jen rodgers in for ali velshi, thanks for joining us. >> christmas at least 10 al qaeda fighters killed in a u.s. drone strike in southern yemen hello, i'm martine dennis. this is al jazeera, live from doha. also to come - mali the sixth african country to be affected by ebola. a 2-year-old dies. south korean activists prepare to launch balloons laden with leaflets, despite warnings from the north. plus date day. >> i'm jennifer glasse in kabul

where hundreds of afghans are able to hear for the first time in their lies. -- in their lives at least 10 suspected al qaeda fighters have been killed in a u.s. drone strike in southern yemen. it happened in mraba city where shia houthi rebels are trying to seize territory held by al qaeda. the situation is deteriorating and there's fears the country is sliding into civil war. and now live to omar al saleh, in the south of the country. tell us what happened in the drone strike. >> we spoke to a number of sources and they are telling us that at least 10 people were killed in a number of attacks in and around the city of radar. we believe some of the attacks

took place to the east of the city in el-mann areasa. some tell us they are suspected al qaeda fighters, others say they are tribesman. conflicting reports with regards to it. we know that al qaeda united with tribesman with fighting off the houthis. it's escalating. they are fighting the houthis, and with the drone attacks it will make things worse. to give you a wider context, the city is al qaeda stronghold, and we believe that the city witnessed the higher number of drone attacks over the last years. >> and meanwhile, whilst all this is going on, omar al saleh, what about the central government's attempt to form a new government of national unity. we are hearing that the houthis said that they are not going to take part in any government.

>> well, political sources in the capital suggest that saucks are ongoing to form the unity government. however, they are deep - differences remain. now, with regards to the houthis, the leader gave a speech on friday in which he said that his group is not interested in taking part in the government. he was talking wider context of his speech was talking, some about the grievances for a people in the south. i think he was trying to appeal to the southerners, that the houthis will give the southerners their portfolios that the houthis will secure in trying to apiece the southerners. of course, the southerners are demandi demanding ses session of yemen. the houthis, i believe, are

trying to manoeuvre, because they are very much involved in the discussions to form the government. sources from within the talks say they have secured six min tearial votes. it could be seen as political manoeuvring. >> omar al saleh reporting live from aiden in the south of yellen egypt declared a state of emergency in parts of the sinai, after two attacks left two soldiers dead. in the first, 27 died in the distribute of al-arees. -- arish. in another attack in the same district, three security personnel were killed as mun men opened fire at another checkpoint. the egyptian president abdul fatah al-sisi declared three days of national mourning, and held a meeting of the national defense counsel. the highest security body, to

discuss the killings. three gaoled al jazeera journalists have now been detained in egypt for 301 days. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed were convicted of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. they are appealing against their convictions. al jazeera has dismissed the charges against them, and continues to demand their release. >> now, kurdish fighters recaptured territory from i.s.i.l. fighters in the town of kobane. with the help of u.s.-led air strikes they secured a hill. this is an important piece of higher ground, changing hands several times in recent weeks in this besieged towns. i.s.i.l. controls vast swads of syria and iraq. the coalition is determined that kobane should not call. bernard smith reports from the border between turkey and syria.

[ explosion ] >> reporter: u.s. air strikes on a small hill to the west of kobane occupied for two days from fighters from the islamic state of iraq and levant. after this, kurdish fighters took back control. in full view of the world's media, kobane has become a test for the u.s. strategy against i.s.i.l. a strategy that relies on air strikes and often ill-equipped local forces on the ground. a u.s. failure here might prompt questioning of its entire plan. >> well, if they were to fail there, not only would it look bad for the u.s. coalition, but the worst thing is that it would look good for nil. i think the -- for i.s.i.l. i think the attention the other towns didn't get - because of its location, because it's in a dip, you can't see the town and the attacking forces on the

