lunny says if the lower court ruling against him stands, the community may gain a quiet estuary, but some of their cultural history will be lost. . >> afghanistan's presidential candidates sign a power-sharing agreement after months of bickering over election results. hello, welcome to al jazeera, i'm darren jordan. coming up, more fighting in yemen's capital. helicopters and jets deployed in sanaa. >> one year on, kenya remembers

the victims of the westgate shopping mall siege. >> i'm andrew thomas in fiji, a country celebrating the release of 45 of its soldiers in syria. why does fiji contribute so many soldiers to u.n. peacekeeping missions around the world. afghanistan's two rival presidential candidates signed a power sharing agreement which may end months of political stalemate. the country has been without a president since elections in june. ashraf ghani and abdullah abdullah sealed the deal in the last few month. jennifer glasse has been mon forking event in kabul. this -- monitoring event in kabul. this deal comes months after a political stalemate. any more details on how it will work? >> it spells out the powers for the two men. it's a unity deposit.

it will have a president first in the elections and a chief executive officer. it's a new position in afghanistan. a lot of horse wrangling has been what will the chief executive's role be, how much power will they have. in the end the agreement comes out to a 50/50 power sharing deal, with each man able to share council minister's meetings, each appointing their own provincial governments around the country. a true power sharing deal in afghanistan. at the end, as you said, of months of political stalemate. a first round of elections in april. sa second round between ashraf ghani, and abdullah abdullah. that was widely contested, considered to be corrupt by both men. that triggered international involvement. the u.s. secretary of state came in and the two men agreed to have all 8 million ballots reviewed and recounted.

looked at to throw out the ballots. we are not sure what form at that will take. abdullah abdullah has been asking because the review i don't say didn't do what he wanted it to do. he said it didn't throw out the unvalid votes. he wants a winner and second-place candidates. we are not sure what the election commission will do, but a big day here in afghanistan as the weeks-long political wrangling and deadlock porappea to be at an end. stay with us for a second. the outgoing president spoke at the signing ceremony. here is what he said. >> i would like to congratulate everyone. today we pray that afghanistan, with the help of allah will have

peace and prosperity in development. and with their effort and the governance, afghanistan enriches prosperity, which is the hope of years of afghan people. it will be a busy day. what is happening with the ecount election results, when are they to be announced. >> we expect them in the next 2-3 hours. afghanis have been waiting for 2-3 months to find out how their results wept. we are not sure of the announce -- results went. we are not sure what form the announcement will take, whether they'll announce the president, or give the numbers. both me will have a major part in the knew unity government, and everybody is curious as to

how the government will move forward. president hamid karzai, the outgoing president offering his support, and the support of members of his government who have been running afghanistan for the past decade or so to help the unity government. a lot of uncertainty about whether the two men and their teems work effectively at a critical time for afghanistan. >> jennifer glasse in kabul. thank you. >> now, explosions are heard across the yemeni capital sanaa. military jets have been deployed. the government and shia houthi rebels are fighting. the rebel advance on the capital killed dozens of people. hundreds have fled their homes. let's get more from hashem ahelbarra. he joins us on the set. this is an extraordinary situation where there's a possible deal on the table, yet the fighting is raging. what is going on. >> it shows the rift between the government and the houthis. the houthis are skeptical, and

don't think the government is genuine about implementing the elements of the deal. the government is convinced that the houthis are there to implement a radical shia ideology. the united nations is trying to put together elements of the deal. i think, given the time that i spend in yemen, that this deal is not going to be a permanent solution to the crisis. we'll see more fighting in the future. it's a delicate situation. >> let's remind the viewers, what do both sides want. the houthis have been ratcheting up their demands. we see the violence increase. we don't know what concessions the governments are prepared to make. talk us through what both sides want? >> yemen, for the last 60 years, have been run by tribesman with generals. 20 years ago a new movement started, led by the houthis. it has grown as the most

