to have you with us. >> thank you. a major victory for the japanese prime minister ruling coalition in a snap election. ♪ you are watching al jazeera. coming up, stepping down, haiti's prime minister resigns after weeks of protest, calling for him and the president to leave. a global warming deal is reached in peru paving the way for what is seen to be the most ambitious agreement in environmental history. building that sounds like science fiction but is more fact than you think.

♪ exit polls in japan are showing a landsslide victory for the prime minister in the country's snap election. the vote was called two years early after the news of the recession last month. harry faucet reports. >> reporter: there was no fist-pumping as he held mark of his landslide victory seat by seat. rather, he had the air of a man who's plan had a worked out pefrm. this is the seal of approval. he publically caught it. >> my economic policies are still only halfway done, but i believe we have moved away from those dark days two or three years ago. i am aware that there is still a lot of people who still do not feel the benefits of my apology, but it's my duty to bring about these policies to those very peop people. i believe this election voiced

that clearly. >> reporter: he was told this was a refer endsum on economics but it was more of an opposition in disarray and one that resulted in a record low turnout for a general election. >> reporter: the opposition party was week. we have no choice even if you wish others could challenge. >> it's an election that was designed to be won, so it's very strategic. as a citizen, it makes me wonder: why now is this. >> the poll suggests a majority of japanese voters, two years in. this poling station is a sense of duty being reluctantly performed even for those who say they voted for shinzo abe and his government. >> through massive stimulus and money print, but the third and most critical stage, reform is in low gear. this win also enables abe to

move forward on the rest of his agenda including restarting the nuclear power industry and renewing his push for changes. harry fawcett, al jazeera, together tokyo. >> intention fighting in aleppo. rebel fighters say they have killed several soldiers in the village of al mala and destroyed some military vehicles. the news agency quoting a military source says the government remains in control. the assad regime insits it is in control of the airport while isil controls much of the rest of the prove incident. kurdish forces in the syrian town of cobane say they have made advances against the fighters of isil.

>> reporter: >> a pro-assad channel has aired this video claiming that the government is also in control of the area around the airports. in kobane, kurdish fighters from syria say they have pushed isil out of much of the southern part of the town. they also say they have cut an isil supply line. three months of airstrikes, car bombs and fighting have reduced much of kobane to rubble. isil fighters control the eastern side of kobane. they have apply route open there. the group, though, has faced its

stiffest resistentions from this town pushed more easily through other parts of syria and iraq. kurdish fighters defending kobane are backed up by iraqi peshmerga and u.s.-led coalition airstrikes. istanbul. in iraq, the army says it has kilted more than 100 isil fighters with anbar prove incident within the last 24 hours. there has been intention fighting in the cities ramadi and at the border crossing. tribesmen on the ground are supporting coalition airstrikes and iraqi security forces. jane arraf has the latest from baghdad. >> from suicide vehicle bombs to mortars and snippers now hitting anbar. it started with a sue bomber driving a humvee, one of the u.s.-made humvees used by the iraqi army and seized by isil as they took over large parts of the country in june. they confiscated hundreds of the

vehicles and in the past month, they have blown up more than a dozen of them using suicide bombs. now, this was on the road to the syrian border from the provincial capital, ramadi, where some of the fiercest fighting has taken place. isil fighters are less than a kilometer away from the provincial council building. there have been there has been fighting within the compound. now, in that compound, there are iraqi security forces as well as government officials. but isil has also fought hard for areas including amaria-held fall uja, an area that's been under siege for months now. >> that's a key area because it's on the road to baghdad. and it's an indication of isil's strategically choosing its battles in anbar as it has been pushed out of the north. the tribes in anbar say that they are desperate for help. they don't want boots on the ground.

