tv World News Al Jazeera December 21, 2015 10:00pm-11:01pm EST
7:00 pm
>> suicide bombing in afghanistan. a taliban attack kills six american soldiers near bagram air base. as the group gains ground in a key southern province. defiant words. >> for me and for fifa. >> the suspended president of international soccer sepp blatter vows to appeal his eight year ban. election turmoil. >> we are very happy for the
7:01 pm
fact that in spain, the term, the two party system has ended. >> spain's governing party loses its majority in parliament and could fail to form a coalition government. man made disaster. rescuers searching for dozens of people, missing after a landslide of mud and construction waste buries buildings in southern china. good evening everyone, thanks for joining us. i'm adam may, filling in for antonio mora who has the evening off. international hour begins in afghanistan where the resurgent taliban is once again taking aim at u.s. forces. today six american soldiers on foot parole near bagram air
7:02 pm
field were killed by a suicide bomber. the taliban later claimed responsibility for this attack. meanwhile the group is on the verge of seizing control of the helmand province the country's largest. it's also where most of the world's opium is produced. al jazeera's jamie mcintire is at the pentagon. >> adam this has been the deadliest day for u.s. troops since more than two years ago. pentagon report says the overall security situation is deteriorating in afghanistan while the taliban attacks have become more frequent and more effective. in afghanistan's southern helmand province, fighting is intense, as the taliban was sstlesuccessful in capturing government offices. light like the latest suicide
7:03 pm
attack that killed half dozen u.s. troops outside bagram air base, it's just more evidence that taliban is back. kabul has been the focus of what the pentagon calls high profile attacks. it counts the motorcycle suicide attack the 29th in or around the afghan capital since the beginning of the year, a 27% increase over the same period last year. at the same time, the taliban has shown it can also take key terrain outside of its traditional strongholds. as it did in late september and early october when i briefly held the northern city of kunduz. >> the taliban's advances in some parts of the country even only temporary underscore this is a tough fight and it's far from over. it's also a dynamic fight. >> defense secretary ash carter was in afghanistan last week to meet with his top commander there general john campbell who
7:04 pm
candidly admitted to reporters that the afghan army is still struggling. >> we need to put it in perspective, we're trying to build a plane while in flight. >> harsh assessment of the afghan army's lack of progress. despite being far better trained by the u.s. afghan forces remain reluctant to pursue the taliban into their safe havens. concluded that they can't ensure stability until they have further improvement. >> checkpoints, work on those. >> one big factor, u.s. is no longer providing air strikes for offensive operations. mistaken bombing of the doctors without borders situation in kunduz is that the mission should never have been authorizes. only to protecauthorized.
7:05 pm
>> u.s. forces are helping afghan forces from the ais air,t as much as it was in the past. >> the u.s. had been training afghan pilot to fly a simple plane af 29. now finishes training in moody air force base in georgia. afghan military being able to retake what was lost, it also concedes the taliban has gotten better at finding and exploiting soft-spots leading to a situation in some areas of the country where security is fragile, and in other areas, there is a risk of deterioration. adam. >> jamie mcintire at the pentagon. turning to southern afghanistan
7:06 pm
where the fight against the taliban is proving overwhelming. one official took to facebook to beg the central government for help. imoku moli reports. >> afghan soldiers and police are outgunned. >> translator: we are fighting to remove the taliban from this area. therefore we need support from one army to help us. right now the area is controlled by taliban. >> reporter: this is helmand province. once controlled by the taliban. it is also the place where most of the world's opium is produced. on sunday the province's deputy mayor used facebook to plead with the afghan president, posting, your excellency, helmand is standing on the brink and there is a serious 92 need for you to come. since last night sangen district center is almost completely
