>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello from me, david foster. wherever you are watching, this is the al jazeera news hour. some of our top stories, talks to end the war in syria get underway in new york with major obstacles to overcome. pro-yemen forces seized two towns from the houthis in 24 hours, despite a ceasefire. cold sick and where nowhere to go.

the vatican says mother theresa will now be made a saint. hello, i have all of the sport, including bayern munich coach faces the media for the first time since being linked with the chelsea program. find out what he had to say later in the program. ♪ the foreign ministers of 17 nations from around the world are meeting in new york for talks on ending the crisis in syria, and they are hoping that the united nations security council will approve a plan agreed in vienna last month for a ceasefire and under-brokered talks. they are trying to sort out differences about which of the syrian armed groups should be involved in the process. there is disagreement too about

the future of bashar al-assad. under the plan he would take part in a transitional unity government. my diplomatic editor, james bayes joining us from outside of the hotel where the talks are taking place. james i know you have had a brief chance to talk to some of those players. >> reporter: well, they have been in these meetings for a couple of hours now. the opening session so far, i think has been focusing on one of the areas you have been talking about, and that is the area of designation of different groups, and whether some should be designated by those meetings here as terrorists. and there are a range of different views. the country that was tasked with canvassing all of these views at the last meeting was jordan. and these were the words a short time ago from the jordanian

deputy prime minister. >> jordan was asked to coordinate efforts to help determine who should be designated as a terrorist or not. so the initial work has been done. the coordination effort, reflecting the positions of different countries. now i think that we follow up steps in terms of countries meeting again to set criteria. >> we will get on to the longer-term aims of this in just a moment -- >> i have to say -- >> sorry, james. we'll get into the longer term aims in just a moment, but i know you had a minute to catch the russian foreign minister and the u.s. secretary of state. >> reporter: yes, but not really any news. lavrov say they were working through it. i spoke to the foreign minister of qatar, and he said to

me -- and given this meeting was supposed to be coming to an end by you, something that was interesting, he said to me, we haven't really started yet. we're having a break now, and we're going to get down to the real business. so i suspect we're looking at meetings that may drag on now. what the original plan was, was trying to reboot this peace process, trying to get a ceasefire, and they are hoping that that could be in january, and face-to-face talks between the syrian government and the syrian opposition. and they were hoping to leave this hotel and go to the united nations to the security council where they were going to endorse this whole process in a legally binding u.n. security council resolution. that meeting was supposed to take place in under two hours. that resolution is still being negotiated as we speak, and still no agreement as we speak, and some doubt as to whether

security council meeting will even take place. that i think, shows you the difficulty of the very ambitious project they are trying to carry out here in new york. >> if there is real business yet to come, does it not also working out how you do any of this without either the syrian opposition involved or the government of syria involved? >> well, i think what t the -- participants here would say, yes, of course, they will be involved, but we're doing it differently this time around. last time the syrian government wanted to discuss terrorism, the syrian opposition wanted to talk about a new governing body to replace assad, and that all got marred in problems. what i think they are trying to do here, is get the international community to set the framework for talks and then

bring in the syrians in january to actually discuss it, but there are lots of hurdles ahead, and things, i think not going certainly in terms of the timetable today in the way that people hoped. >> good or bad news, i'm sure you don't know yet. james thank you very much for now. russia fighter jets have carried out air raids in idlib, ham ma, and aleppo. an isil affiliated outlet is reporting nine were killed in strikes east of aleppo. iraqi medical sources say 11 people from two families were killed in an air strike on fallujah by u.s.-lead coalition forces. at least three were children. they were targeting isil fighters in the center of the city. the siege by the iraqi army has lead to a shortage of food and basic necessities there.

turkish security forces have killed 62 suspected members of the pkk. that's according to turkish state media. a civilian and a turkish soldier also died. there have been two days of operations in the southeast of turkey. government announced on thursday it would be intensifying its efforts against pkk fighters in that part of the country. pkk fighters want more autonomy from turkey. and here police using water cannon and tear gas on thousands of protesters in the southeast turkish province. protesters are calling for an end to the tour kish security operations there, which have been targeted suspected members of the pkk. nato has agreed to send aircraft and ships to strengthen turkey's defenses on the border with syria, and investigators

have begun to analyze the blacks box data recorder from think russian military jet shot down by turkey last month. it says that it will show that its jet didn't violate turkish air space while carrying out a bombing mission in syria. the number of people forced to leave their homes this year is likely to exceed all previous records according to the united nations refugee agency report. the figures only cover a six-month period, but show that the number of those fleeing their countries has passed 20 million. fighting and wars, especially in the middle east mean the number of people internally displaced has jumped from 2 million to 34 million. and worldwide displacement will reach a record high of more than 60 million people by the end of this year. turkey has taken in almost 1.9 million refugees.