they don't particularly want iraqi security forces. they certainly don't want shia malitias. but what they do want are arms and ammunition, and some are even saying american help in the form of soldiers coming to advise them. it's not likely to happen, but what is happening is the arrival of more british advisors and more american advisors. britain has said that it's sending several hundred military experts and advisors here in the new year. they willing remain on basis in the kurdish region and here around baghdad. they are not likely to go out with the troops, but officials are hoping that they will make a difference in making the forces that are fighting on the ground much more efficient. >> u.s. secretary of state john kerry is in rome to meet with russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov. sunday talks are taking place at a time when there is anger in moss co over sanctions, new u.s.-sanctions due to the

conflict in ukraine. politicians passed a bill for more sanctions against russia as well as the delivery of military hardware to ukraine. the bill still needs to be approved by the white house which has so far been reluctant to give kiev direct military assistance for fear of being drawn into a proxy war with russia. cla claudia joins us live now from rome. claudia, what's the likelihood of these two foreign ministers coming to a consensus? >> reporter: well, first of all, we felt that ukraine, of course, will be high on the agenda but right before entering t the meeting which we believe is still carrying on here behind us in the u.s. embassy in rome as we haven't seen any movement in the past hour, well, lavrov and kerry met briefly. journalists thanked him for accepting the invitation at short notice where he said critical issues and lavrov thanked them for the invitation and said that he was looking

forward to talk about mainly the middle east and how to work together to prevent that situation from degrading further. so the middle east seems like to be high on the agenda. of course, we believe that ukraine must have been on the table at some stage because of the anger by moscow at that u.s. senate bill that you just said that, especially in view of the statement that was issued on the foreign ministry website in russia where that bill a couple of days okay, saying he was overtly confrontational and calling it anti-russian. we will see whether we will learn more about the content of that meeting once they come out from the. he will meet benjamin netanyahu. >> thank you very much, claudio lavanga on the kerry-lavrov talks in rome. the former u.s. vice president dick cheney has defended brutal

interrogation techniques the cia used during his time in office on a u.s. news show, he made no distinction between approved so-called enhanced techniques and those that exceeded what the white house has authorized. his comments came just days after the u.s. government released a summary of interrogation techniques used against inmates at the guantguantanamo bay prison in cuba. >> i have no problem as long as we achieve our objective and our objective is to get the dies who did 911 and avoid another attack against the united states. he was prepared and we did, we got the authorization from the president and authorization from the justice department to go forward with the program. it worked. it worked now for 13 years. we have avoided another mass kalthoffualty attack. i know what they were asked to do and i know what they did and i am perfectly comfortable that they deserve our praise. they deserve to be decorated they don't deserve to be harassed. >> haiti's prime minister has resigned after months of protest

in the capital port awe principle. they want the president to step down. kim vinnell has the latest. >> reporter: anger boiling over on the streets of haiti. anti-government protests first swept across the capitol and then the country 3. now, one of the demonstrate ors demands is being met. early on sunday, primathe prime minister announced he will step down. his resignation was predicted after he said he was ready to make make a sacrifice. protesters are angry over what they say is government corruption that there hasn't been an election in haiti for three years. the president blames the opposition tore delaying the vote. >> the government was supposed to organize the elections. for four years, all they did was corruption. they ruined the

>> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> this trial was a sham... >> they are truth seekers... >> all they really wanna do is find out what's happening, so they can tell people... >> governments around the world all united to condemn this... >> as you can see, it's still a very much volatile situation... >> the government is prepared to carry out mass array... >> if you want free press in the new democracy, let the journalists live. >> beyond the verdict and on the streets >> there's been another teenager shot and killed by the police >> a fault lines special investigation >> there's a general distrust

of this prosecutor >> courageous and in depth... >> it's a target you can't get rid of... >> the untold story... >> who do you protect? >> ...of what's really going on in ferguson >> they were so angry because it could have been them >> fault lines, ferguson: race and justice in the u.s. one hour special only on al jazeera america streets. welcome back. the top stories on al jazeera, exit polls in japan are indicating a landsslide victory for prime minister shinzo abe in the snap election. the vote was called two years early after japan slipped back into recession last month. haiti's prime minister has resigned after months of protest.

