"talk to al jazeera". monday, 6:00 eastern. only on al jazeera america. this is al jazeera. hello. welcome to the news hour. here's what coming up in the next 60 minutes. >> we were that close after years of negotiations and then nearly two weeks of intense bargaining, the final text for a climate deal is now ready. an historic location, women in saudi arabia are taking part in elections for the first time, both as voters and candidates. the afghan taliban killed seven

people in an attack on the diplomatic neighborhood of the capital kabul. plus. >> reporter: i'm andrew thomas in sydney on how the cruise industry is growing so fast that this city is running out of harbour spots to berth the shipships hello. a new global climate deal is getting closer. the final text of an agreement is expected to be released in the next 30 minutes. delegates in paris have already missed one deadline, but the french foreign minister said he is hopeful for a deal. there has been intense bargaining over the past two weeks where negotiations sometimes went over night. china, of course, produces more carbon emissions than any other

country. philippines, one of the most vulnerable to climate change. first, to the environment editor nick clerk. we're getting closer to that announcement. chances of a possible break through. >> reporter: yes. depending on who you speak to. there is certainly a buzz about the place because we've heard that president francois hollande is on his way to the conference center here which would lead one to think that there may be a resolution and that he would want to be here when the gavel goes down on the paris agreement, but i've been speaking to the south african environment minister who said there is still work to do which will possibly go into the evening and others think it may go into sunday. it is impossible to gauge what

is exactly going to happen. but at 11.30 we will get a clearer picture. we will speak to who an economist. what is your take on this confusing situation where we're at with this text at the moment? > reporter: that's not in the text at the moment and you want it in there. >> the only way that it can be

continued is by having mandatory emission limits and there is no wording or mandatory emission limits at all in the wording. please understand, mandatory emission limits is what is needed for the world to reduce emissions. if we have no agreement on that, in reality we have nothing. >> reporter: there will be those who will be fighting for that argument right now, trying to change the text do you think?

>> reporter: there has been an ongoing process throughout the year leading up to this conference?

greenhouse gasses are developed as well as developing nations. china, u.s., india, russia and japan. their emissions account for almost 60% of the total. the 28 nation e.u. block is responsible for 12% and china is the world's worst polluter and it shows as residents of beijing with smog. china pumps out more than a quarter of the total emissions. india plans to build more coal fired power stations despite the fact it is the world's third worst polluter. many nations at c.o.o. p21 will be trying to secure a stronger commitment from india to reduce its emissions. adrian brown, what strategy has been at these talks in paris with china? >> reporter: it's interesting, isn't it. china is the world heaviest polluter, but it is probably spending more money on

combatting pollution on any other country, as it should say environmentalists. in paris the strategy has been to be seen, taking decisions that in beijing's words are pragmatic, positive and balanced. it has been stretching something else in paris. it wants to remind the world it is a developing nation even though the world's second largest economy. there say reason for that because if china were to be classed as an industrialized nation t would have to make a what happening contribution to that international fund that is being set up to help countries which are suffering the worst effects of climate change. so that's why it's inclining to its developing nation's status and that's why of the reasons why there has been friction in paris it's interesting that the timing of the summit comes at a time when the government in china was forced to issue its first ever red policy solution alert last week.

-- pollution alert last week. >> reporter: yes. terrible timing for those chinese ministers in paris. also, of course, pretty committee was there-- pretty president xi jinping was there. we had the worse day for at least three years. china has really responded this way. it introduced a series of emergency measures, but these were, in effect, stop gap measures. they halved the number of cars on the road for three days, they shut down schools, they ordered a number of policy uting factories to reduce output or even to close, but these were stop gap measures. what cleared away the pollution for a few days was strong northerly winds. it was nothing that the government had done. what a lot of people are asking online is this, is the government up to the task of actually dealing with pollution. what is the government's long-term strategy. there is an awful lot of disgruen tellment on line and

the worry for the government is if that could turn to something else how does carbon dioxide or co2 affect our climate? the earth has a natural blanket of greenhouse gasses and they include water, vapour you're, methane and co2. without this blanket the temperature of the earth would be minus 17 degrees. life as we know it would be unsustainable. the gasses help keep the earth's temperature stable at around 16 degrees celsius. since the industrial revolution huge amounts of co2 have been pumped into the atmosphere and that's because of the burning of fossil fuels. that has upset the natural balance, making the blanket of greenhouse gasses thicker. it is heating up the planet, warming up the oceans, melting the eye caps. weather systems are affected there as we've seen in the philippines. what is at stake with the philippines when it comes to

cop21?

