♪ . >> this is al jazeera. >> hello. and welcome to the news hour, hive from london. coming up in the next 60 minutes. the battle for ramadi the irackky army says it is close to recapturing the strategically important city from isil. palestinians continue getting ready for christmas day in bethlehem. with continued violence. storms sweep through parts of

the u.s. causing several deaths and travel chaos. >> with all the sports news including the i.a.a.s. is sending an inspection team to russia for the first time in response to the doping scandal, which caused the country to be banned from athletics. the army says it has liberated large parts from the city of iraq. it is edging forward street by street. towards the city center. but it says the advance is being slowed down by explosive devices left behind by isil. gerald has more details. >> as the days wear on, iraqi forces try to retake ramadi have made a sobering admission, it will take time. the military is trying to overpower isil fighters, who

have been in control of the city since may. backed by air strikes ground troops are edging forward, street by street, to towards the center. >> god willing, we will keep advancing to retake the whole of rahmadty city, we are now in the district, and god willing we will liberate the remaining part ramadi. >> just a few hundred fighters left within the city parameters. they are proving a difficult foe. they planted explosive traps capable of damaging 25-ton vehicles military sources say, slow down advancing troops but it hasn't stopped them. >> following the liberation of the area, kings from the 16th division started work to remove and diffuse the bombs on the roads and in houses. all the bombs have been diffused. >> the government is confident that the security forces are in the final stages othey have operation.

>> there is one plan following by the count terrorism forces that sur praised everyone. the plan is to encircle the areas and launch from the center. as it doesn't know which correction it is being attacked by forces. >> ramadi's lit up with rubble, and shrapnel, this has sent urban battlefields and up to 10,000 civilians are thought to be trapped inside the city. the hope is that victory will come swiftly, and with no further loss of life, but both seem unlikely. gerald tan, al jazeera. >> let's speak now to richard white, who is the director of the center of military analysis, thank you for being with us on the program. taken back ramadi is of course, crucial for both the military, and the iraqi government. but just how much of a success would it be, do you think? >> i just lost all owe --

>> of course, no problem. i will ask again, i was saying that taken back ramadi, is crucial, for both the iraqi government and the iraqi military, but how much of a success do you think it would be. >> well, it's important to military -- to bring the city back, but the key question we all have, because they haven't been -- the iraqi government has not been that successful, is after they concur the area with our forces, are they able to bring in good police to pacicly make sure the insurgence don't reinfiltrate the city. economic development, good governance, not persecution of sunnies that had nothing to do with it. so oneness the key question, if they just concur a city and then move on, then the i.s. while they seize another city or return, and this has been a problem the last ten years or so that the government hasn't been able to con sop date areas that

the u.s. british or iraqi military is able to recover. >> it is interesting that you mentioned the city population, who still leaves in ramadi and about not having revenge attacks against sunnies how have tribal fighters been in this operation, do you think? have they been kept out of it largely. >> well, they are saying that the iraqdy -- that the forces include sunni militia, i don't know how prominent their role is. they are certainly important to have them present. iraqi think in the more important decision was not to use the shiite militia, because that was thought to be counter product i, and just inflamed tensions which underlay the whole ensurgeonsy. so i this i that was the key decision. with the tribal leaders, or the militia are involved, it is not cheer they are very involved. i think they are still sitting on the fence. but the -- it is going to be most important after the

fighting began, that these people are reincorporated into the government structure. >> is this operation quite different from the ones that retake. >> well, yes, this is more important operation, this is also a different -- if different structure, it is a bit more of the regular iraqi forces. the u.s. forces are more on the background. they provide help be air power, and bridges and so on, but this is a good indication of how effective the forces are. we were all surprised that they lost the city, this year, after what happened last year, when they had several months to retrain and recover. so if they don't do well this time, i think that's just going to reinforce doubts about the wisdom of the current coalition strategy. >> there there's been so many doubts about the strategy, and doubts about the capability of the army, do you think this operation, that retaking is this likely

to be over in days or are we looking the for a week or so more until this operation comes to an end. >> they may claim success in a few days in the sense that they manage have forces throughout the city. but as you have already discussed they have a lot of snipers there. they have improvised explosive devices. they have a population which is not ennewscast ebbing about the fighting. so whether they are going to be able to consolidate control and feel that they are call the city theirs i think that will take at least several weeks energy from isil's perspective, how significant a defeat would this be? or is the reality the main fighters involved in taking ramadi have since moved on? >> well, they obviously don't would like to retain the city, but they have been able to bounce back from set backs. what they are best at is when they lose one area, is

