afghan government forces are advancing on the southern district after the taliban took control of it. ♪ ♪ hello i am nick clark and this is al jazeera live to doha. also ahead on the program. a surprise move the three-year sentence of a well known human rights lawyer is suspended. burkina far so issued an arrest warner for blaise compaore in the death of a rival. spaling stupalpalestinians y

for those whose homes were did he extraordinary by the israeli military. so then it is the fourth day of fighting between afghan forces and the taliban in southern helmand province. the army is advancing to a district that fell on the taliban on monday of the police spokesman says that dozens of british soldiers are also assisting the afghan security forces there. jamie macintyre has this report. >> reporter: in afghan's southern helmand province fighting intense as the taliban claims success in capturing the police headquarters, governor's office and other government buildings. the governor says he has left afghan soldiers and local citizens begging for food. and like the latest suicide attack that killed a half dozen u.s. troops outside the air bay, it's just more evidence that the taliban is back. kabul has been the focus of what the pentagon calls high-profile attacks and it counts deadly motorcycle suicide bombing as

the 29th such attack by the taliban 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 eight traditional strong holds as it did back in late september or early october when it briefly held the northern steve of kunduz. >> the taliban advance says even if only temporary underscore this is a tough fight and it's far from over. it's also a dynamic fight. >> reporter: defense second ash carter was in afghanistan last week to meet with his stop commander there general john campbell who can lidly admitted to reporters the fledge league african security forces are strugth. >> u.s. army has been around for 200 years, the afghan army has been around for seven are eight years, we are trying to build an airplane while in flight. >> reporter: a just-leased

report offered a harsh assessment of the last the progress. despite being far better armed and train afghans rhode island are reluctant to track the taliban if in to their save half ens. >> there are stat and i can taken casual can is, we building wok on those. the u.s. is no longer providing airstrikes one of the findings of the investigation in to the mistaken bolling of the doctors without borders hospital in kahn deuce is that the mission never should have been authorized, u.s. air power is supposed to be used to protect u.s. troops on the ground or afghan troops in extreme distress. >> u.s. forces are helping from the air but not as much as in the past but that's part of the plan to get to the point where afghans are able provide their

own air support. >> reporter: the u.s. has been training afghan pilots for fly sample ground attack plain known as the 829 so afghanistan can provide its own air support. but the first group of spy let's lott is now only finish think training in georgia. >> let's get the latest live from kabul. what is the latest situation, abdullah? >> reporter: nick, we spoke earlier on the provincial police they arrived late on monday and starting the clearing operation, they said so far four ou outposs taken by the taliban have been retake bine the afghan forces a number of afghan forces who are under siege by taliban fighters are now free and they were --

they were delivered with food, water, and ammunition surprise. afghan special forces are moving in slowly, now we understand from the provincial police spokesperson that british troops are assisting afghan forces in this battle with the taliban. now british forces have fought for many years here. and they defended it after giving a heavy casualties. we have now winter has started in afghanistan and it -- and we see a spike in talibans' offensive which is not normal. compared to past few years. now, afghan forces without the nato's military might and air support is proving to be moving very slow against the taliban fighters who are gaining territory in the south or other

parts of the country. >> abdullah thanks very much indeed from that update from kabul. raleighing human rights lawyer in china is been found guilt any a trial over online posts. pu received a three-year suspended prison term by a court in beijing. he was arrested after posts he made on social media criticizing china's a government he's expected to to be released from prison where he has been held for 19 months. adrian brown sent this update from beijing. >> reporter: i think this verdict will come as a surprise to some people, because pu, one of the country's best known advocates for freedom of speech had been facing a sentence ranking from five to eight years. his crime was to post a number of tweets on social media here in china, lampooning the chinese leadership as well asking as rag questions about government policies in tibetan and the far west of china. he was found guilty of picking

quarrels and provoking troubles. he was arrested back in ma may 2014. as he was planning to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the tieniman square anniversary. he's spent 20 months in prison it's possible the judges felt that was punishment enough and possibly served as a warn to go other human rights activists but certainly this verdict will not harm the image of china's a government. amnesty international has issued a statement saying while the vert was a gross injustice, clearly it is a positive step that pu will not longer spend another night in jail. you don't mowed normally here amnesty international using the word positive in a sentence about human rights in china. >> let's now hear from william lee. >> the fact he's been found