mainly syrians. >> reporter: this boy is two months old. his parents want to take him and his four siblings to greece. they tell me they know the risks, and they can all die. >> translator: we have no other alternative no chance to live here or in afghanistan. we can't stay here. we have to go to europe. we want to go to germany. >> reporter: entire families of refugee crisises are waiting here in the turkish coastal town. sick, tired and cold, some have been here for days, waiting for that call from their smugglers. they have to be ready all the time. outside there are more children and adults. they sit and wait. it's cold here. and the winds are strong. all determined to cross the sea to get to greece which seems close but remains out of reach. >> why i am coming here, because

we have lots of problems in afghanistan. we are faced with a lot of challenges. they are not good situations for the younger generation to learn something. >> reporter: every morning they hope the sea is calmer. giese is a short distance away, but crossing the aegean sea is risky. the journey could take up to an hour depending on weather conditions. but this is a dangerous journey. more than 650 people have died this year while trying to cross from turkey to greece. many of them were children. and in the last two weeks at least 15 children have drowned in the aegean sea. the rights groups says the recorded death of refugees using two other ruths in the mediterranean, have reached over 2 u900, and since october, more than 70 children have died crossing the aegean sea

according to save the children. at the meeting point on the coast, as the right moment came, the first overloaded cheap dingy sets off. carrying refugees happy to leave, but risking it all. at this small shop, volunteers rely on donations to help the refugees. >> we feel terrible. and so -- we bring them to hospital another day ago because they were really hot, and they all sick, and one day after they will die in the sea. they drowned. >> reporter: back on the shore those who didn't make it this time feel disappointed. waiting their turn to cease their chance between life and death.

pope francis has opened a refuge for homeless people in rome. it will provide shelter and food for hundreds every night. he called on countries to welcome refugees. coming up on the news hour, rwanda votes in a referendum that could see the president stay in power until 2034. the spaniards who are still struggling after years of recession. and in sport, a good hitting as his eyes on a second coming with chelsea. we'll have more on that a little bit later. ♪ after sitting out peace talks on friday morning, houthi rebels have gone back to negotiations with yemen's

government in switzerland. they were upset about the announcement of a particular humanitarian aid deal. pro-government fighters say they have taken more territory from the houthis. our reporter is gerald tan. >> reporter: a rare moment of joy against the sorrow of yemen's war. celebrations on the streets of adenmark the return of more than 260 prisoners of war. these fighter, some of them barely into their teens, were freed in exchange for more than 300 houthi rebels. >> translator: we suffered a lot, the houthis exercised all kinds of abuse. we didn't get any prisoner rights. we weren't entitled to a proper diet. >> reporter: what is clear is that both sides have suffered. it was hoped the swap would help

u.n.-sponsored peace talks in switzerland between the warring parties and perhaps it did to an extent. because the houthis and yemen's government agreed to allow desperately needed aid into ta'izz. but details in the deal appear to have antagonized houthi representatives. a ceasefire has been in place since tuesday on paper, but hardly in practice. [ explosion ] >> reporter: the battles continue, and humanitarian agencies on the ground say they haven't seen any aid arrive. elsewhere, pro-government fighters say they have captured houthi camps, destroying their vehicles and taking prisoners. as the fighting drags on, it is estimated four in every five people in yemen now require aid. health services have been badly

disrupted. doctors at this cancer clinic in aden are worried they will soon run out of supplies. >> translator: these children are suffering because the lack medicines and cannot perform tests. they need help and support so we can fulfill our duties. >> reporter: the conflict has already killed nearly 6,000 since march, half f them civilians. earlier i spoke to the head doctors without borders in yemen. and asked if the ceasefires made any difference at all. >> the main hot spots in the country, including the city of ta'izz, have not had any cessation of hostilities. and in terms of facilitating humanitarian assistance, or more humanitarian assistance getting through in areas of fighting, there has not been real progress