launching an offensive in another. and so the net effect is not to change the balance of forces on the drowned. i am not sure -- event seen -- they haven't really done that yet, so maybe if they don't it is a sign that they are weaker now than they were in the previous year. >> good to get your thoughts oen this story, richard white joining us in washington, thank you. the world food program says it has been able to distribute food aid to people effected by isil in ramadi. >> after isil's advance, into that city. the u.n. agency is also been handing out food, where ice skill fighters have taken control last year. since then, the displaced population has been living in extremely harsh conditions. >> u.s. and afghan security forces have conducting air

strikes in a district of the southern province. they have been the scene of intense fighting for the past week as the government troops and taliban fighters battle for control there. the taliban say they have capture fire department center of the district on two separate occasions but afghan authorities deny this. british soldiers have also been sent back to the area to advice a year after they withdrew from the region. in the afghan city, and he has been speaking to security officials this. to sented us this update. >> they are telling us that afghan official forces have been deployed and they are fighting and after fan security officials claim that they have control of the district. we are talking about a very small area, and district and police headquarter is about 2,000 square meters. that's where the fighting is still going on. afghan officials also claim that the taliban had a big

casualty last night, and the fighting is sill going on. there has been some reinforcement by roads but we believe these reinforcements haven't reached because on the road there are a lot of area under control of taliban, and a lot of i.u.d.es and mines there. but in this province, the very strategy province of afghanistan, it is hard to say any place in this province, or any district, fully under control of taliban, even here. in the capitol of the province, in district four of the capitol, the fighting is going on on taliban our presence is strongly there. >> a palestinian has died and five others are arrested. the officials say the man was hit many the head by a bullet. it is the latest death in a wave of violence that began in october. earlier on thursday, israeli security forces shot dead a palestinian near the jewish settlement in the

occupied west bank. they say he stabbed two security guards before they opened fire. in a separate incident, a palestinian was killed by forces after he tried to stab them. with a screw driver. and israeli soldiers kill add palestinian they say tried to ram them at a military check point. 135 palestinians and 20 israelis have died in violence sense the beginning of october. under the funeral of an israeli man in occupied east jerusalem on monday. they say he was stabbed to death by two palestinians. the attackers were shot dead. thousands of pill programs are in bethlehem, to celebrate christmas. the patriarch has arrived in the city ahead of the traditional misdemeanor night mass, but festivities have been overshadowed. >> palestinian scouts marching through the streets of bethlehem, playing christmas songs old and new.

leading the annual christmas parade was the lat ten patriarch, the procession from his headquarters in occupied east jerusalem, has him pass through israels concrete separation wall, which encircles the city, the government began construction on the wall more than ten years ago. they say it's meant to stop vie elense, the palestinians say it is nothing more than a land frab that has strangled the tourism. still, thousands of palestinians have all faced came to major square to celebrate the perth of jack, alongside christian pilgrims from around the world. >> it is a very important festivity, because it is the birth of christ, the birth of hope. the birth of resilience, the birth of love, and so this is what people are celebrating. >> palestinian leaders scaled back christmas across the occupied west bank, after months of violence that has

left around 20 israelis and more than 130 palestinians dead. bethlehem has seen the most intense protests and residents say after more than 50 years all they want is peace. >> today bethlehem lives in a staid of sadness, people have been killed it lives under siege, a separation wall and daily kingings of it's sons. bethlehem has turns from a city that carry as message of peace, into a city of the tortured. >> although festivities have been toned down, many do seem to want to be able to celebrate christmas, in the spirit of the holiday, still, in the background of sell races is more violence, and more loss of live. >> in separate incidents across the occupied west bank, israeli forces killed at least four palestinians on christmas eve, despite the heavy crack down by israel's military, the anger that has fueled the months of violence

only seems to be growing. even on a day that sell pirates hope and peace. >> joins us live now from bethlehem, despite all the violence, sum up the mood for us. >> you can see the christmas tree behind me is lit, you can even see the choir that was just singing. so very christmassy mood here, in bethlehem, in the occupied west bank. throughout the day, thousands of palestinians and christian pill grams have been coming here and are here to celebrate christmas eve. many hoping to get into the church behind me. or the ever midnight mass, where the patriarch of jerusalem will of course be delivering his annual sermon for a crowd which will include the palestinian president. so while it has been a very

