>> this is al jazeera. >> hello, i'm maryam nam zee. nemazee. coming up in the next 60 minut minutes. iraqis are close to recapturing the city of ramadi from i.s.i.l. travel chaos. as christmas celebration begin around the world, worshipers at

the vatican are attending the pope's christmas eve mass. and we report from bethlehem, continued violence in the occupied west bank. >> and i'm with all the sports including former fifa vice president has arrived in his inflativehisnative uruguay. where he'll face corruption scandal. the iraqi army says it's liberated large sections of ramadi from islamic state of iraq and the levant. edging forward street by street to the city center but slowed down by explosive devices left behind by i.s.i.l. gerald tan reports. >> reporter: as the day moves

on, iraqi forces trying to retake ramadi, have made a sobering admission, it will take time. i.s.i.l. fighters have been in control of the city since may, backed by air strikes ground troops are edging forward street by street towards the center. >> morale is high and god willing we will keep advancing to retake the whole of ramadi city. we are now in tamin district and god willing we will liberate the remaining part of ramadi. >> they are proving a difficult foe, they have planted explosive booby traps, slowing down advancing troops but it hasn't stopped them. >> translator: following the liberation of the area teams from the 16th tuition started work to remove and defuse the bombs planted in the roads and in the houses.

all the bombs have been tee fused. >> reporter: the iraqi government is confident that its security forces are in the final stage of this operation. >> translator: there is a well knit plan fop followed by th foe counter-terrorism forces. >> ramadi's littered with rubble and shrapnel. urban battle feed. 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. that both seem unlikely. gerald tan, al jazeera. >> jockey mjoining me now in th, thank you for coming in to speak to us. what's behind this shift in the ground? why is the iraqi army comaibl nocapablenow of taking back rame

it hasn't in months in the past? >> this has been months in the planning. ramadi fell last may, it has been quite some time. the shift is of course you have better command structures in the iraqi military. there have been changes at the very top with the generals and chief of the army. so that's actually helped the army have a much more coherent strategy. in addition you have the coalition led by the u.s. and also the u.k. supporting the army with air power of but also in terms of training but there's also the other element that's hugely important which is the sunni tribal elements being involved and helping with the iraqi army to push forward on ramadi. >> and that's something that we didn't see in tikrit, in this case we see people who are local to that indigenous to that particularlparticular area the s involved. how important is that it's important who is involved in the

fighting often both sides. >> different than tikrit. one the iraqi army taking part, not just specifically the militias leading the fight in tikrit. that's very important. second, having these indigenous tribal fighters being involved because they will hold the ground after it's cleared of i.s.i.l. fighters. that's hugely important. if you clear it and leave it ungoverned, you will still have different criminal elements gangs and so forthcoming forward. that's a very important step. however, we don't know what the next few days will bring. there have been many suicide attacks and booby traps around ramadi so it is remaining to be seen how the actual strategy will unfold totally. >> the thought is they will take ramadi sooner than later but as you said there have been set backs in the form of booby traps and explosive devices left

behind by i.s.i.l. if and when ramadi is taken by the iraqi government what do they need to keep their tribal force he on their side and reconstitute the iraqi army so it is a force that is trusted by local people there? >> that's the big challenge. iraq since 2003 has never had a policing force. it's always been the army doing the policing. we'll have to see what happens in ramadi afterwards, that the army can be trusted and there is no suicide attacks and the people can trust their government to protect them. that will be hugely important. you will have elements that will want to undermine the government and attack, you will see that in areas that have been cleared by i.s.i.l, but having the political process starting to try to have the people of ramadi involved in their own reconstruction and their own policing let's say. so that will be the real challenges for the government.

>> in iraq we have to take one day at a time but is it too early to talk about the fight for mosul? >> the fight for mosul has been delayed time and again. mostly after ramadi it will be fallujah it's been delayed time and again and the people are suffering hugely both in ramadi and mosul. hopefully, sooner rather than later. >> thank you for coming in and sharing your thoughts with us. >> thanks. >> well reports are emerging that the families of i.s.i.l. fighters and injured fighters themselves will be allowed to leave rebel held areas near the syrian capital damascus. they will allegedly be given safe passage and then taken to the i.s.i.l. stronghold of raqqa. for more gabrielle estled elizoo joins us. what do we know gab gabriel?