either. >> i'm sure part of the difficult is a lot of aid organizations when the fighting intensified pulled out. this ceasefire has only been in a place for a short while and these people can't get back in to deliver the help. >> it has been many month's scale up of assistance since march when most aid agencies left the country. their capacity, including for the main u.n. agencies which also remain locked down for security reasons in sana'a, and therefore there hasn't been the expected scaleup. >> what do you think is needed to give any sense to this kind of ceasefire if people are to be helped in terms of the amount of food they have and other assistance. >> after nine months of fighting there is more and more sub contexts, so local groups are fighting each other now, in a

climate of revenge and impunity, and sometimes we are not able to reach areas, particularly the ones besieged with checking points from local militias that disregards sometimes orders given by entities or authorities above them. so it is becoming more and more difficult to get access to areas in many much need of assistance. as i mentioned particularly in besieged areas in the city of ta'izz for us, as an example. >> you are there in the capitol, as a member of doctors without borders, what are you able to do on any one given day? >> we continue to supply key hospitals, including some in sana'a, we are active and operational in eight governances across the country. and last march when most agencies pulled out, we remained

and that has allowed us to build credibility with the authorities, and we are also in contact with the saudi-lead coalition, so we are not being targeted while we move supplies. we are able to assist hospitals and supported hospitals, ourselves of course, but also other hospitals, and have been able to treat more than 20,000 more wounded since the month of march. however, we are not able to do this on our own, we need a scaleup of assistance, because the yemeni people deserve much better from the international community. a palestinians was killed following an attempted car ramming. and a third palestinian was shot and wounded during a similar car-ramming attempt at the west

point check point. a wave of violence has left 19 israelis and at least 115 palestinians dead. there were also some unusual prechristmas scenes in bethlehem where palestinians dressed as santa clauss were among dozens of protesters confronting israeli soldiers. the israeli army said about 50 palestinians hurled rocks and fire bombs at the forces who returned tear gas. the african union is proposing sending 5,000 peace keepers to burundi, which it says is on the drink of civil war. the council is invoking a rule for the first time, which allows it to deploy a force without the country's consent. the united nations says at least 400 people have been killed since april when unrest began after the president said he would look for a third term in

office. just a few weeks ago, rwanda's president criticized his bid for trying to get the third term in office, now rwandans have voted in a ref dumb that would allow him to extend his rule possibly until 2034. he has been president of rwanda since 2000, but effectively in power since his rebel group took control in 1994. he came to vote in the controversial referendum. if the changes are passed as expected he could run again in elections in 2017 and stay in power until 2034. [ inaudible ] >> i don't want. what is happening is people's

choice. ask people why they want. >> reporter: since the referendum was announced, politicians have been urging support. they have been told that people were pressured into attending rallies, but the government says they came freely. >> translator: we asked our members of parliament to change the term limits, because they were an obstacle to us reelected the president. >> reporter: both the e.u. and u.s. spoke out against changing the constitution. but voting went ahead anyway. people have voted in a quiet and orderly manner. supporters of the president say it's an expression of the people's will because they want to keep him in power, but very few have been openly critical about it. others have been killed or disappeared. the government denies it is responsible. the democratic green party is one of few that is openly

critical. he said his party had planned to campaign for people voting against changing the constitution. >> the national [ inaudible ] commission said it's not organized. it's not provided to do the campaign. so we can't do it [ inaudible ]. >> it's easier to find critics in other countries. peter was born in rwanda, but campaigns against the government from london. he says he receives regular threats for it. >> it is a big shock to us and the world to find out there is a referendum which has been organized in a week. we think it will pass because we don't think it is being held in a situation where people can speak or vote freely. >> reporter: the president's supporters say he is loved for bringing stability and development to a country that suffered so much violence. but critics say the political

climate makes it impossible to determine how popular he really is. next door in burundi, the reelection in july caused a wave of unrest that continues. the president of burkina faso tried to change the constitution last year to extend his time in office. protests there lead to his overthrow. and in the democratic republic of the congo the opposition accuses the president of trying to stay in power when his second term expires next year. let's talk about this. joining us from the capitol of nigeria, political risk analyst specializing in sub sahara

africa. is there anything that links these countries other than the fact that are proximate neighbors in a vast continent? >> not really. i think this is a the big mistake that a lot of the leaders in africa have been making. they think you can look at the case in rwanda and that signals that they can stay in power. but african youth are kind of getting -- clamoring more for accountability. they have seen what has happened in places like burkina faso, and i don't see how this is going to be a sustainable trend so to speak. i think we're coming from the beginning of the end of the long-serving african leaders. >> while the west looks down on people who want more and more

