>> the agreements and now this resolution come at a crucial time for libya. >> the u.n. votes to recognize libya's new unity government as it seeks another ally in the fight against isil. >> reports of a deadly gas attack in syria. there are suspicions that sarin gas was used. an amnesty report lacks evidence when it says that russia may be guilty of war crimes in syria. and a remarkable tale of

survival from china. the 19-year-old found after 60 hours trapped beneath a landslide. >> we start with news that the united nations has agreed to recognize libya's new unity government. the administration was created last week after months of deploymentcy by the u.n. it hopes to end the period of two rifle governments in the country that has been torn apart by very lens since the topple of muammar qaddafi. >> what are the expectations of the international community when it comes to really getting this new government on bother in the fight against isil? >> well, i think everyone is

aware of the challenges in libya right now. in passing this resolution the international community is throwing it's waste behind the unity government saying that it now has one body to deal with, and this council has long worried that instability in the country would spill over into other countries as well as you were saying with the spread of isis and concern of human trafficking in the area as well. the council is now throwing it's support behind this government, and it's encouraging other factions in libya to do the same thing. >> we therefore strongly back the security council's call to member states to support fully the efforts of the support mission in libya to develop a coordinated package of support, to build the capacity of the government of national accord. the united nations stands ready

to play our part in that effort. dad ma'am president, in adopting resolution 2259 today, for lib libya, sovereignty, national unity under a single government of national accord. this is just the start, and we must redevelop our efforts to help ensure that the huge potential of this agreement is realized. >> so with growing concerns is there a feeling that this resolution opens the door for foreign intervention in that country? >> it could, the resolution specifically calls or member states of the united nations to respond urgently when libyan unity government reaches out for help on security issues on isil.

but the country has to ask for. that's key. they said that the united nations, as we just heard, is ready to respond for request for help from libya, but first they need to get their act together in terms of formin forming this unity government. they have to determine what their needs are and then make the request. this, by recognizing internationally this government does open the door for other countries to open the door and get involved when asked. >> now there are reports five people have been killed in chemical weapons attack. officials believe that sarin gas was used.

>> this is not the first time that chemical weapons were used. >> these records from carrying siren gas. as a result five people were killed, including a 12-year-old boy, and more than 30 injured. mostly civilians. gas was used in the city. the victims showed symptoms such as rooney nose, is a sly have a, and later developed into leading, shortness of breath and dilated eye pupil. >> one of the opposition controlled areas in the countryside around the capital where chemical agents were deployed in 2013. hundreds of people were killed. an u.n. investigation team later

confirmed sarin had been used. it didn't blame any sides but said that the forces loyal to the syrian government were responsible. a deal was later reached by y. and the u.s. to make sure that it was al. they confirmed that the mixing of the chemical weapons had continued. the opcw concluded that mustard gas had been used in aleppo province. the fact-finding mission was not mandated to assign blame but they had found fighting between the opposition group and isil had obtained and using chemical weapons in iraq and syria. that was not the only attack investigated. in the syrian province of idlib there were several incidents between march and may which the

fact divining mission side sounds likely involved in the use of one or more toxic chemicals. the u.s. envoy to chemical weapons watchdog said that the use of chemical weapons has become increasingly more common in the syrian war. >> russia has denied using cluster bombs in syria after human rights corporation amnesty international suggested that it could constitute war climbs. at least 200 civilians have been killed in the past three months. it alleges that the authorities lied to cover, um, damage in two strikes. and accused the russia the

russian of dropping cluster bombs. >> we have spoken to many witnesses survivors of the attacks. dozens and dozens of very credible video clips and other images on dead civilians of bodies in it will be interesting to know what more evidence they would like. there is a ton of evidence at their door step that they have committed probable war crimes, and they have not stood up to that at all. >> the russian military has rejected the report saying it is full of lies and clichés. more than 200 civilians were

killed in the russian airstrikes. but today they categorically denied the report. one again there is nothing new in it. the same clichés, the same fakes. it is nothing but a flood of lies empty, and without any proof. >> we familiarized ourselves with the content of this report, and as usual there is nothing concrete or nothing new in it. the russian air force does not use them. >> the russian defense ministry said that they were unprecedently open about the operations in syria, and they stated at gorley that there were no munitions such as cluster bombs in the country. the purpose of all these manipulations by amnesty is to mere others. >> now an international arrest

