syrian activists say five civilians were killed in a gas attack near damascus. welcome. i'm jane dutton. also coming up in the program, a wanted man russia issues an international arrest warrant for former oil tycoon and critic of the kremlin. hauled from the rubble more than 60 hours after land slide in southern china, rescuers find a survivor. an e.u. court upholds the block's tough new laws on

tobacco products. reports that a gas attack in syria has killed at least five civilians south-west of the capital damascus. medical sources think that gas, one of the world's most lethal chemical weapons, was used in the city. more than 30 people are reported to have suffered acute health problems. >> reporter: this is not the first time there have been reports of gas used as a weapon in syria. opposition sources say these people were exposed to gas when government helicopters fired missiles in the residential area. that rebel held neighborhood on the outskirts of damascus has been a battleground for some time now. it is also under siege by government forces. >> translation: these rockets were carrying the gas and as a result five people were killed, including a 12-year-old boy.

more than 30 injured. mostly civilians. the gas was used in the western neighborhood of the city. the victims showed certain symptoms such as runny nose, saliva and later developed into bleeding, shortness of breath and diluted eye pupils. this caused the death of the five victims. >> reporter: one of the area was the opposition controlled areas where chemical agents were deployed against the population in 2013. hundreds of people were killed. a u.n. investigation team later confirmed sarron had been used. it didn't blame any side, but many western governments said the forces loyal to the syrian government were responsible. a deal was later reached between russia and the u.s. to destroy syria's chemical weapons arsenal. syria's equipment for producing mixing and filling chemist cam weapons had been destroyed. since then there have been

reports of chemical attacks. in october this year the opcw concluded that mustard gas had been used in aleppo province. the fact-finding mission was not mandated to assign any blame, but the area had seen fighting between i.s.i.l. and an opposition group. diplomats said the findings added to evidence that i.s.i.l. had obtained and is using chemical weapons in both iraq and syria. that wasn't the only attack investigated in the syrian province in idlib there were several incidents between march and may which likely involved the use of one or more toxic chemicals clueing chlorine. the opposition blamed government forces. the envoy to the chemical watchdog has warned that the use of to beingics weapons is becoming common in the syrian war. the syrian government is failing to declare its stock pile amnesty international says russia's air raids over syria

have killed hundreds of civilians and could constitute war crimes. the rights group has also accused russian and syrian forces of using cluster bombs over the last few months. the reports concentrates on homs, idlib and aleppo. it has killed at least 200 civilians and a dozen fighters. the latest air strikes believed to be carried out by russian jets have killed at least 35 civilians, the attack took place in a busy market near damascus. >> reporter: they can barely believe what has just happened. air strikes thought to have been carried by russian war planes have flattened a busy market full of people. in the moments after the attack, panic sweeps through the area. there are dead bodies everywhere and people are rushing to find survivors. they check if this man is alive.

he is not so they move on looking for injured people to help. this is in the damascus countryside. people who live here say fighting between syrian government forces and opposition fighters has been nonstop for two months. they say the syrian regime is trying to break the deadlock with the help of russian air strikes. >> translation: this is from the a gym of bashar al-assad. this is what is happening to us-- regime of bashar al-assad. where are you brothers? >> reporter: russia began bombing syria in september. it says it's targeting i.s.i.l. but the institute of the study of war, a u.s. based think tank, says the campaign has mainly hit syrian groups. >> translation: the russian and syrian air strikes have increased recently. they pretend they're targeting the terrorists, but most of the people killed are women and

children. >> reporter: these are scenes that the people of syria have become familiar with. what started as an uprising against the government has long descended into civil war. that cycle of violence is played out across the country for almost five years now and killed at least 200 thousand people iraqi soldiers are battling to recapture the key city of ramadi from i.s.i.l. the military says it is trying to enter the center of ramadi. they claim to have taken a few neighborhoods at the eastern outskirts of the city. i.s.i.l. stormed ramadi in may. an iraqi mp from the province >> there is a big fight now in the down town of ramadi between the ramadi army, special force, tribal fighters and local iraqi police. they are all together fighting in this moment to retake the

government building in the center of ramadi. they are doing very good progress. even it is very slow but it is very well organized and very well coordinated between the local iraqi bodies, iraqi army and the air strike from the international coalition. so we hope in three/four days, maybe, ramadi will be liberated from i.s.i.s. and it will be the next step to come back to the normal life in ramadi. the area is in catastrophic state in reality. in ramadi it was occupied by i.s.i.s. more than six months. it was sieged by the iraqi army.

