thank you for after almost five years and more than a quarter of a million lives lost, the international push for peace in syria takes center stage. hello. you're with al jazeera live from doha. also the trial of another prominent human rights follower in beijing. is it china's right on civil liberty in the dock. perhaps the shortest term in office for the south africa finance minister. after 48 hours he is out and a new man takes the job.

you more signs of troubles with brazil's president. thousands call for him to step down. now, there's a significant international push to try to end the nearly five-year war in syria. europe is center stage this monday. clear leaders are meeting in paris and in brussels. security in the middle east and threats from i.s.i.l. they're top of the agenda at these meetings of foreign ministers in brussels. you can see the foreign minister of the e.u. >> we will have the foreign minister of turkey joining us for an informal session over a working lunch. with him we will face mainly the

foreign policy and regional issues. so syria first of all, the fight against d.a.e.s.h., counter terrorism again, especially the issue of foreign fighters and obviously libya as well more than 250,000 people have been killed and over a million injured in this five-year civil war. most of them civilians. nearly seven and a half million syrians are displaced making it the largestise placement crisis in the world. the u.n. says more than 12 million people inside syria are in need of urgent assistance. a 12-fold increase since the beginning of the civil war. there have been more casualties reports within the past 48 hours. jets targeted a stronghold in damascus. dozens of people including women and children were killed. >> reporter: in this moment of sheer panic and desperation, talk of a truce is irrelevant.

bloodied bodies cluttered the floor of a temporary basement clinic. in this rebel stronghold outside damn as was lifeless infants are checked for vital signs. on another table a doctor tries to save a child who has lost his legs. the streets of dumar had are littered with debris and shards of glass making it difficult to reach those in need. most of the victims were women and children at a school. they were targeting rebels who shelled damascus from the area. this latest exchange of fire between rebels and the government comes as united nations humanitarian chief steven o'brien toward the government areas clues damascus and homes. o'brien is trying to assess the needs of many syrians. the u.n. has proposed a cease fire deal that would allow

humanitarian aid in and some civilians to leave. it is hoping it will lead to a nation-wide truce. that follows an initiative to unify the political opposition and hold direct talks with the regime. the leader of one of the most prominent groups, al-nusra front is criticising the proposal saying serious government is no longer-- syria's government is no longer in charge. >> translation: there are controls to the area, the regime has lost the power. they have turned into groups of factions. this is not an army. the groups have more weapons than the regime has. >> reporter: the u.n. says at least 220,000 people have been killed since the start of the war in march 2011 and for the millions of syrians living in this devastation, there appears to be no end in site > yemeni and houthis are due

to meet t a cease fire has been agreed and it will come into account at midnight on monday. in the run-up, the fighting has continued. this was a scene in the city of this on sunday. saudi let coalition air strikes killed at least 350 houthi rebels and allies. others died during the fighting. >> translation: president habi sent a letter stating the message that a cease fire is to begin on december 15. the houthis said in their media that they would start the seize fire in midnight. if they stop, then the war is over tear gas and water cannons have been fired at protesters in turkey. residents have been demonstrating against the curfew which was imposed 11 days ago. it was lifted on friday for four

hours. many people left their homes in fear of renewed clashes between security forces and the outlawed workers party. the march follows the shooting of a prominent kurdish lawyer on saturday. the trial of a leading chinese human rights lawyer in beijing has ended after five hours. he has spent more than a year and a half in jail already because of comments he has posted online criticising the ruling party. adrian brown reports from beijing. >> reporter: china's constitution guarantees free speech. but there wasn't much of that outside beijing's second intermediate court. police pushed away diplomats, journalists and supporters of one of chine's best known disdents. someone shouted the china's president was despicable. the police have been doing their best as you can see to prevent

the media getting anywhere near the court. this has been the same treatment to foreign dip low mats. many people are watching this with great interest. as you can see, it's actually very difficult to film now. among the diplomats turned away the first secretary of the u.s. embassy. >> the civil society leaders such as he, should not be subjected to continuing oppression >> reporter: that's about as much as he was able to say before he too was pushed away. he was here to show support to him, one of china's leading advocates for free speech. he was arrested nine months ago of posting remarks mocking china's government. his clients include another dissenting voice, the

internationally acclaimed art iway abouts way. there was this show of defiance by his supporters. he is not guilty, it says. that's enough to get you arrested in the current climate. >> translation: there is no freedom at all. you are guilty if you talk. you are even guilty if you send flowers. there are no human rights in china. >> reporter: poo is one of more than three hundred human rights activists lawyers or journalists who have been detained almost two years ago. the government routinely rejects criticism of its human rights record. last week one newspaper urged judges in this case to ignore pressure from western governments. adrian brown to south africa which has got a new finance minister, the third in a week. on wednesday the president zuma

sacked one and that sent the situation tumbling. let's start with the beginning, then. he was sacked. did president zuma give us any explanation as to why? >> reporter: he was, of course, considered to be a capable minister and when his sacking came about, there was confusion and surprise and initially no answer given by president zuma as to why he made that decision. only later after much criticism a day or two later did the president indicate that he would be standing for a possible nominati nominati nomination at a bank. that was difficult to swallow because he was steering the economy or giving confidence to investors or those interested in the economy give us a quick word about the poor chap who has only been in the job for 48 hours.

