asia have accused european soldiers and united nations peace keepers of sexual abuse. gabriel elizondo has more on the problem one senior official is calling rampant. >> reporter: embroiled in scandal once again. a total of six new allegations have surfaced of sexual misconduct against children by foreign peace keeping troops in the central african republic. the incidents are alleged to have taken place in the capitol at a camp for displaced people in 2014. four teenage girls between the ages of 14 and 16 say they were sexually assaulted by european union peace keepers. three said the abusers were from a georgian contention. troubles allegations were also against french troops, the youngest victim, a 7-year-old girl said she was sexually abused in exchange for a battle of water and a bag of cookies. >> these are of course extremely serious allegations, and it is crucial these cases are thoroughly investigated. we are heartened at the initial response we have received fr

let me take you straight now to the united nations. that is the secretary general ban ki-moon.ten. >> -- my outreach over the attacks in indonesia and turkey, and my condolences to the victims and people of those two countries. ladies and gentlemen, i have just briefed the secretary general on action we must take in the coming year. let me reiterate the points. first we must get off to a fast start in implementing the two achieves of 2015. the [ inaudible ] agenda for social economic goals and the paris agreement on climate change. both are triumphs of multi-lateralism. now we have to bring them to life for every person in every country. second, we must breech the divisions that have september the syrians in agony, plunged yepmen into darkness, and help to spawn violent extremism. perhaps nothing more urgently reflects the need to act than the scenes from madaya in syria. in a country that has already reached [ inaudible ] the suffering there is [ inaudible ]. the scenes that haunt us all, the eld derly and children who are little more than skin and bones. they could barely wal

the united nations and western governments remain concerned. their fear is that the ongoing dispute will setback efforts to end the far bloodier conflicts of syria and yemen >>> the u.s. has transferred two yemeni men who were imprisoned at guantanamo bay to ghana. they were captured in afghanistan and held without charge for nearly 14 years. they were accused of training with al-qaeda and fighting with the taliban. 105 prisoners remain at the u.s. base in cuba. the governor of the u.s. state of california has declared a soemg in the suburb of l.a. after a methane gas leak made people sick. thousands of people have been located. >> reporter: this is what an environmental disaster looks like. a massive natural gas leak spewing methane into the air since late october, captured by infra-red cameras. down wind of the leak 30,000 people living in the upscales bedroom community of porter ranch, 28 miles north of down town l.a. >> it's just impossible to go outside. we have to close all the doors, all the windows. >> reporter: first came the smell. >>

. >>> the united nations reveals allegations of sexual abuse of children by european soldiers in theentral african republic. >>> and how germany integrates newly arrived refugees. ♪ >>> hello. we begin the news hour in geneva, where the talks to end the conflict in syria are on. a syrian government delegation has now arrived in geneva. the u.n. envoy says he will meet them in the coming hours. de mistura has confirmed he will meet other participates in an aim to end the war. but some say they will not negotiate unless certain conditions are met. our diplomatic editor, james bayes joining us live from geneva to tell us what your sources, james are telling you about the participation of the opposition delegation, whether they will be talking. >>> well, the opposition delegation or some of them seem to be definitely coming to geneva from riyadh. that's the word we are getting. it has been a pretty con flewsed picture of who will be coming here. and what is for certain is if they do some on the ground here another geneva they are not at this stage coming to negotiate anything. they are c

what this means, according to the united nations is that they are completely cut off, with no access id, food, nor medicine. the u.n. says both the government and the opposition are stopping supplies from reaching people who desperately need them. almost a quarter of a million people are trapped in three key areas. just outside of damascus is a rebel strong hold. and 9,000 people are trapped in this area. madaya to the south has been under siege by allies of president assad's government since july. the u.n. says 42,000 people are stuck there. meanwhile the united nations says isil fighters have trapped 2 -- 200,000 people in parts of this eastern city, and rebel groups including al-nusra front have blocked two more towns, around 12,500 are trapped there. humanitarian aid is on its way, but many people feel they are being ignored. >> reporter: this man is one of thousands of people trapped by blockades. he says he has been forced to eat grass. >> reporter: it was brought here because i got poisoned i was eating herbs from the ground. >> reporter: may -- ma dayia is just one of several