the citizens who stayed inside ramadi from the humanitarian situation, it is unbelievable. it is out of imagination. they live on nothing. they used all their storage from rice, tea. on our information they don't have nothing now to live on, so i think after the military battles will end, we will face big humanitarian crisis afghan police say 570 soldiers have joined security forces battling the taliban in helmand. they tried to recapture the town of sangin which fell to the taliban on monday. it is an important town because of its production and was a

taliban stronghold. the police chief says at least 60 taliban fighters were killed over night on tuesday and four military personnel have also died. the afghan government has confirmed british soldiers have arrived in helmand. a small number of u.k. personnel have been sent in an advisory role it is advised. >> translation: a group of british forces have been deployed in helmand to participate in the resolute support mission. they will support and help afghan security forces as advisers and they will not participate in the military operations. military operations is the task of afghan security forces a russian court has issued an arrest warrant for former oil tyco shall oon. miss offices were raided and documents confiscated. he was arrested in 2003 and then

released in 2013 after a special pardon from president putin. peter sharp has more from pas co >> reporter: the international arrest warrant was issued by a moscow court a few hours ago. it comes just 25 hours after armed police raided the offices of his pro democracy movement open russia, an organization that he supports while in exile. he has been particularly outspoken over the last few days. he said that vladimir putin has driven russia to a position where revolution is inevitable and necessary. he says that corrupt courts are dealing with local citizens. he says that russia's foreign policy is suicidal. you may remember that he was jailed in 2003 over legislation which was widely seen as

punishing him for defying vladimir putin. he served 10 years in jail and was released in 2013 just before the olympics and just went to germany there where he is in exile in switzerland now still ahead on al jazeera, zimbabwe's government threw white farmers off their land but now the beneficiaries of that policy are feeling the squeeze. a street artist turns to unusual means to portray the impact of development. >> scientists are studying el nino from space and the oceans. >> when the pacific speaks... everybody better listen. >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science...

>> this is what innovation looks like. >> can affect and surprise us. >> i feel like we're making an impact. >> let's do it. >> techknow - where technology meets humanity.

>> "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.

welcome back. the top stories on al jazeera. kiists are accusing the syrian government of carrying out a gas attack near the capital damascus. at least five civil yaps have been killed and dozens injured. in june 2014 international watchdog opcw said the last of syria's chemical weapons had been shipped out of the country. iraqi soldiers are fighting to recapture ramadi from i.s.i.l. they say they have taken a few anybodied. the eastern outskirts of the city. i.s.i.l. stormed ramadi in may. a russia court has issued an international arrest warrant for khodorkovsky. he is an outspoken kremlin critic. a 19-year-old has been pulled

alive from the rubble of a subject land slide from the southern chinese city. he had been trapsed under a collapsed building since sunday. a huge pile of construction waste smashed into buildings in an industrial park. adrian brown reports from beijing. >> reporter: alive against all the odds. trapped under debris for almost three days. he is a migrant worker aged 19. his voice and pulse were feeble when rescuers finally reached him raising their morale and those of local people >> it is a miracle. a man was rescued alive. we were very happy when we heard about it. >> reporter: he had been in the office of a factory when the mud slide happened on sunday morning. a man found close to him was dead. doctors are hopeful he will recover, but his injuries are

serious. >> translation: he is severely debilitated and dehydrated. he has a crush injury on his right lower limb. >> reporter: at the rescue site frantic efforts to find more survivors have intensified. search teams are using sensors to locate signs of life. letter also finding more bodies. the operation has also begun to affect local businesses. >> translation: we cannot go out now. we cannot transfer the goods in and out of this area. there is no guarantee for our lives. many workers have to eat and there is no power supply now. >> reporter: the deluge of mud and construction waste engulfed more than 30 buildings in an industrial zone. it happened after heavy rains dislodged the man-made pile that had been there several years. now a senior fish of the firm-- official of the firm that managed the dump has been arrested. state media say that a local

