>> have a great day and a better morning. the battle for ramadi, a big offensive to retake the city from isil. hello, you're with al jazeera live from doha. also to come on the program: the greek parliament votes to recognize palestinian as a state in the presence of president abbas. a grim milestone, the number of refugees coming into europe has hit the 1 million mark.

india's upper house approves a bill allowing juveniles to be tried as adults for serious crimes. >> first the iraqi military has begun an offensive to recapture rimadi from isil. the aim is to advance to the city center. the army sounded rimadi from all sides and is closing in oning armed group. isil seized it earlier this year. >> it is described as the final assault to recapture rimadi from isil. the iraqi military says its troops are moving in on the center of the city. the provincial capital of the

mainly sunni anbar province has been under isil control for months. for weeks, those forces have been trying to reach the main government complex, but rimadi is an urban battleground, progress has been slow. isil is fighting back, using suicide bombers. it is not known how many men the armed group has in the city, but iraqi intelligence believes there could be up to 300. there are also civilians trapped inside, and there are reports of casualties. the iraqi military dropped leaflets a few days ago, calling on people to leave, but isil is reportedly stopping them so they can use them as human shields. isil stormed rimadi in may. at the time, much of iraq's western province was already under the armed groups control. rimadi's fall was an embarrassment for the iraqi government. the iraqi army withdrew quickly. months later, they are back on the front lines.

a government spokesman said the fight is being led by iraqi special forces and paramilitary troops are not taking part. a member of parliament from the province said sunni tribal forces of involved. >> there is support from the tribal fighters, also. the attack was coordinated by -- they attack isil from areas they didn't expect it, so i think by the weekend, if everything goes as they plan, yes, they will retake it. >> rimadi is a strategic city on the doorstep of the capital baghdad and connects to jordan, on isil controlled territory across the border in syria. takingry dadi was isil's biggest victory this year. losing it would be a setback. this is a test for relying on iraqi ground troops in isil. victory here is not just about

defeating isil. it will determine if the shia led government in baghdad is able to win over anbar's community. al jazeera. >> rimadi is the capital of anbar, iraq's largest province. it helps isil establish supply lions from syria to iraq, allowing the group to bring in fighters and other equipment from their stronghold in raqqa through syria tory mati. the city is only 110 kilometers west of baghdad. an iraqi journalist and political analyst said the army is taking an inclusive approach with sunni fighters part of it. >> it's very hard to put time lines, but the expectation little a martyr of days, partly because many areas of rimadi have been cleared of daish or isil fighters. at the moment, where they're

moving towards is their actual headquarters, the former government complex. whether it's by the weekend or at least a matter of five, six days, it's not clear yet. what count's is of course what happens once they are inside the town center, what happens to the civilians. there has been some air cover from coalition forces, but that is being held off. they're trying not to use too much air power simply because there are still civilians inside and it's very hard when you're fighting a war that's a guerilla war. you do have the iraqi army taking the front line battles, and you also have tribal elements who are predominantly sunni arabs who are fighting with the army. that has been a change from what happened in tikrit that was cleared from isil, and so, there is some effort from the iraqi government and also the army with pressure also from the coalition that's led by the u.s. and others to make sure that these battles are not seen as

sectarian and no revenge attacks carried out. >> the greek parliament has voled to royce palestinian as a sovereign and independent state. the resolution is symbolic, non-binding. palestinian authority president abbas was present for the vote in athens. greece is now the 137t 137th country to recognize palestinian state hood. we have the latest from the greek capital. >> when you hear the words of president abbas hailing this moment as a historical one, it gives you an idea how the palestinians really feel about it, but president abbas also said that he feels proud to be at the greek parliament and he also said the releases between greece and the palestinians is historical and very, very close. now of course with the palestinians also it's very important to keep the moment going because over the last year, the british, the french, the spanish and the irish parliaments have also called on

their governments to recognize palestinian as an independent state. now, it is not expected, because it's non-binding resolution so therefore the government of alexis tsipras is not expect to follow suit, and recognize palestinian as an independent state. forbes loyal to yemen's government are closing in on the capital sanna. houthi rebels took control of the city in september last year. as the civil war continues, despite a ceasefire deal, eight organizations reckon that is four in five yemenese now need critical life sustaining supplies. we'll be hearing from the u.n. humanitarian chief, because he's about to brief the security council on the daish situation in yemen. we have the story of one family living in the capital city. >> behind this gate, this family used to feel safe. their home in the district was their castle.