government has been pushing for in paris here is it wants the more developed nations to take a clearer responsibility for having caused this damage, they feel, and that there should be an accountability involved as well. they want more money from developed nations not just to deal with the greenhouse emissions here, but how the civilization in the philippines has to adapt now to such severe weather disturbances thank you for the time being for that update from the philippines. you're with the news hour on al jazeera. there is much more coming up in chinese internet giant alibaba business the south china newspaper. >> reporter: i'm in oxford where scientists are preserving the cultural heritage of syria. -- preserving find out if oklohoma man can

step up to get a win first, polls have opened in saudi arabia where women are taking part for the first time as candidates and voters. the councils are the only elected country bodies. the voting age has been lowered from 21 to 18. many young people welcome the changes. >> it's my first time to vote in our country. actually, i'm coming here to support one of my friends. we believe in her, we believe in her ideas and i want the country to listen to her you will tell us how the

election is going amongst women specific, jamal. >> reporter: in terms of how they're going, it is a smooth process here. there hasn't been any reports of any problems. behind me is the - behind that crowd of journalists is the minister for local affairs who has come to inspect this polling station. he is doing a tour of all the polling stations. local human rights groups are dispatching 200 monitors to monitor the process. it is a smooth one because the turn out hasn't been that great, to be honest. maybe because it's early hours, maybe it will take off in the afternoon, but so far it hasn't been like in other countries, for example, but one of those reasons for the low turn out is that the saudis are not used to voting. this is the only elected party body but it is the theirs time

that the saudis have had to vote. while it is ground breaking that women are participating for the first time as candidates and voters, it is only the third time that these polls are taking place when do we expect the results? >> reporter: on sunday around midday local time, around 1 p.m. saw detime. the-- saudi time. the electoral commission will announce the results. it is important to note that the local authorities, obviously, whilst they have some sort of power in terms of public services and stuff like that, it's only two-thirds of that body that is directly elected. roughly a third, roughly around a thousand officials are appointed by the king and approved by him. obviously, coming back to the main theme of this election, the roll of women, obviously, when

we speak to authorities here, they say, for example, in the united states women only got to vote in the 1960s. a woman can win but she will be unable to drive to her own office because women are not allowed to drive in saudi arabia. there are some pros and cons being highlighted by authorities and critics, but regardless of what side of that argument people sit on, this is definitely a momentous and historic election thank you for that. let's get the viewpoint from the co founder of an initiative which helps women to win positions in public positions. women were denied political participation in the past, so you must be very pleased with

this now in 2015. >> good morning to you, yes. we're very excited. it's an historic moment and everybody is anticipating and waiting to see the results tomorrow even though it's an historic moment as you say, how will this actually change, how will it impact the role of women in public life in saudi arabia?

decision-making process of the grass root level. there is definitely a big impact and you have the whole communities mobilized for this. so it will definitely have an impact. whether women get collected or not, it will have a great impact how does it pave the way for women to have greater or bigger roles in saudi arabia?

making, but at this level it is not only policy making and budget controlling, but also access to execution, supervision and account ablity. when you are holding locals accountable, it is powerful this is actually presuming women get voted in. what happens if they don't?

taking place that means the ministry of rural and urban affairs has commissioned itself to appoint ten seats. this by default is a quarter system. therefore, i believe this system should be equally divide between men and women and so i don't see why not. why should it be just solely exclusive for men. five seats should go for women for you as a saudi woman, what message do you want to send out via the sleaks to the society in saudi arabia and to those who are conserve in the kingdom. >> women's participation in this process is not a luxury, it's a necessity, responsibility. i believe when women come into this position they will give a broader perspective of what is needed for reform at the local level as well as the urge to hold people accountable.

