have a good weekend. >> syrian activists say five civilians are killed in a gas attack near damascus. hello and welcome live from doha. also coming up in the next 30 minutes, a wanted man, russia issues an international arrest warrant for the former oil tycoon and critic of the kremlin. more than 60 hours after a landslide in southern china, a survivor is pulled from the rubble. zimbabwe's government takes white farmers off their land but

neither beneficiaries of that policy are feeling the squeeze. we start this half hour of world news with those reports that a gas attack in syria killed five civilians southwest of damascus. medical sources think that sarin gas, one of the world's most lethal chemical weapons was used in the attack. more than 30 people are reported to have suffered acute health problems. we have the story. >> this is not the first time there have been reports of goose 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 sometime now. it's also under siege by government forces. >> these rockets were carrying sarin gas and as a result, five

people were killed, including a 12-year-old boy and more than 30 injured, mostly civilians. the sarin gas was used in the western neighborhood of the city. the victims showed certain symptoms such as running nose, saliva, and later developed into bleeding, shortness of breath, and badly diluted eye pupil. this caused the death of the 560s. >> it was one of the opposition controlled areas in the countryside where chemical agents were deployed in 2013. hundreds of people were killed. a u.n. investigation team later confirmed sarin had been used. it didn't blame any side, but many western governmentles said the forces loyal total syrian government were responsible. a deal was later reached between russia and the u.s. to destroy syria's chemical weapons arsenal. the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons then confirmed that syria's equipment for producing mixing and filling chemical weapons had

been destroyed. since then, however, there have been reports of chemical attacks. in october, this year, the opcw concluded mustard gas was used in a town in aleppo province. the mission was not mandated to assign blame but had fighting between isil and on opposition group. it added to evidence that isil had obtained and is using chemical weapons in iraq and syria. that wasn't the only attack investigated. in the syrian province of idlib there were several incidents between march and may which the fact finding mission said likely involved the use of one or more toxic chemicals including chlorine. the opposition blamed government forces. the u.s. envoy to the chemical weapons catch dog warned that the use of chemical weapons is becoming common in the syrian war. voices growing louder accusing the syrian government of failing to declare its whole stockpile.

al jazeera. amnesty international said russian air raids in syria have killed hundred of civilians and could be treated as war crimes. forces are accused of using cluster bombs. the report focuses on attacks in homs, idlib in september and november that killed at least 200 civilians and a dozen fighters. russia began its military campaign in syria in september in support of bashar al assad. the latest airstrikes believed to be carried out by russian jets killed 35 civilians. the attack took place at a busy market. we have this report. they can barely believe what's happened. a busy market full of people has been flat thatted. panic sweeps through in the moments after the attack.

people are rushing to find survivors. they check if this man is alive. people who live here say fighting between government forces and opposition fighters has been non-stop for two months. they say the syrian regime is trying to break the deadlock with the help of russian airstrikes. >> this is from the regime of bashar al assad. this is what's happening to us. where are you, muslim brothers? where are you? >> russia began bombing syria in september. it says it's targeting isil, but the institute for the study of war, a u.s. based think tank said the russian air campaign has mainly hit syrian opposition groups. >> the russian and syrian airstrikes on the east have increased recently.

they pretend they are targeting the terrorists, but most people killed are women and children. >> 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 has played out across the country for almost five years now and killed at least 200,000 people. al jazeera. the leader of turkey's pro kurdish opposition party said it was wrong for the military to shoot down a russian fighter jet. he is meeting the russian foreign minister in moscow. turkey targeted a russian fighter jet last month after accusing it of violating turkish territory. a russian court has issued an international arrest warrant for a former oil tycoon and outspoken critic of the kremlin who founded the pro democracy

movement called open russia. armed russian police raided his offices and confiscated documents. he was accused of organizing a contract killing. he was previously arrested in 2003 after he fell out with vladimir putin. he was released two years ago and is in exile in switzerland. al jazeera's peter sharp with more. >> the international arrest warrant was issued by a moscow court a few hours ago. it comes 24 hours after armed police raided the offices was his pro democracy movement open russia, an organization that he supports while in exile. court cross key has been particularly outspoken. its that corrupt courts are dealing with local citizens. he said that russia's foreign

poles is suicidal. he may remember that khodorkovsky was jailed in 2003 after legislation widely seen as punishing him for defying vladimir putin. he served 10 years in jail and was reds in 2013 just before the sochi olympics and just went to germany there, where he's in exile in switzerland now. india's prime minister has arrived in russia on a two day visit to attend the annual summit between the two countries. talks with the russian president will cover the economy and politics. the countries are expected to manufacture around 200 military helicopters together. israeli police say two palestinians have stabbed three people in east jerusalem. bat attackers were called. the area has been closed off. 131 palestinians and 20 israelis have been killed in the violence

across the palestinian territories and israel. the french prime minister has outlined proposals to change the constitution. the plans could see special policing powers put in place under the recent state of emergency. it was brought in after the november paris attacks that left 130 dead. the bill includes a proposal that would allow the government to strip people convicted on terrorism charges of their french nationality if they have dual nationality. >> it's a heavy sanction which our nation can legitimately put on someone who has acted in this way. it is a denial of any will to live together with our addition stings between origins or faith. a 19-year-old has been pulled alive from the mudslide in china. he was trapped since sunday.

