after almost five years and more than a quarter of a million people killed in the conflict, the international push for peace in syria takes center stage. you're watching al jazeera live from doha. also on the program, the trial of another human rights lawyer in beijing. perhaps the shortest term in office ever for a south africa finance minister. he is out after 48 hours and a new man takes on the job.

more signs of trouble for brazil's president. thousands of protesters call for her to step down. more on those stores but first-- stories but first some breaking news. some turkish troops are being withdrawn from mosul. going to our correspondent from erbil. what more do we know about this? >> reporter: according to the news agency which is pro-government, we know a large number of troops have left the outskirts of mosul and only a small number of advisers have been left in a camp. this is the place that had caused a huge argument between

the two governments of iraq and turkey regarding the deployment of the troops to turkey, insisting that it sent these troops on the request of the former governor of mosul. it was a claim that it was an infringement on their sovereignty. a number of vehicles moved in and they were carrying large heavy equipment carrying vehicles. they've taken back most of the heavy weapons and the troops that were deployed to this area. all of this is according to the news agency which is close to the government. we're still waiting to hear back from the president's spokesman, but the details that we have so far, according to this news agency, the numbers are eight to 900 troops have gone back to

turkey on these vehicles that came in last night thanks for that. live for us there in erbil. there is a significant international push to end the nearly five-year war in syria. europe is center stage this month. key leaders are meeting in paris and brussels. security in the middle east and threats from i.s.i.l. top the agendas of the foreign ministers in brussels. we will have the foreign minister of turkey joining us for an informal session. with him we will face mainly the foreign policy and regional issues. 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 250,000 people have been killed and over a million injured in the five-year civil

war in syria. most of them civilians. nearly 7.6 million syrians are displaced, making it the largest displacement crisis in the world. the u.n. says 12.2 million inside syria are in need of humanitarian assistance. a 12-fold increase since the beginning of the civil war. there have been more casualties reported in the past 24 hours. government missiles and russian jets have hit a rebel stronghold in the outskirts of damascus. 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 clinic. in this rebel stronghold outside damascus lifeless infants are checked for vital signs. on another table a doctor tries to save another child who has lost his legs.

the streets of dumar are littered with debris and shards of glass making it difficult to reach those in need. most of the victims were children and women at a market and a school. activists says syrian and russian jets were targeting rebels who shelled damascus from the area. this latest exchange of fire between rebels and the government comes as u.n. humanitarian chief steven o'brien toured areas including damascus and homs. o'brien is trying to assess the needs of millions of the syrians. a cease file deal has been proposed to allow civilians to lead. it is hoping to lead to a nation-wide truce. this follows an initiative to unify the political opposition and hold direct talks with the regime. the leader of one of the prominent groups al-nusra front

is criticising that proposal saying syrian government is no longer in charge. >> translation: the regime only controls 20% of the syria. the regime has lost the power. the army has turned into groups of factions. this is not an army. now the groups have more weapons than the regime has. >> reporter: the u.n. says at least 250,000 people have been killed since the start of the war in march 2011. for the millions of syrians living in this devastation, there appears to be no end in sight saudi arabia confirms head of special operations and a commander were killed in fighting in yemen on monday morning. they were taking part in an offensive in the city. in the run up to that the fighting has continued. this was the scene in the city

on sunday. air strikes killed at least 54 houthi rebels and their allies. five pro-government fighters were also killed during the fighting. >> translation: president habbi sent a letter to the u.n. envoy stating that a cease fire is to beginning on december 15. the houthis said in their media that they will start the cease fire at midnight a tear gas and water cannon have been used against protesters in the mainly kurdish city in turkey. people have been demonstrating against a curfew imposed 11 days ago. it was lifted on friday for just four hours and many people moved away from their homes for fear of renewed clashes between security forces and the outlaid workers party. the march follows the shooting of a prominent kurdish laura on saturday. -- lawyer on saturday.

a report into what happened to the plane crash over sign ais there's no evidence of terrorism. russia said the plane was brought down by pay bomb. automatic passengers and crew died. the plane was heading carrying tourists returning to the tourist resort. south africa has a new finance minister, the third one in a week on wednesday president zuma sacked one and sent the currency tumbling. he was criticised for replacing him with david van rooyan. >> reporter: the appointment of pravin gordhan has been widely welcomed after president zuma replaced the former finance minister last week on wednesday with david van rooyan, a little known minister.