women have been very vocal about this. even if their campaigns, i feel that women have changed the landscape of how to campaign, women have campaigned professionally-- campaigned professionally, have had programs and presented real issues to the table. in the past the tradition and culture was that men usually had the position to host people and get voted in by friendships and networks, but women are doing it more for the service the situation the human rights watch are reporting that the women face a number of barriers, for example, registering for vote, in identification process and even getting to the voting centers themselves. >> reporter: well, i have to say the human rights have to be fair in their reporting because, yes, that is true, but the same

situation was faced by women. we have to be objective in what we report. as men have had the same issues, so have women. the reason why women may not have had it more is that women are usually caretakers and taken care of. they reside in homes that do not belong to themselves and they have to give a proof of residency. that was the biggest obstacle. there were other obstacles that men and women faced, such as the time constraints. we had 10 years to deal with this election and get it organized, but we squeezed it in such a short period of time. this is anew culture to us. registration were only one month. we don't have - we didn't have the big turn out that was

necessary for this process to take place. the whole issue was that both men and women did suffer. maybe women a bit more, but because of the fact that they're new to it we thank you for your time on al jazeera. >> thank you a son of libya's deposed leader has been handed over to security forces in lebanon. pictures show him when he was in captivity. he was held by a group demanding the fate of an imam who went missing in the 1970s. court of appeal in cairo has postponed the hearing of a case. it will be held in february. it involved a matter where 37 people were killed.

iraqi army commander and sings soldiers have been killed in a suicide bomb attack. it was near saudi arabia in iraq's largest province. no-one has claimed responsibility. iraqi troops are fighting i.s.i.l. fighters who have captured large swaths of territory including the provincial capital ramadi. in afghanistan seven people have been killed in a taliban siege. four afghan police men and civilian been killed. >> reporter: the attack started with a car bomb explosion that could be heard around the city. it went off just by the spanish embassy. >> translation: i thought it was a gas balloon explosion. i saw the dust coming from the back of a bakery. i don't know where the explosion was, but i saw two wounded. >> reporter: taliban fighters

exchanged gun fire with afghan police and security forces. the taliban said the target was a guest house for foreigners. the fighters claimed to have them trapped inside the building. >> translation: a car was blown up. right after the blast happened we turned off the lights in the area and our night operation special forces started searching the vicinity and nearby houses. >> reporter: the area is heavily guarded. home to senior governor officials, ngos and medical clinics. >> translation: we can all be targets of terrorist attacks, all of us, any western country, but in this case it was not an attack against theish embassy. >> reporter: this was the taliban's third high-profile that tack in four days gam bia is officially an islamic republic. it is to distance the nation

from it's colonial past. it was controlled by britain for 150 years until 1965. most people are muslim. others have been assured of rights to follow their own religion. with the weather of richard. >> reporter: one sform through japan and one through philippines. there it is on the edge of our screens there. it is boweled on there but produced some strong winds which caused problems right across the country. winds guesting in excess of 100 kilometres her hour. this rainfall total is a guarantee. it is completely open to that direction. the storm itself has moved away out into the pacific. you can see it heading up here

where it is going to deepen to 930 millibars. it will be quite violent seas. japan, the weather conditions are looking better over the next 24 to 48 hours. meanwhile, further towards the south we have got what at the moment is a tropical storm, but it's going to develop into a typhoon and as it does so it will head in towards the philippines. at the moment it looks as though it will track towards here, the south. by the time it arrivess on tuesday it will be the equivalent of a category 2 typhoon or hurricane thank you. with christmas and the new year holidays, many are looking forward to smooth sailing. it is peak summer season in australia for cruise ship holidays. it is a tight squeeze for a ship sailing into sydney as andrew thomas has been finding out

>> reporter: every day during summer a monster nudges its way through sydney's city center. in fact most days there are more than one. the giants get the prime berthing spots opposite the opera house. overlie all space in sydney is running out. its two cruise terminals can handle two ships at the time. there's enough demand for more births. >> there are discussions taking around more berths. >> reporter: cruising is growing more and more popular. to describe a ship like this as a floating hotel is to underplay its size. the vessels that are coming in and out of sydney harbour are huge and they're getting bigger all the time u cruising among australians has never been more popular with 20% market growth every year for more than a

decade. 3.6% of all australians take a cruise each year. a higher percentage than in any other country. >> you get on and you unpack and for the effects couple of days. >> it's instant relaxing. >> reporter: on board these mega ships are swimming pools, bars, restaurants and crew from all over the world. >> many here, we're all friends. maybe the tension is back home but not here on board >> reporter: four years ago off the coast of italy the cruise industry suffered when the cruise ship sunk and 32 people died. the share price of carnival, the company that owned that ship and brands like p&o cruises, is almost 50% higher than it was before the accident. as an industry, then, cruising

is cruising. andrew thomas coming up in the news hour, india's dream of high speed train travel moves one step to being realized and. >> reporter: it's not liverpool or the 1960s, i'm in argentina where the beetles live on in support one of the most successful team in european's rugly suffers a defeat.