>> reporter: he was sworn in towards the end of last week. much of the criticism against president zuma was against this hasty sacking and the appointment who nobody knew anything about him. he was a mayor in a minister role here, but no real foundation in finance, especially a position that is critical to the south african economy. so once his removal was announced on sunday night, of course, some confidence restored to the economy. we've seen a slight strengthening of the rand in the last 24 hours i was going to say the well-known finance minister from the past, a safe pair of hands, but president zuma's decision seems to have cost the country dearly. >> reporter: yes. it appears as if that decision to make that initial sacking was

done without consultation. at this point south africa is suffering, damaging effect to the economy, as we have said, a massive tubal in the strength of the money and the political standing background and experience will bring much needed confidence to the economy thank you very much. we've got a lot more coming up on the program, including a call to bring the war to an end, 20 years on. behind the scenes in l.a. we meet the workers battling a prominent billionaire. t billionaire.

>> the only live national news show at 11:00 eastern. >> we start with breaking news. >> let's take a closer look.

there's an international push to try to end the nearly five-year civil war in syria. key leaders are meeting in brussels and in paris. they're going to talk about the conflict as well as security in the wider community. a cease fire has been agreed between the government and houthis in yemen. it is due to start at midnight on monday ahead of u.n. brokered peace talks which are due to start in switzerland on tuesday. there have been scuffles between protesters and court in beijing where a trial has been held for an on human rights journalist.

finance ministers meeting in brussels say they are ready to provide financial support to libya if a u.n.-backed peace deal becomes a reality. western powers have also called for a cease fire in libya to pave the way for a national unit government. libya's rival factions are due to sign this agreement in moroccco on wednesday. >> reporter: the international community spoke with a strong voice expressing the support of national accord in libya. it was also in rome where some libya's rival factions showed the support for the plan. they are now expected to sign the deal on wednesday. there is still opposition to the plan. u.s. secretary of state john kerry addressed those concerns. >> there are still some inside and outside of libya.

for their own selfish purposes who are uninterested in reconciliation, unwilling to compromise and who actually want this process to fail. those responsible for violence and those who obstruct and undermine libya's democratic transition need to be held strongly accountable. >> reporter: libya has two governments, one in the west and one in the east. there are splits within the rival administrations over at the u.n. deal. the delegates who came to rome represent powerful groups from both sides. among them a delegation from the city. libya has many armed groups but the forces are among the most powerful and they can guarantee the security of a newly installed government in tripoli. >> the consensus of the meeting today was to also address the problem of security. security in tripoli, to bring the government which must be based at the end of the day in tripoli back to the capital.

the efforts of the institutions and the future seats of the government of national unity. >> reporter: there were encouraging statements by leaders here but they also warned that problems still need to be resolved and it could be a long road ahead. the u.n. envoy is warning that libya is in a race against time. the military conflict has taken a toll on the civilian population. lawlessness is worsening, but it is not just that. world leaders gathered here amid mounting concerns that i.s.i.l.'s growing strength in libya will give it a gateway to europe. that is why the international community is pressuring libya's rivals to come together, to stop fighting each other and instead focus on defeating i.s.i.l. under the u.n. plan the new government would be able to request international military assistance in the fight against the armed group. >> reporter: the military option is on the table and the world is in agreement to prevent libya from becoming another base for i.s.i.l.

>> translation: the threat that i.s.i.l. possesss is-- poses is significant. it is especially concentrated in the area aren't sirt. the international community will tackle this in the next month the a way we are tackling in other countries. >> reporter: for now this is a victory. they seem to be on the road to peace. the train have left the station. years of powerful struggless and divisions could still mean a turn for the worse vote counting is underway in central african republic's constitution all referendum. violence prevented people from voting. two people were killed and 20 were injured in two separate attacks. the vote on this draft constitution is being seen as a test for election chez are scheduled for later this month. federal african republic descend

descended into war in 2013. 20 years since the official signing of a deal that restored peace between bosnia and another country. it ended the war in which over 100,000 people were killed. bosnia was preserved as a state but split into two parts. a muslim crow at and a serb republic. it brought peace but it reinforced ethnic divisions. >> reporter: it was the iconic heart of the brutal ethnic conflicts that marked the disintegration of yugoslavia. the siege of the city by serbian forces lasted for 44 months. the longest recorded in modern warfare. shells and sniper fire rained down on civilians and defenders

alike, killing more than 11,000 of its people. monday is the 20th anniversary of the signing of the peace accords in paris that brought peace and ended a war that afforded two million people from their homes and estimated an estimated 100,000. >> with such a painful past, the question is it can the country's future ever be truly secure. the conflict may be frozen, but many liberal politicians in the city fear that the past could come back to haunt them. >> it is past is eating every day people's lives away. we're going back to the decisions that are of the country, a by product of the war and they were cemented by the peace accord. >> reporter: cemented too in the streets of the city reminders of where civilians