government report had identified storage problems at the site months ago, working of a catastrophe. a catastrophe that has now happened at least two people have been killed in a land slide in central peru. heave rains caused the hill side to give-way spilling on to parts of the highway and-- heavy rains. land slides and avalanches in area kills dozens of people and destroys hundreds of homes every year. 76 people are still missing at sea after passenger ferry capsized in central indonesia. the boat went missing off the coast of the island on saturday. three people are confirmed dead. 41 others have been rescued. thailand's military government has delivered a report card on its performance over the past year. it signalled that it is still on

track to hand over power in 2017, but as wayne hay reports, some doubts remain. >> reporter: the man who led the coup is still thailand's prime minister. former army chief, he delivered his year-end report and confirmed he is still working towards an election in 2017. >> translation: we have one year and six months at least. the government will will be laying the ground work for the stuff we haven't done. >> reporter: but many still fear the military will break that promise and try to stay in power. if it does, some analysts say an economy that is already struggling in many areas could worsen. there is still unrest particularly in the poorest areas. >> people have been putting up with this for a long time. they couldn't survive. >> reporter: in september a military-appointed panel voted against a new constitution.

that meant another delay it to elections until 2017 as the document is redrafted. it led to accusations that the entire process was a staged delaying tactic. in fact, the general has at times threatened to stay in power indefinitely. >> reporter: the prime minister and his government have embarked on a vote to promote thainess. anyone critical of the government is accused of being un-thai or of harming the country. cases of people arrested on charges of insulting the monarchy have been increasingly common. the military has been accused of rights abuses. it is said measures has been taken to protect an ongoing system of reform. >> translation: they would obstruct the reform process and people violate it. it makes it look like i violate

human rights. these laws are there because we're still in the reform process. if it was a normal situation, i wouldn't be stand hearing. >> reporter: for many normality means democracy which is still 18 months away, but given the military's reluctance to stay out of politics, it might not be the type of democracy people are hoping for the u.n. special envoy for yemen has told the security council distrust between warring factions is a major stumbling block for peace. talks aimed at ending the conflict finished without an agreement. according to the u.n. close to six thousand people have been killed since march. it is calling for a stronger ceasefire deal and greater support for the mediation efforts after renewed talks next month. >> translation: tragically we were not able to preserve peace throughout the talks.

we did see a reduction of violence. in the first days there were numerous violations reported by the committee. the lack of compliance with the cessation of hostilities demonstrates the need for stronger agreement as well as for more robust mechanisms to ensure adherence the u.n. human rights commissioner says a large number of civilians have died from air strikes by the saudi led coalition. the alliance has been bombarding areas controlled by houthi rebels for the past nine months. a rebel leader in central african republic has withdrawn his opposition to crucial election this weekend. deputy commander of the rebel group known as the celeca, seized power in 2013 which triggered violence between the country's muslim and christian communities. it is hoped the presidential election on sunday will help to end the conflict.

hundreds of farmers - thousands of farmers in zimbabwe have been slapped with higher taxes. they were resettled on land seized from white owners, but the high costs of managing the land has left many struggling. a report that many fear will lose their property. >> reporter: this man is already paying land tax to his rural district council. he is one of about 300 thousand new farmers resettled on land seized from white farmers. they want him to may more tax. >> they are asking for more money in tax. the farmer also wants to survive. they need some payment. >> reporter: the new additional land tax is between $3 and $10 a hectare. individuals with more than one thousand hectares of land could end up paying tens of thousands of dollars in annual rent. wichlt wish that the level-- we wish that the level of rent is

reduced so that the farmer remains viable. >> reporter: resettled farmers with permits and the 9 year leases have been warned they could lose their farms if they don't comply with the new legislation. some farms are not being fully utilised. it says the farming is a business and they work harder. the new farmers who are struggling say high electricity costs, low crop prices and lack of access to bank loans is to blame for their underperformance >> i think it is a way of almost domestically keeping resources. i think cubs are going that route as a way of-- countries are going that way to increase the revenue base in the country. i think it is positive. it will also result in the intensification of land use in zimbabwe. >> reporter: this man doesn't agree. this season he is planting on 12