tense christmas, a tense christmas which has seen the death of four palestinians and a number of injuries, many people here want to take the spirit of christmas, and celebrate this holiday but again, as we have been saying there seems to be a lot of sadness and heavy hearts here as well. >> still to come on this news hour, a new weapon in the fight against breast cancer. south african doctors unveil a machine that x-rays and scans saving time and money. plus. >> democracy delayed. why a run off has been put on hold indefinitely. >> a huge fire has killed at least 24 people, that broke out in the intense iraqi care

unit and maternity center. went one civil defense teams were needed to battle the fire on the first floor of the hospital. an investigation is underway. >> at least seven people have died in a storm that has swept across the southern united states. tornadoes have destroyed homes and caused flight delays. rescue teams are continuing to search for missing. at al jazeera reports. >> it is a bleak mid winter in mississippi. this towering funnel cloud is one of several tornadoes that have hit the state, since the start of the week. the youngest person to die was a seven-year-old boy. he was in a car which like this truck, was picked up and thrown by the wind. >> we are looking still at that risk of tornado activity, especially across parts of tennessee and mississippi, but keep in mind, there's 72 million people that will see the

chance of some sort of severe weather overnight. >> this is what some of them will be waking up to. >> totally gone. >> every so often, nature likes to remind us that it wheels the real power. 2015, has been one of those years. it is an el nino year, in which the warm etc. ocean waters move from one part of the pacific, around the philippines. >> and they bank up against the americas so north americas offshore temperatures about two or three degrees. >> what they should be, and then that cold air sweeps across the plain states, where it meets up with the wall from the full of mexico, that's very warm water. were this to happen in the string you would expect tornadoes, but in desks a rare event. >> regardless of the holiday season. al jazeera. >> flooding is force more

than 100,000 people from their homes in parts of latin american the your guy river swelled to it's highest level in more than a century. more evacuations are expected. chevy rains have also effected up to 100,000 people, and a further 4,000 people in uruguay. >> the army says it carried out raids after members of a shia group set up a roadblock, and tried to assassinate the army's chief of staff. but the hrw found no credibility evidence to support the military's version of events. witnesses say the army fired on a mosque before that incident. others were killed later, when the shia leader was arrested. the report concludes that the killings were at best a overreaction to a roadblock protest and at worst a

planned attack by the government. >> >> daniel beck executive director of the african division of human rights watch, and he is calling for an independent inquiry. >> if you look into the military version of events it does not stack up. the army chief, arrived in the area one hour before, the military was deployed around the mosque, prior to his arrival exactly an hour before the chief of staff of the army has arrived in their area. there was actually deployment of military troops around the mosque, and this good deal to indicate how soldiers were actually taking the positions around the mosque. what has happened is erecting roadblocks and it is just impossible to have that

situation of directing the roadblocks can lead into hundreds of thousands -- hundreds of people and hundreds more being wounded, and they follow in the hours and days not only in the first, side but in other sides in a couple of more cycles in the hours and days following the initial series. it is a step in the right direction, that a lot of government has established their own judicial commission of inquiry, but it is extrem extremely crucial that the inquiry needs to be fully independent and impartial. >> haitis president has defended his country's election process. a presidential run off vote that has been scheduled for sunday was canceled after allegations of fraught luckily the allegations are

political point scoring. >> and not good enough, that's the response from a leading haitian opposition party to the formation of a commission to investigate claims of fraud in the october presidential election. >> the members of the commission were hand picked by the president and his prime minister, so this commission has nothing to do with what we recommended therefore we don't recognize it. >> the credit take follows the prime minister's announcement of the five member commission on tuesday. >> the government guarantees the complete independent in carrying out it's duties to make all the necessary troops to come out and restore the process. >> there's been growing anger and protests over the first round results only six groups say some people voted multiple times while intimidation kept many from casting ballots. that in a rare with dozens of candidates vying for the presidency. >> these are just some of the faces of the city original

candidates here know the return off has been post boned indefensely, but people i have been speaking to say no matter when it takes place, they have little faith in the process. >> i have totally lost confidence in the system, because they stall our votes, it is a very dirty game. >> turk the election, people are just pawns even if you vote, the results never show who really won suspicious also fuels apathy. although the government has not set a new date, there is growing international concern that the second round should be held soon the u.n. security council called on all candidates political parties and political actors to publicly commit to the process, and finally government formation, in accordance with the institutional timeframe including the inauguration of

