surprise and suspicion. >> you do not conduct diplomacy at the apex level in such a cavalier manner. >> india's prospect comes face-to-face with his counterpart in pakistan. nations of two nuclear nations considered sworn enemies for decades. plus, roadblocks in the battle for ramadi. unexpected obstacles slow the iraq army's advance on isil.

christmas chaos on holy ground. clashes on the streets of bethlehem after a deadly morning in gaza. a 50-year flood. weather that has millions dreaming of a dry christmas in latin america. >> i'm david shuster in new york. we begin with a surprise visit to pakistan by india's prime minister, a possible sign the strained reasons shil between the nuke two nuclear-armed countries could be improving. modedy is the first prime minister to visit pakistan still 2004. it was unannounced.

>> reporter: neighbors not friends is perhaps how the relationship between these two nations could be described. this was not only a surprise visit by the indian prime minister to pakistan, but a historic one. no indian head of government has visited the neighboring country in more than a decade. back home in india, one of the modi's political allies sees this as a pivotal moment. >> translator: the prime minister said if pakistan takes steps further, than india would take two steps forward. the steps being taken must be welcome because if ties improve, it will benefit both nations, the surrounds region and the rest of the world. >> reporter: that's a rivalry that dates back to the earliest days of independence. india and pakistan 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. over the years each has accused the other of harboring terrorists. not all think this meeting is a good idea. >> if the decision is not preposterous, then it is uttering ridiculous. you don't conduct diplomacy in the apex level in such a cavalier manner. >> that skepticism isn't unexpected considering the hearing of distrust. they looked relaxed at the residence of the prime minister. the building has been colorfully decorated for his grand order's of coming wedding. in iraq that country's military reported slow progress today against isil in a fight for control of the city of ramadi.

iraqi forces are less than hey mile from a compound where a gruel of isil fighters are holding out. the iraqi troops are struggling with land mines and inproceed vised explosive devices left behind. the prime minister is vows that ramadi is the first step to take back the city of mosul next. there's a major setback in syria for opposition forces battling the regime of al assad. a key rebel leader was killed today by a air strike. it was give assad's forces a significant boost and may help another fwrup in the civil war, isil. we the report. >> translator: he was the most powerful rebel commander in damascus suburbs. his headquarters were only a few

kilometers from president al as sad's palace. he was released from prison by assad a few months after the start of the syrian uprising. he rose to prominence in 2013 when he convinced many armed groups to form islam, an army of more than 20,000 well-trained and under armed fighters. a few months ago they attended a military parade. it was the biggest show of force by the syrian opposition. unlike most rebel factions with units across the country, the army of islam has one base on the outskirts of damascus with one task, waiting for the government to collapse to march into the capital and secure it.

this is where he was killed. he was meeting with military commanders from jashil islam. the syrian army says he was killed in an air strike carried out by a syrian fighter jet. the syrian opposition says the death may undermine the chance for internationally brokered talks between the rebels and the syrian government. he was not only a military commander. he was also a prominent preacher with many followers in the damascus area. with his death the future of the army of islam is uncertain. in 2013 the syrian government killed the charismatic commander of a brigade. a year later many leaders were killed in idlib. the key rebel groups never recovered from the loss of their

founders. >> he was a marnl major figure and he was a commander built in the organization from a small company back in 2011, in mid- 1 mid-2011 to now an organization with 26 command centers, 64 battalions and more or less somewhere between 45,000 to 50,000 fighters. >> this is his successor. he's been in charge of an elite unit in the army of islam. the opposition says that he should also be remembered as the man who prevented isis and al qaeda affiliates from expanding towards damascus, and that his death could pave the way for isil and the front to launch an offensive to capture the outskirts of the capital.

russia is a player, of course, in the last couple of months, and one of the most recent russian air strikes in syria has been confirmed to hit a maternity hospital. at least 14 people were reportedly killed in the attack. we have an exclusive report from our sister network al jazeera arabic. >> translator: there have been russian air-raids in aleppo on the border with turkey. the raids are targeted at this maternity hospital. this is not the first time this hospital has been hit. as you can see, it's destroyed anded in the building. this is some of the damage. 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. a civil defense team is trying to put out the fire. this is here in the government alep aleppo. these planes continue the aerial raids that started two days ago. the russian air strikes have increased when it was shot down by turkey in november. >> an exclusive report from our sister network al jazeera arabic. the wave of violence in the occupied west bank continued today as palestinian youth clashed with israeli forces. in bethlehem dozens of palestinians threw stones and molotov cocktails at israeli forces who responded with stun guns and smoke grenades. there are no reports of injuries. a palestinian woman was shot and killed after trying to ram her car into israeli border guards. shortly before that a

palestinian man was killed in clashes with israeli forces near the gaza strip. since the start of october israelis and palestinians have died. officials report as many as 100 people may have died. it happened as a truck was filling up tanks with butane. it sparked a fire that burned for more than five hours. witnesses say victims' bodies were burned beyond recognition and damaged nearby homes. in eastern china several miners have been rescued after a mine collapsed. they've been trapped 600 feet from the mine's entrance. two suffered severe injuries during the collapse and they're working to free another 18 minerses. el nino is taking its toll on latin america in the form of heavy rain and massive flooding. they appear to be bearing brunt of the problems.