7:07 pm
under taliban control. >> although billions of dollars or hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent to develop an afghan national army, that army seemed to lack strategic leadership and this is why you see the taliban taking advantage of this. >> the taliban appears to be crisscrossing the country, seizing large areas. two months ago, its fighters took kunduz in the north for two weeks, crippling the city. but now they've moved south to sangen in helmond province. the deputy governor says the whole province will fall into their hands unless help arrives soon. imoku molu, al jazeera. bowe bergdahl is being courts martialed based on his
7:08 pm
desertion. pretty troaive controversial prr swap. if convicted he could face life in prison. president obama is defending his strategy in the fight against i.s.i.l. in a wide ranging, year-end interview with npr the president seemed to shrug off critics who are calling for more force in syria. >> we've been at this for a long time in afghanistan, iraq. and places like somalia and yemen where we've gone after terrorist targets. and the key is to make sure that we've got sound intelligence, and i'm -- make no apologies for us wanting to do this appropriately and a way that's consistent with american values. >> mr. obama also said that
7:09 pm
so-called carpet bombing, that would kill thousands of syrian sifncivilians and endanger the community. fifa has banned sepp blatter from all football activities. also michel plant any. he said if fifa had awarded the 2022 world cup to the u.s.a. there would have been no investigation. paul reese has more from zurich. >> sepp blatter once again the center of attention. the 79-year-old swis fightin 79g to get into a press conference as he fights for his very future in football. the uefa chief michel platini,
7:10 pm
similarly appealing. the swiss isn't going quietly. >> i'm concerned for me and i'm concerned for fifa. >> would pass the top job to his friend, michel platini. but blear reneges blatter renege deal. 2011 presidential election year, the ethics committee set up by bleat at fifa seblatter at fifa. >> banned sepp blatter, and michel platini, vice president and member of the executive committee are of fifa and
7:11 pm
president of uefa from all football related activities. >> platini refused to even attend the ethics committee hearing. his lawyer determined the ethics committee had already decided the situation and was seeking a long ban. half of blatter's executive committee being corrupt. after play he timely resigned. the u.s. and swiss attorney generals and even his old allies decided otherwise. if platini has any chance to run for fifa presidency, he needs to clear his name before january 16th. that means going through the court of arbitration for sport. before he can begin that provides he needs a full written statement of the decision from the ethics committee, a process
7:12 pm
that itself could take weeks. one a political survivor and the other a football great. both pulled down. >> dave zyron, joining us from silver spring maryland tonight. dave always good to see you. money and sports, we're talking about big dollars involved in this scandal. what is your reaction? >> a kangaroo court did exactly what it was supposed to do. this was the fifa ethics committee a committee specifically formed by sepp blatter as a fail save to make the public more calm, players more calm, when scandal broke out. to take the figures most endangered from scandal and remove them from fifa world pow.
7:13 pm
michel platini even gets to keep the $2 million he was given in 2011 that they say is some sort of graft. in this case it did exactly what it was set up to do because the elections for the new fifa president this is what all this is about, are taking place in february and there's clearly an effort to cut every tie with blatter since that date. meanwhile, sepp blatter compared himself to new zealan to nelson. he wanted to get some sort of fifa president emeritus post. hearings in february to determine who the new fifa president is going to be. >> they always say never underestimate sepp blatter.