>> the u.n. is quote unquote involved in this potential dealing. u.n. officials backing away from reports that it is a u.n. brokered deal. instead the official tells us, the u.n. is an observer, observer to the agreement concerning yar mu yarmouk but nt signatory to it. the syrian observatory for human rights, ngo, would open up a clear passage way of potentially hundreds of i.s.i.l. fighters and family members as well, safe passage out of that refugee camp and back to the i.s.i.l. stronghold of raqqa. it was unclear if any of the other armed affection inside

that refugee camp would be party to this agreement or not. that would be the al qaeda-linked el nusra front operating in the camp as well as pro, and antigovernment militants also operating there that have sort refuse divided up areas of the sprawling refugee camp and sort of taken them over. so lot of questions still. but the u.n. is saying that they are involved in this potential, key word potential deal. we are hearing if it does go through it so happen as early as saturday where you could start to see some of these fighters leaving that refugee camp. >> so some of the fighters will be leaving. we know that the yarmouk refugee camp has been the scene of heavy fighting near damascus and many civilians trapped inside. why would any potential deal be important? >> because the u.n. says that

there are about still 18,000 refugees, nnlt innocent civilias living inside this refugee camp. primarily because there are so many fighting factions inside, the u.n. can't get aid inside. ban ki-moon says yarmouk is the deepest circle of hell. there are 18,000 people that desperately need help but the u.n. can't get it to them. the thinking is if they can get some of these i.s.i.l. fighters out of there and potentially other fighters as well it could open up a passage way to get some sort of help in there. now, the assad government of syria probably would support this deal, we would think because they would want i.s.i.l. fighters outside of this refugee camp because it's just on the outskirts of damascus. clearly the u.n. wants access

there or better access so they can get some aid to people that need it. but again, it's important to note that if this does happen, it could be a glimmer of hope of what's been a verve desperate situation in syria for many months and years now really. but it's important to note that this deal is not done yet. there are potentially still obstacles in place. but again if it does happen, we're hearing it could happen as early as this saturday. >> we'll be watching very carefully for any developments on this. thank you very much gabe elizondo live for us at united nations in new york. syria's foreign minister has indicated his country is ready to actively participate in peace talks. in beijing for talks with his chinese counterpart. foreign minister have agreed on key points for the syrian government and the opposition. the talks were approved at the u.n. security council on friday and will begin in january.

>> we are ready to participate in the syrian-syrian dialogue in geneva. without any foreign interference. and our delegation will be ready, as soon as we receive a list of the opposition delegation. >> there's been further violence in diabokur in southern turkey. police fired water cannon and tear gas at hundreds of protestors who carried the coffins of two pkk fighters. diarbakur has strong kurdish population. talks with turkey broke down in july. thousands of crifnlts are in

bethlehem, four palestinians were killed in separate incidents, exghts tyab has the report. >> palestinian scouts marching through the street of bethlehem. leading the annual christmas parade was the patriarch of jerusalem. from his headquarters in occupied east jerusalem to bethlehem have him pass through the concrete separation wall. the palestinians say it is nothing more than a land grab that has strangled bethlehem's tourism. celebrating the birth of jesus christ 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. >> reporter: palestinian leaders scaled back christmas celebrations across the occupied west bank after months of violence that has left around 20 israelis and more than 130 palestinians dead. bethlehem has seel seen some ofe most intense protests. after 30 years of israeli occupation all they want is peace. >> translator: today bethlehem lives in a state of sadness. people have been killed. it lives under siege. settlements, a separation wall and daily killings of its sons. bethlehem has turned from a city that carries a message of peace from 2,000 years ago to a city of the tortured. >> reporter: although festivities have been toned down, many want to celebrate

