al jazeera america's emmy winning, investigative, documentary, series... this is al jazerra. ♪ ♪ a very warm welcome to the al jazerra news hour. i am live in doha. coming up i in the next 60 minutes, dozens are killed in syrian-government air strikeses on areas held by aisles. we take you inside a town peshmerga fighters have seized from isil. you'll see what may prevent residence defends from going home. see sarah leon orders a five-day lockdown to prevent the spread of ebola.

kashmir-yes find peace in their unique christmas traditions. syrian government air strikes have killed at least 45 people in the areas held by the is limb being state of iraq and the los angeles strand according to syrian medical sources. the attacks targeted the towns in northeastern aleppo province. juan child is reported to be among the dead. syrian activists report further government air strikes on the city of dual adjus dual a. just outside duh mass of course. at least 10 people, mostly children are reported injured. the strikes killed several children and wounded many others on tuesday. many while in the city of aleppo, five armed factions have united in to one rebel group. they have chosen a commander. they have come together to fight syrian regime forces.

residents have formed many groups since the start of the conflict in 20 with 11. it some to confront syrian regime forces others for fight the expansion of isil. first the operations room which included in it -- in its ranks several armed groups including the at nusra front. in july another group was formed with the participation of five other rebel groups. following an initiative by the u.n. envoy for syria. 14 factions met in november under the name aleppo's revolutionaries council. no agreement was reached. and today, five the largest opposition groupings and their factions have united under one group. human rights watch has accused the syrian government of targeting is srel understand in homs. they say almost 100,000 people are trafficked inside the neighborhood. the last area in the city still

held by rebels. zeina reports. >> reporter: government sniper surround this area. moving in and out is severely restricted. according to human rights watch, residents are harassed and detained. it says it has become a prison for its residents. the government wants the fighters inside to lay down their arms. but the opposition wants guarantees. >> translator: the government wants deflectors to hands themselves in. i am an army deflector and there are others like me what began identity do we have that they won't kill us like they have another fighters who gave up their arms. >> reporter: after what it calls reconciliation deals, but the rebels say they had to vendor because the districts were besieged for months. this is the last one in rebel hands. and government attacks have intense fight there since ceasefire talks collapsed in

october. many civilians have been killed in the densely-populated neighbor neighborhoods. >> some one thousand people many who fled from other conflict zones in the city live here and they are growing increasingly desperate tann even when we were able to bring in surprise the traders in the district took advantage of our situation. and now there is a government siege and w we cannot bring anything in. the people want the fighter to leave and they want this to end. >> reporter: the government block eight. we understand that the people and not the fighters are now engaged in u.n. mediated negotiations with the authorities. the government says it wants to make ideal. but has to involve restoring state sovereignty in to neighborhood. some surprise have entered since the government imposed a partial blockade late last years but

since november it was tightened preventing aid from entering. >> reporter: the government has been accused of using starvation as a weapon of war, a tactic that has worked in the past and may work yet again here. zeina, al jazerra, beirut. meanwhile, kurdish fighters appear to be regaining ground near iraq's border with syria. they are fight to go retake the city of sinjar which has been under isil control since august. mohamed adow has the latest from northern iraq. >> reporter: the kurdish peshmerga fighters raised their flag in one of the villages they recently recaptured from isil. they want to make clear who is in charge here. the peshmerga are engaged in an operation to rest bake swaths of lands from aisles. and this is the man leading them. the general says their offensive has been a success. >> translator: we have gotten strategic territory back from aisles. we have also cease seized major

roads particular will you one that runs along the iraqi syrian border. whoever controls these has the upper hands. >> reporter: but the towns remain deserted. most of the residents of these towns we were told now live in camps or have crossed the nearby syrian border. this newly retaken town reveals the tactics that isil fighters used to protection themselves for air strikes. here they created a smokescreen to hide them from the jet fighters. and to my level a network of tunnels that they have use today navigate their way around town. they used doors of abandoned house to his cover the tunnels. and as the fighter reached the town, so did the air strikes. here one of the houses isil used as a base lies in ruins. it was hit by coalition jets supporting the perk herring a offensive. >> translator: the air strikes have been very helpful to our

