the leader of syrian opposition group is killed by a russian air strike on the suburbs of damascus. ♪ hello, this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up, the christmas surprise. modi becomes the first indian prime minister to set foot in pakistan for more than a decade. we'll bring you any latest from haiti's border with the dominican republic where haitian refugees have been stranded since -- july.

and it is not a ride for the faint hearted the cabin sky in a georgian mining town. ♪ hello. the leader of a rebel group has been killed in syria. the group says it's secret headquarters, situated on the outskirts of the syrian capitol, damascus, was targeted in an air strike which what it said were russian war planes. the group leader has died in the attack. it is the largest rebel group in damascus, it is one of the most organized rebel groups and consists of thousands of fighters. al jazeera has gained firsthand access to the site of a maternity hospital damaged by russian air strikes in syria.

at least 14 people have been killed in recent attacks. our correspondent has this exclusive report. >> translator: there have been russian air raids against this syrian city on aloan poe. the raids have 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. russian fighter jets are still above us here. it wouldn't be surprise if these planes continue their aerial

raids that started two days ago. the russian air strikes have increased since the russian jet was shot down by turkey in november. qatar's foreign minister has met his russian counterpart with syria atop of the agenda. they said they were pleased with the way talks had gone. meeting comes a day after china and syria agreed on a framework for upcoming peace talks in geneva. >> translator: we discussed in detail what is necessary to be done. to implement the agreement on the syrian settlement that was reached within the framework of the international support group of syria and the u.n. security council. >> translator: we agree with russian party that the worsening of this crisis doesn't benefit the interests of neither party.

we are aware that the delays in the solution of this crisis is harmful to all of the parties, and first of all to the syrian people. meanwhile iraq's prime minister says his forces aim to recapture mosul from isil after they have defeated the group in ramadi. it says the military has been making advances but it has been slowed down by explosive devices left behind by isil. mosul is iraq's second largest city and was seized by isil last year. ♪ now for the first time in more than a decade an indian leader has made a visit to his country's neighboring rival pakistan. the surprise visit has been both praised and condemned in his country.

kamal hyder reports. >> reporter: neighbors not friends perhaps how the relationship between these two nations could be described. it was not only a surprise visit by the indian prime minister to pakistan, but an historic one. back home in indian one of modi's political allies sees this as a pivotal moment. >> translator: the prime minister said that if pakistan takes step further than india was ready to take two steps forward, so the steps being taken must be welcome, because if ties improve, then it will benefit both nations, the surrounding regions and also the world. >> reporter: this is a rivalry that dates back to the earliest days of independence. they have fought three wars since they were split into two countries back in 1947. two of the conflicts were about the himalayan region of kashmir,

which they both lay claim to. and over the years each has accused the other of supporting or harboring terrorists. >> if the decision is not preposterous, then it is utterly ridiculo ridiculous, you do not conduct diplomacy at the apex level in such a cavalier manner. >> reporter: that skepticism isn't unexpected considering the history of the two countries. kamal hyder, al jazeera. the former pakistani high commissioner to the u.k. says a warming of relations could have huge benefits for the region. >> terrorism is the main problem

confronting the region. plus europe, you have seen what happened. so this is a main concern for the world powers, and they have been really keen that pakistan and india should get together. and i'm very happy they have done it. because unless we fight terrorism, there is not going to be peace in the region or anywhere else. this is a goodwill mission of the prime minister. in the background of what he has been saying in the recent past, he was very hawkish, but he has come down and himself taken the initiative of visiting pakistan. >> more now on our news a bit earlier that a very prominent rebel leader in syria, opposition leader, has been killed in an air strike that

took place on the outskirts of the syrian capitol, damascus? the eastern area. hashem ahelbarra joins us now for a little bit more on this story. how significant a figure was he within -- not just his group, but the sort of broader opposition movement? >> reporter: he was the most powerful military commander in the southern part of the country and particularly in damascus. this is someone who had -- his headquarters just a few miles from the syrian presidential palace, who was seen as an imminent threat to president bashar al-assad. he was a cleric. he was a military commander, and he has the capabilities to convince fighters, leaders, to join his army. the army of islam.

this is an army of about 20,000 well-trained and quipped fighters, and they were basically seen as the army which was going to take over damascus if the government collapses. >> what would this mean for assad's control in the areas around the capitol where he has really struggled in recent months, but perhaps now things are moving a little bit more in his favor? >> reporter: this comes as a very critical moment for the syrian opposition, and it could definitely boost the troops of president bashar al-assad. in 2013 a top military commander was killed. and his brigade never recovered from the loss of its founder.

