desperate to leave - we report on the plight of some of iraq's vulnerable people as war wages around them you are watching al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. also ahead - the syrian government is accused of using chlorine gas against i.s.i.l. fighters in the eastern city. hundreds of thousands seek shelter as typhoon hagupit battles the philippines. an old museum celebrates its

250th birthday. first to iraq where there has been more air strikes, suicide attacks and misery for thousands of desperate people. there are signs that the war is turning against i.s.i.l. french fighter jets bombed the i.s.i.l.-held town. several air strikes killed 50 i.s.i.l. fighters. kurdish peshawar forces are ready to launch a ground offensive. while iraqi and kurdish forces need help to save thousands of yazidi trapped in the sinjar mountains. they've been there for months, but winter is set engine and the situation is more desperate. sue turton has the exclusive report. >> reporter: they are cold and hungry, but desperate to get off the mountain.

the yazidi families fled the fighting, and are living in tends up the mountain, with dwindling food and fuel supplies, the battle getting closer. there's so much help this airlift can bring. for some it's a heartless decision. this mother escaped with two children, leaving three behind. we are told this woman escaped from i.s.i.l. fighters. the flight off the mountain is risky. with i.s.i.l. routinely firing on the helicopters as they leave. the yazidi commander and the local peshawar general come down to report back to the kurdish president. >> translation: every hour that passes is crucial. it's urgent. i'm worried about the civilians in this dire situation. >> translation: i'm asking the international coalition, in particular the u.s., but also everyone who cares about this

injustice, to help. winter is coming and my people are desperate. >> a joint force of the yazidi and soldiers are protecting as many as 10,000 yazidi people. jam eel and his family escaped, but they feared for those left behind. >> translation: our people need clothes because they are freezing, and food because 1,000 families are trapped. this is urgent. we need planes to get people off because the whether is freezing. >> reporter: with the weather good, the helicopters load up again. these iraqi fighters are making as many flights a day as possible, weather permitting to take as much aid as possible on to the sinjar mountains, and evacuate many yazidi off the mountain. they say it would be quicker if they had larger transport planes to take many more off before

winter sets in. without coalition help, there's little chance that the yazidi can escape the cold. the iraqi air force are doing what they can. many of these people will be left to fend for themselves once winter starts to bite sunni lead ners iraq are accusing the iraqi army of pushing out sunni populations on the pretext of fighting i.s.i.l. an association told al jazeera he believes the current tide of sectarianism in iraq and the rise of i.s.i.l. is partly the fault of u.s. policy. >> translation: we have always said that the main problem is the occupation. the u.s. and all of the countries supporting the aggression on iraq are to be blamed for results and consequence of cooperation. every demographic change and killing is because of the u.s.

it is done with u.s. participation. even when the u.s. administration tries to distance itself. >> activists in syria say the government attacked i.s.i.l. fighters with chlorine gas. the syrian observatory for human rights says regime forces used the gas to repel the i.s.i.l. assault on the dare assure elbase. >> kim vinnell reports. >> reporter: this, the syrian regime says, is the aftermath of victory. alongside the bodies, they are from the islamic state of iraq and levant. a rollcall of the dead. multiple nationalities. this is truth that after an attack, the regime is in control at least here. >> the air base is crucial for both sides, as one of the only parts of the province in regime's hands. i.s.i.l. is keen to show it's in

control. hours before the attack, it released this footage, the bodies of syrian soldiers put on display. >> translation: today, after the islamic state made an advance, we lost only two mortars, only two. >> reporter: this is the link between the two strongholds, from iraq and syria. i.s.i.l. fighters have been consolidating control of the province, they moved towards the airport taking control of aljof ra village. i.s.i.l. continued its advance, and by saturday morning fighters reached the gates of the deir az zor air base. i.s.i.l.'s take over forced thousands to flee. what little is left will remain a battle ground.

def al nusra front says it will execute two soldiers unless the wives of two of the senior members are released. in a statement to local media, the lebanese interior minister said publicizing the arrest was a mistake. he added the arrest can draw the international organization and religious people since: . >> al jazeera's jane ferguson is in beirut, saying the women may be used in a deal. >> reporter: even the interior minister who criticized the way this was handled acknowledged that they could be used as part of a prisoner swap. it's worth putting the comments in context. fractured lebanese politics can

be. he is from a political group seen as anti-syrian regime, and who may see the military who arrested the women as pro-hezbollah. it can be an expression of how fractured politics is. there is a push for the next decision, whatever it is, whether or not they use the women as a bargaining chip. if they do not release them and demand the release of the soldiers. the government said after an emergency meeting, they came out and said in a written statement, whatever moves they make, they'll be unified and that is important, that all groups of the political spectrum in the government decide and agree on a unified approach. whether or not those women are used as negotiating tools from now on, or whether they are released. there has been pressure from some sunni religious leaders who called for the release of the women. the government are aware whatever the decision they main, the lives of several dozen soldiers and police officers are