on they want the president to step down. the former u.s. vice president dick cheney defended brutal interrogation techniques the cia used during his time in. things comments came after the u.s. government released add summary of techniques used at the guantanamo in cuba. palestinian liters will meet to discuss their response to a minister last wednesday, ab abu aein died after confrontation during a protest. jane is in the occupied west bank. palestinian leadership has been mulling the possibility of pushing for a u.n. resolution. what's the background on this? >> reporter: that meeting started just about 15 minutes ago. yes, as you say, that draft resolution will be high on the agenda. we have already heard from the palestinian president, mahmoud abbas who addressed those at the meeting before asking the media

to leave. the rest of this meeting will be behind closed doors and he did already say that that would be one of the major issues up for discussion. now, this draft resolution has been discussed among palestinians for several months now is meant to include causes like a palestinian state within its 1967 borders as well as the call for the withdrawal of the israeli occupation within two years. now, that is likely to be extremely difficult to get past if it does go to the u.n. security council. we are likely to hear later on tonight whether or not tonight, at this meeting, they are going to decide to move ahead with that draft which would call for the resumption of talks as well, based upon that idea of the continuation of the palestinian two-state solution that they are calling for. however, they are well aware in that meeting that this will, of course, be difficult to get through without u.s. support. and that will basically mean that they need nine votes in the u.n. security counsel to get this past, but even after that,

the u.n., the u.s. would be able to veto the draft. but before that, they would still have to go through many y bycratic hurdles and there will have to be lots of discussion behind closed doors before this would go any further. en if they do decide tonight to push it further. >> jane, thank you. jane ferguson reporting for us from ramallah. sixteen people have died in violence in yemen has houthi rebels push for more control. 14 of their fighters died in a battle in the arabian peninsula. they have blown up buildings used by opponents in sentence tra radah proventions. they have sucked the governor and appointed their own. caroline malone reports they are still part of yemen where peace prevai prevails. they want to make their country a symbol of peace. houthi rebels took control of sanaa in september and they have been fighting al-qaeda

affiliates for control of north and isn't tral yemen. but those in charge wants to focus on it as the cultural capitol. >> our destiny, we want to keep ties to the cultural capitol of yemen. we should maintain the goal, distance the city from the internal strife from the other political forces have been engaged in. houthis have offered to help and support the local leaders to keep the peace. >> we are ready to help local authorities and security forces maintain peace and security in this prove incident and across yemen. >> there were protests when the thousandthies began to take over neighboring provinces in recent months. people living in the city refused to let the armed wing of the group in. they say they will support the houthis as long as they use a peaceful approach. >> we are with the houthis in every civilian plan they adopt but we reject any project that

sets us back to the days of fighting. we are in taiz rejecting this approach and will not allow it to happen. >> it's this cooperation between local authorities, politicians and the civilian houthi leadership that's keeping the city of taiz peaceful. caroline malone, al jazeera. >> police in turkey have searched the offices of a newspaper and a t.v. station linked to the u.s.-based muslim cleric fat fu fatullah vian. the operation took place days after president erdogan announced a new came pain against his supporters. al jazeera continues to demands the release of our three journalists who have been i am prisoned in egypt for 351 days. they were jailed on false charges of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. they are appealing against their convictions. delegates at the u.n. climate conference in peru have finally, agreed on a deal, but

environmental groups have already slammed it as a weak and ineffect annual compromise. our environ meant editor nick clark reports from lima. >> at long last, after endlets through-the-hours wrangling, a resolution. despite the celebration, many say this document is watered down and very weak. >> this is an incredibly weak decision. so we came in here thinking that we were going to get a pretty ambitious text. we had some commitments. we had pledges, the green climate fund, the u.s. and china announcements and so on. and instead, what we got was a half-baked deal. >> there was nearly no agreement at all. the third draft was ejected out of hand by developing countries. >> we feel this text needs a little surgery. and we would like us to put on our gowns, our scalpels and cable insert a few vital organs