guilty but given a suspended systems it's a slately positive given the context. but it's important to indicate he should never have been detained. you know, he committed no crime. the evidence they had against him was very flimsy and probably most worryingly is that since he's now been convicted after i crime he may not be able to practice law. there is a need to continue to monitor this situation. you know, he's taken on cases challenging the former reeducation through labor system. he took on many of the most important civil rights cases, the new citizens movement. so he's been a very important legal voice and also a very important critic, which is why the government probably went after his social media posts. to make a point that this type of criticism of our policies won't be allowed. it is a race against time as rescuers look through all mountain of mud for more than 80 people missing in southern china. a mudslide from an overfilled

waste dump sparked in for 33 buildings burying some of them. the government has ordered an investigation. this happened in a booming ma metropolis across from hong kong. rob mcbride has more. >> reporter: the search operation is continuing today, a second day, some 3,000 rescue workers are now said to have involved. they are using an array of different earth-moving equipment. also equipment used to detect signs of life we later surface. now the coordinator of the operation has said that in the past 24 hours or so, on six separate occasions they have detected what they think were signed of life, they have dug down below the surface, exploratory digs looking for survivors but as of yet they have found none. it does seem difficult to believe that people could still be alive under this suffocating wall of mud that swept through the buildings. but they have to work on the basis that some structures may still be intact. there may be air pockets, there that maybe two days on from this

tragedy there are survivors there, there are a number of people at the scene or nearby the scene waiting for any news of their loved ones and of course, there is still a question over just how many people are in fact missing the. 85 is the official total but a number of people who lived in that area who escaped, who were eyewitness to his what happened have said that numbers of families were completely swept away. all of them. so leaving nobody on the surface to report them as missing. so there is some question about what ultimately the toll will be from all of this. >> also in china beijing has woken up to another day of heavy pollution as the city's second red alert of the month continues. the chinese capital has been enveloped in thick and defense smog since saturday. the pollution particles have reached 20 times the level considered safe by the world leg organization. today is expected to be the last day of the current alert. in burkina faso the government has issued an international arrest war end for the out of thed leader blaise

cam pour a, over his alleged role in the murder of the ex-president in 1987. he was killed during a coup that brought cam pour a to power. third year an autopsy on a body said it was riddled with bullets. several reports have suggested that he was executed. he was called africa says. blaise campaore who now stands accused of being an accomplice in the murder is believed to be living in the ivory coast. he was driven from power last year by protesters after he tried to change the constitution to allow him to extend his 27-year rule. just over an hour greece's part lament will vote to whether to r*ez recognize palestine.

on monday abbas said they will issue passports. the currents passports are stamped with the word palestinian authority. palestinians have been raising money to help rebuild homes detroit by israel's army. since october at least 10 house have his been torn down part of a decades old policy of did he mall irving the homes of palestinians accused after tacking israelis. here is imtiaz tyab. >> reporter: these are the ruins of what was his home. it was demolished by the israeli military earlier this month. the rest of the multi-story building which he shared with his extended family, was also badly damaged. making large parts of it uninhabitable. he accused by israel of shooting dead a settler couple in okay. he's been in prison ever since. his wife says she doesn't know why she and her young son have been punished for a crime they didn't commit.

>> it's unfair but what can we do. my husband is in police and probably worried six about us. >> reporter: since october there has been a waiver of violence across israel and the occupied palestinian territories. at least 120 palestinians and a dozen israelis have been killed. israel has cracked down hard on the violence by making masa rests in palestinian areas and ordering the demolition. homes of spaling ti palestiniand of carrying out attacks, they have started raising money to help the affected families famis rebuild. more than $250,000 has been raised in a week. thousands of dollars worth of cop instruction surprise donated and offers of labor have also poured in. many here say they were motivated to off tore help because they were angry the palestinian authority wasn't doing more. >> translator: the idea was fueled mostly because of a lack of an official response. but a few days later on visuals

got involved. and that really encouraged us. >> reporter: israel's policy of demolishing palestinian home is his considered illegal under international law. and is described by human rights groups as nothing short of collectively punishment. it's also not new. from 1967 to 22005. hundreds of homes in the occupied territories were demolished as a punitive measure but it end ed in 2005 after senior military leaders said it didn't prevent violence and was legally questionable. prime minister benjamin net hugh brought backhousing demolitions as a policy around two years ago after the killing of teen-aged israeli settlers. since then dozens of palestinian houses have been detroit and in the last two months alone, 10 have been reduced to rubble. still that hasn't led to any meaningful slow down in the violence so if the policy is intended to to have a deterrent effect it doesn't appear to be working. imtiaz tyab, al jazeera, in the occupied west bank. still to come on the

program, it is boom time for cheap petrol in the united states, but there are fears of more oil companies could go bust. and washing away washington's waste. how an ambitions engineering project is cleaning up one the capital's rivers. when you're on hold, your business is on hold. that's why comcast business doesn't leave you there. when you call,

