is polls close in the country's most open election in decades. >> hello there. this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up, protests in india after the youngest convict in a deadly gang rape three years ago is released from jail. >> warring parties in yemen agree to more talks in january.

>> a massive land slide in southern china. 59 people are missing. >> the christmas barbecue for these families in south africa. good to have your companies. the polls have closed in a landmark election in spain the first since the country arrived from a financial crisis. the ruling people's party is hoping to be re-elected. socialists are expected to become second.

naturally the economy is a key issue in a country where the unemployment rate is 21% and a massive 47% amongst the young. >> there's a lot of excitement and anticipation here at the people's party headquarters as you would expect. nobody in the governing party expects the kind of victory that they enjoyed in 2011 when they got almost 45% of the vote. as you were saying in your introduction, the age of that sort of two-party dominance in politics appears to be over.

however, the people's party is showing a dominance and the prime minister is hoping his party becomes the biggest single party albeit without a majority. let's look back at the voting with this report. >> there is a pivotal time where perhaps the spanish prime minister was reflecting as he took his morning exercise with his party struggling to stay ahead of two new parties. >> there's no such thing as certainty in politics. but one thing is guaranteed, the prime minister is about to lose his absolute authority in the congress of deputies meaning it could mean months before the

coalition decides who will rule in spain. his hand has guided his country through some very rough economic waters. why the erosion in his support? >> corruption scandals mixed together with the economic crisis has created this cocktail provoking people to ask what is being done with their money. people are now paying close attention to the party's platforms. the aunt austerity stance might make him a natural ally for the socialists and might overtake them for the number of seats in parliament. sanchez is trying to rearrive the socialist foreigns to

distance it from its past. >> and i want to talk about two things. i believe you've got the exit polls now but also tell us about these two new political forces in spain to shame things up in this election. >> yes. given some of the oddities of the spanish political system,

it's likely that the socialists will get slightly more seats but their proportion of the popular vote is slightly less. this means probably a great deal of celebration and it means for spain a period of political uncertainty. is he going to be looking to build a coalition, trying to form some other kind of partnership perhaps with the citizen party. we'll have to see. we'll have to see how accurate that exit poll is and what those popular vote percentages

actually translate to seats as well. i think it will be an evening of exciting political events. >> if the economy has been in a position of growth and there's been an improvement there, why the emergence of these two new political forces? >> i think the first thing to say is in has been that growth projected to be something like 3% gdp and this year and if we're looking at the durability of the people's party -- austerity policies. let's just bear that in mind. but it's a recovery that comes with many limitations for spanish people and perhaps particularly for young spanish people. that chronically high level of unemployment. it's still over 20%. if you're young and spanish, it's close to 50% and even where

there have been new jobs, they are short term jobs with a great deal of insecurity and poor pay. i think there's also something different which is perhaps more emotional which is a degree of tiredness and disgust with the current system with the corruption. that will explain what we assume will be a relatively strong performance. that explains how they have been able to burst so dramatically onto the national political situation here in spain. >> we'll be talking to you again, but thank you very much for that update. >> firefighters are fighting more than 100 fighters in the

north of spain. strong winds have hampered efforts to contain them despite rain overnight. many home s there were evacuate and there are no casualties so far. there have been angry protests in india after the release of a man convicted of a brutal gang rape and murder which shocked the world three years ago. >> we want justice! >> parents of the 23-year-old woman attacked on a bus in 2012 have been leading demonstrations in new delhi. the man was 17 when arrested and received the maximum sentence for a juvenile. campaigners are calling for the

laws to be changed. >> this case of the youngest offender involved in the 2012 gang rape attack has raised many questions particularly about the juvenile detention system in india. what happens to young offenders inside the system and importantly what happens once they're released. what is the road map for their rehabilitation and development as well as their reintegration into society, a society that is deeply, deeply angry and frustrated by issues of sexual violence. as we've heard from the experts and people we've been speaking to about the issue, this is a long running problem and this case is drawing attention to one of the root causes of one of india's biggest issues. >> she's out and about enjoying her day off. but with personal safety a big