years in office, because that just doesn't happen in many countries in the west, actually this gives some african countries a stability that they otherwise wouldn't have had. >> are there those people who would be quite happy to see their leaders carry on, because it gives them stability that might not happen if they voted in anyone else? >> well, i think it depends again the country you are looking at. for me rwanda is a unique case. people obviously favor stability and also safety and a peaceful time. but if you look at that in comparison to countries like congo, or burundi, or even the drc, you can hardly argue that

these have brought about the transformation that people want. so i don't think this will become a trend. but the real long-term risk here is if the president decides to stay in rwanda, the signal that he is sending out to the countries is that he is the only person that can govern them. and i think in the long term that creates a stability problem, and that could bring up more instability in the future, that question will remain. >> okay. just put your thinking cap on for a second and see if you can come up with any one sub-saharan african country where one transition, peacefully and successfully, does it happen? >> what was the last question?

has that happened? is that what you are asking? >> yeah, can you name any particular place where the succession is peaceful, democratic, and in line with the constitution time after time? >> well, obviously the big story for this year particularly was nigeria. we know that -- you know, it's very interesting if you talk to a lot of people in nigeria, the question about presidential term elements and not obeying the constitution that is out of the question. people would rather go through an electoral process even with all of the kind of difficulties that that brings about. people would rather have those transitions rather than actually have presidents stay for a long time. ghana is another great example. so i think increasingly africans are clamoring for a duration and precedence to term limits.

so i think these people are just bidding their time. it's only a matter of time before african youth say enough is enough. >> thank you. sorry you couldn't hear me that well. but we could hear you. voters in central african republic's capitol have said yes to a new constitution aimed attening years of strife. they voted yes in a referendum although turnout was low. the proposed constitution reigns in the president's power. we have much more to come this hour, including the ruling that nigerians can sue shell. and britain's last deep coal

mine closes down. we have the sport and the down side of having the best seat in the house at an nba game. we have raul with the details, and we'll tell you who she is. ♪

>> at 9:30 - "america tonight" - top investigative reporting, uncovering new perspectives. >> everything that's happening here is illegal. >> then at 10:00 - it's "reports from around the world". >> let's take a closer look. >> antonio mora gives you a global view. >> this is a human rights crisis. >> and at 11:00 - "news wrap-up". clear... concise... complete.

your global headline rs, foreign minister frsz at least 17 countries are in new york for talks on ways to end the syrian civil war. houthi rebels have returned to yemen peace talks in switzerland despite saying earlier they would pull out. they have accused one another of violating a ceasefire put in place for these talks. and the new u.n. report suggests that any number of people worldwide forced to leave their homes this year is likely to exceed 60 million for the first time. figures show that more than 20 million fled wars and

persecution in the first half of 2015. leaders of european union union have promised what they call an uncompromised fight against terrorism. they called for stronger immigration controls and a crackdown on weapons trafficking. they also said they would introduce measures such as acid freezes to restrict the way people get money for attacks. the german chancellor, angela merkel told the summit that the schengen information system needed to be enforced. >> translator: we said that the system needs to be used more than in the past. the data banks that exist there, also the data banks of interpol, and the enhanced cooperation and coordination of member states is essential, so that each and

every one may have the same information. a dutch court has ruled that the oil giant royal dutch shell can be sued in dutch courts for compensation over oil spells in the niger delta. it has been blighted by contaminations, leaks and damage for years. this decision comes after an appeal brought by four farmers, and opens the way for many more to launch lawsuits against such companies. the niger delta holds some of the world's richest oil deposits. but its production has contaminated the land. royal dutch shell operates around 50 oil pumps there.