christmas in the spirit of the holiday. still, the background of integrations is more violent and more lows of life. in separate incidents across the occupied west bank, israelis killed at least four palestinians on christmas eve. the anger that has fueled the months of violence only seem to be growing. even on a day which celebrates hope and peace. imtiaz tyab al jazeera, bethlehem in the occupied west bank. >> well pope francis has stressed the loving nature of god while leading christmas eve last in st. peter's basilica. the service in st. peter's is one of the most important ceremonies in the catholic church. pope francis will deliver a special message on christmas day at noon from the balcony of the vatican. more to come on the al jazeera

newshour, who can actually afford the sky high prices even though there is a building boom in nigeria? the musicians who have banded together in brussels after crossing europe. >> and in sport, luz hamilton responds to a threat by the mercedes team boss. u.s. and afghan security forces have conducted air strikes in a district of the southern province of helmand. sangen has been the location of intense fighting for fo the past week. captured the center of the district by taliban but afghan officials deny that. in the afghan city of lash

kagar. sending update. >> they are telling us that afghan special forces have been deployed to sangen and they are fighting in sangen and security officials say they have control over the district headquarters. we are talking about a very small area, sangen bazaar, and quarter is about 2,000 square meters. that is where fighting is still going on. afghan officials also claim that taliban have a casualty last night and fighting is still going on and they have sent some reinforcement by road but we believe these roarmts haven't rs have not reached, in this province of helmand, the very strategic province of afghanistan it is hard to stay anyplace in this province or any district fully under control of taliban.

even here in the capital of the province in district 4 of the capital, the fighting is going on, and taliban presence are strongly there. >> a huge fire has killed at least 24 people in saudi arabia. the fire broke out in the intensive care unit and maternity unit of the hospital. 21 civil defense teams were involved in fighting the fire on the first floor of the hospital. an investigation has been launched. dr. ahmed al soon gave us the update. >> the source of the fire was from an electrical source what we hear about. and most of the i deaths are patients in intensive care unit. few numbers from the space only one patient who just died from the fire. others are moved to nearby

hospitals, governmental hospitals. all the hospital he in this land, they announce the codes yellow disaster code which is for external disasters, and they started back waiting the patients from emergency department and started to evacuate intensive care units too. >> at least seven people have died in a storm ha that has swet across parts of southern united states. caused flight delays in several states, rescue workers continue to search for missing residents. imoku i.molu reports. >> it's a bleak mid winter in the area, this funnel cloud is one of the many that hit the area this past week, the youngest to die was a seven-year-old boy. his car was picked up and thrown by the went.

>> looking at the risk of tornado activity, tennessee and mississippi. keep in mind, 72,000 people will see the chance of severe weather overnight. >> this is what some of them will be waking up to. >> some houses are totally gone, they're totally gone. >> every so often nature likes to remind us that it wields the real power. 2015 is one of those years, it is an el nino year, a phenomenon where the warmest waters move from one part around the philippines. >> and bank up on north america. about two or 3° more than they should be. it meets up with the warmth in the gulf of mexico, very warm weather, you would expect tornadoes, fine but in december it's a rare event. >> this time the air currents

are make their presence felt regardless of the holiday season. imoku molu, al jazeera. storms forced people from their homes in latin america. the uruguay river swelled to the highest level in nearly a century. 10,000 people had to escape the deluge. 100,000 people in paragay and 4,000 in uruguay. bangladesh police arrested seven people suspected being members of a banned group. be officials found a cache ever weapons. thought to be behind attacks on foreigners and minority groups in the country. russian president vladimir putin says his country will cooperate in building new missiles and fighter jets and

transport aircraft. narendra modi announced new deals. >> we are making progress on plans for nuclear vehicles at two sites. the agreement will increase indian manufacturing consequent in these theaters, it supports the mission of making india i thank president putin for his support. >> human rights watch accused the nigerian army of killing 100 unarmed civilians including children in an unprovoked attack earlier this month. this justified a number of raids over three days, human rights watch found no credible evidence to support the military's version of events. witnesses say the army fired on a mosque at least an hour before the incident at the

roadblock. others were killed later when the shia leader, abraham zakzaki was arrested. the report included the killings were at best an overreaction to a road protest. at worst, a planned attack of the government. daniel bakele is calling for an independent inquiry. >> if you really look into the military version of events, it really does not stack up. the ample chief arrived in the area one hour before and military was deployed around the mosque. prior to his arrival exactly an hour before the chief of staff of the army has arrived in the area. there was actually a deployment of military troops around the mosque, and there are video footage that indicate how soldiers were actually calmly taking positions around the mosque.

