it worth it. >> it highlights the real crime, which is drilling in the arctic, and that needs to stop. if this is done anything, it's made people aware of what is going on there >> russia's parliament approved an amnesty law, and criminal charges against the arctic 30 were dropped. barrels of oil were flowing into the arctic. russia is defiant.

it said arctic exploration is crucial to its future do. . >> president vladimir putin said what happened to the activists should serve as a tough warning. the greenpeace said it will not stop it from continuing its fight against drilling in the arctic. greenpeace hasn't ruled out future protests in the arctic. that will bring the groups head to head with russian authorities again. it >> india's capital region appointed its youngest chief minister. 45-year-old ar vein is a political newcomer. his party made a debut in elections this month. he's promised to tackle corruption. >> coming up on the program, an election and a football world cup are going be held in brazil next year. will it be people power that

steals the spotlight in 2014. >> i'm andrew thomas in a city that sprung up around china with virtually anything you could want - except any people.

>> hello, i'm david foster and these are the top stories on al jazeera. students at cairo university will not attend exams in support of protesters on friday. five people were killed and 260

were arrested. >> china has officially eased its one-child policy. china will be allowed to have two children, if one parent is an only child. they will also shut down labour camps. >> one person has been killed after a gunman opened fire at a protest in bangkok. it's the latest violence and unrest which has lasted for a number of weeks. >> the first peacekeeping reinforcements arrived in south sudan's capital juba. 72 police will bolster security around u.n. bases where tens of thousands of people are sheltering. the u.n. security council voted to double peacekeeping missions. more than 1,000 are thought to have died so far. african leaders have been trying to find a solution to end the violence at a summit in kennia. the meetingeneded with a call

for dialogue. the president salva kiir was welcomed. they agreed to a ceasefire and are calling on vice president riek machar to do the same. our correspondent is in juba. >> the east african leaders meeting on friday called for both sides to end the conflict, to talk and talk first. they have given them until 31 december to do so. president salva kiir committed himself and his government. they have to be negotiations before the rebels agreed to any truce with the government. he cannot be committed to the government's professed commitment - cannot be confident with the government, commitment to peace talks until there are mechanisms for monitoring a ceasefire. he is saying that he has to see

this mechanism put in place before he comes and talks to the government. now, there's only four days to go. there's not much time to put the mechanisms. they have to bet put in place before negotiations with the government. it means these four-day deadline given by the east african leaders at the moment is untenable. >> the government of mali is presenting a case for high treason. he was toppled in a coup, and is facing allegations in a high court of failing as a commander of mallee's armed voices. >> an ambassador in australia asked for asylum. she is in line with the opposition movement, the movement for democratic change and called robert mugabe's

government a farce. diplomatic immunity finishes next week. >> iran is thinking of moving its city. because of pollutions schools were shut and elder people were warned to stay inside. many are wearing masks >> translation: my eyes are achy when i get up. it's because of air pollution. it is so severe. we are short of breath when walking. >> there are more and more people coming here to buy arrives masks. >> i have asthma. the air is better here than downtown. it is horrible if you go to downtown area where people are crowded. >> a fire on board an express train in india killed 23 people, including two children. the train is on its way to bangalore. people leapt from the burning

carriage to save themselves. a faulty airconditionering system is being blamed. >> a state of emergency has been declared in mexico's tabasco state. days of torrential rain caused landslides. roads have been blocked. families have not been able to leave their homes. >> as the new year approaches, al jazeera is looking at some events that could shape 2014. both the football world cup and an election, brazil will be in the spotlight. it could be people power that steals the show. >> snapshots of disconstent. millions of brazilians took to the streets in june, an opportunity for photographers to produce images of people, police and protests. some of those photographers have

formed a group of photo protesters in sao paulo to pool images and display them publicly >> translation: why not keep the photos alive. it wasn't so much about covering the story, but the historical meaning of the protest and seeing what we can do to keep the memory of it alive. >> in 2014 in brazil there'll be a lot more opportunities for camera clicks, a presidential race with the incumbent expected to run. before that, june, the world cup is played in 12 host cities over the span of a month. it could be a platform to express nationwide discontent. >> brazil has multiple host cities to bring tourism to the country. in that way it spread dissatisfaction all over the nation. >> will street protests break