other side, and from the safety of turkey, what is going on. >> the battle is played out before kurds. turkey is hosting 200,000 refugees from kobane. it refused to allow weapons through to the town, for fear they could be used by separatist minded kurds in turkey. >> kurds in kobane are fighting for kurds over the world. kobane fights for kurdistan. >> the intense fighting is destroying much of kobane. only an emergency air drop of weapons by the u.s. helped to keep what is left of the town in kurdish hand. only after that did turkey agree to let around 200 iraqi peshawar forces join the battle against i.s.i.l. they have yet to arriving. >> turkey has been a reluctant partner in the u.s. battle against i.s.i.l., largely because the government believes the regime of syrian president

bashar al-assad is a big threat. it wants washington to add washington to the target list. it won't. turkey is yet to give permission for the u.s. to make use of military bases, bases that would help the campaign against i.s.i.l. now, shi'a deployed hundreds of police officers near the border with its northern neighbour, after a dispute over a planned leaflet drop. activists planned to send thousands of leaflets critical of pyongyang across the border by a balloon. as faust reports, thinks -- harry fawcett reports, things didn't go according to plan. >> the activists are here, they say the remains of the balloons on the truck, carrying leaflets, criticizing the north korean regime. this is blamed on left-wing groups and groups opposed to

them. they are met in acrimonious style by the residents of the area, who saw a military response from an anti-balloon lunch. the bus was pelted with eggs, kicked and the police are about to intervene to keep the groups separate. from north korea's perspective, they say that the balloon launch is an act of war. they'd elicit a military response. what we have instead of course, is a clash between two groups of people in south korea. north korea may well see this as a propaganda victory. throughout the south korean government, which doesn't want to the the launch to go ahead, but it is powerless for is to be prevented, prevented by other means. >> the first confirmed ebola patient in mali decide. the world health organisation is trying to trace people who may have come into contact with her.

the toddler travelled from guinea. mali is a sixth west african country to be affected. the wars countries are liberia, sierra leone, and guinea. more than 4,800 died since the outbreak was detected in march. nigeria and senegal had their cases but the w.h.o. has declared them free of the disease. mali's first confirmed case of norris cole was brought here to this town. now it has its first victim, here in kays. >> it's a 2-year-old girl that travelled, accompanied by her grandmother. it's possible the two people arrived at a time when the symptoms were not detectible. >> reporter: the girl may have contracted the disease in the first case where ebola was reported in december of last year.

in kissa duinga in southern ghanaa. the girl had symptoms, and was likely contagious when she left the capital with her grandmother. dozens of people who came into contact with the girl have been isolated and identified. there could be hundreds more. there are fears mali, a poor country, is ill-equipped to contain the disease. fortunately, world health organisation was in mali discussing how to prepare the country. >> translation: i trust the world health organisation. i think they'll find the necessary solutions for the disease here. >> translation: people must wash their hands with soap. this is the first plan. now for the rest, we are waiting to know what we should avoid doing. on that point we do not have much information. >> ebola is spreading cappedly, the rate -- rapidly, infections

spreading. with a high risk of exposure in mali's first ebola case, the country will have to work hard to contain it last minute preparations in ukraine and tunisia ahead of landmark elections on sunday. stay with us for a lock at the big issues. we talk to tunisia's youngest canned doubt. and the joy of hearing for the first time. hundreds of afghans given the gift of sound.

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hello. l jazeera america these are the top stories here at al jazeera. at least 10 al qaeda fighters have been killed in a u.s. drone stroke in yemen. in rader city, where the houthi rebels are trying to seize territory egypt declares a state of emergency in parts of the sinaied pennensuala, 27 died in a car pom explosion -- car bomb explosion. the first ebola patient in mali died. the w.h.o. is trying to contact people who travelled with the girlful. >> syrian activists are adducing the international community of ignoring there almost 4-year fight to remove bashar al-assad from office. attention has been focussed in the fight against i.s.i.l. in