sophisticated and organised military faction. they want a say in running the government. they say the government has to go. there needs to be a unity government, and where the houthis will have a bigger say. they want to run the northern side of the country. he understands grievances like cutting fewer prices, clamping down on corruption, and forming a new international government. on the other hand we want you guys to arm and pull out. you can never impose your will by using violence. >> in terms of the wider regional geopolitical picture, how are saudi arabia and iran looking in on events in yemen? >> it's a replay of what you see in lebanon, syria and iraq. they were concerned that the houthis would control an area, that it may be used or manipulated by iran, to

destabilize saudi arabia. this is why they talked about it a few weeks ago, we want you to use force. people have genuine grievances, you have to listen to them. the president said that his biggest problem in yemen is iran. iran has to stop meddling with internal affairs. this is something that will yn for the coming weeks. >> we'll see how it plays out. thank you for that. >> now, the u.n. says 70,000 kurdish refugees crossed into turkey in one day, trying to escape an advance by fighters from i.s.i.l. they have been massing on the border since thursday, as i.s.i.l. fighters seized dozens of villages and a lightening offensive. al jazeera continues to demand the release of three of its journalists imprisoned in egypt. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed have now been detained for 267 days. they are falsely accused of aiding the outlawed muslim

brotherhood. in his first interview with foreign media since taking it was egyptian president abdul fatah al-sisi had this to say about their continued imprisonment. >> translation: i have said this before, if i had been responsible at the time, it would not have gone this far. i would have deported them. now the case is in the hands of the judiciary system. we have breaking news. there has been an explosion near the egyptian foreign ministry in cairo, sirens have been heard in the area. we'll bring you more on that as we get it here on al jazeera. >> flooding devastated punjab province, it's the bread basket of the country. crops are under water and food prices rising. we have more. >> reporter: it's a terrible year to own a cotton factory. first, the rain - heavy and out

of season. it knocked the plants and damaged the quality of the cotton. then the floods hit, washing away a third of the crop, and taking with it 40% of profits. >> the cause of the damage - we are getting let's raw material. the flood is costing us a fortune. the factory is barely running 12 hours a day, because we don't have enough cotton. >> from the air you see the extent of the damage. farms, factories and villages flooded when the government diverted water to rural areas, and protect major cities. >> around 7,000 square kilometres of agricultural land is under water. everything from fruit and vegetables to rice and sugar. >> food prices are going up. the worry is there won't be enough basic supplies to feed people. >> this farmer, who is a lawyer and politician, says the cost of some food items has doubled.

and even tripled. >> from the farm to the market, the food stuffs are not coming. crops are destroyed. so this will have a demand and supply. and in the short run, which is 3-6 months, we feel there'll be a 20-25% inflation in the food basket. >> for tenant farmers, it's a catastrophe. they have nothing. no crops, no home. they are living on irrigation dykes waiting for the water to recede. the landlord says it's the worst flood he has seen. >> poor labourers are in crisis. the families are in crisis. we need a huge compensation package from the government. then we can build the houses and infrastructure. if the government doesn't help we'll life hand to mouth. >> all across the province, the

flood turned farms into leaks. for many people, there's nothing they can do, except see if there's anything worth catching. >> more to come on the programme. we'll hear from the ukrainian foreign minister as a ceasefire deal is finalised. more on that.

welcome back. the top stories on al jazeera. afghanistan's two rival presidential candidates signed a

power sharing deal. it will end months of political steal mate. ashraf ghani will be the president and abdullah abdullah the chief executive. explosions have been heard across the yemen capital sanaa. jets have been deployed. there is continued fighting despite reaching a deal on saturday. we'll talk to peterson salisbury, a political analyst and journalist in yemen. how sound is the agreement, and will it stop the short term violence, particularly in sanaa, where you are? >> the most important point to make is there's no deal still. last night representatives of the houthi movement, the government and political parties in yemen agreed in principle to the basic outline of a deal. the idea is that that deal will be signed by houthi

representatives, and represent tefs of the government here in -- representatives of the government in sanaa. to the best of my understanding, they are yet to arrive in the capital, and we hear fighting across the city. we are hearing reports of air strikes against houthi positions, suggesting if anything the fighting is intensifying. >> give us a sense, peterson -- peterson, of the atmosphere. we know the airport has been shut and hundreds have fled. what is life like in the capital at the moment. . >> sure. for the last four days fighting has intensified. yesterday evening, from about 8 o'clock in the evening when the houthis took an important strategic position where the main state broadcaster was located. there was a period of quiet.