farmers have fought a long battle for compensation. friday's landmark legal ruling in the hague means the farmers can now sue the parent company. the farmers have been supported by campaign group friends of the earth. >> the fact that a court has jurisdiction on this case, means that probably in the future, in similar cases victims of human rights abuses by corporations or other companies that also have a company here in the netherlands can bring their case to the netherlands to get justice. >> and of course it's not only about these four farmers. it's about all of the other people who are suffering from oil pollution who now have the opportunity to take their case to the netherlands and fight

shell. >> reporter: in response shell issued this statement: >> reporter: being able to sue the parent company in the nether lans could open the door to multi-billion dollars payouts involving hundreds of affected people. activists here say the judgment by the court in the hague will be crucial to having decisions against multi-nation oil companies, they accuse the government of being too slow on acting on judgments. there was an nighian court ruling that ordered shell to stop all drilling in the delta. ten years later the government

has yet to fully implement this rule. the actual liability for the pollution and spillages remains unresolved. there will be more court cases on that in 2016. that's it. it's over. it is the end of an era for british coal mining after centuries of production. the last remaining deep coal mines closed down. neave barker went to north yorkshire to meet the men and hear about their machines. >> reporter: emerging from almost a kilometer underground. the final shift in britain's last deep coal mine. in inheyday more than 2,000 people worked here. now with little ceremony, the last 451 minors are saying good-bye.

>> i feel teary eyes. to be honest. it's a sad day. >> it's emotional for everyone. it has been coming for a while. you think you are prepared, but i don't think you are. >> reporter: once the largest deep mine in europe, it's an 11 kilometer journey to the coal face. it's noisy dangerous work. jobs the minors hoped to hold on to for life. but 56 years after it opened, it's the engineer -- end of the road. it fuelled the british empire. there is 30 million tons of it still underground. but the price of coal has crashed. as the u.k. tries to reduce carbon emissions. coal fired power stations are closing or moving to cleaner forms of energy. the u.k. will rely on coal for at least another decade,

imported from outside of the country. it's cleaner and cheaper than british coal. u.k. companies just can't compete. in the 1970s and '80s, the fine was one of several to survive government pit closures. it was an era of de -- defiant strikes. but some of minors prepare for their final christmas together. nighel's father sank the first shaft, and it is his job to now cap and seal it. >> i feel bitter, because we haven't been given a fair chance to fuel the power station just a few kilometers down the road. >> reporter: soon after the last minors have left and the

conveyer belts have stopped, the shofts will be filled in with concrete, turning it into a monument to a bygone age. the spanish prime minister says he is willing to seek an ally answer with other conservatives to stop a left coalition go getting in after sunday's election nch opinion poll says no party will win a majority. barnaby phillips has more in madrid. >> reporter: giving up on madrid and all of her dreams at the age of 26. rosa is preparing to go back to live with her parents on the coast. she studied hard, has two degrees, but all she could find was temporary work and unpaid internships, she feels betrayed by spain's leaders. >> translator: i'm hoping for a

change. a change for all of the people that have been left behind, the politicians forgot about us. their priority was to save banks and cut debt. we need them to invest in citizens. >> reporter: at the red cross, they count the cost of the social crisis. they give food, medicine, and legal support to the vulnerable. they told us the number of people they help increased by 700,000 in 2015. >> translator: there has been a change in the profile of the people we help. before we supported many immigrants, and now most of the people we help with spanish. they come from homes that have slipped into poverty. >> reporter: the spanish economy is recovering.

unemployment is also falling, but many of the new jobs are badly paid and short-term. the spanish are having to accept the economic insecurity is now a way of life. jose is a salesman for pharmaceutical companies. after 30 years of work, he is only scraping a living. aged 50, he has also moved back in with his parents. this is not the career he once dreamt of. >> translator: i have lost quality of life. salaries have dropped and they won't be like they were before. i know i will never earn the money i used to. i can afford to buy very few things. i don't go out. i don't have the same life i used to enjoy. >> reporter: so spain is at a cross roads. the government says the worst is

over, it deserves a second chance. but many spanish want to punish the ole political parties for everything that has gone wrong. in that makes the results of these elections very hard to predict. mother theresa is to become a saint of theco man catholic church. she was a missionary who cared for the poor in the indian city of calcutta. six years after she died the then head of the kat rick church recognized the first miracle attributed to her as a nun. the second was the inexplicable recovery of a man with brain tumors who recovered after relatives prayed for her help. >> she is also a good example to

the world, especially a world that is filled with [ inaudible ]. and she has left for also an example of taking care of one another. revered by millions in india, particularly those that she was able to help during her life, the reaction has been quite extraordinary. let's go to our correspondent where mother theresa was known as the saint of the gutters. >> reporter: once mother theresa is canonized, we expect this to happen in september next year, in the year of mercy, she will be one of a handful of indian saints. she was born in what is now macedonia, but she gained indian citizenship in 1951. and there are around 24 million christians in indian, and 20 million of them are catholic, so