concern, she says having fun is limited to daytimes. >> it's too difficult to go out without a family member or without friends. daytime is safe but at night, you cannot hang out with your friends because there's no security. >> anger of the lack of safety for women spilled onto the streets of new delhi in 2012 after a woman was gang raped on a bus. the indian government says it has since taken action to improi improve conditions but nearly 100 women are raped in india every day. experts say this number is grossly underreported. >> experts follow and document the issues warn they're india's

national shame. >> across the country rape is often blamed on social and cultural norms. >> there is a large mindset which has manifested itself in many ways including sexual violence against women. >> he says the lack of accountability at all levels of indian society is a big reason why sexual violence is so prevalent. >> the sense that i can get away with this crime is something increasing in the minds of the average person and especially the offenders. they know about it. the criminal justice system is also falling apart.

>> outside this market, a group of men hand over to police a man they accuse of assaulting women. safety in numbers provides little comfort to women here. they're counting on the goodwill of people around them. >> now, attention has turned to the supreme court of india. it will be hearing a petition on monday from the women's commission. part of the government has effectively said that it does not think that the offender is not ready to be integrated to society and that he may reoffend. also that no proper assessments have been done of his mental well being and character.

>> talks to end the war in yemen have broken up without agreement but with a promise to meet again next month. negotiators said that while they have made what they call incredible progress, they have not yet agreed to a deal. new peace talks will begin early next year. >> after nearly nine months of conflict, this is what a cease fire looks like on the ground in yemen. fighting on the streets of the besieged city of tais. each side has accused the other of violating the truce. the meeting in switzerland finished with no deal to end the war. only agreement to meet again in january.

>> it's very clear that unfortunately the cease fire that was agreed upon was not respected and in some cases was violated in the first hours of these talks. therefore, we will in the coming days aim to make every single effort to ensure that a new cease fire is put in place. i have asked the parties to ask for renewal. >> in recent days, forces loyal to president hadi have been making gains against the houthis. pro government forces are also advancing towards the capital. >> we reached the city center and this is evidence the houthis have no popular support. >> hadi lost control of sanah last september after the houthis backed by iran advanced on the

port city of aden. the cost of this war to ordinary yem yemenis has been huge. nearly 6,000 people are thought to have been killed. the country's health and education system has collapsed. after negotiations in switzerland, some aid is now getting through to the city of tais, but it is not nearly enough. the week-long truce has been extended. many living through this war which much of the world has forgotten will hope the talks in january will produce more to end this conflict. >> let's talk more about this. a very warm welcome. the focus has been in the last

weeks or so on these peace talks. yet they seem to bear so little relations to what's going on, on the ground. but do they still matter? >> yes, they are. they are totally detached from the reality inside the country. i think there is -- at least it's a step in the right direction. i think that's the only thing you can say about it. at the moment, it appears that both sides have an opportunity to play for time and take pressure off from the u.n. who's been pestering to get into these talks for many months while actually on the ground they're either carrying out further air strikes or there's increased fighting or ballistic missiles.

these peace talks seem while not so much pointless but show complete disregard for actual events inside the country. >> the cease fire has been extended now by a week. i'm just wondering what kinds of things will we need to change to make this situation more ripe for progress. what will need to happen on the ground? are there steps that could be taken? >> i think the fact that the cease fire has been extended for a week when it never even started is farcical. there's really not enough pressure on either side on the ground for them to concede. in order for them to get further forward in this process, you need somebody to concede on one side or the other. it either is the houthis under increasing pressure militarily

or if the coalition realize they're getting bogged down in a conflict and reach the point of stalemate. we've seen this escalation in fighting this week in the push toward sanah, it seems neither scenario is being faced by either side. therefore, the prospects for both sides being interested in genuine peace talks is slim for a moment. >> still to come, the latest on those exit polls just out from the spanish election. ish election.