warrant has been issued for mikhail khodorkovsky. he has been accused of ordering the murder of the mayor. >> mikhail khodorkovsky may be in self-imposed exile but he never misses an opportunity to criticize president putten. >> putin is no superman, and he'll surely not go down in history as a hero. >> on tuesday russian police raided the offices i in a movement founded by khodorkovsky. >> when we made the decision to work with this organization and khodorkovsky, we did understand our risk. that's why this is not an unexpected event for us especially taking in consideration that activists

have been jailed before. >> the yes, ma'am lynn's most outupon criedic had already spent ten years in jail convicted of tax evasion and embezzlement charges that were widely seen as punishment for challenging presidential power. >> in the last week he has been increasingly outspoken in attacks on the government. president putin, he says, that is driven russia to the county where revolution is necessary

and i'll help bring it about. remarks that have incensed the kremlin. >> more to come for you on al jazeera. slow progress. we'll have the latest on the battle to retake ramadi from isil. also coming up, praying for peace, why christmas for oh some in the west bank will be marred by violence.

>> welcome back. you're watching al jazeera.

we'll take you to the top stories. an u.n. backs the libyan unity government. five people have been killed and dozens other injured in a chemical weapons attack. and a report that suggests that airstrikes in syria could institute war crimes. to other scores we're following. >> progress is slow, but it's progress no one the less. closing in on isil fighters and "n" the center of ramadi city. the government is portraying the battle as a final push to recapture the capital of anbar province. spirits are high.

>> it is very well organized, iraqi army, and the airstrike from the airstrike 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 striking its biggest plow to the government. the iraqi forces have been trying to reenter the city sentence early november. they say they've weeded out fighters from two residential neighborhoods and removing boobie traps from the town center. >> the forces have been trained and ready to hold the ground after liberation of the city. this is going to be great boost for the iraqi forces, and great

advance and progress in the fight against isis. >> the shia-led government has cut off supplies to ramadi for months now and attempt to choke isil fighters. but it's also made life worse for the residents in this mainly sunni city. winning back the city is one thing, winning over the people will be a different matter all together. gerald tan, al jazeera. >> israeli police have shot dead two palestinians who stabbed three people in east jerusalem. two of the three israelis who were left seriously injured in the knife attack has decide. one from stray police bullets. the incident took place near a main entrance to the city. since october 131 palestinians and 20 israelis have been killed in violence. well, christmas celebrations across the occupied west bank will be subdued this year. political leaders have decided to town down holiday festivities amid a wave of violence.

we have reports from bethlehem from the occupied west bank. >> it's an annual tradition that 19-year-old normally looks forward to decorating the familiar christmas tree is different this year. he suffers from severe pain and can barely stand after being shot in the next after a protest near his home in bethlehem. he was injured after israeli police infiltrated a crowd of protesters he was with and open fired with live rounds. he was shown a video that shows the moment the undercover israeli forces began shooting at the protest, but also when he was taken to an ambulance by first responders clearly in shock. >> when i look at the person in the video it feels as if i'm looking at someone else. it was a life-changing experience. all i ask is that people pray

for peace, for us, in the city of nativity so that the war can end, and pray to god to have mercy on all those killed for palestine, and give patience to families to endure their losses. >> it's not just families who are struggling to celebrate this christmas. municipalities across the west bank including here in bethlehem have also decided to scale back festivities. the christmas tree is decorated and th the nativity scene is on display. but decorations were either toned down or not put up at all. political leaders say it was the right thing to do. >> with all the conditions. the challenges and defeat. >> at the opposite end activists deck raid an oldtive tree with

empty tear gas canisters and stun grenades. it it was promised peace in the bible, something it has seen very little of in recent years. >> georgia's prime minister irakly garibashvili has resigned. he has been prime minister since 2013. only three days ago he gave a press conference outlining his plans for next year. >> positions are temporary while motherland and god are eternal. that's why i decided to resign as prime minister. now when our home and foreign policies and our countries' development is assured i would like to wish our future prime minister the best. >> a 19-year-old has been pulled

alive from the republic of sunday's landslide in shenzhen. more than 70 people are missing, though, after a huge pile of construction waste smashed into buildings in an industrial park. adrian brown reports from beijing. >> alive against all the odds. trapped under debris for 60 days. his pulse and voice were feeble when rescuers finally reached him. >> it's at miracle. a man was rescued alive. we were so happy when we heard about it. very happy. >> tien had been in the office of a factory on sunday morning when the mudslide came down. the man next to him was found