offensive. we have been guiding the coalition jets on where to target and that really helped in increasing their accuracy. >> reporter: the peshmerga also managed to broke an isil siege of mt. sinjar people had been trapped since september. just four days ago this road was impossible. it was under the control of isil. it's now an escape route for the thousands of yazidis who have been trapped on the mountain. >> translator: most of our houses were destroyed in the fighting, says this man. they were everywhere around us. we were advise today leave he says. isil also left behind improvised explosive devices like this in most villages and towns they have lost. just one more thing holding people from returning to their homes. mohamed adow al jazerra, in northern iraq. gunmen belonging to the shia

rebel group the houthis have kidnapped yemen's seconds highest intelligence official. the major general was take friend his home in sanaa at dawn on thursday. he's in charged of internal secure any in yemen. in somalia six kills in an attack on a u.n. military base. explosions and heavy gunfire were heard in the capital of mogadishu, al-shabab claim responsibility for the attack. the taliban has been warned their days are numbers. so-called terrorism cases will now be tried by military courts. that decision gives the military an enhanced role as charles stratford reports. >> reporter: it's been nine days since the worst act of terrorism in pakistan's history. the government with the support of ale political parties, is fighting back. >> translator: due to the weakness of our civilian courts, terrorists kept evading punishment. so now special trial courts will

be set up maids up of military officers so the perpetrators of such crimes can be brought to justice. these special courts will last for two years. >> reporter: the back sta pakisi taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the school. almost 150 people, including 132 children were blown up or shot dead by men who went from classroom to classroom hunting their victims. >> translator: the terrorists struck the future of this country when they murdered those innocent children. the six-year-old was like my daughter. she went to school to take an exam but didn't come back. also like my child, he was a bright student who went to school that day without breakfast. and his mother will never see him come back. >> reporter: two days after the attacker the government lifted a six-year moratorium on the death penalty. all political parties agreed to amend the contusion to set up the military courts. officials say they will only be used to try terror suspects.

the plan also includes the formation of a special anti-terrorism force and better regulation o of religious schoo. >> there is an anti money laundering ordinance which has been never enacted in to law. i think that should be done. similarly, education, they are going to be registered, but that is a provincial subject not a central government subject. it's unfair if the provincial governments are going to play ball with the central government. >> reporter: pakistan has for years been accused of supporting armed groups in neighboring afghanistan. islambad launched a military offensive against the pakistani taliban in tribal regions in june. since the december the 16th attack on the school. that military offensive has increased. and it now seems the legal provision to his fight terrorism harder are also being made. charles stratford. al jazerra. prayers are being held across mosques and churches in indonesia. ♪

♪ >> a special christmas service has been held for victims of the 2004 sue name. 17,000 people died 10 years ago. the majority of the 230,000 were killed in 14 countries. step returned to the city to find the community still rebuilding. >> reporter: 10 years later and it's hard to tell it ever happened. the resurrection has removed reminders of one of the world's most deadliest disasters. more than 130,000 houses were rebuilt. one now 700 schools, and 3,700-kilometers of road. back to life 10 years after the disas tuck struck. it's now bustling. people seem to have picked up their lives to many it still feels like yesterday, that moment, sunday morning, december 26th. when the waves hilt.

>> translator: the last thing my child screamed was mommy and i held her as tight as possible. i went down with her for more than one hour. the only sound i could hear under water was the sounds of banging. >> reporter: i meet her again 10 years later. not only did she lose her baby, most of her family, included her husband and parents died. two days after the tsunami, she showed me the body of her dead sister. >> translator: sitting here i can clearly see the face of my sister lying here. the tsunami was a long time ago but it feels to me like it has just happened. >> reporter: she was nine years old when the tsunami killed her parents and 270 of her

schoolmates, she wrote a poem back then. >> translator: children have lost their mothers and fathers. we the new generation will bowl back as a great province as a city of peace. my lovely, lovely afternoo town. >> reporter: now 19-year-old says her words have come true. while she remembers her parents at a mass grave with 15,000 bodies. she says she wants to look to the future. >> translator: in these last 10 years if i compared the situation before and now, there are many changes. now it's very beautiful. although we have lost so much we have resurrected. six. >> reporter: she studies english and wants to become a tv presenter. she has moved to a town further away from the sea. she lives there with her new husband and three-year-old

daughter. an international aid organization paid for her study and now she works as a nurse. >> translator: i always wonder why i am still alive while my baby and sister died next to me. this question questions haunting me. i think there must be a reason for this. maybe i have been given a chance to become a better person. >> reporter: new lives have started, but the dark images of the past will stay with them forever. a stark reminder as this boat, pushed by the waves five-kilometers inland, by preserving it as a museum, they want to show the world that even the worst disaster can be overcome. step, al jazerra. well, step will have more coverage on the tsunami anniversary for us on friday. that's not all, because we'll also have reports from rear vanna pedrosa, she is in could i land and also in show lane ca.

