>> two senior members of the turkish government resign over a high profile corruption probe. this is al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. also coming up, the u.n. votes to double its peace keeping mission in south sudan amid increasing violence. turned violence, after an explosion. pope francis holds his first christmas mass as head of the

catholic church. are hello, two senior members of the turkish government have stepped down over a high profile corruption probe. ministers resigned following arrest of their sons after investigation into several prominent bankers and businessmen have also been arrested in turkey. in south sudan, the u.n. security council has agreed to double the number of peace keepers there. forces loyal to the president and those loyal to the former vice president, cat turner

reports from the u.n. headquarters in new york. >> reporter: a unanimous vote from the security council. all in favor of secretary general ban ki-moon's proposal. >> south sudan has been consistently grateful for the support the international community and the united nations has extended to our nation country, south sudan does not want to fall back into the war for which they have suffered over a half a century. >> united nations not always known for its diplomatic espionage has worked with similar urgency. the u.n. has repeatedly urged civilians they will not be abandoned. with over 1300 police on the ground, the secretary general knows it will probably not be

enough. >> the strength of the unmiss's capabilities will not happen overnight. even with additional exaipghts wcapabilities we will not be abe to protected everyone in south sudan. >> such as darfur, the democratic republic of congo. >> only a temporary measure and in no way a solution to the crisis in south sudan. but as regional and international leaders push for a political resolution, words are of little comfort to tens of thousands of people caught up in the issue. cat turner, united nations, new

york. >> there is no military solution to this conflict. the crisis is therefore not an ethnic, i want to reiterate, it is a political struggle. there may be elements that seek to exploit the current crisis to pursue their own agendas but this is fundamentally a power struggle. >> let's go back to our top story on the turkish minister's resignations. we are hearing that two ministers have resigned. joining us with the latest frommist stafrommist tamfromist. >> their sons were involved in a corruption probe, 27 high level

people under investigation. and the economy ministers who resigned designed as a setup. i have resigned from my post of economy minister to have the truth come out and he said the foil -- he want to foil this ugly plot which he said impacted my child and my close working colleagues. and in fact it was an unexpected step because since the corruption erupted last week, prime minister was quite defiant. he was coming from pakistan last night and he was welcomed by cheerful crowds and he said, in the airport, i am standing with my ministers. but also there were calls from the public for the ministers to resign. because for example, interior minister, who was one of the ministers which resigned already is on top of the police department who is in charge of

that investigation. and people are saying that it would cast a shadow on the investigation, and will have to point out that the resignations came eight days later since the investigation erupted. so the minister, interior minister already reassigned more than 100 police who were in charge of that investigation. >> right. >> and people -- some people at least think that it's already a bit late for the ministers to resign. >> okay ishiel, thank you, reporting on the resignation of two ministers from the government. now hospital workers in gaz says a three-year-old palestinian girl has been killed in an attack. israel says one of its citizens was earlier shot dead by a sniper from across the border in

gaza. syrian forces have been attacking the city of aleppo for the 10th day. syrian forces have been dropping barrels flilbarrels filled withs and shrapnel about. ing mohamed morsi, renationalization of a textile firm. and still in egypt there have been riots after the killing of 14 people in a bombing. targeted shops and businesses linked to the muslim brotherhood linked to the attack.

peter grestev reports from cairo. >> after the blast comes the anger. marched through the streets in solidarity with the security services targeted in the bombing. they set fire to vehicles bronging to members of the muslim brotherhood after someone moved the movement as's four-fingered salute. >> i accuse the brotherhood and anyone who is collaborating with them. they are terrorists. i want to kill them and anyone working with or without them, inside or outside. >> at the city's main hospital those caught in the explosion struggled to make sense of it. >> while i was doing my work i hit the wall, then hit the table. and back to the wall again. i tried to stand up. but then i fell. i felt as if i couldn't breathe. like someone coming out of a river of blood.