a new president by the 7th of february. those in charge of the election, are trying to win back the confidence of voters. >> the council is doing everything it can to gain the trust of the people. that might not be enough to convince haitians that the run off will reflect the true will of the people, al jazeera, port-au-prince. >> doctors in south africa have develop add breast cancer screening machine they say saves time and money. reports from cape town on thousand h hope this invasion will also save lives. >> this is the latest invasion in rest cancer technology being tested, usually the disease is diagnosed using a mammogram or x-ray of the breast. >> the problem with digital x-rays is that when the lady

has dense tissue, and that happens in almost half of women, marley those ages between 40 and 50, that density can mask the cancer. >> is this machine is able to x-ray the breast, and take an ultrasound at the same time personal traiting tissue to reveal any cancer. >> this is the system that incorporates both of these technologies into a single platform. ten the idea is that you can catch that breast cancer early, in one girl, rather than having to ask the woman to come back repeatedly for more studies in the future. >> when nora who is also she volunteers to help develop testing. >> so they use a machine, and similar to other digital machines that we have worked with before, it is good to see there's so much progress being made, and especially when you think of the time that you need to have the mammogram, and have an

ultrasound afterwards. >> they show the machine to be safe and effective, development began six years ago and it has cost about $3 million. >> studies by doctors around the world suggest that around five of every 1,000 women tested with a mammogram x-ray, have a tumor detected. that total rises to around 12 of every 1,000 tested with an ultrasound. no the developers say it's technology will provide women with access to better quality cancer testing without having to undergo two separate tests. >> both the developers and the government say the machine, which costs $350,000 can be used to reach a large number of people. we would like to see greater manufacturing capability, and developing this machine in our cub, and be able to market it to europe, we hope eventually to the united states, and throughout the

african continent, and to through this development, make a difference to the health status of women while women will save time and money, developers say the greatest benefit will be the quicker detection of cans tore save lives. al jazeera. >> still to come on this news hour. don't stop the music. the refugee musicians who banded together in brussells. why the owners of these trailers can see the land sold out from under them, and some could lose everything. having served time in frizz, the pakistan is still facing off the coast in his bid to play for his country. wrap wrap

>> we're following stories of people who have died in the desert. >> the borderland marathon. >> no one's prepared for this journey. >> experience al jazeera america's critically acclaimed, original series from the beginning. >> experiencing it has changed me completely. >> follow the journey as six americans face the immigration debate up close and personal. >> it's heartbreaking. >> i'm the enemy. >> i'm really pissed off. >> all of these people shouldn't be dead. >> it's insane. hello, again, welcome back, the iraqi army says it has liberated large parts of the

city of ramadi from isil fighters. the taliban is fighting for control. at least seven people have been killed in severe storms. sweeping across parts of the u.s. the united nations security council has given it's full support for planned national unity government in libya. the resolution also asked countries to help libya defeat the islamic state of iraq and to help curb migration from africa to europe. the u.n. security council threw it's support behind the fledgeling government of national accord, four years after the death helped plunge the country into chaos. the move was welcomed by the ambassador to the u.n., who said the new government, was a necessary compromise. >> it cannot achieve the aspirations of all parties but it best represents what we can potentially achieve

and it is the highest common denominator. members of two rival governments and civil society groups reached greets on the new government last week. >> people are about to endorse the deal, the security council and the u.n. special representative for libya, encouraged other libyans to come on board. for the good of the libyan people. >> the peace and security, should really be a step over time. and this is the task of the government of the unity. >> warring factions. >> also gave libya a hub for the human trafficking seeking to cross the mediterranean to europe. the security council has warned that instability and remember yeah is a threat to international peace and security. the resolution called on

countries to response urgently, when the new government requests security help, and particular in dealing with isil. be few government has to ask first. >> the united kingdom which drafted the resolution says it is ready to help. >> awaiting the patient and all of the interest the creation of this government, and then once it has been created we will talk to them about what is required in terms of the fight again deash. >> libya has 30 days to to be it's government. the united nations. >> both countries have agreed on a key principle applied for the talks between the government and opposition. the talks of course approved as u.s. security council and begin in geneva, at the end of january.