at stake. >> a u.s. drone strike in pakistan killed a high ranking al qaeda commander. umar farouk ran the group's operations in afghanistan and pakistan. scott heidler has more. >> in the last two days al qaeda suffered a serious blow when pakistani military forces went and killed a senior leader. according to the foin, he was the -- federal bureau of investigation, he was the international operations head of al qaeda. a position that he took after the arrest of the previous leader. umar farouk was a spokesman for al qaeda. he was elevated to a senior position of operational command of afghanistan and pakistan. according to the details, the attack happened in the area of north waziristan. over the past few weeks there

has been intensified attacks in the area, and given the fact that the military is operative in that area. a severe below as far as al qaeda is concerned in this area. >> after a series of delays. six guantanamo bay prisoners have been sent to uruguay. they have not been charged. they can't return to their home countries. it includes four syrians, a tunisian and a palestinian. 136 inmates remain at the facility which president obama said he would close after his first term in office. >> deposed president mohamed mursi is parring before another hearing accused of spying. tried alongside 25 muslim brotherhood leaders. the defense said mohamed mursi

should be set free as he'd been held in an illegal detention center. mohamed mursi was ousted by the egyptian military. in another case egypt's senior religious leader is being asked to consider whether death sentences of four muslim brotherhood leaders should go ahead. the case has become known as the guidance bureau events case. 17 muslim brotherhood leaders are on trial, including the spiritual leader of the group. the four are not the most senior muslim brotherhood leaders on trial al jazeera continues to demand the release of three journalists held in prison in egypt for 344 days. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed were gaoled or false charges of helping the muslim brotherhood. they are appealing against their

convictions. >> 30 people have been killed and five injured in an attack in the democratic republic of congo the overnight attack near beni in the east is believed to have been carried out by a rebel group. in november, at least 50 people were killed by gangs wielding machetes. staying with africa. the ruling zanu pf party confirmed robert mugabe's wife as the new head of the women's league. robert mugabe is the leader. he hasn't decided who his new deputy will be. we have is this report. >> reporter: zimbabwe's first family appears ultimately in control of the party and the country. president robert mugabe's wife, grace, is head of the party's

women's league. >> it is a great honour not only for me personally, but also for my family. >> reporter: her husband is reelected leader of the ruling zanu pf party. >> for as long as i have strength in me. i work. for as long as i am still sane and fully bright in mind. i still have a good memory, and a good area in my mind. >> robert mugabe's vice president didn't attend the zanu pf elected congress. she has been accused of trying to kill robert mugabe. an allegation she denies. political analysts say she will not be vice president for much longer. wednesday or thursday people will have a decision. people were hoping it will be

sooner, but he will not be rushed. >> emerson is expected to replace her, who robert mugabe threatened to have arrested. for now, he says she's at a house in harari. >> when a person goes into the category of dis loyalty, dishonesty, it is an expulsion from the party. that process will be to remove one. >> the constitution was changed so only robert mugabe can choose his deputy. next week will be watched by supporters of the ruling party. robert mugabe will likely appoint people he can work with, most importantly dispute yits he can trust. people he links will not easily try to get rid of him or his wife. >> typhoon hagupit is pounding

the philippines with rain and winds. these images shot from the international space station shows the scale of the weather system over the philippines. hundreds of thousands fled their homes to seek safety in emergency shelters on higher ground. one person is confirmed dead in the east. >> the biggest storm to hit the philippines - it is moving slowly with high winds and rain fall. there's a lot of concern about flooding. as scott heidler found out. some were prepared to save lives. >> this is edison, three weeks old napping next to the radio. edison and his mother are here with 1,000 other people huddled in the hallways of this building. mostly women and children, by

the provincial capital. >> three families from my village came to the shelter. it was noisy and full of children. we evacuate, our house may be carried away. >> thousands were directed to shelters like this. with the typhoon like this, the governor says it's all about preparation, and that is something he knows well. he is confident the province will have zero casualties. >> we have been prepared for this over the past 20 years. this process achieved in 18 of the 20 years, we have typhoons every year. we made it a religion. >> reporter: the governor is worried about the economic impact to the province, mainly from strong winds of the storm. even though they are not as strong as last year, the winds will stay longer, ripping down electricity lines, destroying

property. the panda bakery was the only shop with the doors open in the main market. it was a risk worth taking to the owner. >> we are afraid of the typhoon, but we have to continue working to earn something. we heard reports that it would be as bad as haiyan, so we put rocks on our roof. >> reporter: the governor is confident people are prepared, no one will know about the damage caused by typhoon hagupit, until the sun rises on monday morning coming up after the break on al jazeera - reports that one of mexico's missing students has been identified, as protesters keep the pressure on the government.

welcome back. the top stories on al jazeera. french fighter jets bombed the i.s.i.l. held town of bashika. several strikes killed at least 50 i.s.i.l. fighters over the past few days. kurdish peshmerga forces say they are ready to launch a ground offensive 700,000 people have been moved to safety in the philippines. one person is confirmed dead so far and a u.s. drone strike in north waziristan in pakistan killed at least five people. a high-ranking al qaeda leader, umar farouk, is said to have died in the attack argentinian forensic officials say they have identified one of 43 missing students in mexico.