more than 70 people are still missing after a huge pile of construction waste smashed into buildings in the industrial park there. we have this report from beijing. >> alive against all the odds. trapped underdebris for almost three days, the man is a migrant worker, age 19. his voice and pulse were feeble when rescuers finally reached him, raising their morale and those of local people. >> it's a miracle, a man was rescued alive. we were so happy when we heard about it, very happy. >> he had been in the office of a factory when the mudslide happened on sunday morning, but a man found close to him was dead. doctors are hopeful tian will recover, but his injuries are serious. >> he is severely debilitated and dehydrated.

he sustained multiple injuries including soft tissue injuries, bone fractures and a severe crash injury on his right lower limb. >> at the rescue site, frantic efforts to find more survivors have intensified. search teams are using sensors to locate signs of life. they are also finding more bodies. the operation has also begun to affect local businesses. >> we cannot go out now. we can't transfer 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. >> the deluge of mud and construction waste engulfed more than 30 buildings in an industrial zone. it happened after heavy rains dislodged the manmade pile that had been there several years. now, a senior 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, warning of a catastrophe, a catastrophe that

has now happened. aidrian brown, al jazeera, beijing. we'll take you to the central african republic where a public leader seems to have made a you turn concerning the upcoming elections. stringent new laws on cigarette package labeling.

>> "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. activists accuse the syrian

government of carrying out a sarin gas attack near damascus. five civilians were killed, dozens injured there. in june of 2014, the international watchdog, the opcw said the last of syria's chemical weapons had been shipped out of the country. amnesty national said russian air raids in syria killed hundreds of civilians and could be treated as war crimes. they are accused of using cluster bombs over the past few months. a russian court issued an international arrest warrant for nuke cough khodorkovsky. >> progress is slow, but iraqi

security forces close in on isil fighters in the center of ramadi city. the government is portraying the battle as a final push to recapture the capital of anbar province. spirits of high. >> it is very well coordinated between the iraqi police and army, and the air strike from the international coalition. >> according to iraqi intelligence, there are just a few hundred rebels left in ramadi, a sharp drop from when isil stormed the city in may, striking its biggest blow to the government. iraqi forces have been trying to reenter the city since early november. they say they've now weeded out fighters from two residential neighborhoods and moving through booby trapped streets towards the town center.

they hope for victory within days. >> forces have been trained and ready to hold the ground after liberation of the city. this is going to be a great boost for the iraqi forces morale, and great advance and progress in the fight against isis. >> the shia led government cut off supplies to ramadi for months now, an attempt to choke isil fighters. it's made life worse fortress dents in this mainly sunni city. winning back the city's one thing, winning over the people will be a different matter altogether. gerald tan, al jazeera. the king of saudi arabia has once again laid out reasons for targeting houthi rebels in yemen. riyadh has been leading an offense. he said the houthi's threaten the security of saudi arabia's

neighboring states in an families to implement regional interest seeking to interfere in the internal affairs of arab countries by turning yemen into a hotbed of doctrinal conflict. the u.n. human rights commission said a large number of civilians died from airstrikes by the saudi-led coalition. u.n. members urged the coalition to ensure lawful and discriminant targeting. the u.n. special envoy for yemen toward the security council that distrust between the warring factions is a major stumbling block to peace. he made the comments after talks finished without agreement. close to 6,000 people have been killed since the month of march.

>> tragically, we were not able to preserve the cessation of hostilities through the length of the talks, although we did see a significant reduction of silence. in the first days there were numerous violations. the lack of compliance with the cessation of hostilities demonstrates the need for most robust mechanisms to ensure adherence. >> the afghan ministry of defense said the army is still battling to retake a town from the taliban. hundreds of soldiers are helping to break the siege. taliban fighters captured the town on tuesday. the province was once the stronghold of the rebel fighters. the taliban said it's also captured another district in the western province. the afghan government confirmed british soldiers have now arrived. the british ministry of defense said a small number of u.k. personnel have been sent in an advisory role. the taliban responded, saying it will fight back against what is

called british invaders. guinea's president said the prime minister and his government resigned, saying they stepped down to allow his soon to be appointed cabinet to take over. conde won a reelection in october in a controversy vote the opposition says was rigged. they pose a real threat to the possibility of a peaceful election here in central african republic. he had declared an autonomous state in the countries northeast and vowed to disrupt the election by any means possible. in a surprise move, he says he

supports a positive and sincere contribution to the election and says that he regrets calling for the partition of the country. this follows several days of talks he chaired and headlight with the organization of islamic cooperation. this is very significant, because he was one of the selica commanders who led a mostly muslim group of fighters here into the capital and over threw the president in 2013. they committed atrocities against civilians on the way. mostly christian vigilante groups rose up and took revenge on the muslim population. many civilians were killed, prompting months of violence here in the capital and across the whole rest of the country. people here tell us they are sick and tired of the violence of the bloodshed. they want the country to move forward, want the selection to happen peacefully.