plenty more still ahead on the news hour four. including the fall in the price of oil hits the world's leading crude exporter as saudi arabia's deficit hits record levels, plus. >> reporter: i am in kentucky, and coming i'll testimony you why ginseng is big here. >> and in sport, lebron james returns to face his former team, but will he get a warm welcome from the heat. raul will have all the details. ♪ ♪ in israel dozens of currents and former officials have been arrested in an investigation in on alleged corruption. israelii police say those arrested are with the foreign minister. public funds have been allegedly transferred to his party. he huh is not comment on the allegations. preliminary are you approval for 243 new settler homes in the

occupied west bank close to jerusalem. officials said that the they alo have advanced plans for another 207 plans in the area. saudi arabia announced its budget for the next year will have a deficit of over 30 a billion dollars. that's the largest ever for the world's leading exporter of crude oil. the price of oil has lost hoof of its value since june. a slide in prices is being blamed mostly on weak global demands. i remember are i spoke to john, a former adviser to the saudi finance ministry, now director of the asset management group ash more, he says saudi arabia desires to retain a market share of the oil above all. >> i think that over the short to medium term saudi arabia is not worried at all. nobody knows what will happen in the future but they are worried about maintaining market share in the moble oil market. the main concern for saudi arabia today is to maintain market share in the important

markets such as asia. as the minister of petroleum of saudi arabia said many times, they are not concerned about price. definitely that's the case. because what they care is not to go back to the 1980s where they started cutting production and that undercut oil prices significantly. remember oil prices went from $35 a barrel to 10, within a very short period of time. i don't think we are going see oil at 10 or 30, i think oil is going to recover in 2015. and it's going to recover because globally we are going to see better news coming out of emerging markets, the u.s., and even ostensibly europe and japan. there is a lot of fury about what is happening in russia and iran, oil prices have gone down. the theory that saudi arabia in the 1980s instigated the collapse of the soviet union because of downward oil prices i think is a bit far fetched.

so similarly, at present we hear of similar theories. i think saudi arabia wants do is maintain market share and to be a stable producer, predictable produce nurse times such as these. russia is warning of so-called adequate measures in response to nato if it continues its policies in ice attorney europe. its foreign ministry says nato's possible eastward expansion directly impacts moscow's security. russia added it go ahead have to respond if the policies go on. ukrainian signaled its intention to join the western alliance. russian president has canceled new year's holidays for ministers because of unfolding economic crisis due to falling oil revenues. russian workers are usually inning tight told a two-week holiday from january 1st. it's been 25 years since the execution of romanian leader nikolai, the leader's death was sparked by a violent up rising

against his they strike tiff regime. the romanians are still coming to terms with the legacy of communist rule. as paul brent inning reports. >> reporter: central bucharest december 21st, 1989. swing through neighboring soviet states, the huge crowd began to boo their dictator president. his nervous hesitation on the podium is within of the defining moments of his down fall. he ordered the army to break up the demonstrations by force, if necessary. but some of his generals could see that the old regime was finishes. >> translator: the whole country was rising up against the regime, fed up of a decade of economic difficulties, financial and social difficulties. that was the foundation on which the army could inter fine at some point and decapitate the communist pyramid. >> reporter: these were dangerous days for all involved. >> during the 20th and 25th

of december i was between two fighting squads, some groups knew i was against them but the other groups didn't know that i was with them. >> reporter: on christmas day a special military tribunal was convened and passed death sentences against him and his wife. 25 years on, it's a museum, the room is preserved exactly as they were. the trial had taken less than two hours and immediately after it, at about 2:30 that christmas day afternoon, he and his wife were half dragged half carried out and lined up against the wall of the paratroopers opened fire. the dictator and his wife fell dead. he witnessed the execution. >> translator: that moment was crucial in the history of romanian, but back then i thought we had escaped from communism and i was wrong. he was gone, but the second and third ranked communists stayed in power. and they led us to the disaster that we are facing now. >> reporter: the revolution