7:14 pm
what do you think of his defiance vowing to appeal? >> sepp blatter is 71, he's 79 years old, that's what makes it so embittering to him. that's who sepp blatter is. he is going to go out as loudly as he can. like him or hate him, he's put it on the headlines, week in week out basis often for reasons that have nothing to do with soccer. it is no wonder sepp blatter the giant in his labyrinth takes one more stage before exiting stage right. for good. >> can they get out from under the scandal dave? >> from a public relations perspective they can only get out from under this scandal if they have a leadership that is utterly utterly disconnected from sepp blatter and michel
7:15 pm
platini also. they are going to slow walk this, it will not be in time for the february elections. because that's clearly to me what they have determined here that they're looking at this completely from a pr perspective. not at all looking at the underlying systemic problems, that they have no independent real ethics committee or watchdog group to oversee what the other is doing. they get ooverlook that question of possibly breaking up fifa or putting a new face in front of cameras and saying the era of sepp blatter is over. that's something that blatter wasn't going to allow them to do by february so that's why they took there extraordinary action. >> real quick what do you think about this, department of justice is an integral part of this investigation, why does the u.s. figure sing clearly here? >> the u.s. absolutely felt it would be a slam dunk that they
7:16 pm
would be awarded the 2022 world cup. so to have it awarded to qatar, i think it is demonstrably true, if they had been awarded the 2022 world cup, you wouldn't have seen loretta lynch raiding the fifa offices. whoever has the new post will have closer ties to the u.s. >> making a legitimate point at the end of that, dave zyron, always good to have you. >> thank you. >> still to come on al jazeera america, allow the result of spain's election last created a power struggle. and tons of mud and construction waste become a deadly force.
7:18 pm
when you're on hold, your business is on hold. that's why comcast business doesn't leave you there. when you call, a small business expert will answer you in about 30 seconds. no annoying hold music. just a real person, real fast. whenever you need them. so your business can get back to business. sounds like my ride's ready. don't get stuck on hold. reach an expert fast. comcast business. built for business. to discover the best shows friends together and movies with xfinity's winter watchlist. later on, we'll conspire ♪ ♪ as we dream by the fire ♪ a beautiful sight, we're happy tonight ♪
7:19 pm
♪ watching in a winter watchlist land, ♪ ♪ watching in a winter watchlist land! ♪ xfinity's winter watchlist. watch now with xfinity on demand- your home for the best entertainment this holiday season. >> spain is facing weeks possibly months of political uncertainty after voters are dealt a blow to the country's traditional two party teams in parliamentary elections. barnaby phillips reports from madrid on those who could be involved in building a coalition government. >> it is the strangest victory celebration you'll ever see. they were trying the work out what it all means. they came first but with their lowest share of the vote since the 1980s.
7:20 pm
the subdued mood here reflects the atmosphere of political confusion, the prime minister has fallen well short of an absolute majority. and it's difficult to see how he can build a stable coalition. all this means that spain could be in for a prolonged period of political uncertainty. but when mariano rajoy came out to speak to his supporters. >> translator: there are still a lot of people in difficulty. we need to create a lot more jobs. the spanish need a government that has parliamentary support and therefore i will seek a stable government and continue in the general interests of all spaniards. >> reporter: on the other side of town they were celebrating a political earthquake. the anti-austerity podemos party
7:21 pm
has burst on the scene and will be a major force in parliament. for many young spanish people, tired of corruption and unemployment, podemos is the future. >> today is an historical day for spain. we are very happy that in spain the two party system is ended. and we are happy because we are starting a new political era in our country. >> reporter: for socialists an thaird leader, pedro sanchez, this is not a good night. they too recorded their worst results in a decade. and yet such is lack of clarity that surrounds this result, they could be future partners in any coalition. that leaves the citizens party, another new force that could play a prominent role in the
7:22 pm
maneuvering to come. like podemos the citizens have tapped into a disenchantment with the old political establishment. at the end of a long night in madrid the party faithful made their way home. still arguing about who woman, who lost and how on earth a government will eplernlg from thiemerge from thismessy situat. barnaby phillips, madrid. >> joining us from madrid, david good to have you with us. i am kind of struck how what happened there in spain seems to mirror the u.s. political cycle where you have this rise of antiestablishment candidates. what was driving this in spain? >> well as you said there's an anti-establishment party that has risen to 69 seat in parliament which is something we have never seen. right now the problem that we have here and the problem we're trying to deal with is the fact that we don't have a majority in
7:23 pm