the top stories. the text of what's thought to be the final draft of the climate agreement is to be reached today. we are expecting the french foreign minister to speak in the next few minutes. polls opening in saudi arabia for ground breaking elections with women taking part for the first time, both as voters and candidates. around 900 women and 6000 are running for elections to local councils across the country. in afghanistan seven people have been killed in a taliban siege, four afghan police men and two spaniards died in kabul. we are getting reports of dozens of people being shot in burundi's capital of bujumbura. more details from malcolm webb who is there. you've spoken to eyewitnesses in

burundi. what have they told you? >> reporter: the bodies of dozens of civilians have been found shot dead on the sheets in the capital, most of them shot at close range, some of them left on the streets, others in gutters. most of them are young men. it is not known who did this, but one person told me it's the presidential of the police, but we haven't been able to speak to the government to get their version of events how worrying is this situation in burundi. is there a sense that this could escalate and spiral out of control? >> reporter: yes. things have certainly escalated since the protests began in april this year, against the president in his bid to stay in

power for a third term. in the election in july he got that third term and what was protesting turned into violence with militia attacking the military and a lot of shootings throughout the capital on an almost daily basis. there are thank you for that update from uganda. we were being told about the reports that we have been getting about people being killed in bujumbura. we will cross back to our other top story recovering for you right now and that is the cop21 talks going on in paris. we expect an agreement to be announced any moment, really. we will cross over to nick clerk who is following all the

developments out of paris. >> reporter: absolutely. they're going to issue the text in a few minutes or so i apologise. nick, i think we're having some technical issues with you, but i will tell our viewers what we're looking at. it's live pictures from paris where the text of what's thought to be the final draft of an historic global climate agreement is due to be released, we think any moment, so that is the scene right now in paris where there has been tough negotiations that have been immediately over the past two weeks. i do believe we have nick back with us. nick, go ahead. >> reporter: yes. what i was just saying is that the text will be presented to this paris committee which

consists of the ministers from around the world who have been attending this conference. they will take it on board, go away with their delegations, have some lunch and then there will be a plenary session later this afternoon. at that point there will be the chance for people to place their objections. then we will get a good idea of what is happening and we might when this text is actually finally presented. i think you will see the same pictures that i'm seeing. that's the stage where the minister and other figures will be sitting shortly when they make the presentation of the new draft text. we have been watching delegates arriving. some of them are carrying suitcases, which is always a promising site. another scene behind us, where there was a group behind us.

it is a group that contained many countries, african nations, and they've been a real force here in trying to close the gaps of which there are many. let's bring in our guests who can analyse the situation for us he here. it's great to see you. it's all happening. they have been filing in. how do you assess the state of play right now?

money towards renewables. >> reporter: what does the text say at the moment and what do you want it to say?

final one that is going to come up this afternoon. it is the make or break moment. if that long-term goal, the next time we are back here it will be the vote on whether paris is a success or not. it is going to be, i think history making. >> reporter: in a figurative or not real sense?

>> in many other climate talks, they ended in failure. there were these back room deals in the middle of the night and they failed to meet the one standard that the world care about, do you have a date when we're going to stop burning fossil fuels. we are at the knife's edge with a long-term goal still in the text and it would be a big deal for someone to stand up in front of the world and change that. >> reporter: when you arrived, were you hopeful that we would be in a better position than we are now?

countries together on the verge of agreeing to move us off of fossil fuels. that's where i feel we're standing. i'm a hopeful person, but even i'm impressed with the process and the ambition that the whole world has shown. >> reporter: there are those who are not impressed, and we have been speaking to a lot of different organizations that say the poor of the world, poor countries, are going a raw deal. we have been speaking to the former chief negotiator in the philippines and he has said the whole process is disingenuous and it is heading for disaster. what do you say to those people who think that poor countries are getting a raw deal?