there was massive condemnation and criticism of the president, especially considering there was no history behind david van rooyan. he didn't say why the former was replaced. it was to say he was due to stands for another position. pravin gordhan was the finance minister previously between 2009 and 2014. his appointment will restore confidence in the south african economy and bring some strength to the ran which had a tumble against the dollar last week. going forward it was thought that pravin gordhan would bring some stability. the president has taken a knock in terms of confidence in his leadership. there is concern that there has been important governance in this period especially as we've seen three different finance ministers in one week here at the trial of one of

china's most prominent disdents has ended after five hours. pu zhiqiang has spent more than a year after and a half in prison because of comments he posted on line criticising the ruling communist party. >> 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 china's best known disdents. someone in the crowd says china's president was despicable. the police have been doing their best to prevent the media getting anywhere near the court. this has been the same treatment that is has been meted out to foreign diplomats. of course, people watching this trial with great interest. he is a very prominent disdent. as you can see it is difficult to film now.

among the diplomats turned away, the first secretary of the u.s. embassy. >> leaders such as mr pu zhiqiang should not be subjected to this. >> reporter: that's as much he could say before he too was pushed away. he was here to show support to pu zhiqiang, one of the country's leading advocates for free speech. he was arrested 19 months ago after posts he made on social media mocking the government. he was provoking with quarrelss and inciting hatred-- quarrels. away from the court there was this show of defiance but a group of pu zhiqiang supporters. he is not guilty, it says. that is 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: pu zhiqiang is more than one of 300 who have been deobtained since president xi jinping gang a campaign against dissent almost two years ago. the government routinely rejects criticism of its human rights record. last week one state-owned newspaper urged judges in this case to ignore pressure from western governments. adrian brown we will take a quick break now but we've got lots more ahead. when we come back, a peace accord brought an end to the war in bosnia but how secure is it 20 years on. a money-spinning city, behind the scenes in lavhish l.a. a prominent billionaire being backed.

>> the only live national news show at 11:00 eastern. >> we start with breaking news.

>> let's take a closer look. the top stories on al jazeera. a number of turkish troops based near the city of mosul in northern iraq have pulled out of the area. their deployment had caused a spat between iraq and turkey. an international push to try and end the nearly five-year long civil war in syria. the conflict to be discussed. saudi arabia confirms its head of special operations and a commander were killed in fighting in yemen on monday.

they were taking part in an offensive in the city of thies. e.u. 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. the western powers of also called for a cease fire in libya to pave the way for a national unity government. factions are due to sign the agreement on wednesday. >> reporter: rome is where the international community spoke with a strong and united voice, expressing its support of a u.n. deal to bring about the government of national accord in libya. it was also in rome where some of libya's rival factions showed their support for the international communities's plan. they are now expected to sign the deal on wednesday. but 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 under mine libya's democratic transition need to be held strongly agoable. >> reporter: libya has two governments, one in the west and the other in the east. there are splits within the rival administrations over the u.n. deal, but 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 its forces among the most powerful and they can guarantee the security of a newly installed government in tripoli. >> the consensus of the meeting today was also to 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 institutions and the future

seats of the government of national unity. >> reporter: there were encurrentlying 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 liberal i can't's rivals to come together and stop fighting each other and instead focus on defeating i.s.i.l. under the new plan the government will be able to introduce international military assistance in the fight against the armed group. 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. poses is significant. it is especially concentrated in the area around cert. the international community will tackle this threat in the next few months, the same way we are tackling it in other countries. >> reporter: for now this is a victory. libyans seem to be on the road to peace. the train has last the station, but years of power struggles and divisions mean that the road ahead could still lead to a turn for the worst it has been 20 years since the official signing of the deal that restored pieces in bosnia and herzegovina. it end elide one of the bloodiest conflicts in which 100,000 people were killed. bosnia was preserved as a single state but was split into two parts, a muslim croat federation and a serb republic.

>> reporter: sarajevo was the heart 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 dayton peace accord in paris that brought peace to sarajevo and ended a war that killed an estimated 100,000 across the former communist state. with such a painful past, the question is can sarajevo's future ever be truly secure. the conflict may now be frozen, but many liberal politicians in the city fear that the past

could come back to haunt them. the presence of the past is eating the every day lives of people away. we are going back to the ethnic divisions that still exist in the country, that are a by product of the war and in a way they were cemented by the peace accords. >> reporter: cemented too in the streets of the city, reminders of where civilians were cut down during the siege. the so-called roses the sarajevo. at her art gallery, with 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 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. david chatter there has been a big fall for marine le pen's party in the second round of elections. the polls shao the national front failed to win a single province despite a high win a week ago. >> reporter: it was a reversal of fortune for the far right leader marine le pen. her national front watched as its first round gains evaporated. for a moment the party in looked well positioned to win several regions, but in the final round, french people decided otherwise. marine le pen tried to put a brave face on the outcome. >> translation: now the separation is not between the right and the left, but it is between the globalists and the pay trow on thes-- patriots.