certainly didn't bring an economic boom. the man who followed the president says romania was already too far behind its neighborsneighbors. >> we had these big differences that separated us from centuries from the. [ inaudible ] of europe. we have made a lot of steps, a lot of progress, but still we remain economic and social point of view is such. [ inaudible ] in comparison with other european countries. >> reporter: the average wage is actually half now in money terms of what it was back in 1989. although buying power is 25% higher. the country joined the european union in 2007. and romania's skilled and educationed 30 to 40 year olds are driving the economy forward. the monument to the revolution now forms a traffic island in central bucharest. the euphoria which followed the fuel has long since subsided but there was a more than 60% turn

out for voting in the recent presidential election, and faith in a democracy earned through bloodshed remains strong. paul brennan, bucharest. wild american ginseng is revitalizing the economy in some. it's very popular in gina and other asian countries because of its ma dismal properties. >> reporter: the autumn gold rush has become in appalachian country. chris mills and his family have been digging up ginseng roots for nearly-a century, waiting years and dodging copper head snakes in search of what some call the most lucrative legal plant on earth. >> sometimes it stays in the ground a lot longer than most people would have ideas about. sometimes you can seow seeds in the ground and they stay there 10 or 12 years before they comee

up. >> reporter: chinese say it's it does a lot of things. there is a market for cheaper cultivated gin sink but consumers pay far more not wild north american variety. >> i most of the dry market goes to china. and the chinese consumers prefer that wild root because it has real deep rings on there. it's grown slower. so they feel like in their philosophy that it's gotten more energy, more information from mother earth. >> reporter: tess 10-pound boxes each hold more than $5,000 of yi gin sink bought from local pickers for 500 to $700 a pounds and so for far more. this is too young to pick. you pick it at this stage and it won't recede. that's what some poachers do, if you get a big one, like this, a digger could get $40 for this, but could be worth thousands by the time it reaches markets like korea. those prices have lured newcomers, coal miners whose

shafts have stkhoupt an shutdowd poachers. several have limited over harvesting. >> all of this is gin sink that was dug prior to season and sold illegally. >> reporter: during two weeks in september in west virginia alone, natural resources officers confiscated more than 190 pounds of illegally dug ginseng worth about $180,000. grown in one of the few climates on earth that can sustain it. >> kentucky has the right soil. it's god's gift because the economy around here is poor. but if you just work at it and keep trying, you come out. >> reporter: here in poor, but proud appalachia, many are happy to get by on gifts from the soil. john hendon, al jazerra, big creek, kentucky. plenty more still ahead for you on the al jazerra news hour. including this 13-year-old girl says her father gave her to boko

haram to become a suicide bomber. plus the parents of 43 missing students in mexico share their sorrow by releasing a video messaging. and in sport, we'll tell you about the gift this former italy forward has received this christmas.

>> saturday on tech know. a brutal killing. a thorough investigation. >> we're pushing the envelope. >> but this is no ordinary c.s.i. >> what went on right before that animal died? >> hunting the hunter. >> we're gonna take down the bad guys. >> solving the crime. >> we can save species. >> tech know's team of experts show you how the miracles of science. >> this is my selfie, what can

you tell me about my future? >> can affect and surprise us. >> don't try this at home. >> tech know, where technology meets humanity. saturday at 7:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. welcome back you are watching the al jazerra news hour, i am mary an ann, let's take you through the top stories, syrian government air strikes have killed at least 40 fire people in areas held by isil according to syrian medical sortses the attacks attacked the towns in northeastern aleppo province. kurdish fighters appear to be regaining ground near iraq's border with syria, they are trying to retake the city of sinjar which has been under isil control since august. and pakistan's prime minister says his government will set up special military courts to prosecute armed groups. the announcement comes after the massacre of more than 140 people at a school 10 days ago.

a 5-day lockdown in sierra leone in on honored to tackle ebola. christians will be allowed to attends church on christmas day. >> reporter: crowds head to christmas marketses in the capital free town. but all around there are reminders that the ebola virus remains a threat. in the north of the country, scenes like these are impossible, the government has declared a five-day lockdown. but even in free town where such restrictions aren't in place, christmas celebrations are mooted. >> we have not enjoyed the festival we are just working hard for our children so they will have something to eat for a day. we can't enjoy ourselves when we are suffering like this. >> reporter: the government has also announced more travel restriction asks a ban on public parties over christmas and new year.