in the syrian dialog in geneva. without any further intervene. and our deliberation will be ready, as soon as we receive a list of the opposition delegation we should stick to a peaceful resolution of the issue, the people decide the future and fate of syria, the u.n. play as key role in the negotiations we free these three principles should be upheld throughout the whole peace process. >> victor well placed to help syria build a base for talks because it doesn't have an agenda like other p k powers. >> china has good regularses

with almost all these major players who have one set of vested interest or another, in syria, china can aplay a higher level of objectivity to the situation. in syria, therefore, i think china can play a very important and indispensable role as a go between or a good office provider and china may eventually win the trust and confidence of not only the syrian government right now, but also rebels, in syria, but also more importantly, other major player whose are now fighting their way out in the situation in syria. >> one thing is simple, that is peace should prevail, other than war and destruction, and if peace prevails this will not only set a good example for people in syria, but can also set a good example for other burning conflicts in that part of the world. >> the u.s., u.k., france, and australia, have issued

warnings about possible threats on or around christmas day. british and u.s. officials say they have received information about possible security threats in a busy bar and shopping district of beijing. the security arrest has been issued and police have been seen patrolling the streets. heavy smog sparks more red alerts advising people to stay indoors. the announcement followed last week warning that a vast area of china would be badly hit by pollution. beijing also saw it's second red alert issues of the weekend. people have been forced to stay indoors schools have closed and the use of vehicles has been restricted. 19 people including six children have drowned after a both cap sized off the turkish coast.

more than 20 other refugees died earlier this week, trying to travel between turkey and greece. more than 1 million refugees and migrants have made their way to europe this year. and the italian navy is rescued more than 100 refugees from a row bout off the coast of libya, not sure where they had started their jonny, the navy says it has picked up a further 214 people tins the refugee crisis began, many have tried to help the new arrivals rebuild their lies. one group is doing it for themselves, they are all musicians, and they have been busy recording a c.d., to help others in the their situation. lawrence lee sent this report from brussells. ♪ . >> a few days ago they hadn't even met, yet now these man from syria and iraq are singing and playing

traditional songs from their hope lands in far away belgium. >> . >> where he told us he had to leave his loot behind. some kind europeans raised the money for him to get another one, and now as he awaits his asylum hearing he uses the music to help forget the journey he has had to make. >> when i up to the instrument, there's a lot of things just go away. forget a lot of things, even when you play and remember things but at the end when you finish, you just forget anything, you don't care about anything. it is like music means everything for me. he was a t.v. star playing classical, but when he tries to set up a music school in

his home, the taliban came and told him it was forbidden. and they wouldn't tell him twice. >> they have been threatened and injured, and they tried to kill them and you can see most of them leave the country, most of them they could not sing, they stopped playing music. >> on guitar a respected come poser from damarcus, he made the journey late this summer, he carried his guitar with him all the way, singing for other refugees. >> now, we play music, what happened with us, and how we live, in damarcus. that's all. >> the people helping

organize this are close to their target of 13,000 dollars to present the c.d.es, music classes for refugee children, and concerts are also being plans. >> in europe increasingly and open hostile to all refugees it is perhaps as reminder, of how war effects all of us, even the most talented. >> not bad. >> lawrence lee, al jazeera. >> ukraine's parliament has voted to give the parliament to the right to impose a trade embargo against russia, and always support bid 291 of the 420 m.p.es. last week, russia said it would sunday spend from january. the nations deteriorates when russia annexed crimea and separates took part of eastern ukraine. the russian president says his country will cooperate with india on building new missiles as well as fighter

jets and transport aircraft. the indian pine minister also announced major nuclear construction deals. we are making progress on our plans for 12 nuclear reactors, at two sites. the agreement today, indian manufacturing content, in these sectors it supports the mission of making india a -- >> as to why he was prevented from traveling to new york. he was stopped in the airport gate last week, trying to board a flight to j.f.k., he says u.s. officials couldn't give a reason for his visa being provoked. he is expected to exam the case of another u.k. family stopped from heading to disneyland. he doesn't understand why he