for the past year, their lives have turned upside down. >> here, most of the families and people in towns and villages are worried about safety of their children. >> he has sent some of his children to safety. his family lives in constant fear. >> there is fear inside and outside the house. inside, we fear the house may collapse, and outside, we fear the bombing because of the on going war. >> at the market near the house, vendors set up rows of fruit under controlful umbrellas. this city has been under the control of houthi rebels since february. the seat of government has moved to the southern port city of aden. >> the country and people have been damaged. we used to be able to sleep at night, but now my seven children live in fear. the situation is getting worse. >> he used to make ends meet working two shifts a day as a

guard, now only works a few hours a day. >> my sally said insufficient, especially after the closure of factories and companies and because of the lack of resources and all revenue. the middle class people live in a dire situation. >> like many of his neighbors, his only hope is that piece negotiators can succeed. that life returns to normal, so that his family can be together again in their own safe corner of the world. al jazeera. to india now and the upper house of parliament has approved amendments to the juvenile justice law. this follows public outcry over the release of the youngest convict in the gang rape and murder of a medical student in 2012. live to our correspondent there in new delhi. tell us exactly what this amendment really means. >> well, effectively, this juvenile justice bill replaces

the juvenile justice act of the year 2000, so a law that was brought in place 14 years ago is now going to be replaced by this one. among other things, one of the most controversial pieces of law that's gone through this evening is that young offenders between the ages of 16 and 18 accused of a crime of the nature of the 2012 gang rape attack or murder will be tried as duties in some cases. that is hugely controversial across india. it's going to be something that is talked about for sometime to come. i should say in terms of the pros that while the upper house has now cleared the way for this to become an implementable law, it now has to go to the president of india. who will sign off on this and the government has to fashion a legal framework that can be used by the courts of india, so we're not sure yet when we'll see this implementation, however, it certainly has had quite an important moment this evening in

india. >> will this be enough then to satisfactory what seems to be thousands and thousands of people who have been up in arms about the release of this, the youngest convict in that horrendous case of 2012? >> i think there in lies the bigger, wider debate in india, a number of people observing this case and reactions across india have been talking about what does india really need, rotary bought aive or reactive legislation or reformative legislation. while there are quarters of indian society that will be happy with this, saying now is the right time for stronger laws to show some sense of deterrence for young offenders. on the other hand, there are people that were against this that said look, all laws are good in principle, but what about implementation. that's where india suffers in terms of challenges. there are many laws, including the rape laws and legislations that came after the 2012 gang

rape, the big question has been about the efficiency and infrastructure underpinning them and that's going to be one of the big pieces of debate going forward and that's not going to end anytime assume. >> thank you very much from new delhi. the passing of this amendment may even apply in this case, who knows, but there has been a verdict in another rape case where one of the accusers, a juvenile at the time of the crime, seven others have been sentenced to death in the northern state. the juvenile faces a separate trial. they are accused of raping and murdering a mentally disabled woman from nepal in february, hood come to india for medical treatment. government forces continue to fight the taliban in afghanistan's southern province. want army is advancing on the district which family to the taliban an monday. [ gunfire ] >> afghan forces regained some

outposts, but the main city remains under taliban control. it is one of the main centers of afghanistan's opium production. we've got a lot more to come here at al jazeera, including a prominent human rights protestors in china gets his sentence suspended. bring your family and friends together to discover the best shows and movies with xfinity's winter watchlist.