that need to be incorporated in this agreement. >> reporter: outside, the dismantling began but it seemed the conference would go on and on. damage and, finance for poorer nations have been taken out of the text. the u.s. wanted truck driver to stay that way. >> we have no time for lengthy, new negotiations, and i think we all know that. >> the endless back and forth took it's toll, and developing countries worked on the words. china and the u.s., who were in disagreement over the state of the text here in lima. in the event it was a small victory for the developing nations and the fourth version of the text of the day. >> we do know that we must address climate change. we know increasingly that we can address climate change. and with this moving on to paris, we submit the fact that we will address climate change. >> this conference was hosted by one of the country's worst affected by climate change from

melting graciers, the lima conference was all about charting a roadmap for a global treaty in paris in a year's time. given the optimism there was before this conference, lima has been a disappointment. >> it's been safelied from failure by some last-minute hustli hustling, there is alternates of work to do if paris 2015 is to be successful. nick clark, al jazeera, lima, peru. sudan's president has welcomed the international criminal court's decision to suspend its investigations into alleged war crimes in darfur. icc prosecutor said she is halting the probe so other urgent cases can be looked at. she accuses the court of -- he accuses the court of trying to hugh mil ate his country. >> the icc has surrendered saying they have failed. it is not because sudan's president rejected them.

it is because the sudanese people have stood in unity in this matter saying it is impossible for a sudanese official to hold court set up by foreigners. >> a beginning has swindled hundreds of millions of dollars out of the capitol. after dozens of arizona, investigators are trying to figure out how far the corruption extends, johnna hull from rome. >> romans complain about the poor state of their public services. now, they have someone to blame. city hall infiltrated by a mafia-style corruption syndicate. in recent days, the police have made dozens of arrests. this is the alleged ringleader, massamo carm i & o ti. the group known as mafia capitale used contacts inside city hall to steal hundreds of millions from the public purse.

utilities were a favorite and migrant camps. listen to the words of carmenatti's associate butzi recorded nad telephonic intercept. we visited one roma camp implicated in the scandal. many have become italian citizens but they live in squ l squa squaller. >> we have been here 10 years. we haven't had any help. the only thing we received are city hall. >> yet he has been bragging being a $50 million profit from

fake services sunday marks 4 two years since man set foot on the moon. since then, there have been calls for a return mission and a man base on the lunar surface. now, european researchers have come up with a way to make that happen. tarek bazley explains. ♪ >> you are now moon base number 1. >> the idea of a manned base on the moon has been around for decades and not just in the realms of science fiction.

nazi's apollo program gave lots of information about thet. wayne can interest saw it xed in the 1970s. scientists are looking toward the moon and to mars. >> once you leave earth orbit and you have committed yourself to an affidavsteroid or mars, ye cut off your supply line from earth. you have to be resourceful. >> this honeycomb-like structure was built by a 3deprinter t scientists use dust and added water and a. salt which turn it into a concrete. they say this could be done on the moon and could form the building blocks of a future moon base. >> the team say using a robotic vehicle or a fleet of them to mix and put into place the moon concrete would be faster, chieffer, and safer than using astronauts to do the job. >> if you would today build the

moon base, all of the materials, the astronownauts. with this technology, what you just do is you send the machine, the 3d print irto the moon and then you find already on the moon to build the moon base. >> it could protect the next from small meteor impact and block out dangerous radiation. >> on certain parts of the moon and on planets like mars, water does exist. >> really makes resupply a lot easier for future astronauts if the resources already there t we won't be setting up manned basis on other planets or on the moon for decades at very least. when we do, new and innovative ways of building will be essential if we are going to turn science fiction into fact. tarek bazley, at the european

space agency research center in the netherlands. >> if you would like to find out more about it. arek's story, go to our website where we've got the latest news. >> that's at aj.com. aj.com. ♪ >> for three hundred years the most powerful countries on earth grew richer and stronger on the profits of the slave trade. more than 12 million men, women and children were forcibly transported from africa to the plantations and colonies of north and south america. today slavery is illegal in every country on the planet. yet slavery didn't die in the 19th century. it is e,