a year later, many military commanders were killed in idlib, and the faction was severely undermined. there are concerns now that this group could disintegrate or maybe split because he was a founder of the army. this could be bashar al-assad's rare chance to reverse some of the gains made by the rebels on the outskirts of damascus, and stage a comeback and take over some of those areas. i have been talking to members of the syrian opposition, and they say they got some guarantees from the americans and the international community, that the russian and the syrian government was sort of -- start some confidence-building measures, and put an end to their air strikes to pave the way for talks to resume in

geneva, next month. but now they have doubts about geneva, and with this death, many now in the opposition say that maybe they may not attend those talks. >> thank you very much, hashem ahelbarra, joining us live from turkey. now more afghan soldiers have been sent to helmand province to help fight the taliban. they have been deployed in sangin district where at least 40 people were killed overnight. the army is being backed up by tribal fighters and u.s. air strikes. our correspondent is in helmand province close to the fighting and says people have been trapped in the area by the conflict. >> we are hearing from afghan security officials here in helmand, they are telling us that reinforcement by a road just reached sangin district,

just less than 24 hours ago, afghan security officials deployed afghan special forces to sangin direct, when we are hearing from the residents that heavy fighting is still going on in a small bizarre, which sangin has, and afghan officials also telling us they have control of the police headquarters building, and the district headquarters. but the fighting is in a very small area, it's about 2 to 3,000 square meters. but we are told heavy face-to-face fighting is going on there. and we're getting complaints, and phone calls from the residents who would not afford to leave the area during the fighting, and they are complaining of heavy use of artillery and bombardment is -- they are the ones who are suffering, and there were a

number of civilian casualties at least 20 confirmed by afghan officials, that 20 were killed in the last 24 hours. more to come for you on al jazeera, heading into the unknown to start a new life. we meet the refugee families trying to find a home in europe. residents and tourists are evacuated in australia's victoria state as wildfires burn out of control. ♪ 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 on al jazeera. the lead of a rebel group has been killed in syria. he died in an air strike which targeted his group's headquarters near damascus. india's prime minister has made a surprise visit to pakistan. it's the first time an indian premier has visited pack tan in more than a decade. and more soldiers have been sent to helmand province in afghanistan to help fight the taliban. fighting in yemen's contested city of ta'izz has killed at least 13 rebels, and at least 4 civilians are reported to have died during the shelling of residential areas. a houthi siege on ta'izz has prevented materials from getting in. >> reporter: there are no safe havens left in ta'izz. 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 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 these normally bustling hospital. doctors say they have run out of supplies and can't treat anymore patients. a similar scene plays out hundreds of kilometers to the south in the port city of aden. the ward for kidney patients was spared from the bombs. something this man is thankful for. >> 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. it has been more than a year since the houthis took over the capitol, and nearly nine months since the saudi-lead coalition launch its campaign. the chaos is straining basic medical services to the point of collapse. gerald tan, al jazeera. israeli forces have shot dead two palestinians including a woman, israeli police say attempted to ram border guards in the west bank. this the first incident an israeli spokesman said the woman

sped towards soldiers. in many the second incident, they said the soldiers shot a car trying to breach the fence. now seven people have been killed in a turkish overnight bombardment of a southeastern turkish city. turkish tanks surrounded the town in an 11-day operation against the pkk. but people in the town say it's the civilians who are suffering. >> translator: we have achieved equality with our turkish brothers, and no one has been excluded, but the recent war is not a cleansing. they are shelling randomly, such

bombing is carried out when there is a war against foreign powers. but they are using it against us. and the flow of refugees into europe hasn't stopped because of winter. thousands are still making the trip to europe. from the 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 afghans are allowed in. reaching northern europe is not easy. many have escaped wars, rape, and the islamic state of iraq and the levant. this iraqi yazidis family fled sinjar, a town that until recently was under isil control in northern iraq.

