>> real perspective, consider this on al jazeera america >> schools and a bus carrying children are hit by government air strikes in syria - more than two dozen were killed. hello from al jazeera's headquarters in doha, i'm jane dutton, also ahead - ukraine's parliament votes towards an n.a.t.o. membership from penthouse to prison, the hong kong billionaire sent to gaol for corruption. plus... ..lift off. we look at president vladimir

putin's plan to revise his nation's space industry. we begin in syria where government jets carried out a series of strikes. schools have been hit and many children killed. the school in the rebel held area juma was attacked. five were killed, children. barrel bombs had been dropped on a school. seven children were killed. it follows an air strikes in a school bus. four children were killed, 15 wounded. zeina khodr has more from beirut. >> over the past 24 hours there has been poor incidents in which five schools, along with a school bus were targeted by syrian government air strikes.

what we understand from activists on the ground is that children were killed. we do not know if the schools were deliberately targeted, but they were in opposition-controlled territory. the government controls the skies and air power has given them advantage and they usually target rebel-controlled territories six not to allow the rebels to govern there. it's a way where - for them to retaliate. we know the attacks were in idlib. and a few days ago the government suffered losses, and they lost military bases in idlib. children are being killed. it's not only the fighting and the violence, we understand from international organizations that in rebel controlled areas diseases are spreading. the world health organisation has been appealing for the government to allow it more regular access to deliver

much-needed supplies. now that it has the approval, the organization says it will take time for logistics to be put in place. as the next report suggests, and some images are disturbing, those supplies are urgently needed. >> reporter: hygiene related diseases is on the rise in syria. this girl was diagnosed with a parasitic infection caused by flies. it shows how crumbling health care systems are in areas. >> we have no pesticides. that's why there's many flies. homes are not sterilised. there's no hygiene. >> reporter: another region is a lack of clean water, in one of the few districts surrounding the capital. the problem of contaminated water is not confined to rural

damascus. across syria the world health organisation reported more than 6, 500 cases of typhoid. hepatitis is also a problem of. >> we had serious problems with access to clean water in areas such as aleppo, in rural damascus area. damage to the water and sewerage, and this is followed by diseases. we have seen infectious diseases in the suburb of damascus. >> the w.h.o. delivered three times more medical splice in 2014 -- supplies in 2014 than last year, some were to hard to reach areas. health workers wanted the syrian government to grant it more access to potential territories. >> some of the areas, they say it's a security problem. it will be hard to access. we had some of the convoys, troops, but this has not been on

a regular basis because of security issues. >> and it is vital that supplies continue to reach those in need. more than half of the public hospitals are out of service. >> the health care system has been damaged by the war. many syrians died from treatable illnesses because of the lack of medicine. >> in iraq kurdish forces known as peshmerga closer to breaking the siege in sinjar. they entered neighbourhoods on the outskirts of the town, lifting the blockade for thousands of trapped yazidi. islamic state of iraq and levant fighters controlled the town for months. >> translation: we, the peshmerga control more than a quarter of the city. i can't say we control half of the city. we control more than a quarter. everything is going well. moral is high. our fighters, and fighters of the kurdish people, and fighters in kurdistan fight as one block.

>> lingering distrust is affecting efforts to turn former police into a local force. it's hoped it will bolster efforts to retake mosul. the governor in baghdad is not providing financial support. we have this exclusive report. >> preparing for battle. these men are at the heart of the effort to revive mosul's police force. they are made up of former police officers and volunteers. they have been gathered at this camp, kilometres away from mosul, by provincial leaders, returning to take the city from i.s.i.l. a handful of rifles is all they have. what they lack in firepower they make up for in bravado. >> we are ready, waiting for the orders to move on mosul. we are ready for the fighting. we want to free the town from

beam. >> more than 4,000 men are trained in this camp. >> it's a key part of the plant to retake the second biggest city from i.s.i.l. it won't be easy to take mosul and requires street fighting. at this camp they acquire the skills. >> reporter: those with experience in front line fighting have been put into a swat team. there are problems. after i.s.i.l. seized mosul in june, the government cut off the officer's salaries. baghdad is supportive of the efforts to reconstitute the force. >> definitely for smoesentsdss. -- seven months. most of the families have been displaced. >> reporter: complicating it is the response between officials and baghdad. the governor of mosul says that

baghdad plans to use shia militias in the battle for mo l mosul. that would backfire. >> i need the weapons first, the training, and financing the fighters. and also i need the air force support when we enter mosul. specially to cut the supply of i.s.i.s. from outside the city. >> for now, the main train on, their plight is one example of how rebuilding iraq may vest less in the airpower and bombing runs of the united states and allies, than on bridging the central government and local leaders ukraine's parliament abandoned to bandon the non-alliance status. it could help with a step