parliament. it's impossible to form a new government given alliances that we are used to and even the ideologic alliances that you would think are more natural, you know like center and center right, left and center left. so right now, the parties are debating but there's not an established majority that can tell us that there will be a government in the coming weeks. >> what's really interesting is we've ah seen in many other countries across the world, especially in parts of europe, this push to the right. meanwhile it's the podemos party there that did capture 20% of the vote. 5 million turned out to vote for them. what can you tell us about this party and in particular pablo ig iglesias, a 35-year-old with a pony tail. >> you put it in the right context, alex alexi alexis tsipn
7:24 pm
greece. we have to remember that the first party the partido popular, a natural ally, also a new party, both don't have the absolute majority but they have a pretty strong power in parliament right now. they cannot do everything that they want but they can negotiate with other parties such as socialist party which is like center left. >> will we see a coalition? >> that's difficult to say. we have never ever had a coalition in spain. we have had either absolute majorities with the socialists or center right, right now we
7:25 pm
have an absolute majority with partido popular. and the nationalists and the communists. now we could see a coalition, i would say that's not likely. i would say having talked to some of the leaders myself i strongly believe they are going to go for a minority government with some support for some measures, you know like reform of electoral law constitutional reform. so i would say no, we won't see a coalition in the near future here in spain. >> david it's really interesting to try figure out what caused this division in the government. spain has the second highest unemployment there in the eu and unemployment rate extremely high among young voters who seemed very motivated. >> spain has suffered a lot. spain has very high unemployment, you said it for young people below 25 it's still close to 40%. that's a lot.
7:26 pm
on the other hand, spain has been coming out of a very deep recession. we are one of the countries that grows the most right now in europe. we need employment market reform but the macroeconomic indicators are in a very good lookout and there are reforms that the partido popular was making, the center right government was making. were starting to bear fruit. right today, jean claude juncker said, that's what's at risk right now. we have new parties that came to the congress saying that they want to ban austerity like we're seeing in other countries such as greece. and that's a major point in the negotiations right now. of course the right and center right won the austerity to be in place as cities. and the other party is saying, like, we need a reform of the
7:27 pm
employment market in order for these employment rates to be higher right? >> it will be very interesting to see how the new government comes to terms with the results of this election. thanks so much david. >> thank you. >> and more political uncertainty in haiti today. that country postponed this weekend's scheduled presidential runoff election until january. the electoral commission delayed the vote until a special commission investigating fraud allegations gives its recommendation. the opposition alliance demanded an independent review of last october's election happened saying it was rigged in favor of the government-backed candidate. still ahead on al jazeera america. homeless, enduring worst conditions than ever before. and two newspaper editors could
7:28 pm
7:30 pm
7:31 pm
international news searching for survivors in that huge landslide of construction waste in china. but first a look at the stories making headlines across the u.s. in our american minute. the man charged with aiding a couple behind the san bernardino attack will remain behind bars. enrique cez was arreste marquezd last week and accused of supporting terrorists. in denying him bail, the judge said marquez still posed a threat to the public. a woman accused of crashing her car into crowds in the las vegas strip, 24-year-old la keisha holloway, intentionally crashed
7:32 pm
her car into the crowd. her three-year-old daughter was in the car. a motive is yet to be established. fbi says gay men can donate blood but only if they hadn't had sex in at least the last year. some gay advocates say the policy is still discriminatory. eliminating all blood donations would eliminate the possibilities of transmission by 400%. in a giant landslide they're working on plans to pull the people out of debris. more than 80 people are missing since sunday's collapse in shenzhen a manufacturing center outside of hong kong. began in an apparently illegal dumping ground for construction waste. the devastation here is just unreal. al jazeera's rob mcbride
7:33 pm
joining us from hong kong. there is this ongoing search for survivors. what's happening at the scene, any luck finding people? >> reporter: that's right, this is the second day of the search operation. some 3,000 rescuers are now said to be involved, using a variety of different equipment, earth moving gear and so on. also moving equipment that detects sign of life. the coordinator of the search says in the last 24 hours ago, there have been six possible soundings ever people being alive by neat the surface. they have investigating all of, and sadly they have not reported any more survivors. we have report of one more body being sound. it is inconceivable there could be any survivors but possibly amidst this destruction there may be rooms or buildings still intact they might find people two days on. of course the search continues.