and there was an assistance of jubilation for a short while. fighting broke out and became intense, if not more so, as it has been overnight last night. the center right is one that if a deal is reached, the fighting will not end soon. >> a final thought from you. we know the houthis are demanding political and economic reforms. what concessions do you believe the government may be prepared to make. >> the government agreed to reduce the fuel price and agreed to dissolve the current government and replace it including with members of the houthi mott movement. the big question is the extent to which they'll be involved, and disarmament, and whether the houthis are prepared to move out of sanaa and other provinces. that seems unlikely in all

reality. >> thank you, peter. >> now, exactly a year ago al-shabab fighters attacked a mall in the capital nairobi. 67 died in the siege. questions remain about what happened. survivors, and those who lost loved ones are trying to come to terms with the traumatic events, katherine sawyer reports. >> it was as dramatic as lethal. by the end of a four day seem, there was deaths, injuries and destruction. the mall stood. a year later, this woman is about to get a new prosthetic foot. this is what a handgrenade did to her right leg. >> i'm recovering day by day. it's not been an easy journey since i lost my husband, 2012,

after 14 days of marriage. >> at the top of the mall was a cooking show. most that diet were women and -- died were women and children. there was many women and children. and there was nowhere to hide. this man lost his mother. he is trying to understand why they had to die and has doubts about the faith of those that murdered them. >> i don't think so. i believe - i feel in my mind - i believe the guys came to die. >> police say the gun me were killed. government information about the siege has always been contradictory and scanty at best. survivors, and those that lost their loved ones at the westgate mall are struggling to find

closure. a year on, there's no act of what happened. what people know is what they've been able to peace together, and conspiracy theories. >> there appears to be a fall out between the police and military. in this era of terrorism security forces cannot afford to slip up. >> the issue of the terrorism is a new threat, a new threat to the african continent. i think they can - they must have a programme why they are doing to uplift or build better security. >> reporter: the truth about what really happened in the mall in the four days may never be known. for now, survivors, some of whom waited for hours to get help - say it's a death trap. those that lost people they loved want to remember and honour the dead, and hope their

names will never be forgotten. >> the ukranian government and pro-russian rebels finalized terms for a ceasefire deal, coming as ukranian forces and pro-russian separatists exchanged prisoners. international observers monitored the swap forming part of the memorandum to come into effect sunday. >> ukraine's foreign minister spoke about the sponsor of maintaining a ceasefire. >> we have to get back more, to the people of donetsk and luhansk, they are absolutely fed up on the developments, killing people, taking hostages. can you imagine thousands. not just hundreds, but thousands of hostages as a result for the conflict. it's not just about amnesty,

it's terminology. it's about freeing from criminal responsibility only those who have not committed capital crimes. >> the u.s. and europe introduced fresh sanctions. peter sharp had this report from moscow on how russia is fighting back. >> russia is nighting the sanctions war with fruit and vegetables. counter-sanctions banned the vegetables, where russia was by far the biggest importer. at this exhibition, they are seeking other overseas markets to fill the gap. the belgium exporter find himself frozen out of the market. >> we blame a little our own european politicians, which intervene in russian poll ittics, where they doesn't do that, to offer personal opinion at least. >> what other counter sanctions