>> reporter: in neighboring liberia, more than 3,000 people have been killed by ebola. with with although the number ow infections are going down, evening show people have struggled for find much to celebrate. >> we are not going to celebrate because of ebola. i told my family and kids,. [ inaudible ] watch movie all day. >> reporter: unlikely beer yeah, the ebola virus in sierra leone is still spread something in places restrict on his movement as well as the influx of foreign medic imedics and money will sw results. john fleming is with the red cross of sierra leone joining us by describ describe keeskype fru

tell us about the celebrations and gatherings. >> as your report indicates, there is certainly a focus on restricting movement, clearly one of the main focuses is a means being put in place to limit the onward spread of the virus and as stated in the report, free town the capital city is a major hotspot. along with a anybody of other districts. so i have driven around free town the capital today, for the most part, it's a normal day in free town, but clearly people are out purchasing for their families, but there is a level, a greater level of awareness in regards to the need to limit large crowds. but again, this has been in place for quite sometime here in regards to the limiting of sporting events and religious observances, so for the most part, there is a resignation on the part of the people here in free town and elsewhere that

they are in an extremely serious situation. and these measures are really necessary. particularly at this time of the year. with a lot of movement around the country is obviously people would normally catch up with family and friends and different parts of the country. >> john, i know that you are in free town, can you tell us if the measures that are being taken there are any different from action being taken elsewhere in the country to contain the spread of the virus? >> yes. as i said in free town, it's obviously a lot more difficult in terms of the simply in terms of the concentration, high concentration of people here. it's difficult to limit people's movements, it's difficult to address aspects around social mobilization and contact tracing. clearly in the country area, a more rural areas, it's a simplified by the fact of mauler

population concentration. so in free town, like i have said, the population are very well aware it's not business as usual. they are aware of the heightened risk of transmission of the disease purely around population movement through the christmas period. my feeling is that that is a sentiment shared throughout the country. >> sierrsierra leone has the hit number of ebola cases in west africa, it's been hardest hit and it's been in a state of emergency for months now, i think since july. how would you categorize the overall government response in combating the virus and what is your feeling about how this could unfold. do you think it could get a lot worse before it gets better? >> right. there is a concerted effort in sierra leone, both from government, from u.n. organizations or agencies, from

organizations such as the international federation of the red cross and red crescent society and international organizations and national. my sense since being here and i have been here since -- basically for six weeks now, is a much better degree of coordination among organizations. there is a much more focus on key areas such a as a safe and dignified burial, contact awareness, better cohesiveness and direction in regards to the efforts, coordination of efforts towards the germination of ebola throughout the country. >> it was certainly interesting to get your insight in toe what is happening there in freetown, thanks very much indeed. john phlegming fro fleming froms of sierra leone. christmas in nigeria has brought anxiety there over

possible attacks and those whose daughters were kidnapped by boca ham ram. they want people to be on a all right as a rumor sick lated that they night strike during the holiday season, a report on a girl who says her father gave her to boko haram. >> reporter: debt made this suicide bomb or be buried alive. that's the choice this 13 year olds girl says she was given after her father handed her over to boko haram. >> translator: i was asked if i wanted to go to heaven when i answered they said i had to go on a suicide mission and if i attempted to run they would kill me. >> reporter: the girl says she and two other females were sent to this text tile market in mid december. the others detonated their bombs killing four people. the girl says when she saw the carnage she couldn't flip the switch on the bomb strapped to her. when we came to the market one said we should go separately. but i refused after my friend

detonated her own explosive vest i was injured. >> reporter: boko haram has been using girls and women as weapon to his kill and insight fear as a tries to impose an islamic state in nigeria. since june female suicide bombers have launched five other attacks, girls continues to be at risk of kidnappings and forced marriage. the boldest example was the kidnapping of 276 girls from a boarding school in april. although some imagine today escape most of the girls are still being held hostage. thousands of people in the north where boko haram has a strong hold have been given out of their homes, although they might be safe. misery persists in displacement camps. >> translator: i have to sleep in a shack made of nylon bags, we are cold, there is no work. me and my husband are unemployed. foot is scarce. if it weren't for the charity people we would starve. >> reporter: from the people who lost homes to the families