was prevented from traveling. >> i haven't done nothing wrong, not that i have been convicted of any crime in any country ever in my life. new mexico i don't know for my work, i do everything public, i live with a death threat from sha babb for my work against extremism, and when i spoke out against the murder of louis rigby in london. so i have no idea why americans have revoked my say a. if they tell me why, at least i know. i believe it isn't just me, but many muslims that try to go to america. many have been barred from going, and i believe i was the victim of the same. trumps desire to bans muslims looks like it is already coming to fruition, even though he hasn't received a single vote from a single american. >> more than 20 many people in the united states live in mobile homes. most of them don't own the land and have few rights as tenants. talks to those who want more

legal protection. heather has lived in a mobile home with her husband for 13 years, she was planning to buy another one nearby for her children. >> we were in the process of looking when we got the notice. >> that notice informed her it would close to build million dollars homes in it's place. then her husband lost his job. now they are both out of work, the home is not movable and they owe $17,000 on it. >> it is either going to go into the garbage, or the bank will take it back, and they will have to figure out what to do with it. we are not children. homemakers, you know schoolteachers, whatever, we are just dollar signs. just because we live in a mobile home. and not in a stick built house, we wanted to live a nice life, and have nice things for our kids. >> for the landless homeowners it is an indignity suffered over and over, they

endure the jokes. if your richest relative buy as new house, and you have to help take the wheels off of it, you might be a red neck. >> but when trailer park owners sell the hand, those with homes on it get nothing. >> we are regular americans. we aren't white trash. we have chosen to own our own home, what is happening in our society, is that the people in the lower bracket are being excluded from i think having their own american dream. for profit mobile park owners didn't talk to us. in most states there are no protections the landowner can sell at will, and even deck tates how the garden should look, and more often than not, so called mobile homes are not mobile at all, so moving them is not an option. >> they are not mobile,

that's a huge misnomer, as far as get having the factory to the site, but they are not intended to be moved again, and there's nowhere to move to, so it is -- they are losing everything, all their equity, they may still have the mortgage. they are prisoners in their own homes. they were eventually notified this park is about to close, so by then all 32 homes will have to either be torn down or moved at the owner's expense, one homeowner just bought two weeks before the notice. the park owner didn't mention that when they moved in, al jazeera, seattle. >> off the lack of retirement savings that leighs aging americans with no options be uh to lever in their vehicles. our report on the congregating in the arizona desert for the winter. >> al jazeera government

which will help tens of thousands of poorer families. the start of the program residents who move from the shanity towns in and around the capitol to new social housing complexes. algerian economy has been faltering sense 2014 when oil prices starting falling. the scheme provides an important opportunity for the poorest in society. our same is to save the people from misery, we can't let citizens live in tin houses aimed to give opportunity to all algerian citizens that live in good conditions. >> still to come on the program, how taking over the tradition or pen yacht that making in mexico. plus. join me in search of hong kong's disappearing pink dolphins. >> and in sport, the record breaking winning streak, might have come to an end, but the golden state warriors are stigma a league of their

own.

[it is thought there are only 61 still alive as major billings damage their natural environment. >> the first thing they tell you is not to have high expectations. but it is turned out to be a good day for these visitors. >> it was really lucky to see

two, and they were so fantastic, so very cool. >> i was surprised when i saw that, i jumped into the water. >> it is a surprise for everyone on the boat, even the tour guide. >> now days dolphins appear to be quite scared and the for this morning siting they get quite close out here. it is very weird. >> the dolphin numbers have dropped more than 60% in the last decade. conservationist say it is mostly due to major building projects in hong kong waters. they point out the 50-kilometer bridge connecting hong kong with macau, which cuts through areas of the highest density of dolphins in the pearl river delta, and they fear plans to expand hong kong's airport will drive away what is left of the dolphin population. this area is known as a.com corridor, this is where they travel to feeding spots and cleaner waters but this is also the proposed side for

the airports third runway, construction would involve dumping thousands of tons of sand to reclaim 6.5 square kilometers of sea area. the conservation society says they have the government on the airport plans. but their proposals have been ignored. they are considering legal action, despite the government's promise to bit a marine sanctuary, after the rung way is finishes in 2023. >> can they survivor for seven years of the period and come back later i think it is a huge question mark, and i think it is very unlikely, the dolphin will be able to hang on for that long. >> and dolphins have been swimming in these waters for centurying, as hong kong transforms from a fishing village to one of the biggest commercial hubs. but they have paid the price with less and less space to call home. al jazeera, hong kong.

