russian air raids in syria, kill an prominent opposition leader, and hit a maternity hospital near aleppo. ♪ i'm lauren taylor, this is al jazeera live from london nch. prime minister modi becomes the first prime minister to set foot in pakistan in more than a decade. and haitian refugees have been stranded since july and are now facing an outbreak of cholera. and we travel to the chinese

city where the telegram is still proving popular. ♪ hello. it's been confirmed within the last hour that the leader of the rebel group has been killed in syria. he died in an aerial raid by targeted his group's headquarters in damascus. the group says it's secret headquarters were targeted by what they describe as russian planes. al jazeera has gained first-hand access to the site of a maternity hospital damaged by russian air strikes in syria. at least 14 people have been killed in the most recent attacks on aleppo province. >> translator: there have been russian air raids against the

syrian city in aleppo on the border with turkey. the raids targeted this maternity hospital. this is not the first time this hospital has been hit. as you can see, the outer fence has been destroyed, and there are many injured inside of the building. this is some of the damage. and nearby, a petrol station was also targeted by the russian jets. as you can see the flames are still rising. according to witnesses, the russian raids killed many people, and injured others near this round about. the civil defense teams are trying to put out this fire. the russian fighter jets are still above us here in the government of aleppo. it wouldn't surprise us if these jets continue their raids that started two years ago. the russian air raids have increased since the russian jet was shot down by turkey in november. >> hashem ahelbarra joining us

now. tell us about the significance of this leader being killed. >> reporter: lauren this is a huge setback for the syrian opposition. he is the top military commander of the syrian opposition on the outskirts of the cop -- capitol of damascus. he commands a group of 20,000 well-trained fighters there. he is someone that could easily send troops in different areas, fire rockets to target the heart of the capitol. so he was seen as an immediate threat to president bashar al-assad, and the army that commands -- the army [ inaudible ] merger of different conservative and separatists groups operating in the area.

the opposition was always looking at him as a man when d-day comes, he was going to be the one to secure damascus, take control of it, and start a new era in the country. >> there were question marks of who might be involved in talks about the future of syria, and where does that leave that process? >> reporter: it leaves the process in tatters and also it puts the opposition in a very delicate situation just in the past year, for example, when the government targeted two top military commanders in the north, we saw their armies severely undermined. i'm talking about the [ inaudible ] brigade, it's leader was killed, and also the [ inaudible ] 30 or more of their top military commanders were killed in an air strike and the group was severely undermined, and for many, their

hope was basically someone like this did come [ inaudible ] international push to find a political way out of the crisis in syria, and engage both parties to start talks in geneva, and he was going to be one of the main members of the opposition and [ inaudible ] was definitely going to be taken into account. now we are going to see what happens on the outskirts of damascus, and whether the army of islam is going to find a successor as charismatic as this man. >> thank you very much indeed, hashem ahelbarra in turkey. thank you. ♪ in the first time in more than a decade, an indian leader has made a visit to his

country's rival, pakistan. it all coincides with the birthday of prime minister sharif. the new nuclear powers are expected to discuss a wide range of issues, including the disputed region of kashmir. kamal hyder says there is significant economic importance attached to the visit. >> reporter: the first progress would be on the willingness to talk on kashmir. that is one of the bones of contention for pakistan. for the indians it would be to see tangible progress into the probe of the mumbai incident in 2008. importantly it shows that both sides are willing to talk, but the more important thing is the economic aspect of all of this because recently the indians were in [ inaudible ] with the [ inaudible ] gas pipeline, that pipeline will travel through afghanistan, pakistan, to india. india is looking at pakistan as a conduit to central asia, so

both sides exploring the win-win situation where they are able to normalize relations, but that is something that will take months if not years of hard talking. >> faiz jamil says some politicians in india are accusing modi of show boating during the visit. >> reporter: this visit came as a complete surprise to everyone. it started as a tweet on the prime minister's account that he was going to stop over in pakistan. which ended up one on one talks. many are calling this a grand gesture just like he had in 2014 after winning the election and inviting sharif here to new delhi for his swearing-in ceremony. but many in the opposition say every grand gesture have fizzled out soon after. >> translator: if the decision is not preposterous, then it is utterly ridiculous.