earlier, the spokesman for the saudi-led coalition said he blames the united nation for failing to distribute aid in yell men properly. >> the humanitarian organization belonging to the united nations, they sign agreement with ink for humanitarian aid and they give the money and they send the shipments to the port and airports, but they did not getting on the ground to distribute it, so -- where is the united nations, why they do not condemn this action -- >>> in mexico, three days of mourning have been declared after a city mayor was shot dead 24 hours after starting her new job. detectives are investigating the politician's murder in temixco, south of mexico city. we have this report. >> she was sworn in as mayor in temixco city on friday, shot and killed at her home on saturday. detectives suspect at least nine people were involved in her murder, two of them were killed at the scene. police officers and soldiers chased and detained four others. >> we demand a full complete investigation by the state government to its final consequences. there are four people arrested who will have to confe

the opposition wants a democratic syria, keeping state united nations in tact. the president will be allowed to participate in the negotiations, but must leave power after a but must leave power after a 6-week negotiation period, and preconditions must be met to stop government attacks, allow aid into opposition areas and facilitate the return of millions of refugees. earlier we spoke to a member f the syrian coalition, joining us from abu dhabi, via skype. and explained the next position in the process. >> the higher committee of the opposition in riyadh, they agreed according to the political document issued on the prince nal of negotiation, the political settlement of communique, leading to political transition in syria. at the same time they very asked. according to their latest statement for a confidence building measures to be implemented before negotiations start. and the most important ones are, first of all, to stop bombing civilians, which is happening every day, by both russian war planes, and regime war planes, and, of course, the lifting of starvatio

. >>> the united nations special envoy on syria says he is optimistic and determined. the talks aimed at ending the war will succeed. he has held informal talks with the members of the opposition group, that is the higher national council. that group, though, is threatening to leave unless a number of demands are met. including the supply the opposition were amateurs, not professionals. and he said he hadn't even been given a list of their delegation members. >> we have not yet started the talks. we don't know yet who will be sitting with us on the other side. neither us nor the special envoy are aware of the names of the composition of the other delegations with whom we will have this dialogue. >> reporter: members of the opposition delegation have been having a meeting with the u.s. and the european envoys. afterwards they met to discuss the situation again together. they are still split on whether to join these negotiations. so that is where it stands right now. as i understand they have gone in to that next meeting. a meeting of the high negotiating committee, they

it's why he felt so strongly about creating the united nations, that only when you have a consortium of countries working together can you prevent the kind of horror that was experienced in world war i and was now unfolding in asia and europe. >> flashforward 75 years to 2016. how do you think that concept of the four freedoms speech fits into today's world? >> it's quite extraordinary. almost all of it is relevant today. it's on the front pages of the newspapers and leads our television shows. the idea of religious in tolerances driving much of what we see in the middle east. the idea of freedom and we see in is what these governments trying to express their people. in china, they just change the laws to make it even harder for bloggers and people to comment on line. freedom from want is critical. we have seen a dramatic increase in quality of life across the world. there are fewer people living in abject poverty today than at any point in human history, so there has been progress made in that. but if you think about freedom from fear, americans are being in it dated with messages of

the fire is still spreading. "i appeal to the national oil company and to the united nations. if there is any kind of response come even a little help and support for us, because we are dealing with a very big problem. we are facing a disaster -- an environmental disaster and an economic disaster." for weeks, islamic state militants have been trying to gain control over the area where much of olivia's oil -- much of libya's oil resources are located could the group has taken control over the town not far from the burning oil terminals. another advance for the group as libya descends further into chaos. sarah: an increasing number of women are coming forward to say that they were attacked in the german city of cologne on new year's eve. police are dealing with 120 cases of alleged robbery or sexual assault. most of the perpetrators have been described as having arab or north african appearance, leading german nude criticism of angela -- renewed criticism of angela merkel's refugee policy. >reporter: what exactly happened at cologne central station on new year's eve is getting t

seseetary-general of the united states and -- of the united nations talk about concern for democrat accuracy and the process in haiti. forward and that is what is going on right now. what about the voters you ask? coming up in an hour, you will hear from some very bright and engaged young people about what is happening to the election process and their perspective on what is going on.

let me ask you why they did not go under the flag of the united nations and distribute the aid. last week they give a very contradictory report. they talk about accumulation of food and medicine. it belonged to the united nations, they signed agreement. and they get the money. and they send the shipment to the port and airport, but they did not get in the ground to review it. so will this food and medicine get there. and use it to humiliate the people, so where the united nations, why must they condemn the action. preventing the people food and medicine >>> 40 people have been arrested after demonstrators set fire to the saudi embassy in tehran. protesters were angry after the execution of a cherish and others convicted of terrorism offenses. iran's supreme leader joined the call for divine intervention. >> reporter: reaction was swift. protesters in iran's capital tehran, stormed the saudi embassy following the execution of prominent shi'a cleric, a central figure during the protests in saudi arabia, intensifying in 2011. he was one of 47 executed, convicted of plotting and carr