and what has apparently happened is members of the sect were erecting roadblocks and it is just impossible how a situation of erecting roadblocks can lead into days of hundreds of thousands -- hundreds of people and hundreds more being wounded. and mind you, the attack was actually followed in the hours and days, not only in the first side, but in other sides and couple of other sites in hours and days following the initial incident. it is a step in the right direction that local government has established this judicial commission of inquiry but it is extremely crucial that the inquiry needs to be fully independent and impartial. >> nigeria's capital is under construction. hundreds of new homes are built

each month but all too often they're priced beyond the reach of the average person. and rents are among the highest in africa. ahmed idris reports. >> it's 5:00 in the morning when douglas james says good-bye to his family before heading off to work. by the time he comes back at night his children will be asleep. >> when you wake up and see me like a stranger i feel bad but i pray to god that one day, we will overcome all this situation. so really, it's not helpful for you to be, to continue being without your children all the time. >> reporter: the civil servant is one of the hundreds of thousands who work in the city that have to live far away from their work. simply because they can't afford the rent. every month hundreds of new homes are built here. but most of them are empty. >> the question you need to ask

yourself is how many people can afford to buy a house of 100 million in nigeria. it is less than 2% of the population. and unfortunately every developer is actually playing in the market to service 2% of the population. >> which means many people here won't be able to afford these new homes. a house in this estate cost about $500,000 to buy. renting one is as much as $25,000 a year. developers put the blame on expensive land and infrastructure and pass the burden to tenants. so for many nigerian cities it is not about a shortage of housing, it is about affordability. that's why people like douglas are pushed to the slums on the outskirts of the city. areas with poor roads and security. nigeria's real estate market is largely unregulated. many of those who are supposed to oversee it are also investors in the industry. a lack of proper regulation

means low earners like douglas will continue to be priced out, relegated to the slums that encircle the city. ahmed idris, al jazeera, abuja, energize. still oto come, breast cancer, authorities reveal a new machine that scans, saving time and money. an-ata making in mexico. and in sport having served time in prison for his role in a corruption scandal, still facing challenges to bid to play for his country. country.

>> 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. >> welcome back. let's take you through the top stories this hour. the iraqi army says it's liberated large parts of the key city of ramadi from i.s.i.l. fighters. reports are emerging that the families of i.s.i.l. fighters and injured fighters themselves will be allowed to leave rebel held areas of

yarmouk and could be held to the stronghold of raqqa. and the preparation is almost over as christmas mass is due to get underway in less than half an hour in bethlehem. 19 refugees including six children have drown when the boat they were traveling in capsized off the turkish coast. the officials say they managed to save some of the refugees, 21 other refugees died this week trying to travel between turkey and greece. more than a million refugees have made their way to europe this year. not clear when throws on board have started their journey. are picked up another 214 people in recent days. since the refugee crisis began, many helped them rebuild their lives.

but one group of refugees have been doing it themselves. they are all musicians and recording a cd to help others in their situation. lawrence lee reports from brussels. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: a few days ago, they hadn't even met yet now these men from syria and iraq are singing and playing traditional songs from their home land in far-away belgium. on the border of macedonia he told us he had to leave his loot behind when he fled diyalla in iraq. now as he waits his asylum hearing he uses his music to help forget journey he has had to make. >> when i touch the instrument, there's a lot of things just go away, you forget a lot of things, even when you play and you remember things. but at the end when you finish