kobane. syrian activists believe the fight has been forgotten, and as edin dzcko reports -- stephanie dekker reports bashar al-assad's army is taking advantage the u.s.-led firepower focus on kobane, there has been an increase in air strikes by president bashar al-assad's air force on rebel decisions. >> he is busy and his priority is to instill military success. first is damascus, and the road between damascus and further. he has taken advantage, and this time to intensify his military provisions. >> the syrian observatory for human rights reports since monday there has been 450 government air strikes across

the government. many inside syria feel no one is paying attention now the narrative is all about i.s.i.l. we spoke to an activist in the damascus countryside. >> they are ignoring the actions, concentrating on i.s.i.l. we should mention an important point that a few hundred people are besieged. 800,000 civilians under government siege were left without food or medicine. >> there has been reports that multiple brigades want to join the fight. >> this woman in aleppo is asking why is no one protecting us. we'll have to take up arms ourselves. the battle is intensifying in aleppo and the damascus countryside. >> it is good news for bashar al-assad. now he's taken advantage from this time to gain on the land when they will arrive to say sit down on the table.

he can. around the time, it's running out and he's interested to gown on the field -- gain on the field, on the land before sitting in starting to discussion any political solution. >> the syrian opposition is subdivided split -- divided politically. there may be an international coalition, but there is no agreement on how to end the war. a war according to the u.n. which killed over 200,000 syrians and displaced millions. >> ukrainians head to the polls for the first parliamentary elections since viktor yanukovych was overthrown as president. with russia's annexation of crimea, and the ongoing turmoil. barnaby phillips reports on how people in are desperate for

stability. >> these are dark days in ukraine, and there are unlikely candidates who say they can get the country out of its mess. darth vader is on the ballot paper. if ukrainian shares his concerns, they are unlikely to vote him and his friends into parliament. there are more credible new parties emerging. the activists playing a prominent part in the overthrow of viktor yanukovych, but their revolution is not complete. >> his system in general prosecutor office in all state agencies and ministers is working, unfortunately. his state is alive. we should keep it. frustration at the slow pace of change is boiling over. in recent weeks crowds attacked members of the previous

government who they feel should be brought to justice. the man assaulted was a minister under viktor yanukovych. we met him in his office. he said new legislation that punishes civil servants and ministers that work for viktor yanukovych is unfair. >> it's a catastrophic mistake that can affect 1 million civil servants, professionals that the government can't afford to replace. it's a political vendetta, we hope to repeal. >> no one in kiev will forget the battles in this square last winter, thou that viktor yanukovych has gone. ukrainians go into the elections divided on the best way forward. some want to see the old system swept away. but with the economy shrinking and a war in the east, ukrainians know that their country is in desperate need of stability and unity. president petro porashenko is not running in the elections.

opinion poll suggests that his party, the petro porashenko block is likely to be the winner. he hopes to form a new coalition, giving ukraine a stronger government. >> but the changes of the past year have been violent and unpredictable. in ukraine, there's no tradition of consensus and compromise. whichever government emergeses from the elections will struggle to hold the country together well, brazilians are voting on sunday, and their presidential candidates had their final tv debate before the run-off election. the president needs to beat her rival. that is if she is to be re-elected. she spent some of the debate fighting the political corruption allegations. >> there were locations in tunisia. that will represent a next step.

the country, where the arab spring began is facing major challenges, we have this report from tunis. >> reporter: this is it tunisia's youngest candidate in the upcoming election. he is campaigning in an area where he was born and spent most of his life. 22-year-old, he graduated from university and wants to win a seat in parliament. his bike is the only way to move around and meet people. like young tunisians, he doesn't trust the political parties. >> translation: i have decided to run for the election, so that young people in tunisia take destiny into their own hands. here political parties use young and poor people to distribute leaflets, banners and candidate the posters.