this is a much-anticipated amount of news for those who are catholics in india. but we should say there is another side to this story. over the life work of mother there theresa, there were sections of indian society that did raise concerns about the religious undertones of her work, a particularly sensitive issue here in india. so that is going to be a talking point as well as we move forward. a man who was convicted of a brutal gang rape in india while he was a teenager is going to be freed on sunday. a 23-year-old student was attacked on a bus three years ago and later died from her injuries in a case that shocked the world. now a court has rejected the federal government's plea for an extension of custody, saying the prisoner had received the maximum punish of three years. there was a wave of public protests over women's rights in

india at the time. a country, india, where police say a rape is reported every 20 minutes. take a look at these pictures out of beijing, the chinese capitol. the second red alert this month warning of air pollution. heavy smog and pollution expected to shroud beijing until early next week. a red alert is the most severe there can be on a four-tear system. there have been severe vehicle restrictions and schools have been shut down. until recently girls as young as 14 were legally allowed to get married in guatemala, a practice was prevalent for sentries in rural areas. women's and children's rights activists have welcomed the raging of the age to 18. david mercer went to san pedro,

where he found that breaking cultural practices is proving difficult. >> reporter: it's not the kind of life jennifer wanted. the 17-year-old had plans to finish high school and find a good job. but that changed after jennifer got stuck overnight in a nearby town. her father accused her of being with her boyfriend and demanded she marry him. a month later, jennifer was married. she was just 15 years old. >> translator: it's straining to have to stay and work in the house all the time. if i hadn't got married i would be studying. it's difficult to have the obligations of an adult when you are so young. >> reporter: all of jennifer's friends are married and some as young as 15 have babe bees of their own. across the country the situation is all too common. guatemala a third of girls are

married by 18 and 7% are wed by the time they are 15 years old. but pressure is finally paying off. in late november the government raised the legal age for marriage to 18 years old. previously they would be wed as young as 14. this activist says the big challenge now is dpeeting attitudes that see girls as male possessions. >> translator: the approval of this law is an important step. but more important is applying the law, and raising awareness at the community level amongst mayors and community leaders so they understand that girls have rights. >> reporter: jennifer hopes the new law will help her 7-year-old sister have the opportunity she never had. the right to go to school, and to choose her own future free from the bonds of child marriage. david mercer, al jazeera,

guatemala. we have raul and the sport coming up in just a moment. take a look at this, a new world surfing champion is crowned in hawaii. you are looking at live pictures now of the white house briefing area. the briefing room where president obama is scheduled to speak before the top of the hour. scheduled for just a couple of minutes from now at 1:50. it is his final news conference of the year, after which he will travel to california to meet with families of the victims of the san bernardino massacre, and then off to spend the holidays in hawaii. welcome everyone to al jazeera america, i'm tony harris. and the president is expected to speak in just moments, and he will likely discuss a wide range of topics as is the case at

these year-end news conferences. the president will review his administration's accomplishments and challenges in 2015, and will highlight, we expect, many of the goals for the coming year, both domestically and abroad. we have our heavy hitters with us, right now, mike viqueira joining us live from the white house to tee this off for us. mike, i'm taking notes, so there will be tests and quizzes later. [ laughter ] >> what do you expect the president so cover here? >> reporter: tony you are right, this is something of a holiday annual tradition here at the white house the year-end press conference. it usually goes on for an hour or so. it is held in a packed briefing room, because the usual venues are bedecked in holiday

decorati decorations, and there isn't the room to do this kind of thing. remember what we're going to hear is response to some of the questions asked by reporters, but what you are going to hear from the president in his opening statement is trumpeting what he sees as his accomplishments no doubt, the iran nuclear deal, the climate change agreement in paris, the diplomatic opening to cuba, the tpp deal that was reached, that still has to be ratified by the senate. and the affordable care act. and looking ahead, tony. of course the president has a relatively early state of the

union speech this year, january 12th. there are some outstanding issues that the president will be pushing for. and everybody is sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to see what the president does on gun control, gun safety. the white house is known to be considering executive actions on guns. he has taken executive actions before which is infuriated many in congress. expect more of the same on guns. and think about guantanamo, the day after he took office -- it may have been the same day as inauguration, pledged to close the guantanamo military prison. he is still aiming to do that, but how will he do that?