>> reporter: voter apathy in the first round worked in the party's favor, but the turn out this sunday was higher with nearly 60% taking part. before these elections the socialist controlled almost every region in france. now the map is far more evenly divided between the republicans and the socialists. it is clear that the republicans to an extent benefited from tactical voting because in two regions the socialists have pulled out of the contest after the first round and instructed its supporters to vote for the republicans in order to block the extreme right. arriving to address his republican party, the former president. there was a promise to learn the lesson of the first round.

>> translation: this mobilisation of our candidates must not make us forget the warnings given to all politicians, including us, in the first round of the regional elections >> reporter: the socialist party of francois hollande bounced back in the second round. the president has seen his personal popularity soar after the paris attacks one month ago. nevertheless, the socialist prime minister struck a cautious tone. >> translation: there is no sense of relief or triumph or victory. the danger of extreme right has not vanished. far from it. i cannot forget the results of the first round or recent years. i am conscious of my responsibility and that of my government. >> reporter: this was the last time french voters would go to the polls before the presidential election. that is still more than a year away and the evenly balanced outcome of these elections

offers if you clues as to the way ahead. jacky rowland a call for the impeachment of the brazil's president are getting louder. protesters across the country have been venting their frustration at dilma rousseff who was reelected less than a year ago. a report from our correspondent. >> reporter: protesters filled the main avenue here wearing green and yellow, the colours of the brazilian flag. this is the heart of brazilian finance. the state is also where president dilma rousseff worker's party was established. one of the founders is 93-year-old who is disgusted with corruption he left the party a decade ago. he filed the petition calling for the impeachment of the president. crowd roared when he said dilma rousseff the country is not yours or the workers party.

it is our country. one of the themes of this protest is this duck. it is a play on a popular phrase, we won't pay for ducks. it means they're set up for paying for the mistake of others, a reference to the widespread corruption in government and the economic crisis of the country. youth leader has become a celebrity of sorts. he says young people facing 19% of unemployment are mobilized before and-- for and against impeachment. >> translation: i believe it is against the government. it is a generation that wants a political change. we don't believe in the politicians that are now in power. >> reporter: retiree says she has been waiting for change for 30 years. she calls dilma rousseff a puppet. she says she knows that the president is impeached, the next one who replaces her may not be

better. she feels it will send a message. >> if we have impeachment, this is going to be the beginning of the biggest change we need here. >> reporter: organisers wanted 100,000 people to turn out on sunday. president dilma rousseff supporters are planning protests of their ope next week-- own next week workers in the u.s. city of l.a. have been protesting before the final presidential debate. outside a hotel owned by donald trump they've been demanding an increase in minimum wages. >> 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. nevada is rebounding from the recession as the top inning earners have more money to burn. for those who make it possible,

things are not good. this woman says her wage is not enough for her and her four kids even though it's double the federal minimum wage >> i feel stress at home and sad. i have to pay - stop paying 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 march in an attempt to get her co-workers to start a union in hope they can together demand better wages. the person who she works for donald trump says the higher minimum wage would be bad for the country. it is a big debate in this campaign. american wages have barely increas increased. should the federal minimum rage be raised from the current level of $7.25 an hour? democrats say it would help the

economy. >> right away it will get to the people who need 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 that's not just people getting the increase. >> reporter: republicans argue the open opposite would happen. >> doubling the minimum wage would not men. it would make our businesses less competitive, it would likely mean higher prices and lower benefits for workers and many individuals wouldn't be able to get a job at all >> reporter: both sides say they have studies to back up their arguments. for this woman hers is a personal appeal. >> that's what they think. we are a person, we have a life at home like they do. we deserve to have better. >> reporter: her boss disagrees. the co-workers voted to form a union hoping if they can't change his mind for the country, they can force him to change in one part of his business empire

don't forget you can keep up-to-date with all the latest news on our website, al jazeera.com. get the latest on all the stories we're following. s we're following. you'll feel it. it's just like a pressure or a force that's coming through your bedroom. >> kind of a weird jolt, or-- a feeling that something's getting ready to happen. the-- the dogs can kinda get funny right before a big one. >> the primary is the one that's, you initially feel. you don't know it's coming. >> all of a sudden, you hear this bang-- kif