the text to define the success. it interacts at other pieces. we have the mention of 1.5 degree. it needs to be kept under that in order to survive. that is in the draft text. that's another really big win. there are other issues that have been taken out and it's definitely a process of compromise and it doesn't mean that we stop fighting to combat the economic inequality and the climate inequality that exist around the world. people in power created this moment. things like going to 100% clean or 1.5 degrees, they were pipe dreams 18 months ago. it was because of all the marching and advocacy and opinion polls that it has changed. those things are in a u.n. agreement that everyone is about to agree to. that's an amazing thing. i think this is a moment in history, but it's not the end of the fight. >> reporter: what does it mean for everybody in the world in the sense is it going to change

how we live ultimately? is it going to change economies?

what are we expecting to happen over the next couple of minutes, if it starts? >> reporter: so what will happen is that there's john kerry arriving now, the u.s. secretary of state. what will happen is that the minister will come center stage there and he is the president of this paris conference. he will deliver what he is calling the final text. it will be presented before this paris committee which comprises of the ministers, the environment ministers around the world who have been taking part in these negotiations pushing for this deem. they will take it away and review it and then later a plenary will be called where all the parties are involved and then everybody has their chance to object and say what they think about this. at that point, perhaps, the gavel will come down or, perhaps, it won't. it's kind of up in the air, but

the first thing we have to lookout for is the delivery of this text and how successful it will be as far as those who are listening are concerned. the other thing is that we haven't seen him yet, francois hollande, but he has arrived. he is going to be here too. if he is here, you have to think, success must be very close nick, we're keeping an eye out for him specifically as well as what is happening over there in paris. we will cross to you later on. going to our correspondent in manila because there is a lot at stake when it comes to the philippines and what's going to be written in this text of what's thought to be the final draft of this global deal. >> reporter: indeed. the one thing that the philippines has been most concerned with here is loss and damage and also they're wanting

an exact figure of how much will be spent to help develop nations like the philippines who receive the worst effects of climate change. there are more than 20 storms that come through here every year. they're coming in more frequently and stronger because of global warming. the president here when he was in paris made a strong statement they need a further commitment from developed nations to help and not just cut down on their own greenhouse emissions but find ways to adopts so that the towns and cities here who have to deal with problems of flash flooding and indeed constantly being ripped apart by typhoons, they need help from the developed nations to basically recover from such events. there is not enough funding now. so that is something that the countries like philippines are

keeping its eyes on what happens if it does not get what it wants? >> reporter: we're not sure how they're going to creaked just yet, but-- react just yet, but before this draft paper was told was drafted, they wanted to have help to adopt to climate change, that they would not agree to this agreement. they said they would make strong noise because they feel themselves in a position of leadership when it comes to countries most vulnerable to the effects of global warming thank you for that update from the philippines. we will cross over to adrian brown from beijing to tell us what china is committing to. >> reporter: it is quite interesting, isn't it. china is the world's biggest policy uter, basically, but it

is-- polluter, but it is a country spending more on combatting pollution on any other countries. beijing has said it wants to be involved in decisions that are positive, pragmatic and balanced, and to that extent i think beijing is pretty happy the way things have been going. it's also been stressing this, it wants to be considered as a developing country, a developing nation. even though it's the world's second largest economy and there's a good reason for that, because if china is classified as an industrialized nation, it would have to make a huge contribution to the international fund that is being set up to help those countries like the philippines that have been worst affected by climate change. so china is inclining to its status an a developing nations and that's one of the reasons why there has been friction in par us -- paris

talk to us more about the friction that has happened in china. >> reporter: china is in a very embarrassing situation because when the summit opened, we had some of the worst pollution we have seen in this country in years. beijing was smothered in a smog. it was a red alert on tuesday, the first time, that led to emergency procedures that saw schools closed, factories were told to reduce production, cut output and also cars, half the cars on the roads were halved. that was very much a stop-gap measure because it wasn't that, that led to the polluted skies being disbursed a few days later. that was caused by strong northerly winds, not down to what the government can done. the government can do a lot of