out in brazil during the world cup, on the same size and scale. that's a question everyone is asking. the truth is a lot of people on the streets have an opinion. no one can say for sure what will happen - not the government, not f.i.f.a. or the protest movement themselves. >> like these two young women, leaders of the bus fare hike protest. brazil will have a lot of questions to answer next year. >> tourists will come to rio to drink coconut water and watch girls on the beach in copa cabbana. what did the world cup bring to the country. what did it bring to south africa. the groups have something to lose. they'll have something to mobilise again. >> the photographers will have plenty to shoot. some iconic images may le

provided by people power as brazilions take to the streets again. >> the venezuela government rubbished an independent report into murder rates. it was found that the number of people murdered between 1998 and 2012 has quadrupled and estimates 25,000 killings took place this year alone. >> building boom is underway in china. not everyone is cashing in. prices have skyrocketed and accommodation is almost impossible to find. in rural areas newly built cities are empty. we have this report. >> six years ago all this was farm land. now there are tens of thousands of apartments and plans for many more. this woman lives in one. in her building of 44 flats,

just four are occupied. >> translation: it's too quiet. on weekends or weekdays it's the same time. you don't see anyone on the streets, except clearance. >> do others feel the same way? there was no one around to task. if there was tumble weed - this is where it would be blowing. >> there's something spooky about walking around here. it's a weekend, the middle of the day, not raining, there are hundreds of apartments and yet the streets are virtually deserted. the only sounds the rustle of the wind and the birds. it's almost as if a terrible accident cleared the people out. >> in fact, they have never arrived. most front doors are wrapped in sello fan. the city was planned by a city hoping 2 million will live here. 15 families had two rooms off

this shared corridor in beijing, bathrooms and cooking areas communal. provincial government expect rural chinese will move to rural areas, and that is why they are creating city, the theory is these places offer good quality affordable housing. most apartments are sold to speculators. they've been empty for two years, prices have doubled. >> it's an investment. here is deeper than downtown. it's speculation for the long term. >> real people may move in. universities and government offices are moved to bring in students and jobs. now that speculators have driven the price of a 2-bedroom flat of $80,000, they are out of reach. the result is an expensive ghost town with few people and without much traffic. in china's planned economy,

building the right sort of affordable housing in the right place is tricky. >> a chinese ice-breaking vessel sent to free a russian ship near antarctica has become stuck. the "snow dragon" had to abort the mission. >> stranded in the son ocean, passengers on the scientific research ship catch glimpses of help. they had been trapped in dense ice off antarctica since christmas eve. over my right shoulder is "snow dr dragon", it turned up an hour ago and is making steady progress. it should be alongside in the next two hours. there's a lot of relief and happy faces. >> it will be short lived. the chinese rescue vessel had to

cut through 20km of sea ice. halfway through it was unable to advance, and finally turned back. it's one of three icebreakers dispatched to free the academic russian ship, which is carrying 74 people, including scientists, tourists and journalists. they are tracing the route that douglas mauson took 100 years ago, studying the environmental changes in the area over the past century. the hope lies in the powerful resupply ship "aurora aust australis." they are in no immediate danger. they have weeks of supply. they are just stuck. >> parts of moscow are lit up. natural light lasts six hours and it's later in the day since the county abandoned daylight

savings. many lived their lives, morning to night, in what appears to be darkness. peter sharp reports on how it's changed. >> waky, waky, it's nearly 10 o'clock. ever since the kremlin scrapped daylight saving time the people here face 18 hours of darkness a day through the winter, going without seeing a trace of blue sky or sunlight for months. for the people of moscow the daily walk to work can be depressing and dangerous experiences. carried out in almost total dark possess, crossing treacherous icy streets. then it has to be repeated again eight hours later on the way home, again in total darkness. >> it really influences people. they can get depression. statistics say that 10% of people suffer from this disease during winter. almost every person has a lack of energy. about 10% has to get medical

treatment such as anti-depressants. >> for the first time city authorities declared, "let there be light." and lo and behold there was light. >> they don't celebrate. new year's is the big deal. it didn't stop officials turning moscow in a winter wonderland. as far as christmas decorations go, we are not talking about regent street. trust me, this is a big improvement. they lit up 7,000 trees and plastered lights across moscow. decorations that remain in place during the winter olympics. >> translation: it's lovely. we walk after a long day at work and this light cheers us up. >> translation: i hate the dark days, we wake at 11am in the morning and turn the lights on. what about the children, they

spend mornings and evenings if darkness. >> if you are outside moscow - tough luck. no lights in the suburbs, just four months of bumping into things. >> you can keep up to date with all of the news, the backgrounds, the headlines, it's all there for you on aljazeera.com.