grieving the loss of those killed or praying for the safe return of loved ones, this holiday season is filled with very little cheer. for so many in nigeria. natasha ghoneim, al jazerra. this day three years ago worshipers at the white lick church of st. teresa in the nigeria town were attacked during christmas day mass, dozens of people were killed. a report from the capital the anniversary is adding to a climate of fear over the festive period. >> reporter: the mood in the capital is subdued. we have met people who stayed away from church services today afraid of what might happen. there are rumors that boko haram fighters may try to attack churches, may try to attack public gatherings. we have seen people who also said or met people who also said that no amount of threat or violence can keep them away from places of worship. we went to one of the amusements parks in the center of the

capitkansascapital. a few hundred were therein testified the thousands we saw a few years ago. now it's all because of the current situation in nigeria i can't remember the violence that is swing especially in the northern part of the country. people are hoping that the nigerian authorities can get a hands on the situation and bring the situation under control so that people can go back to their lives the way they know hugh the recovery in one of the areas tacked by boko haram three years ago a suicide bomber hit the catholic church dozens were injured. families said they are trying to piece back their lives together this -- following what happened there. now, the nigerian authorities say they are taking adequate steps to insure that during the festive period, people's lives and property have been adequately protected. now we have seen a lot of activity on the part of the security agencies on the streets of the towns and cities across

nigeria. stepped up security, conducting stops all over the place to insure that nothing terrible happen to people at this period. relatives and friends of mexico's 43 missing students have gathered again to protest how the government is handling the case. they are also planning a march through mexico city on friday to mark the 3-month anniversary of when the students disappeared. david mercer reports. ♪ >> reporter: it's the kind of message no parents wants to gi give. >> reporter: mothers and fathers of mexico's missing students reflecting on their first christmas without their childr children. >> reporter: in a country where family comes first, the holiday message say grim reminder of how families continue to suffer.

in september, 43 students were abducted by police in southwestern mexico. the police handed them over to a local drug gang, they haven't been seen since, months of protests followed. and while the government claims gang members incinerated the students, their parents refuse to give up hope. throughout the country, mexicans continue to make vigils in memory of the students and to demand justice. on december 26th, hundreds of people will meet with the parents here before marching down mexico city's main avenue. forcing the authorities yet again, to hear their voices. it's this kind of stubborn insistence that makes this case unique. forcing the spotlight on the country's disappeared could be a catalyst for change. >> i sometimes feel that this has in a way provided us with a very tragic window of

opportunity to share the pain with these parents, but while sharing that pain also to realize that this is something the whole country is going through. >> reporter: just hours before midnight on christmas eve, some of the parents arrive at the home of the mexican president. another symbolic act to show their solidarity and break the silence. >> translator: we will not rest until they find them. today christmas doesn't exist because there is somebody important missing in each family. so we can't say happy christmas because there is no happiness in our hearts. it's the opposite. there is so much pain between all of us. >> reporter: parents of mexico's 43 missing students determined that their children will not be forgotten. david mercer, al jazerra, mexico city. al jazerra continues to call for the release of our three journalist who his have been in prison in egypt for 362 days. peter greste, mohamed fahmy and

bahar mohamed were falsely accused of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. they are appealing against their convictions. still ahead for you on al jazerra this hour. we look at how a christmas day football match between british and german troops during world war i is being commemorated 100 years on. ♪ ♪

a mad scramble for cash after an armored van spilled more than 2 million u.s. dollars on the motor way near the city's

financial district. police say the driver was obvlious to the fact that the van's backdoor was open. he also appealed for help in tracing the cash and warned anyone who fails to return the money may be committing a crime. christmas came early for some of them. >> i am sure they will be rushing back to return that money as well. >> i oh, yeah, i am sure. >> bit a sport for you now. it's been 100 years since there was an apparent ou outbreak of peace during world war i in 1915. famous his brit and i can german troops layed down their arms to play a game of football in month man's land, lee wellington reports. >> reporter: the moor horror ofe and this death fighting in world waworldwar i. it's the apparent outbreak of peace and goodwill on christmas day 1914 that stood out as a symbolic moment. a ceasefire in the trenches and a game of football between troops in no man's lands.