7:34 pm
many relatives, family members, neighbors are waiting for any news of the missing. there's also question about just how many missing people there are. now 85 is the official total but a number of eyewitnesses there at the scene have talked about whole families swept away, leaving nobody at the surface to report them missing. >> illegal dumping is one thing but this is just a huge area we're looking at here. what about wider safety issues quj are ther?are there more dum? are authorities concerned that this could have further repercussions? >> this area has seen a mammoth construction boom, all of the new office blocks, new city centers being build, roads to connect them and so forth. people will tell you that maybe
7:35 pm
too much attention has been focused on the gleaming buildings and not with the back end of the huge process, what you do with the huge pile of debris, the way these dumps operate, they have to be close to urban areas, you don't want too much cost to transport the debris, the higher you can construct the dumps, the more you can extract from the plot. sadly it has taken this issue to highlight the issue for china. >> rob mcbride reporting live from hong kong, thanks so much. more than 100 kurdish rebels have been killed in turkey. in southeast along the anatolia region. turkish say the pkk kurdish
7:36 pm
workers party, 115 rebels have died in a crack down that began on december 15th. turkish rebels say the operation will continue until every home has been cleared. russian investigators say they have been unable oretrieve any information from the black box of a war plane that was shot down by turkey. the jet was shot down on november 24th. military officials publicly opened the plane's black box last week. they say they will continue to try to extract the data, that it was illegally in the turkish air space when it was shot down, which is turkey's contention. kristin saloomey has more. >> just friday, the u.n. security council moved to go
7:37 pm
straight ahead on peace and solidarity. the u.n. is very concerned about the escalation, the violence in particular air strikes are having on the civilian population in syria. remember it's not just the syrian air force that we have operating in the skies now it's russia, the united states, france and the united kingdom, all dropping bombs on different targets. water stations and hospitals, huge impact on civilians. this most recent strike in idlib killed 43 people and, according to the u.n, five of them were aid workers. one ngo has just announced it is shutting down after losing a prominent figure in their organization. and more will continue to slow down because it's just too dangerous for them to operate
7:38 pm
there. they don't know exactly how many civilians have been killed because of air strikes. the u.n. doesn't blame particularly countries but they say there have been thousands in the last month who have been killed as a result of these air strikes. >> kristin saloomey reporting from the u.n. tonight. millions stuck in the middle of the civil war, red cross warns the situation could get worse with the coming winter. al jazeera's paul tradergian reports. >> her name is um ahmed. this young mother of six scours the alleys of aleppo. when there aren't bombs dropping she looks for wood, twigs, leaves. >> anything including garbage, so i can start a fire and clean them with even warm water,
7:39 pm
heating oil is too expensive. everything is too expensive. >> um's husband abandoned her and the kids. every day she worries about how to put food on the table. these are desperate times for millions of syrian like um ahmed. areas devastated by bombs, this one keeps the neighborhood kids warm. >> we were at home but it is freezing there, we came up to warm up with the fire behind us. on the way we found nylon bags, paper, just to keep the fire burning. we come here until the fire goes out. >> aleppo is one of the longest continuously inhabited cities in the world. the fires of this city haven't gone out for 5,000 years. the five-year-old civil war has now turned brother against
7:40 pm
brother. it's permanently destroyed and changed millions of lives like this man's. and air strike just destroyed the home he's lived in for more than 40 years. >> i came back to my home four days ago and found it destroyed by strikes. i just picked myself up and now i'm roaming. >> before the fighting more than 2 million people lived in aleppo. most are homeless, some lost, looking for a helping hand. >> it is the regular people that are helping me to survive. every few months i get some aid but it's not enough. i just yell and scream from time to time, realizing my situation is so dire. >> drones flying over what was once a favorite tourist destination, show the destruction. the urban warfare threatens its future and its past. those who have been able to
7:41 pm
leave have left. those who have had to stay behind, don't know how they will survive. paul tradergian. al jazeera. >> greece has been in the front line of the refugee crisis. some 800,000 people seeking refuge landed there this summer. flood of new refugees every day. >> almost 1 million people have crossed greece to the rest of europe this year so far and thousands of them remain stuck here in the capital, athens. the greek foreign minister says the crisis requires a global response. >> translator: it's a european and global problem that is happening in greece, therefore greece cannot manage it on its own. i believe that this decision made by european union to create