towards n.a.t.o. membership. a bill was passed. 303 in favour, eight against. more from peter sharp, who is in moscow. was this expected? >> it was always possibly inevitable, russia would say, that ukraine is tipping towards n.a.t.o. the timing, trying to settle the con nict in east ukraine came as a surprise. ukraine had been a declared non-alliance state since 2010, under the presidency of viktor yanukovych. at the end of that time they said basically that right, he's gone, viktor yanukovych's gone, we are in a position to declare non-aligned status. this is what they have done,

it's left a door open for them to join n.a.t.o. russia's response has been quick to voice their concern. listen to the ward of dmitri medvedev. he is saying and chose his words carefully - an application for nato membership will turn ukraine into a potential military opponent for russia. so those are strong words. russia had been worried and continues to be worried about n.a.t.o.'s ongoing east wood expansion, and ukraine would be a former soviet state too far. >> where does it leave the peace talks that may take place as soon as tomorrow? >> i don't know. i think there's a lot of confusion in minsk and ukraine itself. petro porashenko announced in the last 12 hours that the talks will go ahead. but if you talk to the donetsk people's republic, the rebels

who will be part of the talks, there doesn't seem to be a framework for this important talk to get together. don't forget it was in september of this year that the first minsk talks came up with a shaky ceasefire, and abortive ceasefire, and 4,700 died. the pressure is on to make them come to the table and sit down. ordering to petro porashenko, the talks are due to start tomorrow. there'll be a day off for christmas day and they'll finish on the 26th. no indication as to whether this plan will go ahead. >> thank you, peter sharp. >> algerian forces killed the leader of the group behind the killing of a french tourist. he was killed 30km east of algiers, a veteran of the armed insurgency in the 1990s, and is accused of abducting a frenchman and beheading him in september india's ruling hindu national ist b.j.p. party

secured 25 seats in indian administered kashmir. it's a bit of an expected result for the party, but they are behind the people's democratic party who are emerging as a dominant political force in the region. we have more. >> reporter: with no party gaining a clear majority, it's basically a hung assembly. the big event has been the b.j.p. making a gain, getting the second largest number of seats. the me that he's crediting the wing to narendra modi. whose party swept the country in elections. he said it carried over to the state elections. one of the things is this has the potential to be a polarizing situation. if the b.j.p. stay in

opposition, it would basically survive the hindu and muslim majority region. if the b.j.p. was to join a party to join the government. many voters may get alienated feeling that they have a hindu nationalist agenda. >> whatever happens, the main thing is the b.j.p. established themselves as a major player in the region. >> more to come on al jazeera. greek politicians failed to elect a president in the second round of voting. we report on the rise in the far right, with one anti-immigration group winning.

the top stories on al jazeera - in syria government jets carried out a series of strikes with children bearing the brunt. schools in damascus and idlib were hit. as many as 10 children were killed. another air strike in idlib province left four dead. ukraine's parliament voted to abandon the money alliance status. it could indicate a decision towards n.a.t.o. membership. >> b.j.p. made gains in regional elections in the disputed kashmir region. the party emerged as the second biggest force behind the democratic party three politicians failed to select a president in a second round of voting. the third candidate received 168

votes, short of 200 necessary. the final vote will be on december 29th. if the government elects a president, it'll have to announce early elections. >> the greek economy is returning to growth. an obstacle is banks are not leaning to businesses and consumers. that may cause a number of enterprises which managed to survive the crisis to collapse. we have this report from an island north of athens. >> reporter: this factly used to be a -- factory used to be a noisy place, where the greek industry ordered plywood, giving work to many families. it collapsed and sellman didn't replace business with exports. on a chilly day in february, workers owed years of backpay downed their tools. this complex that took half a

century to bill fell silent. this man worked his life here >> translation: we ended in a difficult situation. some were tired and died of stress. one man tried to commit suicide. some took children out of schools and universities, because they couldn't pay. >> reporter: his wife and children are unemployed. 2,000 succumbed to shellman's fate. many could have been saved if they could have borrowed to operate. despite receiving more than 60 billion in taxpayer money, banks all but stopped lending. the reason is that during the crisis consumers and businesses stopped paying their leans. it saddled banks with $100 billion in debt. they had to make money simply to absorb losses. banks are making the situation worse, by refusing to forgive

some debt while companies have a chance to survive. george heads a fund aiming to be greece's non-n bank lender. >> things happen not because of politics, but despite them. there's a nexus. and there's a new greece emerging, built on tourism, built on companies which a few years back decided there's not much future in greece, and started facing foreign markets, and now their labels are paying off after two or three years. >> these new beginnings harbour hope. it will take decades for greece to rebuild what was lost to financial undertakers thousands of people have taken to the streets to attend a far-right rally in the east german city of dresden. it's part of a movement against

immigration. it triggered counterprotests, as nick spicer reports. >> reporter: it's a protest movement that surprised and unsettled germany it said politician. the lead, a convicted burglar and cocaine dealer did much of the talking. he tells people freedom of speech is at stake. >> counterdemonstrators got this welcome. the agenda clearly short for the most of patriotic europeans against the islam iffic agency of europe. >> it's not positive for the freedom of the people in europe. that's a reason i'm here together with my daughter, since i think the future is something she should be concerned about. >> riot police, as in weeks past, keep counter demonstrators away. some are ashamed of their city,