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let's have a look at the top stories here. the iraqi military said it's

begun offense to say recapture rimadi. it surrounded from all sides and is closing in on the armed group. isil seized rimadi earlier in the year. greece's parliament voted in favor of recognizing palestinian as an independent state. the resolution is symbolic, as it's northern binding. india's upper house passed an amendment to the juvenile justice act to allow justify night to be tried as duties for crimes like rape following protest over the release of the youngest convict in the 2012 gang rape and murder of a medical student in new delhi. the knoll organization for migration said a record 1 million refugees and migrants have now crossed into europe this year. more than 800,000 people have crossed into greece from turkey by sea.

almost 4,000 others have died trying to get across the mediterranean in europe's worst refugee crisis since the second world war. we are joined live with our guest from washington, d.c. thank you for join us. that's very much how 2015 will go down, the year in which the world saw more people moving from one place to another since the aftermath of the second world war. >> absolutely, and most of these people, let's remember are fleeing war, fleeing for their lives, fleeing terrorism. it's a shocking, shocking reality. indeed yesterday, we saw over 4,000 people alone cross into greece. >> as you say, the main driver of this mass movement of humanity is conflict, and the vast majority of those is that 1 million figure are fleeing

syria. >> the largest number of fleeing syria, but also coming from afghanistan and we heard your report, also coming from across africa. not all of fleeing violence. some are now fleeing what you call climate change, people who can no longer grow crops on their land and survive and are moving on. it's a contributory factor. people are fleeing boko haram, but the overwhelming majority of fleeing syria. >> what's been interesting this year, leonard, has been the debate surrounding the terminology we use, migrant versus refugee, and indeed, those people who leave the country versus those who are displaced within their own country. >> it's a very important distinction. the refugee is a person entitled to protection because he or she is under direct threat and there are conventions to protect them. indeed, the vast majority of

those coming through are refugees, all seeking asylum. what's important to remember, though, is that many don't fall into that category and need protection. they could be unaccompanied minors, seeking family reunification or started out as economic migrants but about him abused by the militias and by the time they get to europe, they need protection. >> perhaps more alarming even than the situation we've just looked at is the fact that 2016 doesn't seem to offer change or hope in terms of conflicts being resolved. >> i think it's going to be much tougher for the migrants with that the europe bees have put a lot of money bolstering the border. that's seen in crack downs on smuggling. the price of moving across the aegean is going up.

we may see lower numbers but higher debts. we've seen thousands dying trying to get to europe. these are people entitled to protection. >> thank you very much for joining us live from washington, d.c. a leading chinese human rights lawyer has been given a three year suspended sentence after found guilty of disturbing public order and inciting ethnic hatred. the lawyer criticized the ruling communist party on line. >> china's judiciary rarely delivers a surprise verdict, but this was unexpected, and so in a way was this. he apologized for the comments that landed him in court. he's now effectively a free man, and had been facing up to eight years in jail after found guilty of provoking trouble and

inciting ethnic hatred, charges he denied. it was his posts on social media that got him into trouble. they poked fun at china's communist leaders and criticized government policies in the troubled regions of tibet. just as his trial opened weeks ago, journalists and diplomats were manhandled outside the courthouse. supporters risked arrest just being there. >> china's state media didn't report the opening of the trial, but its t.v. networks were the first to report the verdict with the emphasis on the sentence rather than the reprieve. >> china's moving toward rule of law. we don't have a perfect record in terms of rule of law. what we have is a rule of politics and law, however the overall trend is clear we are moving the right direction. it may still take years or months or decades. >> among supporters who include an artist, there were mixed

feelings. they welcomed his release but argued it was an injustice to hold him in detention for 20 months. >> we have caused to not recognize this. even though he has been given a suspended sentence, from a legal perspective, he has been punished, because in the future he can't be a a lawyer. >> the fact that he's been given a suspended sentence is a slightly positive given the context, but it's important to indicate he should never have been detained. he committed no crime. the evidence they had against him of the very flimsy. >> the guilty verdict additional qualifies him from practicing law, and the strict conditions of his release mean he could be returned to jail if he provokes the authorities again. adrien brown, al jazeera, beijing. >> rescuers have dug out the first body from the massive landslide.