now that he says he is onboard and people have the choice of 30 candidates, all promising that bring unity between christians, muslims and the rest of the minorities, people have a chance at hope, but there are still many armed groups out there, but the program hasn't really been effective so the threat of violence at sunday's election is still very real. hundreds of thousands of farmers in zimbabwe were slapped with higher tax. the high cost of managing the land has left many of them struggling. we have this report from east province. >> he is already paying land tax to his rural district council. he is one of 300,000 new farmers resettled on land seize the from white owners. now the zimbabwe government want formers like him to pay more tax. >> we spend six months a year,

two farmers, the farmer -- >> the new additional land testimony is between $3 and $10 a heck tar. individuals with more than 100,000 heck tars of land could end up paying tens of thousands of dollars in annual rent. >> we wish that the level of rentals and leases be reduced so that the farmer remains. >> permits and 99 year leases have been warned they could lose their farms. >> some farms are not fully utilized. those who support the new law say it could encourage people who benefited from land reform to see farming as a business and work hard tore keep their property. >> the new farmers struggling say high electricity costs, low crop prices and high interest bank loans are to blame. >> i think it is mobilizing

forces. i think it's positive. it will also result in the intensification of land use in zimbabwe. >> he doesn't agree. this season, he's planting maze on 12 hectares of land. he said the seed and fertilizer will cost him more than $20,000, money he's still trying raise. he worries he and others won't be able to pay the new land taxes. al jazeera, zimbabwe. thailand's military government has signaled it's still on track to handle the power in 2017. the prime minister says a range of reforms are underway. as we report, some doubts remain. >> the man who led the coup is former army chief general and is

the prime minister. he confirmed he is still working toward an election in 2017. >> we have one year and six months left from january, 2016 to july, 2017. the government will be laying the groundwork for the stuff we haven't done. >> many still fear the military will break that promise and try to stay in power. if it does, some analysts say an economy that's already struggling in many areas could worsen. there could be unrest, particularly in the poorer rural areas. >> those people have been putting up with this for a long time. they couldn't survive. >> in september, a military appointed panel voted against a new constitution. that meant another delay 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. >> the prime minister and his government have embarked on a drive to promote nationalism or thainess as they call it. anyone who shows dissent or is overly critical is often accused of being unthai or harming the country. >> people have been arrested on charges of insulting the monarchy. the military has been accused of rights abuses, but the prime minister said measures have been taken to protect what he insists is an ongoing process of reform. all of the laws have stipulated and barred certain actions because they would obstruct the reform process, but people sometime violate it, which makes it look like i violate human rights. these laws are there because we are still in the reform pros. if it was a normal situation, i wouldn't be standing here. >> for many, normality means democracy, which is still 18 months away, but given the military's reluctance to stay out of politics, it may not be

the type of democracy people hope for. al jazeera, bangkok. >> in spain, the socialist party leader, pedro sanchez said his party won't back a government led by the popular party. there are talks about a possible coalition. the party won the most seats but fell short of a working majority. starting next year, there will be a lot more warnings on cigarette packets sold in europe after a group of tobacco companies today lost a legal battle to stop stricter branding rules from coming into force. more from london. >> the european court's decision is another 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 stark warnings and brand names written in standardized lettering. the australian government said

the moves cut smoking rates by 15%. the new regulation, 65% of each get packet will be covered in warnings, leaving much less room for logos. >> there is good evidence that health warnings do work in terms of deterring young people from taking up smoking and helping adult smokers to quit. text warnings are fine to a point, but picture warnings are more powerful. >> the u.k. ireland and france are going beyond the directive. like australia, they are introducing plain logoless packaging early next year, something the tobacco giants are determined to fight. >> several leading companies, including british american tobacco phillip morris all filed lawsuits here in the high court. a verdict's expected in january. they appealed to the european court of justice in luxembourg, claiming that the white labeling contravene trade regulation and

violated freedom of expression. >> now luxembourg ruled against the tobacco companies. they are more likely to be defeated in the u.k. and other european courts. >> this is a man who smokes marlboro cigarettes. >> in the past, tobacco companies advertised their products freely. people were encouraged to smoke at breakfast. after sport. >> there's something wonderful. >> even in the shower. today most countries have banned television tobacco ads replacing them with hard hitting health warnings. >> every 15 cigarettes you smoke will cause a mutation. >> smoking is believed to cost $20 billion in reduced activity and treating dies, much more than the $14 billion the u.k. g makes from tax in the industry. the european court's 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 to feel the squeeze. al jazeera, london. lots more news on our website, aljazeera.com, including the latest on the top story there, coming to us out of ramadi. wild weather from coast-to-coast affecting millions of americans headed out of town on one of the busiest travel days of the year. hundreds of protestors expect at the mall of america, angry over the police killing of an african-american man. >> retaking ramadi, iraqi forces moving closer to pushing isil out of that crucial iraqi city.