where the far right democrats depends on the day dresden was firebombed. providing some fertile ground. >> i think it's a shame for the city, and for germany, that there are movements from this political party or this political side for our nation and our country, and for the citizens, and it's really bad representing my town, and the meaning of germans. >> dresden has people who are toll rant. >> if the people are against the movement, the same can't be said for germany's political class as a whole. some politicians think they should be shunned. others think a dialogue should be had. that includes german chancellor angela merkel, a popular politician, who said the assembly must be respected,

one of hong kong's richest me have been sentenced to five years in gaolful billionaire property develop thomas quok was found guilty of bribing a top official. he received more than $1 million in kickbacks. the scandal shocked hong kong's financial center and galvanized anger the australian prime minister tony abbott said security agencies intercepted what he describes as terrorist chatter in the aftermath of a siege of a sydney cafe. >> i'm alerting people to the fact that the terror threat remains high, and as you'll all understand, at this level, an attack is likely. we don't know when and how an attack may come, but we know

that there are people with the intent and capability to carry out attacks. it's importance, as well as being reassured, that people are aware of the reality of these times. egypt partly opened the rafa crossing along the southern gaza strip. thousands are crossing in both directions after being trapped in the strip for two months. it was closed by egypt in october after a bombing in the sinai peninsula a project in britain is trying to decode the secrets behind cancer and rare genetic diseases. it's under taken by the national health service, centring around the human genome, carrying out genetic material. 11 centers are being set up to collect samples to try to target cancer and genetic diseases. the aim is to build up a bank of

code. researchers may be better able to identify diseases. alastair kemp is a director of genetics alliance u.k. >> through the 11 centers people will be recruited. they'll have blood samples taken, it will be sent to a laboratory. it will be linked to the medical history, their physiology, their continue, so that the links between the change in the d.n.a. can be identified. that way you can understand the processes going on and nab develop cures or protective strategies. in argentinian, a court ruled an orangutans has some of

the same legal rite as humans. she has lived in this zoo and her cognitive abilities give her the same right to live ruled a court russia launched a new rocket into space. moscow is planning to increase investment and drop out in favour of building its own. the plummeting price of oil could pose economic challenges to their plan to re start the space race. >> a little christmas new year's cheer for the people of russia, ending a horrible year, with a maiden launch for the garra 5 rocket. the first launch in two decades. more than two years in the planning and will face a pay load into orbit, 36,000km above the equator. since uri was the first man to orbit the earth, success in the

space race and achievements were part of the soviet war mind-set. in this new era of confrontation, the kremlin is eager to demonstrate that it's in the race. russia plans to launch a space station to rival the international space station. money is of secondary importance say space exports. >> translation: this was a project from the ministry of defense. it is strategically important to send satellites from russian territory. we want to keep russia as a country, it should be a priority. >> reporter: the launch was at a cosmo drome inside russia, not the usual launch pad in kazakhstan. former soviet states no longer reliable partners in space venture. there'll be a political dividend from the space initiatives.

>> the launch will have a great impact on the people in russia because from the soviet time, russia was famous for space challenges. >> aren't a lot of other russians going to say forget about putting the spacecraft in august. let's talking about what is going on on the ground. >> when you spend more money for improving economic situation. not to have ambitious plans. from another point of view, ambitious plan can help to improve economy in russia. >> reporter: you see the old monuments to the soviet space race, but the plan to reach the stars is set to be grounded. ambitious design for the

orbiting space station looks impressive. in the counter economic climate some observers say the kremlin would have trouble finding the money to put on paper with unemployment figure in zimbabwe reaching 8%, opal artists are looking at innovative ways to make money, leading to a boom in home made decorations. >> reporter: first they burp the wire so it's easy and more flexible. then the artists create their pieces. they have orders. christmas trees made from scrap wire are always in demand. >> we make it. we have more customers. >> reporter: you can buy reindeer, angels and stars made from local products. trinkets to bright ebb the tree.

>> artists make it look easy. it's a tree, made from twisting copper wire. the leaves are made from beads. you buy this for $10. >> this is how people try to survive. if you go for one or two weeks without selling, there's no money. you suffer. we work for the families. >> the government says the rate of unemployment is less than 50%. economists say it's more than 80. >> our most valuable resource, our bright young people is leaving the country. we are exporting valuable assets and are not getting anything back. we are spending money to get them to the position where they are now. >> most struggle to make ends meet. special occasions like christmas, when people forget innovative ways to make money. anything from paying a few dollars, or being able to buy this to put in your garden.

one way people support the sector this christmas. i want to remind you you can keep up to date with the news by logging on to the website. the address is aljazeera.com. headlines next. >> right when cyberattacks an american-based subsidiary of a japanese company, is that a matter for u.s. government security concerns? is it a threat to the u.s. at all? that's "inside story." >> hello, i'm ray suarez. the u.s. government entities