you just forget everything. you don't care about anything. i don't know it's like music means everything for me. are. >> asad was a tv star in his native pakistan, but when he tried 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. >> a lot of musicians have been threatened and has been injured and they try to kill them also. and you can see all those, most of them they leave the country. most of them they could not but they stop singing. they stop playing music. >> reporter: on giza tar is gz

basil. singing for the refugees. >> now we play music what we are feeling, whap with us, and how we live in the damascus. that's all. >> reporter: the people helping organize this are close to their target of $13 thousando print the cds. scerdz are alsconcerts are alsod no. a in a europe increasingly openly hostile to refugees, how war affects all of us even the most talented. >> not bad. >> lawrence lee, al jazeera, brussels. >> a british imam is demanding an explanation from the united states why he was denied passage

to new york. trying to board a flight to jfk, he said u.s. officials were unable to give him a reason for his visa being revoked. not sure why he was prevented from traveling. >> i haven't done nothing wrong in my view. not that i have been convicted of any crime in any country ever in my life. i'm known for my work, i do everything in the public. i live with a death threat from al shabaab, for my work i have done against terrorism. what i do want to know is a simple answer why. if they tell me why at least i know. i believe it is not only me but many muslims who try to go to america today have racial and religious profiling done on them. many have been barred from going and i believe i was the victim of the same. donald trump's desire to ban the muslims looks like it's already

come to fruition even though he is dwroat receive yet to receie from a single american. he and his brother had planned to bring their children to disneyland. thank you for the time to come. have you been given any information as to why you were prevented from bode boarding your flight? >> still no explanation. >> absolutely nothing? >> no explanation. >> tell me what happened at gatwig. you had gotten your boarding pass and gone through security. >> it was in the final step. >> someone approached you. >> british border control. he took our passports and told us there's a problem with the s-star. it was all about boarding all cleared. >> you had your -- >> six or seven weeks.

beforehand. >> the visas and preparation was made beforehand. just at the last moment when you were about to board your flight. what exactly did he say? >> all he said was, your sters are not cleared and upon insisting they said, they had a call from washington, d.c. and not to permit this passengers on board. >> can you remind us who you were with at the time? >> i was with my brother at the time, my nieces and nephews were in the corridor just to wait. when we walked outside, they saw our face were down, our heads were down, they realized there were things that were wrong. they obviously knew there was something wrong, when we were pulled aside it was devastating actually. >> what were you told when you were about to board your flight, when you checked in, how did you

feel? >> i mean it couldn't get any worse. because if we had been told while we are checking in still there is like, you know, like you have time to go but when you are just about to board the plane the last moment and you have been told all the kids have built their hopes up and they get told that you're not going on your holiday imagine how that must feel? >> so what are you doing about it now? you've already been in touch with your local mp, your representative to the british parliament. what are you loapg will happen? >> i hope they will come and give us an explanation, because this is totally utterly wrong. >> do you think he will be able to help? these decisions need to be solely in the hands of the u.s. authorities. >> well, i think he needs to step up his game and demand an explanation. be he's a prime minister. he's our local bloke, he's a prime minister, he should get up

and demand an explanation. >> the u.s. border protection says there's different categories of not being admitted. they include issues health related, prior convictions, security reasons and violations of immigration rules. very broad categories. >> still haven't been told any -- >> no explanation? >> no reason whatsoever. >> well, tarek mahmoud, thank you very much for taking the time to share your experience of what took place there. >> thank you. >> well now hundreds of people have been out on the streets of chicago protesting against the police killings of black men. demonstrators have criticized the police's treatment of black suspects and called upon the mayor to resign. recently released footage showing a white officer shooting 17-year-old la quan mcdonald 16 times in october last year. the officer has since been charged with first degree

murder. more than 20 million people in the united states are living in mobile homes. most of them don't own the land their homes sit on. and a few rights as tenants. in the second part of our special series john hendren talks to those who want more legal protection. >> heather mariano has lived in her mobile home for 13 years, she liked it so much she planned to buy another one nearby for her children. >> we were actually deciding this when we got this notice. >> then her husband lost his job, now they're both out of work. the home is not movable and they owe $17,000 on it. >> it's a either going to go into the garbage or the bank's going to take it back or they have to figure out what to do with it. we're not children, homemakers, you know school teachers, whatever, we're just dollar signs. just because we live in a mobile