things in this country, it can control lots of things, but it can't control the weather. people are asking particularly online what is the government's long-term strategy. the government has been open about the policy persecution position in china. state media have given coverage something you wouldn't have seen a few years ago. years ago the government used to censor details about the air pollution. people don't want to live with this sort of threat for much longer. the worry is the disingredient tellment--disgruntlement could turn into something else

we see that ban ki-moon president ban ki-moon and francois hollande has arrived. is that good news? >> reporter: yes. that is good. they are just taking their seats. shortly the foreign minister will aarrive who is the president of this conference here in paris. he will address the session and there he is now, getting a round of aflaws. he will-- applause. he will address the session. it's all looking quite positive as if there is going to be some kind of solution at some point soon. i'm not sure exactly when. he will address the conference here and he will provide the

final text, as he calls it, and present it the ministers and they will then take it away and chew it over and see if they approve the text. they will have a full plenary session later, which involves all the parties, at which point a decision will be taken as to whether or not this final text can be approved and thus the paris agreement will be born. it's a question of what's going to happen between now and that point and how quickly it will happen. it could, in theory, happen in the next three or four hours. let's - i don't think he is speaking just yet. we will listen in just as soon as he does. it could happen in the next three or four hours how much room is there for negotiations if the parties

don't agree? >> reporter: it's not exactly clear. i think he is speaking now. shall we listen in? >> translation: to let us begin our work while we wait for the french

foreign minister to speak, i will just tell you what we're looking at. live pictures from paris with the french president francois hollande as well. we do expect them to be presenting the text of what's thought to be the final draft of a global climate agreement. let's listen in. >> translation: the united nations, madam executive secretary, ministers, ladies and gentlemen, heads of delegations and negotiators. dealer colleagues and dear-- dear colleagues and good friends. so here we are almost at the end of the road and i'm sure the beginning of another. i should first of all thank you all of you for your work not

just these last days and nights, but all these previous months and for many of you the previous years. the final draft agreement which is submitted to you this morning and which will be distributed when this meeting is over, obviously owes much to the progress achieved here in paris, but nobody amongst us forgets the results and progress which has been obtained. i would like to thank the secretary of the united nations and also the president of france who honor us with their presence here and who have both of them put their very strong personal determination behind the success of this cop21.

for four years now the adb group has achieved very considerable progress, and i should like to salute the efforts of the successive chairman and all the negotiators concerned. i should also like to thank also very fondly, very warmly, the chairman of the peruvian committee who has ensured [ applause ]

>> translation: he who has given us the proper follow-up before our friends take up the relay next year. i should like to say a big thank you also for all the ministers, the negotiators, the militants, the activists who have insisted on being here at this very probably historic occasion and who have acted and combatd for this day. [ applause ]

>> translation: during this paris conference we wanted the conditions for work to be the very best to achieve this agreement. i announced a method at the beginning of listening to everyone, transparency, ambition and looking for compromise. this is a cop where every stakeholder, every partner and party could be heard and i hope that our partners agree with that. dear friends, given the exceptional political will given by more than 150 heads of state who came here at the beginning of this conference, the conference during its first week continued its work last saturday, and it seems a long way away ago now, we put in

place an informal consultation process which was open to everybody, the paris committee so-called, we worked very hard, not slept very much i must say, and various ministers helped us to come to a compromise. i thank you them and i thank you very warmly. a number of meetings of an informal debate type have been organized and i submitted to you two successive intermediary versions to you this week before submitting the final text today. each had the aim of converging our positions and each time the parties were consulted as to the

best way forward as well as substance of the contents. all that has been done in a very constructive atmosphere which i should like to stress, in particular, and i think that today we are very near the outcome. we have managed, and i think it is a real personal conviction of mine, to achieve a balanced text which reflects the position of all partners, and it will be distributed to you very shortly. i don't want to go into all the details here, but i would just like to express a number of points. this text, which is, obviously, of necessity, a balanced text, contains the basic progressive moves which i think many of us thought at the beginning would be impossible to achieve. it is an at the differentiated,

fair, sustainable, dynamic, balanced and legally-binding document. it is faithful to the derban mandate. [ applause ] >> translation: and it recognises the notion of justice and it puts a differentiated responsibility on the shoulders of each party given national circumstances. can confirms our central objective, our vital central objective, which is to contain the rise of global temperature much below 2 degrees centigrade, and also to make the best efforts to keep it to 1.5 degrees.