dead. >> he's severely dehydrated. he has suffered soft tissue injuries and broken fractures and a crushing of the right lower limb. >> at the rescue site frantic to find more survivors they are looking for more signs of life, but they're also finding more bodies. it has been effecting businesses. >> we cannot go out now. there is no guarantee for our lives. many works have to eat and there is no power supply now. >> the deluge of mud and construction waste engulfed the industrial zone. it happened after heavy rains dislodged the manmade pile that had been there for several years. state media say that a local

government report had identified storage problems at the site months ago warning of a can castrofy. a can castrofy that has now happened. >> deputy commander of the rebel group known as seleka. it seized power in 2013, which triggered violence between the muslim and christian communities. al jazeera's tanya page reports from the capital from the central african republic. >> posing a real threat to the possibility of a peaceful election. he had declared an autonomous state and had vowed to disrupt the election in any means possible. now he says he supports a positive and sincere contribution to the election and

said that he regrets the contribution. this is after very significant. one of the seleka commanders who led a mostly mud limb fighters here and overthrow president in 2013. when the french forces moved in base lea withdraw and they took restrength on the population. many muslims were killed and prompted months of inter-religious violence here and across the rest of the country. people here tell us they're sick and tired of the violence of the bloodshed. they want the country to move forward. they want the election to happen peacefully. now that they say they're on board and they have the choice of 30 candidates all promising to bring unity between

christians, muslims and the rest of the minority people have a chance at home. but there are still many armed groups out there. that the disarmament program has not been effective. the threat of violence at sunday's election is still very real. >> moving to zimbabwe now where hundreds of thousands of farmers have been ordered to pay higher taxes. they have just settled on land seized by white owners, but the high cost of managing that land has left many struggling. now they fear that they'll lose their properties. >> already paying land tax. one of 300,000 new farmers who have been resettled on land seized from white owners. now the government wants farmers like him to pay more tax. >> the new additional land tax

between $3 and $10 a hectare. those individuals with more than 1,000-hectares of land could pay thousands of dollars in rent. >> resettled farmers have been warned they could lose their farms if they don't comply with the new legislation. >> some farms are not fully utilized. those who support this new law say that it could have benefited land reform to see farming as a business and work harder to keep their property. but new farmers say that high electricity cost and low access to bank loans is to blame for their under performance. >> i think countries are going that route as a way to increase

the revenue base. it is without incidence tensefication of use. >> this man does not agree. this season he's planting on 12-hectares of land. he said that the seeds and fertilizer will cost him more than $20,000. money he's still trying to raise. he is afraid that he and others will not be able to pay the new land taxes. >> the united nations has recognized as one of the cities who is leading the fight against climate change. from cape town, we have reports. >> high wind and heavy clouds, residents on the outskirts of the city usually a signal of a dusty day ahead.

low income homes like this were built without ceilings worsening the impact of bad weather. >> this woman's home is one of the first to have her ceiling installed. >> in the winter it was very cold. it was better to be outside. she said that the new ceilings cut her electricity consumption in half. over the next two years 8,000 homes will be upgraded. down the road several our unites are insulated with ceilings. the project will see a dramatic reduction of energy consumption. >> because the worse thing about climate change 80% of the people

living in africa are poor. and when the droughts come, when the floods come those african cities will be hit hard. >> the city has several other projects to protect the environment, including support in the installation of solar panels on the roofs of busines businesses to generate clean energy. water management devices have been installed in low income homes as part of the energy drive. >> this drive for water conservation. water save something now a burden that poor people must carry rather than agriculture, healthier households, that's where the savings should be targeted first. >> but the residents here with

the commitment to developing a sustainable environment has for now made life a little more comfortable. al jazeera, cape town. >> here's where you need to go for the latest comments and analysis on everything that we're covering, www.aljazeera.com. >> it will wake you up before you'll feel it. it's just like a pressure or a force that's coming through your bedroom. >> kind of a weird jolt, or-- a feeling that something's getting ready to happen. the-- the dogs can kinda get funny right before a big one. >> the primary is the one that's, you initially feel. you don't know it's coming. >> all of a sudden, you hear this bang-- kif