home. not a stick built house. we wanted to live a nice life and have nice things for our kids. >> for these living in a trail are park it is an indignity suffered over and poamp the and. >> if your richest relative lives in a house that you have to help take wheels off of it, you may be a redneck. >> we are regular americans, we're not white trash. we have chosen to own our own home and a lot of people work all their lives. what's happening in our societal is people in a lower bracket are being secluded i think from having their own american dream which is very sad. >> for profit mobile home park owners didn't agree to talk to us perhaps because they have little reason to. because in most u.s. states

there are no protections. the land owner can sell at will, so-called mobile homes are not mobile at all. so moving them is not an option. >> they're not mobile. that's a huge misnomer. they are mobile as far as getting from the factory to the site but not intended to be moved again. there's nowhere to be moved too. they may still have a mortgage on that home. i call homeowners in manufactured housing prisoners in their own homes. >> reporter: these homeowners were recently notified that this park is about to close in spring. 32 homes will have to be torn down or moved at the owner's expense. the park owner didn't mention that when they moved in. john hendren, al jazeera, seattle. in part 3 we move from mobile homes to vans. it's almost a lack of retirement savings that leaves aging americans with no option but to live in their vehicles.

on friday, shia brittanzi has the story. doctors have developed a breast cancer screening machine that saves time and money. breast cancer is the leading cause of death for women worldwide. >> this is the lates innovation in breast cancer invented. mammogram or x ray of the breast. >> the problem with digital x rays is when the lady has dense breast tissue, and that happens in almost half women, particularly those aged between 40 and 50, that density can mask the cancer. >> this machine is able to x ray the breast and take an ultrasound at the same time, penetrating the breast tissue to

find the cancer. >> the idea would be that you can catch that breast cancer early in one go rather than having to ask the woman to come back repeatedly for more studies in the future. >> when nora who is also a ma'am og rafema'ammammographyer, found came back. >> it's great to see so much progress being made, especially the time you need to have the mammogram and have an trawl sound afterwards. >> tests are safe and effective. studies by doctors around the world suggest that around five of every thousand women tested with a mammogram x ray have a tumor detected.

that total rises to around twill of every thousand tested with an ultrasound. now, the developers of the akesso says its technology would provide women with better quality cancer screening without two separate tests. the machine which costs $350,000 can be used to reach a large number of people. >> we would like to see greater manufacturing capability in south africa and developing this machine in our country and being able to market it to europe, we hope eventually to the united states, and throughout the african continent and through this development make a difference to the health status of women. >> while women will save time and money, developers say the greater benefit will be the quicker detection of cancer to save lives.

famida miller, al jazeera, capetown. >> some artisans in mexico city have been make infor generations, times are change as aal jazeera's natasha guinane reports. >> if you are a pin-ata artisan, glueing and wrapping for 40 years. >> i like the colors of the pifnatas, yopinatas. >> he admits the pinata trade isn't quite as lucrative as it used to be. because now there's more competition. christmas is the busiest time of year. he and his family members will make four to $5,000 in a month and charge about $2 for these

stars. they represent the christmas star. in the bible the star revealed the birth of jesus to the three wise men and led them to bethlehem. this stretch of road in mexico city is called the kilometer of the pinatas, machines are now changing what was once a strictly hand made craft. machines are cutting the paper and making the bodies of pinasas. pipinatas. >> elana vasquez with the council of culture and art, say they are not firmlying rooted in catholicism.

>> the traditional pinatas are difficult to find when they are made by machines. the artisans are adapting and know how to satisfy their customers. that is the value we are promoting. >> reporter: but for kids, pinatas will remain a game that comes with a prize. >> translator: i like the pinatas because i can hit them and eat the candy. >> reporter: not so for christmas. it's peanuts, oranges and quaw havguavasthat come spilling out. >> coming up in sports, the golden state warriors are still in a league of their own.