you do not conduct diplomacy at the apex level in such a manner. >> reporter: modi is the only one that can at least try to push relations forward here as he has the support of hard liners here. but whether there is any solid break through this time, or just another round in a hot and cold relationship remains to be seen. >> reporter: fore afghan soldiers have been sent to helmand province to help fight the taliban. at least 20 people were killed in the fighting on thursday night. at least four districts have slipped into taliban control. the army is being backed up by tribal fighters and u.s. air strikes. our correspondent is close to the fighting. he says people have been trapped in the area by the conflict.

>> reporter: we with hearing from afghan security officials here in helmand. they are telling us that reinforcement by road just reached the district less than 24 hours ago. afghan security officials deployed afghan special forces to the district. we are hearing from residents of the district that heavy fighting is still going on in a small bizarre. afghan security officials also telling us they have now the control of police headquarter building and the district headquarter building, but we are talking about the fighting in a very small area. it's about two to 3,000 square meters, so we are hearing face-to-face fighting is going on still there, and we are getting phone calls from the residents, civilians who could not afford to leave the area, during this fighting, and they

are complaining that heavy use of artillery and bombardment is -- they are the ones who are suffering, and there were a number of civilian casualty, at least 20 if confirmed by afghan officials, that 20 civilians were killed in the last 24 hours. israeli forces have shot dead a palestinian woman. a curety forces spokesperson said she was the driver of a car that tried to ram border guards. witnesses are disputing the circumstances, they say the car was moving slowly and the guards were trying to shut the border. fighting in yemen's contested city of ta'izz hassle killed at least 13 rebels opposed to the internationally recognized government, and at least four civilians are reported to have died.

aid groups say a houthi siege on ta'izz have prevented supplies from getting in. >> reporter: this mosque now bares the scars of combat. the houthis and fighters loyal to the former president saleh are locked in a bitter struggle with pro-government forces for control of the city. fierce battles are taking place on several fronts. at the eastern and western city gates, pro-government forces are trying to fend off houthi fighters from entering, and there are reports that the houthis may be about to receive reinforcements from nearby towns. for now a blockade means nothing can get in. the strangle hold is meant to force the houthis out, but it is also effecting this hospital. doctors say they have run out of essential supplies and can't treat anymore patients. a similar scene plays out hundreds of kilometers to the south in this hospital in the

port city of aden, most departments here can no longer function, but the ward for kidney patients was spared from the bombs. >> translator: when the war started it was impossible to go to the hospital. it would be considered a miracle if you managed to get in. >> reporter: with aden now back under government control, the race is on to rebuild this hospital, and resume much-needed services. >> translator: a lot of people come to the hospital. we have all types of military and civilian cases. some injured military fighters from ta'izz also receive treatment here. we work with what we have. >> reporter: it has been more than a year since the houthis took over yemen's capitol, sana'a, and nearly nine months since the saudi-lead coalition launched its military campaign. the chaos is straining basic medical services to the point of collapse. gerald tan, al jazeera. still to come, heading into the unknown to start a new life,

we meet the refugee families trying to find a home in europe. and like a rolling stone, we meet the americans embracing a mobile life on the road. ♪

♪ hello there, a reminder of the top stories. a leader of a top rebel group has been killed in syria. he died from an air strike which targeted his group's headquarters in damascus.