>> time to cam up with all things sporting. former fifa vice president has arrived in uruguay where he will face charges on money landers. seep here with sepp blatter was extradited from switzerland and is one of seven officials arrested ahmed of the fifa congress in may, the 83-year-old faces two to 15 years in prison if convicted while the u.s. wants to extradite him on charges of soliciting multimillion dollars prescribes he is fighting against it, despite agrees to his extradition to uruguay. following the return of -- they are considering brings back one of their legends, more on the club held talks

with the impact over the return, it currently plays for the m.l.s. side, but according to montreal they are interested in bringing the player back to england, and his assistance on the twitter page. two team says may wanted to have the. -year-old back for the next season, or understood that his emotional attachment to the english champions. >> the international athletic federations i.a.a.f. is sending it's fist inspection team to russia, in january, to exam the country's response to it's doping ban. russia was suspended after an anty doping agency exposed widespread corruption, to cover up failed drug ts. russia must take a series of steps to ensure the reinstatement before the games in august.

formula 1 world champion lewis hamilton has admitted but it is not effected the team success. hamilton spoke out after threats who said that he considered changing the line-up, if the rivalry starts effect results in 2014 tensions seem to spill on to the track, with rosberg admitting he intentionally hit hamilton's car, at belgium grand prix, forcing him out. unless the two manage to occupy first and second in the last two seasons. correct now in p india separations ahead of the first test against south africa have suffered a huge blow. angora to his right calf muscle ruling him out of the match, it is a big blow to the tourist with anderson having taken 426 wickets in his 110 tests. the test begins on saturday

and it is the first of four match series. have boycotted the training camp in protest at the inclusion of mohammad amir. he spent three months in prison and was banned for five years after he was implicated in a spot fixing case, also involving teammates. he is ban ended earlier this year, meaning he was illegible to play again. they are due to name the final touring spot next month's one day series in new zealand. one day captain was adamant about his refusal to play in a statement he said, i will not attend the camp as long as amir is there. well, this is my decision, and we are open to discuss i don't want to comment on the decision, but we both have the same feeling. world number four, has

retired because of a long term struggle with glandular fever. he is best known for being the first player to beat roof fall nadal at the french open. however, hes han't played on world tour events since 2011 due to the illness, so then spent ten years on the men's tour winning over 10 million-dollars in prize money, his biggest win was in paris in 2010. the defending nba championship remain unbeaten at home this season after beating the jazz 103-85. last season's most valuable player, gave the warriors an early lead, he contributed 16-points and 9 assists as the warriors went on to win comfortably, sending the streak to 31 games. that's it for me. >> thank you, now it is a common site at the end of many aparty, the piñata.

families buy them and then break them. in mexico city, they have been making piñatas for generations. >> this is the season of achy hands and ripped nails. knowing his creations are copied has kept him designing glueing and wrapping for 40 years. >> i like the colors of the piñatas, you don't need a lot of money to make them, and that this is given jobs to me and my family. >> he is also a dentist, he admits the piñata trade isn't quite as lucrative as it used to be, because now there's more competition. christmas is the busiest time of the year, they will make four to 5,000 in a month, and charge about $2 for these stars.

>> they represent the christmas star. and led them to bethlehem. >> this stretch of road in mexico city is called the kilometer of the piñatas, artisans say that machines are now changing what was once a strictly hand made craft, machines are now cutting the paper and making the bodies of piñatas. >> i feel melon collie because this tradition is coming to an end, our parents taught us this. >> alena vazquez says the traditions will endure. she says piñatas are not only firmly rooted in catholicism,ner in the spirit of mexico, they are also an extense of a person who made them. at this time of year, people are always looking for the traditional piñatas and that's difficult to find when it is made by a machine.

and business is change, the artisan are adapting and know how to satisfy the customers that is the value we are promoting. for kids it will remain a game that comes with a prize. >> i like the pina thats because i can hit them and eat the candy. not so for christmas, it is peanuts oranges, and guavas that come out of these. natasha, al jazeera, mexico city. >> they were one of the biggest bands ever. >> and now the beetles has finally been made available to online screening services, more than 200 songs from the original albums are now available. they wish their fan as happy christmas as the announcement was made. that's it from the news hour,

bye bye.

>> battle for rad maddie. ramadi. jazeera live from london,g al also coming up, palestinians prepare for christmas day with continues violence in the west bank. storms and under toes sweep through parts of the united states, causing several deaths and travel chaos.