>> now hong kong conservationists are worried the rare pink dolphin are close to extinction. at most, 65 are alive. divya gop alan ha gopalan has m. >> it's turned out to be a good day for these visitors. >> i was really lucky to see two pink dolphins. it was so fantastic, so beautiful. >> i was so surprised when i saw them jumping from the water. >> it's a surprise for everyone on the boat, even the tour guide. >> nowadays, dolphins appear to

be quite scary of the charters. for this morning i mean they get quite close. it's very real. >> pink dolphin numbers have dropped more than 60% in the last decade. conservationists say it is mostly due to major building projects in hong kong waters. they point out the 50 kilometer bridge connecting macao and juhai, they fear plans to expand hong kong's airport would drive away what's left of the dolphin population. this area is known as a dolphin corridor. this is where they travel through to feeding spots and cleaner waters. but this is also the proposed site for airport's third runway. construction would involve dumping of thowns o thousands of sand to reclaim sea area. the dolphin protection society say they have consulted the

airport on dolphink plans but their efforts have been ignored. they are considering action, despite the airport's offer to build a sanctuary. >> the dolphins have been swimming in these waters for centuries. on the sidelines as hong kong transformed from a fishing village to one of asia's biggest commercial hubs. they have paid the price for city's growth with less and less space to call home. divya gopalan, al jazeera, hong kong. now with sana in doha. >> thank you very much, maryam. >> court proceedings on charges of fraud and money laundering.

the former head of south america football confederation, sepp blatter was extradited from switzerland, the 83-year-old faces two to 15 years in prison if convicted. while the u.s. also wants to extradite him on the charge of fraud and corruption. blues are considering bringing back one of their legends. the london club over di didierer

drog. er drogba. they wanted the 37-year-old back for the mls season. the international athletic federation iaaf is sending its first inspection team to russia in january to examine the doping ban. while the nation was suspended last year, to cover up failed drug tests, russia must take a series of steps to ensure its performance in the real olympic games in august. friction between him and nicholas berg but it is not affecting the team's sense. hamilton who won a third title this year, said considered

changing the team's lineup if the rivalry starts to affect results negatively. in 2014, tensions seemed to spill onto the track with rossberg admitting he intentionally hit him at the belgian grand prix prix. >> suffered huge blow, james anderson has an injury to his right calf muscle, ruling him out of the match. 426 wickets in his 110 tests. the test begins on saturday and is the first of a four match series. pakistan's one day captain, mohammed hafiz have boycotted. 23-year-old fast bowler spent

three months in prison and was banned for five years after he was implicated in a spot-fixing case also involving teammates mohammed aziz and sal imran. shortly for next month's one day series in new delhi. new zealand. one day captain was adamant with his refusal to play with amir. in his statement, he said i will not attend the camp as long as amir is there. i don't want to comment on hafiz's decision but we both have the same stance. 10ist number 4 robin soderling has retired because of a long struggle with glandular fever. the first player to defeat

rafael nadal. ten years on the men oops tour winning over $10 million in prize money. his biggest win was the paris masters in 2010. the defending nba champions golden state warriors remain undefeated, perry who is hot favorite to win the time again. as the warriors went on to win comfortably. and that's all your sport for me. we'll have more later on. hand you back to maryam. >> thanks very much sana. full program coming up for you in just a few moments' time. stay with us. us.

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>> i've been asked to keep my voice down cause we are so close to the isil position >> who is in charge, and are they going to be held to accout? >> but know we're following the research team into the fire >> they're learning how to practice democracy... >> ...just seen tear gas being thrown... >> ...glad sombody care about us man... >> several human workers were kidnapped... >> this is what's left of the hospital >> is a crime that's under reported... >> what do you think... >> we're making history right now... >> al jazeera america

sesss office the battle the iraqi army says it is close to capturing the stattegecally important city from isil. ♪ hello. you are watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up: >> pilgrims have gathered in bethlehem as midnight gas gets understandway on christmas gay. violence continues in the occupied west bank with another four palestinians killed. storms and tornados sweep through parts of the u.s. causing several