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>> "inside story" takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts, beyond the soundbites. we're giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is. ♪ ♪ hello again, the top stories here on al jazeera. afghan forces are trying to reclaim the southern district from the taliban. a police spokesman says dozens

of british soldiers are assisting afghan security forces there. a leading human rights lawyer in china has been found guilty in a trial over online posts. he received a three-year suspended prison term by a court in beijing. est arrested after posts he made on social media criticizing china's a government. pal spin vinnie president mahmoud abbas is expected to address the greek parliament. in just over an hour members of parliament will vote on whether to recognize it as an independent state. slaming western critics over a constitutional referendum that he can tend his term limits. his supporters say his out standing leadership led to the victory. but as malcolm webb reports it's not a view shared by all. >> reporter: the president hasn't said yet if he will run in the next presidential election in 2017. almost everyone here at the national dialogue event says they want him to.

he's been president since 2000. but effectively in power since his rebel group took power in 1994. it is meant to give hundreds a chance to air their views. >> this is an opportunity to observe how important matters are handled in our country. rwanda. that is inning clues i feel, transparently and ref. i. >> reporter: most orespectfully. >> reporter: most the people are full of praise. >> translator: we agree that only you should lead us, that we should remain on the course that we have been on. >> reporter: the whole vent is extremely well planned and choreographed. this temporary structure has been put up specially for security typically for rwanda is very well organized and the staffer are very disciplined. there is even video links connecting this venue here with

other venture eyes all over the country. this than speak from a rural district is great of the for the that bill. >> translator: we would have died but president resurrected us. >> reporter: no one here says anything critical. supporters say that's because he's such a good leader. critics point out that some opposition are in prison, others have been killed. the government denies it was involved. he fled to the united kingdom in the 1990s, he's frequently critical the rule. in 2011 the british police told him the rwandan government was trying to assassinate him. they him you remembered protection, again rwanda denies it and he still speaks out. >> they lead under extreme fear. they know the costs of expressing alternative view or

alternative voice. so they rather express the government denying in toured stay, you know, to be safe. >> reporter: but for many in rue kwan duh, political freedoms aside, the rule is still much better than the violent past. economic growth and development have been rapid. the critics say a small elite reap most of the benefits and by extending his presidency, he could ultimately bring the country back to the violence of the 1990s. but there is no sign of change here any time soon. malcolm webb, al jazeera, rwanda. panama's supreme court has issued an arrest warrant for form presser ricardo. he's a cased of ordering illegal wire taps on more than 150 people. including politicians and business men. he claims he has done nothing wrong and says he's a victim of what i called political persecution. haiti has post pointed its presidential runoff elect. it was supposed to take place on sunday of but now moved to

january. the run off was called after two candidates won in the field of 54 but neither had a majority in the october contest. action sayings of election fraud caused those results to be delayed and violent protests followed in the capital port-au-prince. in the united states, a grand jury has decided no to the return any indictments in the case of a black woman who was found dead in her prison same. sandra bland was arrester ed in july for allege enlargedly faio use her car's indicator officials said the 28-year-old hanged herself with a plastic bag after three days in jail. her family and others have questioned that account. iran has criticized a new united states visa restriction aimed at people who visited so-called high-risk countries, banning visa free travel to the united states for anyone who has visited or sold sid sen ship in syria, sudan, iraq and iran. some say it goes against a nuclear deal struck by a ran and

six world powers, it calls for normalizing trade and economic ties with iran. from the national iranian-american council and he says the restricts are a byproduct of the current political environment. >> it takes place with this backdrop of what donald trump is saying and sort of the outrageous xenophobic rhetoric that is happening in the presidential campaign. i think that this really is the product of this domestic political environment where there was such fear mongering on one side that the voices of reason were sort of drowned out and you have this really this provision that's not only going to undermine potentially the iran nuclear deal but applies to dual nationals and could trigger backlash for american dual nationals trying to travel to europe. it creates a mess and it really is a byproduct of the political environment that we are right now. as crude prices reach an 11-year low american motor i haves are enjoying the cheapest