more solders have been sent to afghanistan's helmand province to help fight the taliban. they have been deployed in the district where at least 20 people were killed in fighting on thursday night. the flow of refugees into europe has not stopped for winter. thousands are still making the journey. on greece's border with macedonia, our correspondent reports. >> reporter: tired, but determined to carry on. heading into the unknown to start a new life. the border here has been tightened with new restrictions. only iraqis, syrians, and f afghans are allowed in. macedonia is next. but reaching northern europe is not easy. many have escaped wars, rape, and islamic state of iraq and the levant. this iraqi family fled sinjar, a

town that until recently under isil control in iraq. >> sinjar was cleared of isil, but everyone there wanted to establish their own authority. we decided to live together in peace or die trying. >> reporter: the flow of refugees crossing the border to macedonia is constant. so far over 2,000 people have crossed. and on wednesday, over 3,400 people went through. the u.n. refugee agency said some were subject to maltreatment and push backs by the police. volunteer and aid groups are doing what they can to help. >> we have a camp with medical services. we have shelter which is covered and heated. >> reporter: come greek charities are also cooperating, a group of chefs and volunteers are preparing hot meals.

>> if we do not give the people food at the time they need it, we are nothing. >> reporter: about 20-minutes drive from the border, this gas station became a resting point. some arrived the night before. some protestant groups felt it's time to preach. >> we are giving people some free magazines, that speak how god will help their life. happening arabic and [ inaudible ] leaflets and copies of the bible. this is a pharmacist from syria. he says the treatment he has got here is rough. >> translator: we slept on the bus, no toilets, no food. i want to live in dignity and have a better life for my children. >> reporter: for many the risk is worth it, there is hope for a better and safer future despite

the hurdles along the way. dozens of people have died in nigeria at an explosion at a gas plant. many people are said to have been trapped and burnt to death. it is thought a truck carrying butane gas exploded. the president extended his condolences to the families. voting in the central african republic has been delayed for a fifth time, because boxes of ballot papers have not reached all of the provinces in time. elections had been scheduled for sunday, and has now been postponed to december 30th. tania page reports. >> reporter: boxes of ballot papers destined to the polling stations. for the fifth time, the vote has been delayed, and the hangar it's clear why, tons of material are still sitting here. it's a big job.

>> very big job, and we cannot sleep until we have it done. >> reporter: each flight that leafs brings the country a step closer to the chance of a fresh start. supporters of the most prominent muslim candidate circle a market. muslim armed groups and christian vigilantes have been fighting since the mostly muslim seleka group was driven from power in 2013. they had overthrown the president a few months earlier. these check points are meant to keep the muslim community safe. those who dare to leave this zone risk their lives. some feel the elections have been rushed and risk excluding people like this man. >> translator: this election has been badly prepared. there hasn't been enough time, the international community has pushed us towards these elections. we have said they should happen, but they must be good elections,

so we don't have people contesting the results afterwar afterwards. >> reporter: one of the leading candidates has won the backing of the exiled president's party. >> translator: central africa republic will never be ready because there is no [ inaudible ]. we have put in place an electoral authority who's aim is to organize this election to allow the next government to recreate the state. >> reporter: christmas day was going to be the last day of campaigning, but yet another delay, this time three days, will cast even more doubt on the credibility of the vote. ♪ >> reporter: it's a fraught time for central africans who have witnessed more coups than elections. no one thinks this vote will be perfect, but it's the best that can be hoped for right now. tania page, al jazeera, central

african republic. thousands of people forced from the dominican republic will be spending the final week of the year in makeshift camps in haiti. they had to leave the dominican republic after the government began a crackdown earlier this year on what it called illegal migrants. some effected say they were born there, but can't prove it. a cholera outbreak has also been reported at some of the camps. adam raney has the latest from one camp. >> reporter: things are much bleaker at this camp than they were six months ago when we first visited. al jazeera was the first international media to come film at this camp. since then there has been an outbreak of cholera. dozens have come down with the illness, at least nine have doned from it in this camp. but there are cases in camps that run up and down this border. this follows the deportation or fleeing crisis of thousands who left the dominican republic. manies say they were forced to,

others say the authorities literally deported them. that's a charge that the dominican government continues to deny. people say they sleep in dust and dirt, they breathe this is, and they think that is sometimes the reasons they have come down with cholera. it might be in the water that they drink. they have had no clean water to drink. we spoke with someone from the water department from haiti who was installing a very basic water filtration system and some latrines. so far they are not operational. that pump is running dry, and people continue to get water from the river and aqueducts, continuing to place themselves at risk, in a camp where we see young children using the toilet in the open in this camp. increasing the likelihood of more cases of cholera and more deaths here.