were cut down during the siege. the so-called roses of sarajevo. at her art gallon eau, this woman told me about the explosion of color that has come back to her work since the siege ended, a siege that strangled any desire in her to paint. >> translation: we all were exposed to daily shelling. our lives were so simple and we didn't know whether we would wake up the next morning alive. >> reporter: hope for the future is hard to find in this city. a city still besieged by its past the french far right party, the national front, has been defeated in the second round of regional elections. it failed to win a single region despite leading in six of the 13 regions in the first round of voting just over a week ago. acknowledging defeat, the national front party leader

marine le pen pledged to keep fighting. the ruling socialist, one in five regions of the center right party, the republicans took seven. calls for the impeachment of the brazil's president has become louder. she was reelected less than a year ago. >> reporter: protesters fill the main avenue wearing green and yellow, the colours of the brazilian flag. this is the heart of brazilian finance. this is also where president dilma rousseff workers party was established. one of the founders is 93-year-old who is disgusted with corruption he left the party a decade ago. he called for the impeachment. the crowd roared when he said

dilma rousseff it is not yours, it is our country. one of the themes of this protest is the play on a popular bras ailian phrase, we won't pay the dock. it means they won't pave for the mistake of others. a reference to the widespread corruption of the government. youth leader has become a celebrity of sorts. he said people facing unemployment are mobilized. it is a generation that wants a political change. we don't believe in political protests or the politicians that are now in power. >> reporter: retiree, a woman who has been waiting for change for 30 years. she called dilma rousseff a puppet. she know if the president is impeached, the next one to

replace her may not be better, but she feels it would send a message. >> translation: >> this is going to be the beginning of a big change. >> reporter: organisers want 100,000 people to turn out on sunday. president dilma rousseff's supporters are planning protests of their own next week there are mixed signals coming from the world's third largest economy, japan. a survey by the central bank says business confidence is flat even though there are signs of recovery. rachel mealy reports now on what it takes to keep a traditional family business going in tokyo. >> reporter: this textile company has faced many challenges over its long history. it began in 1901 with workers using age-old techniques to die silks used for cimonos.

at that time hundreds of other factories were in operation and the area became known for text tiles. this factory still stands on the same site but now it is one of only nine similar companies in tokyo. >> translation: it has been our challenge from my father's time to not go overseas but continue production here in japan. we won't be making things that china china is making. >> reporter: he is the fourth generation of his family to run the company. in 2011 as demand for the trirnl products fell away-- traditional products fell away, hay designed a line of designer scarfs. whilst it has rejuvinated the firm, it needs to still pick up.

>> translation: people talk about factories returning here but i can't feel it >> reporter: it is a familiar message from businesses across japan. figures reveal that the country's committee grew by 1%, it may take some time for the impact to flow to business. the data shows the business investment was up and private spending has also improved. >> companies are optimistic. i wouldn't expect that we will see over the next half year much more optimism, but what we see long-term investment plans improving, this is in particular amongst smaller kilometres. they are investing again >> reporter: the little touches of good news in the economy should ease the pressure on japan's central bank to expand its stimulus program. the board of the bank meets later this week but it is expected to stick to its current monetary policy. the emphasis will now shift to the government which is preparing a supplementary budget

to give extra financial aid to families and pensioners. this company is hoping broader economic rises continue so he can secure his business for generations to come workers in the u.s. city have been protesting ahead of the final republican presidential debate which is due to be held in the city. outside a hotel owned by the republican hopeful donald trump they've been demanding an increase in the minimum wage. >> reporter: it is a city built for excess. where only the best of everything is on display and for sale. thousands can be bet on a single game of cards. l.a. n earnings vada is rebounding from the se recession. for people who make their play possible, things are not as

good. people like this woman, she is paid 14.86 an hour. she says it is not enough for her and her kids. >> i feel like a lot of stress at home. i feel sad. i have to stop paying some bills to get food for my kids. that's my life every day. >> reporter: in the shadow of the gleaming gold tower where she works, she took part in this protest march in an attempt to get her co-workers to start a union in the hope this they can demand better wages because the person she works for, donald trump, said a higher minimum wage to be bad for the company. the question for politicians, should the federal minimum wage be raised from the current level of $7.20 an hour. democrats would say it would

help the economy. >> people who need the money should get it. because they really need the money so they spend it. as that cycles through the economy you create business opportunities and there is a broader effect. >> reporter: republicans argue the opposite would actually happen. >> doubling the minimum wage would not help the economy. it would make our businesses less competitive. it would mean higher prices and lower benefits for workers. some individuals wouldn't be aborigine able to get a job as well. >> reporter: they say they both have research to back up their opinions. >> we have a life at home. we deserve to have better. >> reporter: her boss disagrees. her co-workers voted to form a union you can find out more about

all the top stories today and, indeed, a lot of background information and a lot of analysis and even comment as well on the al jazeera website, al jazeera.com website. [ ♪ ] hello, i'm richard gizbert, and you are at the "listening post". here or some of the media stories we are looking at. the san bernardino shootings, the media home invasion and the