hectares of land. he says the seeds, labor and other supplies like fertilizer will cost him more thand 20,000, money he is still trying to raise. -- than the country is also announcing it will make china's currency the yuan legal tender. zimbabwe abandoned its own currency in 2009 after inflation left their dollar worthless. china is zimbabwe's biggest trading partner and its largest investor. starting next year there will be a lot more warnings on cigarette packs sold across europe. that's after a group of tobacco companies lost a legal battle to stop strikeer branding-- strict branding rules from coming into courts. >> reporter: a blow for the tobacco industry as more and more countries try to force

cigarette brands to cover up their valuable logos. australia led the way three years ago with stae stark warnings and brand names written in standardised lettering. it cost smoking rates by 15%. from next year under european union ledge legislation. 65% of the packet will be covered in warnings >> there is good evidence that health warnings do work in terms of deterring young people from taking up smoking and helping adults smokers to quit. text washings are fine, but picture warnings are more powerful >> reporter: the u.k., ireland and france are going beyond the e.u. directive. like australia they're also introducing plain logoless packaging early next year, soming that tobacco giants are determined to fight. several leading companies all filed lawsuits here at the high court in london, a verdict is

expected in january. they also appealed to the european court of justice in luxemberg claiming that the white labelling contravened trade obligations. it has been ruled against the companies. they're now more likely to be defeated in the u.k. around other european courts. >> this is a man who smokes cigarettes. >> reporter: in the past tobacco companies advised their products free-- advertised their products freely. they were encouraged to smoke at breakfast, after sport, even in the shower. informed most countries have banned television tobacco ads replacing them with hard hitting health warnings >> every 15 cigarettes you smoke will cause a mutation. >> reporter: smoking is believed to cost the british economy around $20 billion a year in reduced productivity and treating diseases.

much more than the $14 billion the u.k. makes from tax in the industry. the court decision is expected to be made final in a few months time. with turkey and canada also likely to introduce plain packaging, tobacco companies continue it feel the squeeze you wouldn't normally associate art with explosives and hammer drills, but one street artist is turning to unconventional techniques to portray the consequences of development around the world. he is currently focusing on hong kong. sarah clarke reports >> reporter: his studio may be indoorss, but he prefers exterior walls on older buildings to exhibit his arts >> i think cities have a lot to gain by giving space to artists to create in it. not just for the cultural life but also for the fact that it makes life more interesting in the cities. >> reporter: he is an internationally recognised

graffiti artist known by most. instead of spray cans he now uses chisels and drills, even controlled explosions to create oversized important traits in public spaces all of which are legally approved >> it's like an archeology process. digging in the layers you expose history. you make the inindividualible visible. this is one of the mostive-- inland regional center visible visible. it is the history that he wants to capture in his art >> i try not to reflect on the big shiny buildings, but on the shadows. i think the shadow is where the message work is. that's what interests me and where i want to put the focus on. >> reporter: this building was once a bus cotton mill in honourable kang. it is being turned into a creative and cultural hub.

the owners invited him to document the building's transformation >> it's something that we feel proud of. it's injecting a little different energy into the neighborhood and the community that it interacted with received in positively >> reporter: it's not just hong kong. his works are featured around the world from malaysia to spain, brazil and the united states. the theme of his collection remain the same. to reflect on city's changes and pace of development when uncovering some of its past. what once started as an act of rebellion has won this artist an international following that continues to grow. >> this is one of the most influential young street artists of our time. he has developed a strong following in the contrary art world which is why the foundation decided to bring him to hong kong. he has proven himself in the contrary art scene as an artist worth watching out of the urban art context. >> reporter: while a lot of his

works are temporary installations, with the changing face of asia he says he won't be short of inspiration. sarah clark, hong kong that's it for this bulletin, but the website never sleeps. al jazeera.com i'm ali velshi "on target" recruited for cash. american hero handing over hard earned money for college degrees that employers don't respect slow track to safety, what is keeping rail roads installing technology that could save lives few industries in america had a worse year than for-profit colleges. you have probably seen the stories, exposing high tuition an