now to the final part of our series on mobile homes in the u.s. many retired people are embracing the choice to live in vans. >> reporter: van dwellers congratulate here in the arizona desert, often after months of seasonal work in international parks or warehouses. bob is known as the guru of van dwelling. >> my website was just inundated with people who were losing their jobs, losing their homes, losing their apartments, and literally no choice but to move into their vans. >> reporter: these aren't luxury recreational vehicles, but as the name suggests, vans. >> reporter: i hear from people who have just retired on social security, especially woman, a lot of woman who just retired on social security, their social security is 5, 6, 7, 800 a

month. and in the u.s. you can't live on that. >> reporter: but he ands many soon embrace the freedom. like debra. a brain injury meant she has to retire earlier than expected. >> waking up and seeing everything i have known and knowing everything is very comforting for me, and works for me. >> reporter: alan was in advertising, with the 2008 crash, many of his clients disappeared and his retirement depleted. >> here is my career going this way, and by life going this way. i don't worry about a lot of the things i used to worry about, and the only concern now is some day i'll get too old to do this. >> reporter: and then what? >> and then i might be moving in with family members.

[ laughter ] >> reporter: at a nearby church in courtside, former biker turned preacher, michael, estimates that about a third of those accepting free meals are retirees living in their vans. >> i don't know of that many that would want to go back to a house. almost every one of them will tell you, if you talk to them long enough, or for a while, they don't want to die alone. >> my security is a 357 magnum. and i'm just going to end my life. if i can't live the quality of life that i choose, then i'm going to end my life. >> reporter: it's a model of old age that combines necessity and choice, and one that has become startingly relayable as middle class people consider the rest of their lives. cleanup has begun after

storms caused major damage in six states in the u.s. to the eastern united states, who are experiencing their warmest winter in years, in new york temperatures soared to 21 degrees celsius, beating the previous record of 13 degrees, set in 1988. flooding has forced 100,000 people from their homes in paraguay. the government has declared a state of emergency. one of the first chinese cities to get access to telegrams will likely be the last to maintain the practice of sending them. rob mcbride reports from shanghai. >> reporter: this woman is about to do something very few of her generation will ever do, send a telegram to her parents. one of china's last remaining telegraph counters is in this

telegraph office in shanghai. the city was one of the first linked to the telegraph system, and will likely be one of the last to hold on to it. >> translator: it's nostalgic for my parents. they are from a time when people used to write letters. so this will be like a souvenir for them to keep. >> reporter: the telegram begins its journey first by fax, sent to another office where it will be transmitted. this is low tech, in a high-tech world. the telegraph uses machinery that is about as sophisticated as it will ever become. a museum charts the progress of the service, including the code books that gave the thousands of chinese characters individual numbers so they could be transmitted. a service that peaked at 44 million telegrams per year in

1988, has been in steep decline ever since. >> translator: traditionally, people would still use telegrams for congratulations or for condolences, but even those uses are now dropping off. >> reporter: hardly surprising in a country that now has hundreds of millions of users signed up to one of the many messaging apps available on their smartphones. the message to say the telegram is on its way has gone in a couple of moments, the telegram itself will take a week. with such a relatively long wait in the age of the smartphone it will probably take more than nostalgia to save the tall gram. christmas is being enjoyed around the world in different ways. thousands were at sydney's beech for a swim. the warm weather meant the

traditional christmas barbecue was banned in some parts of the country because of the dangers of bush fires. plenty more on our website, details of the indian prime minister's visit to pakistan, the address again, aljazeera.com. ♪ doing it in an unique way. this is a show about science by scientists. tonight "tech know" journeys into the jungle, this is one of the iconic animals of costa-rica with post cards of this thing. a beautiful and fragile place on the planet is under attack.