>> the interior minister went to the hospital where he condemned the attack. he said it was an attempt to derail next mont month's referem on a new constitution. >> what happened will not affect the prerched up process because it has its own comprehensive security plan. >> among casualties, a group of senior security officials meeting to discuss how they'll keep control of the reverend pull. the muslim brotherhood has been the target of public anger here but it has condemned the attack while the radical militant group says it was responsible. the angry crowds though, there is no distinction and a funeral for some of the 14 people killed in the blast, mourners continue to blame the brotherhood and it's supporters. the supporters were seems to have worked.

peter gresta, al jazeera, cairo. >> pope francis has been celebrating his first christmas as head of the catholic church. he addressed more than 10,000 people in his first christmas eve mass at the vatican and pope called for followers to open up their hearts to god and their fellow man. >> translator: in our personal history, too, there are both bright and dark moments, light and shadows. if we love god and our brothers and sisters we walk in the light. but if our heart is closed, if we are dominated by pride, deceit, self-seeking then darkless falls within is and around us. >> and christians are marking christmas in bullpe bethlehem, e

place where it is believed jesus was born. undergoing a renovation in fact. >> in what's believed to be the birth of jeefs, the sounds of mass filled st. katherine's chapel. all gathered to pray. thousands lined up to see the grotto, the spot where it is believed jesus was born. people are queuing to enter the church of the nativity. attending mass here is a dream come true. but palestinians say they cannot bring the church under its full

splendor while under occupation. many of bethlehem's palestinian ifnts credichristians have movea better future. >> this is why people are fearful for the future and many of them leave the country. >> still people travel from around the world to celebrate christmas nlt in bethlehem. >> i feel like i have an experience i haven't felt before, a step in my spirituality. >> for the next four to five years it's being renovated. by the time it's finished many palestinians hope there will be finally peace in the hoirl land. >> al jazeera, bethlehem.

>> after decades of isolation, myanmar's real estate is booming but not everyone is catching cashing in. but winter storms disrupt festive plans for travelers in the u.k.

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>> hello again this is al jazeera. reminder of the top stories. two members of the turkish government have resigned because of a corruption probe. described the investigation as a

dirty setup against the government. the u.n. security council has unanimously approved sending more peace keepers to south sudan. the united nations believe thousands have been killed in more than a week of violence. in egypt, there have again bombings, targeted shops and businesses linked to the muslim brotherhood. yemeni leaders have signed a document that would give more autonomy to leaders. 17 political parties and the government as well as civil society groups. hasham al vera, is joining us in the studio to tell us more about what this document really moons. hashaman what do the southerners think about it? >> it has still to be

implemented and make a final decision about it because the whole problem in yemen in the past few years is has been how to move forward. you have to solve the issue in the south. the federal system based on two entities, one in the south, one in the north. the ones in the north will categorically say no. because this will lead the southerners to ask for independence in the future. now, the president had no other option but to set up this committee to decide this federal system. you have three parties which rejected this document. the party of the former president, socialist and the nationalist party. if the state maintain their position it is not going to work. you also have a big problem which is the separates themselves extremely very active in the south. they say we're not going to join any political process in yemen.

the yemenis have to understand after 2011 when the president was ousted we have to create our own independent state. it's going to be a extremely delegate situation for the united nations and the president to solve this problem in this week because he has only one week to solve this issue. >> you talk about the three political parties that boycotted this. how much power do they have what impact will that boycott have and why was it this document was signed right now? what do we make of the timing considering there are elections in the country next year? >> the nationalist platform was a document that was created in 2012 for the yemenis to come forward think about what to do and create a state. they couldn't solve the problems of the south and now they have been extending the mandate of the national conference, looking like a traditional parliament.

and we have to solve this problem now and we have only until the end of december, we have other issues, elect a new parliament and elect a new president. so they decided to say you know what we have to converse, come together and solve the issue of the south. but you have people who have been complaining about being side lined, discriminated against in the south by the northern eleads and we say -- eleade-- eight elites, and jurid one in the north then we can work out the details of a federal system like in the u.s. where you have a federal government, that runs the whole country. but it has to be based on equality. >> okay, hashim, thank you very much. that is hashim el varra talking