the body was among the charred remains of those found near a garbage dump in november, after gang members in brich gave de -- prison gave details of a mass killing. there has been protests since the student went missing in guerra state two months ago. adam raney has the details >> reporter: this trash dump is where the remains of alexander mora was found. it is where gang members said all 43 student were put after they went missing. mora is the only student identified. in the coming days more remains may be confirmed as those of the missing students. >> the confirmation of the identity came as families of other students gathered in the capital. >> alexander mora - he was found dead today. meaning it has been confirmed

that it is him. the announcement comes more than two months after the students were attacked by local police in iguala, allegedly under orders from the mayor. they were handed to members of the warriors communicate drug gang. the mayor and his wife fled, and were arrested last month in a dingy apartment in mexico city. more than 70 have been arrested in the case so far. >> the search for the students led to the unearthing of several mass grave sites and focused attention on the wider issue of 30,000 people who have disappeared since 2006 in the drug violence. at protests marchers called on the president to resign. they say that the attorney-general and the interior minister knew about the collusion between the drug gangs

and the authorities, but the federal government let the problem fester for years. students wrote a facebook post in the voice of alexander moya, he says that he hopes his death was not in vain and protesters keep the pressure up on the government the preservation of the amazon rainforest is considered central in the battle against global warming. in peru illegal logging is continuing at unprecedented rates. >> illegal logging is so commonplace in the rainforest that this man doesn't care about us filming him doing what he does. stealing trees from forbidden areas, with impunity.

>> it is illegal. we shouldn't be doing this. the police make us do the paperwork. we have to pay them off. they are constantly putting up obstacles. >> reporter: this is where roma low's trees go. three hour's boat ride away, the sawmills at the town. much of the timber ends up in the u.s. and china. trees, 100 years old and more, destined to become someone's hard-wood floor or garden table. >> the logging trade is a world of forged documents and fake inventories. the world bank estimates 80% of peru's total timber exports are harvested illegally. eight out of 10 of these trees illicit. one after the other, the saw mills stretch 3km along the

riverbank, trees supposedly taken illegally, but cut from protected forest. >> translation: these markings are official codes for permits that the forestry authorities give out to transport or sell wood. >> reporter: they are all fictitious. >> yes, mostly they are fictitious. >> the independent environmental protection agency found the forging of paperwork and corruption is endemic. >> no one functioned for this. none of the people. we have the names of the people involved in producing the fake inventories, approving them, and the mobilization. nobody has been investigated. >> illegal logging on the scale is bad news. living trees suck up co 2 helping to alleviate carbon emissions. this has the opposite effect. here we are, a little more than

an hour's flight from a climate change conference in lima: the mad eaves declared -- maldives declared two days of public holiday to ease water shortages. a fire resulted in a shortage of drinking water. nicole johnson is in the capital. >> reporter: on every street corner there are hundreds of people lining up to get either 3 litres of drinking water, which the government is providing, or here to get water for cooking and cleaning. most people that we spoke to say that they are getting enough water earlier there was problems, there were fights breaking out as people tried to buy what was left from the shops. help arrived in the maldives. there has been 10 aeroplanes from india with more than 400 tonnes of water, and a ship

from india with dell salination. taking on board another coming to the united states, and china is providing water. >> translation: we are living in a 10 storey building and are not getting water. even for cleaning ourselves. we have to collect water from distribution points. >> the lines that we have seen waiting for water have been orderly and it seems organised, clearly some people feel they are not getting enough to meet their basic needs. this situation could continue for a few more days, until the government is able to get the desalination plants up and running. in the meantime sunday and mondays have been declared public hole dags. all the -- holidays. all the schools and public offices will be closed, because of the water crisis. >> one of the world's largest and oldest museums is celebrating its 250th anniversary. peter sharp reports from moscow. >> the winter palace, that

magnificent imperialist resident of the tsars, stormed by the ball shafics is home to the oldest and biggest museum. the hermitage, a ro postry of artworks. founded 250 years ago, its collection totalled more than 3 million exhibits. including the world's largest display of pangts. the interior is just as captivating as the art on display. the wealth and extravagance, the galleries dripping with crystal chandeliers. not surprisingly it's a target for art thieves. it's estimated that $5 million of cultural works vanished from the museum. some of the thefts were

audacious. thieves got into an upper gallery. while the caretaker was out of the room, cut this from its frame. this was worth about a million dollars, but it was so familiar to many, that it was impossible to sell on, and was returned anonymously to the museum. unusual. most stolen works of art are lost forever. today the painting is back on display after a painstaking resurrection. >> it had severe damage, and you can see it on the pictures next to the painting. it had been folded. the canvas and threads were damaged. the painting under went a long restoration. they basically had to sow the canvas thread by thread. >> the herm damage continues to expand, from old to new. the latest gallery opening featuring displays of digital art. the merm stage would love to open a satellite museum in new york, as it has done in

amsterdam. with an art embargo between the u.s. and russia would have to be lifted. and it looks unlikely and a reminder there's more news on our website - aljazeera.com. in india, a woman's fate can take a cruel twist when her husband dies. >> they would beat me, both my daughter in law and my son would beat me.