a lot of issues on the table. the president is going to be looking backwards. the president is going to be looking forwards. and the president in a public campaign to try to reassure the anxious american public, as well as respond to critics who accuse him of being soft on isil. tony? >> i'm also thinking of the news of the day. is there a budget deal for the president to eventually sign here today? >> yeah, i think that some of the suspense of that is gone. it depends on when they can get it down here. the president is going to sign it, whether he signs it before he leaves in just a couple of hours, or he signs it by auto pen once landing in hawaii. it is going to be signed. you are using a word that has

become a dirty word in washington, compromise. we actually heard that uttered from the democratic leader of the senate and here at the white house as well. remember the sequester, emanating about three years ago, about 90% of the sequester is gone. spending back where it was. a lot of economists blame those austerity measures of being a drag on the economy. and the president is going to be touting the economy. the low unemployment rate, the high gdp growth, the relative strength compared to other nations. >> yes. we're in this cycle, right, this 24-hour news bubble where there is news made and then it's the next thing -- it's the next thing that is coming. so take us back, mike, the

significance of the iran nuclear deal. now it has to play out. and the big deal there is can it be verified and are the systems in many place to verify that in a serious way. >> reporter: right. >> but let's remind ourselves of the years in the making for that deal, and the significance of it potentially moving forward. >> reporter: two things here, tony. let's take a look at the view from 30,000 foot. the white house does not want to hear the term lame duck heading into the last year of his presidency. he is in the fourth quarter of his presidency, but he does not want to be regarded as a lame duck, and the white house is going to do everything it can to say the president is still a player here. as far as the iran deal is concerned, that's another word

that comes up, and that is l legacy. this is a signature achievement, you can put it up there with the affordable care act, that the white house regards as a very, very big deal. and again, something that has incensed republicans, and even with the news of the ballistic missile test on the part of iran, and the controversy that surrounds that, that is still a sore point with republicans. >> mike appreciate it. stand by. i want to include you in all aspects of this conversation obviously. but i want to go to jamie mcintyre at the pentagon for us. and jamie essentially the same question for you. as the president wraps up 2015, what will he point to as accomplishments, and i think it's clear to all of us what the

big challenge for the has been in 2015 and will be in 2016, and that's isil. >> yeah, i don't think you can look back at the year without looking at the campaign against isil. notably by the way, tony, in an off the record session, which you know what that means, it means not for reporting in any form unless it's really, really good. and all of the details leaked out. it give a window in the president's thinking, in terms of why he is so resistant to putting more u.s. combat troops on the ground. in that off the record session, apparently he revealed that he had been advised that putting a significant number of u.s. troops back on the ground in iraq could result in as many as a hundred american casualties a month, maybe 500 wounded, a cost

that the president apparently is not willing to pay at this point. so it will be interesting to see if some of that off of the record thinking gets put on the record in today's question-and-answer session, but the president is still trying to make the case for his strategy in the face of republican criticism that continues to assert that he doesn't really have a strategy. >> we remember earlier in the year there was this plan, and announced with some fanfare, we're going to arm the moderate opposition, and they are going to lead the fight here against isil and i.s. in syria. and at one point the administration had to admit, the numbers aren't there. this isn't really working, right, jamie? >> yeah, they have adjusted that plan to bring the moderate opposition in train them, and

that was a complete failure. and they ditched it. and they have been pointing this month to successes both in syria and iraq, in syria where some of the syrian kurdish fighters are continuing to put pressure on rauk ka in syria, and also despite the frustration with the slow pace of operations in ramadi where isil still holds the city center. today a briefing laying out the slow progress that the iraqi security forces trained by the u.s. are making as they have encircled the city and are slowly starting to move in. the advisors tell us they are encouraged that the iraqi security forces have been able to beat back some counter forces, with the help of punishing u.s. and coalition air strikes. and they think this slow

methodical strategy is starting to turn the corner. >> part of the strategy is to deny isil, and correct me where i'm wrong -- part of the strategy here is to deny land to isil, and then it is to attack its financial infrastructure, right? it's oil refineries and the oil business that it is conducting to make money. in that has been part of the strategy, and -- and that -- jamie, by its nature is going to take some time to unfold. correct? >> well, it is, but every month or so the pentagon releases another map showing how much territory isil has had to give up since the peak of its time when it swept across iraq and syria, seeming to take whatever territory it wanted to. the president mentioned about 40% of the territory it once was able to move freely in, it is