7:42 pm
proper refugee dmamples turkey y and proper resettlement continue from there. we have requested 100 euro dacs and we've only gotten 50. there is no point in getting into the blame-game. >> reporter: greece also rejects criticism that it is failing to stem the flow of refugees reaching its shores. its borders and waters are protected but it won't allow people to drown in the sea. >> omar al saleh, reporting. canada's minister of immigration met with refugees in ah man today. it hopes to take in another
7:43 pm
25,000 refugees in 2016. the new government of burundi, parliament has recorrected the au proposal to send 5,000 strong force to bujumbura. mohammad adow reports. >> at a special meeting of parliament, they say they did not want foreign forces on their soil and that the government of burundi was able to protect civilians. they also said they will appoint a commission of inquiry to look into the killings that have happened in the country, but particularly the killings that happened on the 11th of december. on that friday, that 87 people were killed in the capital bujumbura. with burundi calling its bluff, the african union now has only one option. to go back to the drawing board and invoke article 4 of its
7:44 pm
constitution, act which allows it to intervene in a member country without the consent of the government of that country. this can only be done at the assembly, the summit that's held twice a year. only be invoked, the article 4 can only be invoked by african presidents. however they have not agreed on invoking it in the past. that's where burundi might get its escape. >> mohammad adow reporting for us from burundi tonight. , two prominent journalists are facing the death penalty. taken into custody in sudan last week. they're accused of spreading false information in order to insight antigovernment sentiment. both charged with undermieg sudan's constitution, that is a
7:45 pm
crime that is punishable by execution. well the editors arrest underscore the dangers they are facing. they are actually risking death for publishing the news and in south sudan they are often killed for gathering information. in the last two years aiz journalists have been killed in that country and once more the committee to protect journalists ranks sownd fifth. those who ar attack them frequey go unpunished. thanks so much for joining us. we've heard so much about the dangers there in sudan over the last couple of years, and journalists continuing to have problems trying to report on what is happening there. really how dangerous is it for journalists there in sudan, journalists coming from other place he and those that have been embedded in that country
7:46 pm
for quite some time? >> extremely dangerous and getting more dangerous almost by the day. as the sudanese economy implodes, becomes more and more difficult for newspaper reporters and journalists to understand where the red lines are, where it is they can't go beyond without incurring the rath of that regime, its forces are protected by that constitution referred to, for any actions they may take against journalists. >> i spoke recently with ryan boyette, a reporter on the ground there in sudan. they've done amazing work there but he told me that he felt the factions were intentionally making it difficult for journalists because they didn't want the world to know what was happening there in sudan. what's your thought on that?
7:47 pm
>> that's quite true and has been for quite a time. there hasn't been any international reporting from darfur for quite some years. they have turned it into a black box, even after genocide has continued apace. ryan boyette has been the target of bombing attacks by the khartoum regime and he is certainly quite right that the effort is to stifle any and all criticism of the war making by the regime against its own people. war which is intensifying in not only south kordefan but blue nile state which as i mentioned in darfur which we used to hear a great deal about but no longer. darfur is one of the red lines that all journalists in khartoum know they must not cross. >> so dangerous there. i do want to talk about south sudan, they had these rival
7:48 pm
factions announcing they are going to move forward with this peace plan. could you maybe explain to us what that might mean, how that might affect not just us journalists but people who are forced to live in this chaos. >> the chaos is now more than two years old. on december 15th, 2013, ethnic violence exploited in juba, spread throughout the country, and reporting on south sudan has been quite misleading i believe over the past two years. creating an spla in opposition. sudan people's liberation army, rebels. there's never been a uniformed opposition. and we see this now as fighting spreads from south sudan from jonglai unity states and upper nile states to other states, western equ equatorial africa.