when the election is over, they ignore them. >> people are willing to vote for mokded, but are not sure the young inexperienced candidate can solve their problems. >> he is getting a taste of the challenges candidates face. >> that woman lives with her family in a crudely built place. she wants a decent house, financial aid and medicine for her chronic illness. a day later, mokmed is in good spirits, joined by young candidates for a final rally. apart from relatives and schoolchildren, many chose to attend rallies held by prominent candidates. >> translation: if i win a seat in the parliament. i will create job opportunities for young people. i will push for a fund helping young people create small

projects. >> the government has given mokded and colleagues 3,000 to pay for their campaign. if they fail to get 3% of the vote, they'll have to return the money. >> young foounizians -- tunisians represent 30% of the voters, a growing number are not excited about the election. they say regardless of the results, big political parties have money and will have huge influence of political life in the coming here. hashem ahelbarra, tonnize. -- tunis, al jazeera a coal mine collapsed in north western china killing 16. 11 are trapped in the rubble in chin chang region -- xinjiang region

protesters paralyzed parts of the city in hong kong for weeks. street blockades are now something of a tourist attraction. >> reporter: there may be fewer demonstrators, but the protest site is attracting visitors of a different time. >> we are having a look around. that's the story. >> travel warnings have been issued in some countries. tourists are unphased by the protests, which is looking like a permanent fixture in the streets of hong kong. >> it's increasing, and i hope they achieve something. >> isabelle made the trip from the u.k. she saw police fighting with protesters on the news, but wept ahead with a week-long visit. >> after a few days, it was clear that it wouldn't affect anything. and it was a perfect day. >> hong kong relies on china for most of its tourism dollars.

last year there were more than 4 million arrivals. >> hour visit was planned six months ago. that's why we claim. i'm fine now that i'm here. >> preplanned trips will go ahead. not all mainland visitors agree with the student's approach. >> they don't have the right to open the road. they shouldn't inconvenience their citizens. >> translation: it would never happen in mine land china -- mainland china. >> reporter: this is a busy shopping district, particularly for visitors, who cam to causeway bay to purchase luxury brands. slow economic growth in china and the protests are having an impact. >> that is only slight. the international bank, ubs forecasts the worst case scenario would translate to a loss of 0.1% of hong kong's

g.d.p. now, torrential rain flooded parts of the greek capital athens. roads were turned into river, thousands have no electricity, and many homes and businesses have been damaged now, in afghanistan hundreds of children have become able to hear their parents voices for the first tomb. hearing aids -- first time. hearing aids have been handed out to locals as part of a programme by afghan agencies. >> jennifer glasse has the story. >> the end of silence. that man has been deaf since birth. his hearing aid will allow him to hear for years. he can't wait to show his parents.

so many dreams could be full offed, a life for the hearing impaired afghans. >> it would mean a better education, learning skills. communicating, which is basic. being able to communicate with rest of society. it will be life-changing in every way. >> it's expected 650 africans benefit to hand out hearing aids. for years the hearing impaired lived in a world of their own. this opportunity gives them a chance to rejoin society. >> until now, all they have known is sign language. with hearing aids, they could learn to speak. something afghanistans overloaded health care system

couldn't offer them. >> we have so many problems in the health sector. we have a lot of changes, and, of course, and mortality, diarrhoea, malnutrition. and this is one of the examples were not-for-profit organizations can do. >> reporter: an american foundation brought its team and equipment here at the invitation of an afghan host. >> turning it on is the first step. it takes time just to get used to hearing the sounds around them. selim says rocket explosions robbed him of what little hearing he had at birth. now he's listening to music for the first time. at 18 he never had a job. he will now be able to get one. his dream - to work for the afghan government.

now, a google executive has set a new world record by jumping successfully from near the top of the stratosphere. alan ooustize broke the sound barrier over the southern new mexico desert. carried by a helium balloon more than 400km above the earth. what would go into a sharp cut in greenhouse gases. what would work differently? it require sacrifice, or benefits we with haven't even imagined? it is inside story.