prices in six years. it has slowed down drilling activity in the united states yet production is still flooding the mark. >> reporter: less than two years ago the oil fields of north dakota were proving a bonanza for businesses and job seekers alike. since then crude prices have falling by more than half and the boom is turning in to a bust for workers. >> i don't think it's the best time for someone to come now. the construction is pretty slow. so because by the end of this month, no more construction. >> reporter: the number of active oil rigged in north america as declined by american 60% in the past year. the oil glut is also taking a toll on companies that found themselves unable to cover their heavy capital cost with his cash flow. dozens of them have filed for bankruptcy protection this year. and if crude prices fail to recover in 2016, the casualty count could out number of the 60 north american drillers who failed after the 2008 financial crisis. yet everybody as saudi arabia

drives global prices lower by keeping up its own output american companies are barely slowing down their prediction. >> the average production this year will still be above 9 million-barrels a day. so the drop off is not viewed as precipitous. presumably the expectations are that overtime we'll probably see a slow reversal of that drop off. >> reporter: for more than 30 years the u.s. has banned all crude oil exports on grounds of national security. but last week president obama signed legislation that will let american crude be sold again on world markets. a move that its supporters say will not only give american producers a new outlet, as one u.s. senator from the oil-producing state of texas contends. >> while lifting the ban the u.s. can help offer our friends a chance to diversify their energy surprise and enhance their energy security. and avoid people like vladimir putin the opportunity to use oil

and gas and energy as a weapon. >> reporter: yet even while the u.s. is the world apt top crude producer it still di depends on imports mostly from canada and saudi arabia to satisfy all of its needs. so long as those countries keep their taps open the glut second peck today reap big savings for american motorists and make life even more difficult for its drill, he tom ackerman, al jazeera, washington. more than 32 trillion liters of raw sewage and toxic material flow no to u.s. waterways each ear in the capital of washington this river has long been a toxic channel of human waste and chemicals in the fourth part of our report on riverses, a report on how the local government is trying to stem the flow. >> reporter: this runs through some of the poorest areas in washington, d.c. the man who tests its sediment for toxic chemicals has a warning for those that take to its waters. >> don't fall in. >> reporter: this slow-moving 14-kilometer shallow waterway is

a particularly bad candidate for toxic dumping. but city authorities have allowed rain water to sweep in a mixture of i can to innings from roads, electricity plants and military installations since the 19 r*lt century. >> policy war bones, [ inaudible ] toxic medals, horn chlorine and die objection inning. >> reporter: the warnings against eating fish here are clear. yet a 2020 study found widespread consumption remember it's not just chemical run off it's also raw sewage, washington's 19, century pipe system connects sewer and pipe water it reaches capacity on rainy days, some seeps to the surface the rest is dumped straight in the rivers. 49 billion let, of diluted human waste phro*ez flows not refer each year. the city is building several more tunnels. >> on the other side of these

air locks. >> reporter: when the tunnel is completed it's open hoped that 98 pearls of the sewage will be divert not only from the river but the homes above. property prices are already rising in gentry identifying neighborhoods as the risk of flatting from the sewer system abates and hopes grow of a clean are river. for environmental assists the question is why it took two lawsuits to get the city to stop the flow of sewage. >> i little that there is certainly a confluence of gentrification and the improvement to water quality and it would be a real shame in the communities who have been deprived of a clean river all of these years were, you knowing pushed out and weren't able to actually enjoy the benefits and, you nyou know, there are already signs that ever happening. >> reporter: chavez is concerned that it took so long to begin work on these tunnel that his new higher models that take in to account climate change weren't part of planning of course evening using the old models nearly 200 million liters of untreated sue i'm will still

flow in the river when the tunnels are complete sometime after 2025. and toxic storm runoff won't cease well beyond that. >> it won't be in our lifetime the district is telling us they can't do any better than finish by 2154. >> reporter: these measures only deal with the flow of pollute to wants in the river and not any clean up. there is no time frame for that. as he said, try not to fall in. al jazeera, washington. lions in africa will be placed under the protection of the u.s. endangered species act meaning it will be harder for hunter to his bring trophies back to the united states call for change gained momentum after an american dentist shot and killed cecil the lion. peruvian chefs have been building a gingerbreadville anyone lima to support syrian refugees the project is raising money for the madrid based organization. working closely with refugees in

aleppo. they hope the cause behind the eight by eight-meter edible town will encourage people to be generous this christmas. all the news we are recovering, of course, on our website. plenty of comment and analysis there, aljazeera.com. is the address. aljazeera.com. shelter. in places that feel for. a different kind of border war. "america tonight" on the plight of those trapped between haiti and the dominican republic faced with alarm about what comes next. thanks for joining us i'm joie chen. border wars and migrants on the move. we've seen how that has played out.