3,000 rescues are searching for survivors in a race against time. eighty people are still missing after a giant mudslide smashed into buildings, burying them. rob mcbride reports. >> the rescue teams say it is a race against time, as the hours tick by, hopes fade for those missing. some eyewitnesses say the number of victims could be much higher than the official estimate, with reports of whole families swept away, leaving no one to report them lost. >> after verification on december 22, 76 people in total are still missing, of whom 51 are male and 25 female, 73 people's identities have been verified among the 76. >> as the scale of this tragedy becomes clear, so, too, does the apparent eagerness to limit reporting. it hasn't stopped media in mainland china asking tough

questions, like why this site was still operating months after told to close down. >> this tragedy raised wider concerns about safety standards as other sites around the country which have sprung up to contain the massive soil waste and given the amounts of money involved, safety standards have been bypassed or simply not enforced. >> what worries engineers in particular is this tragedy took place in a city considered one of china's most modern and progressive. >> in fact, it is not the worst city. i'm afraid that in many other sectors there are probably worst cases, so we are probably waiting to see disasters to happen, unfortunately, unless the central government is able to increase accountability of the city officials all around china. >> the officials who are linked to this site will certainly be

held to account by a central government looking for swift retribution, but it has taken a tragedy for that to happen. rob mcbride, al jazeera, hong kong. >> two survivors have been pulled from the sea in eastern indonesia three days after of the ferry they were on sank. at least three people are known to have died, but rescue officials say there is little hope of finding the 74 still missing. the boat was carrying 110 passengers and 12 crew. >> egypt has hired a british cultancy firm to help tighten security at its airports in response to the crashing of a russian airliner in the sinai peninsula in october. 1424 people onboard were killed. russia says a bomb brought down the plane. >> we entered into a contract with an independent third party, and genuine efforts by the civil aviation ministry, along with other competent authorities to

maintain tight grip on security measures. >> now there's been a run on the banks in azerbaijan after the country's currency lost 30% have value. they blame falling oil prices. major retailers shut shop saying they'd have to respond to the move by raising prices immediately. the security forces in burundi have been accused of carrying out dozen was extra judicial killings. amnesty international says the police and military were responsible for many deaths on one of the worst days have violence earlier in december. these 87 people were killed after three military bases were attacked by gunman. >> burkina faso's government issued an international arrest warrant for the former president for his alleged role in the murder of the ex-president in 1987. he was killed during a coup that

brought him to power. the warrant was issued after an autopsy on a body believed to be his shown riddled with bullets. >> gold and diamonds are used to finance conflict in the central african republic. the kimberly process was put in place to keep so-called blood diamonds off the market, but gold is proving much more difficult to trace. we have a report now from c.a.r. >> every day, at 7:00 a.m., these men come to dig for gold in one of the world's poorest countries. he started working at the mine a year 1/2 ago after his father was killed in the civil war. >> the income here is good. some of us collect money so can go back to school. others just want enough to be able to return to their villages and have a comfortable life. >> the war which started three

years ago between muslim and christian militias cost thousands of lives. the fighting has now stopped, but divisions run deep between communities. however, in this mine, muslims and christians work side by side. >> my work here with my three brothers for three months now, it is our only chance to feed our family. >> this mine, which creates a small amount of jobs is part of the bigger problem. human rights groups say rebels from all sides are using mines to buy weapons and fund their operation. >> now in the west of the country, where you have a diamond industry that has kept on paying fighters for protection or for the simple operation of their mines and also in the east, where you have several groups mainly muslim rebels who have used mines to

fund their operations in the country. >> the central african republic exported half a million carats of diamonds in 2013. the same year, it was placed under the kimberly process, which forbids the sale of blood diamonds. it's impossible to trace precious metals such as gold. >> it's very difficult to find and trace back where gold comes from especially once melted. >> for workers, toil in tougher conditions, they are just trying to put food on the table for their families. >> chefs in the peru capital

lima have been building a gingerbread village in support of syrian refugees. they are trying to raise money for a specific spanish charity working with refugees in aleppo. facing justice, former army sergeant bowe bergdahl goes before a military judge. the charges that could land him in jail for life. no indictment in sandra bland's death in a texas jail. the family wants answers. a landmark landing ushers in a new era of commercial