could russia call on? >> it could close airspace to the airlines. russia would lose out on overfly fees. it could cut off gas supplies to europe. e.u. gets a third of its gas from russia. shutting it down would be costly. gazprom sold gas worth $70 billion. >> it could ban car imports from the west. car manufacturers could supply cars made in other countries uneffected by sanctions. >> moscow is a financial hub of russia, this is where the money men confront the challenges of sanctions, and the future is not looking good. >> i believe that in the medium and long term, the ruble will fall. the russian currency doesn't look strong. not to the rates that the government and business wants. >> indicators are predicting a

rough ride for the economy. >> the annual inflation rate is running at 7.5%. the value of the ruble against the dollar dropped 14%. there's a dip in oil prices, and that makes up more that half of russia's export revenues. the advice from the finance ministry - don't panic. >> and no signs of high anxiety. >> i don't feel panic. i wooept lose much -- won't lose much. it's hard to surprise us. >> reporter: for ordinary people, the effects of a falling country are hitting home. the call ops of three tour operators due to the downturn of the ruble left more than 13,000 holiday makers affected. russians are urged to take their new year vacation at home.

breaking news, there has been an explosion near the egyptian foreign ministry in cairo. two have been killed. it happened in a crowded area on the banks of the nile. we'll bridge you more as we get it. >> that month, 45 u.n. peacekeepers were released after being kidnapped and held for two yeecks in syria. the -- two weeks in syria. the they were captured on the golan heights. andrew thomas reports from suva, about why the nation provides the u.n. with more soldiers per capita than other countries. >> this woman was talking on skype with her husbands when he suddenly stood up. he said, "something happened, i need you to be strong." that was it. >> he and 44 other fijian peacekeepers reason kidnapped by members of the al nusra front.

they were held for two weeks before there was another call. 45 peacekeepers reason released. her husband lost weight, but he was free. >> i shouted, cried. the neighbour came out. they come into my house thinking something bad had happened. when i told them the good news that he was released, my shout was lower than theirs. >> the thanksgiving service in suva included many soldiers who returned from similar missions. at any one time fiji has between 10-20% of its soldiers working abroad. for fiji, a tiny country, the quantity of peacekeepers it provide the u.n. is part of its policy. >> in the two areas we deploy to, we wept, no one else -- we went, no one else wanted to go.

there was a gap to be filled. to have a voice in the u.n. general assembly, we have to participate in peacekeeping operations. for individual soldiers, there's bonus. these are building a school. the main motivation is financial. with allowances for the united nations, g.m. soldiers can make more peacekeeping abroad than training or working at home. >> if you stay in fiji as a normal salary, if you go for a mission, it's like double, micks, from the u.n. >>ify any - the rewards are considerable. the united nations giving countries thousands per month. for a small island nation, it's a tradeoff. money, prestige and influence for men.

investigators of a crash of after airalsquary plane are no closing to finding the cause. all 160 on board were killed. half of the dead were french. pope francis arrived in the balkan nation of albania. the head of the roman catholic church was in the capital, meeting with the president. he's set to highlight interfaith harmony in the mainly muslim country amid rising violence in the middle east. >> a palestinian artist in ramallah is turning destruction in gaza into images. here is her story. >> my name is bush ra. i'm a 25-year-old graphics designer. as a palestinian, a human and an

arab, i cannot be an observer to the destruction of a country and the mass killing of a people, especially if it's my homeland and people. this requires me to rest. and that is not only done by military means. we resist by our culture and art. before working on the pieces i was helpless. i couldn't do anything. when i started, i felt something was speaking to me. i felt hope. i felt empowered. >> anyone who stares at the sky sees shapes in the cloud. you look at the smoke and you spot shapes as well. this is not about me, it's the story of those killed. each takes time. i contemplate enough and have to think of something new. i thing about it for a day. it also takes me a while to gather pictures before executing the idea. the piece i like most is mortars

ascending. it was my first. the seconds on tv at the time. they were those that killed children. another favourite is the mother and child. the smoke and child were 100% identical. you won't believe it. my message is to show the world what is happening and hope they consay it correctly. >> you can keep up to date with news on the website. there assist on the screen. aljazeera.com. that's aljazeera.com.