>> translator: everyone there wants to establish their own authority. we decided either we live in peace or die together trying. >> reporter: the journey remains long and hard. 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 says come were subjected to ill treatment and pushbacks by the macedonian border police. volunteers 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: some greek charities are also cooperating. a group of chefs and volunteers are preparing hot meals. >> if we do not give food at the time people need it, we are

nothing for us. >> reporter: about 20 minute's drive from the border this gas station became a waiting point. families rest and wait to be allowed to continue their journey. some of them arrived the night before. some protestant groups felt it's time to preach. >> we are giving people some free magazines that they speak how god will help their life. >> reporter: arounding out leaflets and copies of the bible. dozens of people have their stories to tell. this is a pharmacist from syria. he says the treatment he has got here is rough. >> 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. two people have drowned and 12 others were injured when they

tried to swim to a spanish enclave in north africa. they were among more than 200 refugees and migrants hoping to get to their area. thousands have attempted to scale the fence around the enclaves in recent years in a bid to reach the area. more refugees were picked up by the italian coast guard. it says it rescued more than 1100 people in the last three days. the head of the roman catholic church has delivered his christmaser sermon. he appealed to palestinian and israelis to try to find peaceful settlement, and also asked his congregation to pray for the people of syria and the hundreds of thousands forced from their home. >> translator: even today, great numbers of men and woman are deprived of their human dignity,

and like the child jesus, suffer cold, poverty and rejection. my our closeness today be felt by those most vulnerable. dozens of people have died in nigeria in an explosion at a gas plant. it happened in the industrial city. it is thought a truck carrying butane gas had exploded. now 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 of those affected say they were born there, but can't prove it. a cholera outbreak has now been reported at some of those camps. adam raney has a latest from one

camp. >> reporter: things are much bleaker at this camp in southern haiti here any dominican border than they were six months ago when we first visited. since then, there has been an outbreak of cholera, dozens of people have come down with that illness, at least nine alone have died from it in this camp, but there have been cases in camps that run up and down this border. this follows the deportation or fleeing crisis of thousands of people who left the dominican republic. many say they were forced to, because they feared for their lives. others say the doe min can government continue to deny. seep say they sleep in dust and dirt. they breathe that in, and they think that is sometimes the reason they come down with cholera. for months they have had no clean water. they go to rivers and aqueducts

nearby. on christmas eve we spoke with someone from the water department from haiti who was installing a very basic water filt trags system. so far that pump is running dry. and people are continuing to put themselves at risk. it is extremely unsanitary, increasing the likelihood of more cases of cholera and death here. recovery teams have begun cleaning up wide-spread damage caused by severe storms and tornados across six u.s. states. at least 14 people have died in the south and midwest, and many homes have been destroyed. in several states flights have been delayed. parts of the eastern united states are experiencing their warmest winter in years. in new york temperatures sored to 21 degrees celsius, beating the previous record of 13

degrees set in 1988. flooding has forced a hundred thousand people from their homes in paraguay, weeks of heavy rain has caused rivers to reach their highest levels in more than 30 years. dozens of houses have been lost in a large bush fire burns out of control in australia's great ocean road. southeastern australia has experienced record heat waves for the month of december. the beach side town are popular with tourists. >> they were all prepared to putting their barbecues on, cooking away, and all of a sudden, i could see the smoke coming out of the hills. all of a sudden it was an hour away, and then a half hour

awide. so they dropped everything and headed here. a mining town in northern georgia boasts one of the oldest commuter systems in the world. >> reporter: this is the daily commute in this town. in what are little more than rusting boxes suspended from steel ropes. it's not for the faint hearted. >> translator: i would be delighted to go with you. but i'm afraid. >> reporter: for those who live above the city, it's the obvious choice. >> translator: you just need two minutes to come here by cable car, but the bus takes an hour at least. >> reporter: marina has been operating cable cars for the past 17 years. >> reporter: it's the fastest

and most comfortable transport. >> reporter: manganese was discovered in the hills in the 19th century. the cable car system was installed in this the 1950s, to ferry workers and all from the mines. the town no longer resembles a socialist utopia, but 11 lines still operate, and the rides are still free for everyone. the cable car system is the public transport for this city, and this one was built in 1952, and it has been running since then, 24/7. and the run keeps them rolling with a lot of oil and unshakable faith in a system that was built to last. >> translator: i think the machinery will outlive me because it is metal. and it will work longer. >> reporter: the town is promised a new network of cable

cars. until then it will continue to depend on soviet engineering, engineering that has outlasted the soviet union. robin forestier-walker, al jazeera. more on everything we're covering right here. there is the address, aljazeera.com. research. >> it's so healing. >> instead of holding us down. >> she's on one of america's most popular party drugs. forget what you've heard about "molly", "x" or "mdma". >> it makes you feel euphoric, happiness, love.