7:49 pm
why the peace has been so difficult to secure riek machar is not regarded as the real leader. >> we call this segment off the radar. i'm curious why you think the crisis there has been overlooked for so long so much bloodshed? >> in fact i would say south sudan has gotten more attention than darfur or the nuba mountains. in the case of darfur the answer is simple. the people are black, muslim, poor and they sit over no natural resources. if you ask for a formal eve forr turning a nation into a black
7:50 pm
box you have little trouble with that. >> thank you for your insight tonight. the u.s. is taking steps to protect african lions now placing them on the endangered species list. that move comes after the american dentist killed cecil the lion. coming up in the next hour we're going to speak to an activist who helped get african lions on the list and continued threats to those animals and if this is going to make a big difference. thousands of cuban immigrants are stuck in limbo. why time could be running out for those trying to make it to the u.s. through central american countries now closing their borders and imposing strict restrictions. plus the holiday spirit is strong and hungry. the busy elves at budapest's santa factory.
7:53 pm
7:54 pm
place in ukraine and crimea. the united states imposeits own import ban on ukraine. sweeping reorganization to mitigate projected record losses. losses of some 4.5 billion this fiscal year. the company said on monday its consumer electronics business is going to bear the brunt of the cuts. in an accounting scandal this year, the company admitted to overstating profits for over six years now. trapped in central america, migrants taking the long way to the u.s. starting in ecuador working their way north to costa rica and nicaragua. now they have run into a roadblock. >> reporter: pitching a new tent at the border crossing. cuban migrants are building another makeshift home after the wind pulled down their previous
7:55 pm
one. >> translator: we have been here a month and a few days, more than 30 days. >> they are part of roughly 5,000 cubans who have made it to costa rica from ecuador aiming for the u.s. but here they have met a roadblock when nicaragua a cuban ally firmly closed its border to them a month ago. >> we didn't expect this situation, we have to be creative and we're running out of money. >> while some still hold out at the border, most are put up in schools churches and community centers in nearby towns. costa rica is helping it with food clothing and shelter. but can't maintain them indefinitely. >> our health and security systems have been stretched to
7:56 pm
the limits. >> reporter: a cold war era law known as the cuban adjustment law allow cubans who reach u.s. soil to maintain residency. many have been tempted into the trying t the dangers are you journey over land. more than 30,000 have made the trip in 2015 alone more than double the previous year. they say with improvement in american-cuban relations they're afraid the u.s. might put an end to its open arms policy. 25 years old, she left hoping to reach the u.s. while the policy is still in place to help her parents back home. >> translator: the message i have to those who are doing this to the people of nicaragua of
7:57 pm
guatemala, please help us. >> ecuador announced it will now require visas for cuba ans. the future of those already here in the meantime remains in lim limbo. al jazeera, costa rica. >> while in parts of the world preparations for christmas are reaching a fevered pitch. in hungary a giant tent has been set up in the middle of budapest, where people are donating toys and clothing for the needy. in fact they are volunteering their time at the santa clause s factory. >> santa claus factory stand on these two pillars, solidarity and freedom.
7:58 pm
8:00 pm
thanks for staying with us. this is al jazeera america. public danger. the man accused of buying the guns in the san bernardino attack will stay behind bars while he awaits trial. taliban strike - group claims responsibility for a suicide attack that killed six american soldiers. the u.s. takes a step to protect the african lion. but the designation may not fix many factors
169 Views
Uploaded by TV Archive on
![](http://athena.archive.org/0.gif?kind=track_js&track_js_case=control&cache_bust=409088064)