to us about yemen. there has been a booming in how rental and property prices are at an all time high in the largest city, yangdon. >> it is different from the city lives they know but this family are slowly getting used to it. there is no running water and no electricity here. >> life is hard here. we have communal toilets, but they are not enough. also, our bamboo houses are not strong enough to resist heavy rain or winds. >> they had to move here because they could no longer afford rent in the city. an increase of 33% became too much of a financial burden. their make neighbors have similr

situations. >> this is very much driven by throiphilanthropic spirit. when we saw the navy we wanted to provide some housing to them. >> the monday industry also runs a school to help ease travel costs for the families. this township has bend around for less than three years and in that time it has gone from housing 70 peams to around antonio,000. the mondamonastery has sometimee supply can catch up with demand. it's not just residential but office space that's highly sought after in yangon.

>> what we have seen in the past three years is a complete turn around, myanmar, big stories, and a lot of companies are starting to take place. that's going to continue. that's going to continue for the next three, four, five, six years. >> for property owners, she is on the lookout to invest in more. >> i'm not worried about a bubble in housing prices because there's not much space left in town. >> but for the poor the sudden surge in property prices have been cult. that's an indication of how public progress in myanmar sems to only benefit a few. >> police and army arrested an unknown number of people in

kirkuk. 11 al qaeda linked fighters have been killed. three day operation following the death of at least 18 soldiers in the area. the vice president of one of china's most prestigious use of the has been arrested. the government has been cracking down on officials as part of its 18th-graft campaign. former russian oil tycoon mikhail codorkofsky has applied for a visa.

parts of england have been flooded. >> n asreen reports from london. >> water on many railway tracks. at one of the busiest airports in the country gatwick, a power outage is causing delays. travelers are asked to check on their flights before arriving. there is confusion here as people try owork out how to get home. >> i don't normally spend my christmas at the station. >> we were trying to take ocoach after we found out the trains had been delayed.

but the coaches are not very good at the moment, either. >> not great, not great. i've got a bag full of presents in here. >> and in northwest france more than 200,000 homes have no electricity. ferries from france to britain have been cancelled because of gale force winds. >> an example of impacts of winds more than 110 kilometers an hour here in london. tens of thousands of people in the region have been left without power. things are common now but a stormy weather is headed towards northern ireland and scotland. and weather forecasters are predicting another big storm on friday. >> more than an inch of rain in places and further damaging winds. >> people are preparing themselves for more bad weather.

and a very wet christmas. nasineeem ashiri, al jazeera, london. hundreds of families have been evacuated from their homes on christmas eve in the mexican state of tha of of tabasco. >> recession reenacts the birth of jesus. u.s. troops in afghanistan are celebrating christmas away from their families. they lit candles and said prayers. >> i just want to say to the

afghaafghans we are here because believe in love and hope and joy. we want the people in afghanistan to feel secure, to feel happiness, to feel joy and to feel love. >> although i miss my family very much. i'm truly honored i'm here while my family is celebrating freedom at home. for many of the boys and girls in the refugee camp in l lebanon, it's the first time they've been taught about christmas. >> they don't include new toys. santa, i want my old clothes back they sing. i want my old toys and to go back home. in the freezing cold of lebanon's bacca valley, in a makeshift refugee camp, in a

makeshift school of tents, almost 500 students come here to get an education, some psychological support and seefn some food.. a nond governmental organization, trying to create a safe haven for these children. they are under tremendous pressure says from leon's director maria alsfication. the goal is to alleviate some of their suffering and give them some respite. to see a whole generation destroyed is not acceptable. >> although most children here are muslims, plea says it's important to separate rmts christmas like they celebrate other nonchristian holidays. >> to celebrate, to give them a break from their reality.

>> last year fa fatima lost her parents, yet she still can't sing. she's an orfasten as well, most of these children have lost something or someone. >> i want to forget the suffering, i want my toys back, this girl sings. 12,000 children across he be leb non: >> hundreds of thousands of syrian children are the dependent on charity for their basic needs. on this day they got much more in the spirit of christmas. bacca valley, lebanon. >> children from one portion

were very surprised when santa showed up. the capital damascus it's a bit light and temporary respite from war that's going on in the area, and they have been targeted, and that's bylaws of their faith. there the next half hour at @aj real