>> this probably is the only time in any conflict at any time in the history of the world that you had two conflicting armies lay down their arms and be friends. such a unique, extraordinary moment. >> reporter: reenactments have taken place across europe. in southern england the brit and german armies united in football again. >> we have many days to commemorate this year, 100 years beginning of world war ii. this is the greatest event i have experienced in this. [cheering and applause] >> during a lull in fighting, among people do all over the world when they are in close proximity to each other and a

ball is available sport took place. >> reporter: the power of the story of a christmas truce has been utilized by advertisers in the u.k. such as supermarket chains, their moving film has been well received by some of the british public. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: though others questions the integrity of companies attaching themselves to such a poignant events. and describe this is as one football match between enemy troops appears to be a mixture of fable in fact. letters from servicemen exist that describe some football as having taken place but it was only a small part of an extraordinary truce. the. >> the main things that took place in the christmas true were soldiers coming out on christmas day swapping food, badges, buttons, and also burying the dead from those attacks. that was a major part of it. and then repairing the trench lines. >> reporter: the need for people to say thanks to those who served their country was

captured when hundreds of thousands of people brought poppies for an unforgettable memorial at the tower of london. the christmas truce story gives people an opportunity to show understanding and empathy for those globs but not forgotten. new generations do want to believe and celebration this incredible day in 1914. which provided brief respite, hope and humanity for the millions who suffered on the battlefields. lee wellings al jazerra, london. now, former italy and chelsea forward zola has been given a christmas presents of a new managerial job. taking over in serie a team. he was he ended his player career in 2005. and has since coached west ham and watford. it's a busy friday in the english premier league with the traditional boxing day program.

nine matches in total, leaders chelsea host west ma'am. meanwhile, manchester city go to west brom. a month ago the champions were nine points behind chelsea. but six league wins in a rojas seen them close that gap to just three points. >> we are knowledge thinking about chelsea, just about our team. we know it's important to have our own pressure to try to win the next game. and as i said before, you never win the game -- the title in december. you have a long five months to continue playing as well as we are doing so far and we'll see is he end of the season which team has the most points. >> arsenal will host qrp with arsen w wenger hoping that he cn close the gap. >> we have to focus our performances and especially make sure the middle of the christmas

we take advantage of the schedule that we have and put the performances in. we have -- we have good opportunity over christmas to show that we are much better than people think we are. >> today nba now. miami heat star dwayne wade doesn't expect any awkwardness when he comes up against former teammate lebron james later. james returns to south beach for the first time since re-signing with the cleveland cavaliers back in july. alongside wade and chris bosh, james won two nba championships and four conference titles in just four years. >> we are a team that is struggling, trying to find our identity, you know be, it's going to be an exciting game for our fans from the standpoint of being christmas and this is our first time playing but that weirdness and awkwardness thinks there could be there won't. i am joins by danny a radio host at 560 wkm in miami.

lebron james is the biggest name in the nba right now. can you give us some idea of how big of ideal this is in back in the states lebron james going back to the team where he enjoyed such success. >> this is a huge deal especially down here in miami with the way that lebron james left, it's going to be very interesting to see how the fans down here in miami react to him coming back today. obviously, lebron took a lot of time to make his decision, the heat weren't able to get too many great players to go around dwayne wade, they were able to re-sign chris bosh, but as you can see right now, with the heat, they are struggling, they are three games under .500, they are certainly feeling what it's like in the post lebron era right now coming off of a tough loss to the worst team in the league, the philadelphia 76ers. so this is a really big deal for a lot of different aspects today. >> well, yeah, you touched on it there, there was a lot of bad feeling from cleveland fans when lebron left to go to miami in 2010. do you see a similar situation with the miami fans this time around?

>> well, i think the fans down here have to be pretty grateful to lebron james, you know, four years down here, they went the finals every single season and they won two championships, it was a historic run down here in miami. so i think the fans have to be great envelope that regard, they are going play a video tribute to lebron during the game. one thing to rebel, lebron, while he thanked some of the players in his he i he he is h r thanked the facts, it will be interesting to see how they react when they introduce him to the today to the crowd. first of the all, how does the crowd respond and how will he respond to the crowd will he give them a wave and a if you for the first time. >> can you give us an idea of the impact from the city of miami. you said before the team has really struggled on the court and off it i have read there has been an economic effect to him leaving as well. >> yeah. i mean, look, it's certainly not as bad as when he left cleveland. when you look at a city like