those top stories here on al jazeera. polls have closed in spains election. the current prime minister is set for victory with around 28% of the vote. the antiausterity party is on course to be the second largest winner with 22%. >> there have been angry protests in india after the release of a man convicted of a brutal gang rape that shocked the world three years ago. >> yemen's foreign minister says a cease fire has been extended by one week. negotiations resume in mid

january. 69 people missing after a massive land slide in southern china. it also triggered an explosion in a gas pipeline. witnesses described a sea of mud which eventually buried 18 buildings. >> the land slide buried more than a dozen people on the outskirts of the city. a blanket of mud and soil flooded roads and parts of the new district. two worker dormitories were also covered with dirt and mud. most workers and residents escaped to safety before the disaster. between 200 and 600 rescuers are set to be on the scene to help anyone who is trapped. the area has been a large construction zone for more than two years. soil that had been excavated and stored on the hill turned into mud after heavy rain causing the

land slight in iraq, more than 100 isil fighters have been killed. some viewers might find images in this report disturbing. >> these kurdish soldiers have just repelled an isil attack. they say most isil fighters are foreigners and take drugs when they attack. later they drag a body on a military vehicle. this the fighters say is the future of daish. this one goes this is our land and we will defeat isil. these are some of the most

intense attacks faced in recent months. isil fighters have had six front lines in iraq. the kurdish fighters say they've been able to defend their positions. isil knows about the trenches dug and come prepared with ladders to storm them. these weapons were left p behind by isil fighters who launched multiple attacks. soldiers say they've killed more than 100 fighters in less than a week. an officer told me that the number of suicide attackers being used by isil shows that it's desperate but the frequent of attacks has taken them by surprise. they thought they pushed the group back. the attacks are also taking a told on the pashmerga. the continuing conflict is concerning human rights observers over the treatment of

the dead and how kurd soldiers are treating captives. after battles the kurds say they dispose of bodies after battle in a human way. an air france plane has made an emergency landing after the discovery of a suspicious advice that turned out to be an hoex. it was diverted to kenya after a stopwatch mounted on a box was found on a toilet. two air france planes were diverted days later because of hoax bomb threats. >> it was made from boxes, paper, and what seemed to be a kitchen timer. that's what i can tell you at this stage.

nothing that presented a risk to anyone on the plane. >> the colombian president has revealed plans for how its government will deal with members of the armed forces. he says the soldiers will be subject to tribunals. the treaty will always be balanced and simultaneous. that means that colombian soldiers will never be subject to worse conditions than farc members. that is a promise. >> christmas can be an expensive

time of year for many christians buying gifts and cooking for extended families. but in south africa, saving schemes are taking away some of that pressure. >> steak and chops and barbecue is the flavor of the month in this happy home. these women are part of a savings scheme. they've been putting money aside all year for this big christmas. outside it's been organized and added to each woman's pile. the stock pile takes the financial pressure off of what can be a very stressful time of the year >> it's stressful. we cannot afford it. you have to buy clothes and snacks and it's not going to work out. so at least you know you have something on the side and it's

helpful. >> he makes sure his customers get the correct order. they became very popular when black people were excluded from former banking. they're not just for christmas. some are for holidays, weddings, or funerals. they are big business. there are 420,000 of them in south africa. one in five adults are part of them and they're worth about $1.7 billion to the economy. >> back at the house the first pile of groceries is about to be

taken home. the saving scheme means the cost of christmas will be a lot easier this year. >> you can find out much more on our website. plenty of stories and analysis there. >> i'm ali velshi, "on target", slick dealing. congress clears the way for america to export oil for the first time since disco was king. >> and the c.e.o. blasted for jacking up pharmaceutical prices, faces trouble on a different front it's almost sad how happy i am to report that your elected leaders are on the brink of a deal to keep the government shutting down.