miami, there is a lot of other options, a lot of other things that you can certainly do down here and i know cleveland felt it a lot worse than miami did. and attendance is down at the games, there is no question about it. and the caliber of team that they are putting on the floor is certainly down. you are talking about a team that lost to the sixers on tuesday night. they gave up a 23-2nd halpoint d half lead. they have dealt with a lot of injuries as well. fans will stick around and stay around this team. there is a lot of other stuff still to do down here in miami. so have they felt it as bad as cleveland did when lebron left? absolutely not. but fans are still hurting from it. >> danny, great to huher your thoughts, we'll have to loaf it there for now. change a pace now to cricket. australia batsman david warner hopes india won't tried to sledge them again when they need meet for the third second on boxing day. they head to me melbourne. he came in to fruity language

but only seemed to fire him up and helped australia win the match. >> you know, i think i would hope that they don't. but for us it's about getting the contest and that's what we are like, i like to go at them and try to get them to bite back at me and i go out and bat. at the moment it's working. we saw the other day when mitchell johnson which is probably a silly mistake to make. and it backfired on them. meanwhile, south africa are set to play their first ever black african specialist batsman on friday. he is in line to replace the injured quintin, for the second test against the west indies in port elizabeth. south africa have only ever fielded five black players and not had any since bowler's last test back in 2009. and international cricket will return to christchurch on friday for the first time since the earth quake in 20 level. new zealand will take on sri lanka for the first test of a

two-match series, the earthquake killed almost 200 people and destroyed both the city's rugby and cricket venue at las lancasr park. check out aljazerra.com/sports for more. details there on how to get in touch with our team using twittetwitter and facebook, plue have blogs and video clips from our correspondents around the would. aljazerra.com/sports. that's all your sport for now. i'll have more later. thank you, raul. now, an estimated 2% of the indian population is christian. christmas is celebrated as a national holiday. but this year, christians in indian administered kashmir the country's only muslim majority state are keeping sell zell operations low key. much of the community is still reeling from floods that hit main areas in september. a report from there now. the ♪ ♪ >> reporter: like most years

catholics christians in this church are observing the midnight mass early in the everything. hit by years of violence and recent floods, they have gotten used to adjusting their celebrations based on their circumstances. the they are among the few christian families in the region, she says while most christian traditions here are similar to those in other countrys, there are some strictly from kashmir. >> we follow mostly the culture here. we prepare kashmir-y ditches, and traditional dishes because we are given a lot of importance. >> reporter: the tree this year is smaller. and there are fewer decorations. she says that's the case for all christian families this year. who are opting to have celebration on his a smaller scare because of the recent floods. >> nobody celebrated any feast. the muslims did not celebrate

eads. so we too did suffer in floods and we did not celebrate. we did celebrate, but in a very, very simple way. >> reporter: this is the church where christmas mass would usually be held. over 100 years old, it wasn't able to escape the flood waters earlier this year. and is still damaged inside. because of that, mass has been shifted to a small room inside the church compound of but the parishioner are still keeping the spirit of christmas alive. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: prayers are read, and offerings are given. but car caroling, elaborate decorations are love the list this year, bus like others in kashmir, people are still hurting from this year's floods. >> being with the people, in solidarity, we decided that this year we shall have a very modified celebration of christmas and when particularly speaking about our community,

almost all the families were also very badly hit by the flood. so everyone is in that kind of dilemma. >> reporter: despite going through a rough year, these christians continue to look for strength in their faith. prayer for piece in kashmir, and goodwill towards all. al jazerra, indian administer kashmir. and pop francis has appealed for peace and solidarity this christmas. in his traditional christmas message from the vatican, i calls for humanitarian aid for his displace placed by conflict across the world. the head of the roman catholic church offered comfort to persecuted christians and muslims and condemns the actions of ice i would. he also called for piece in libya, ukraine, and nigeria. all right, another full bulletin of news straight at for you after the break from london. do stay with al jazerra.

syrian government air strikes killed dozens of people in areas held by isil. as kurdish forces recapture more jill villages from isil, we loot what's left behind. ♪ ♪ you are watching al jazerra live from london. also coming up on the program. the 13-year-old who says her father gave her to boko haram to be a suicide bomber. plus. >> reporter: overall, big dumb fun. >> cinema goers brave online threats and watch tony's controversial film the interview, but is it any