gabriel has the story. >> reporter: severe floods in the southern part of south america is driving more than 150,000 people from their homes and spending christmas looking for higher ground. in northeast argentina it's called the worst flooding in half a century as the river flooded its banks, thousands forced to evacuate. >> translator: the water level was really high inside my house. i went to check it out and found 20 to 30 centimeters. >> reporter: the nearby dam neared capacity as it tried to contain more floodwaters. >> translator: above all the priority today is to get crows of the situation helping the 6,000 evacuees and particularly containing situations like that in concordia, which is more affected by the flooding. >> reporter: a state of emergency in neighboring pair gu

as it covers buildings. they cracked into shacks not yet engulfed by water and tried to support each other the best they could. >> translator: we've run from water four times, and now we don't know where we'll go. we're now on the sides of the road and the water keeps coming. >> around the capital at one point more than 100,000 people were without power. the effects of the flooding reaching far and i'd. >> translator: the situation is very bad and we're all sick and weak. we have diarrhea and in the medical centers there's no medicine. >> they say the exceptionally high rainfall in the region is due to an el nino weather pattern, but feuer here expected it to this bad. the raging wildfire near australia's southern coast destroyed more than 50 homes. nearby respects had to evacuate on christmas day. the fire has been burning along

the great ocean road south of melbourne popular with tourists. about 5,000 acres have burned so far. coming up, greek authorities estimate the price tag for the refugee crisis could top half a billion ondollars this year. there's hey major hidden cost that could sink local economies. in turkey, a desperate man was contemplating suicide and it may have been turkey's president that saved his life. fine, i would be lying. >> i feel so utterly alone. >> in this envelope is my life. >> if you don't go to college, you gonna be stuck here... i don't wanna be stuck here. >> catch the whole ground-breaking series, "edge of eighteen" marathon.

pope francis offered a prior for peace during the christmas message today at the van can. he encouraged peace efforts underway in syria and libya and his thoughts are with the victims of recent attacks in beirut, egypt, paris and mali. they allowed a family to visit the journalist in prison today. they were given extended visitation hours. they say they brought him a home-cooked meal. the"the washington post" correspondent has been in prison for 500 days and has been convicted on espionage charges. he sent a message to his colleagues saying how much he appreciates their support. in italy the cost guard reports it's rest could youed from mediterranean over the past

few days 370 refugees including 59 women. these refugees came from several african countries including nigeria and senegal. greece estimates it spends half a billion dollars each year helping refusee refugees. some parts of greece won't get the funds. >> reporter: they used to be at the bottom of the hoss at that palt industry. she parks her food van on highways and waited for occasional business. the refugee kreis put her at the top. >> translator: in summer we made up to 2,000 euros day. now about 500. before we made 50 euros ai day. >> she's one of several outside of the refugee camp. here refugees can warm themselves by her stove, eat and

recharge their cell phones. others have sensed opportunity. refugees and migrants have set up a tent city ft surrounds olive groves with vendors supplying the hardware. those with money move into small hotels dotting the coast which will be closed this december. they breakfast with the police bussed in from athens and aide workers. in town they have cell phones and they can also buy boats and bus tickets for the journey out of greece. the refugee windfall is evident but they worry this is a partial and temporary replacement of the tourism industry it has chased away. lesbos hotels experienced a 3.5% drop in business for the first time last august. charter companies cut down flights and cruise ships took lesbos off the itinerary. >> it depends on how visitors

will react. will they come as volunteers to help? it's positive. are they put off? then we take a loose. >> and there are official costs. the eu defrays the government's migration costs. that's not always true for local government. >> translator: this month i won't pay all the salaries. the burden is enormous. taxes are covering the costs of migrants arriving. >> there's no doubt lesbos is seeing the losses and benefits of becoming a global refugee capital. at the end of the day people say it's the loss of life that touches them, and that's the main reason they want refugee flows to end. al jazeera, lesbos. in the caribbean the dominican republic trying to crack down on illegal immigrants recently beported 3,000 people

and they've arrived at makeshift camps in haiti. amidst awful conditions and language barriers, their future appears bleak. >> reporter: things are much bleaker at this camp in southern haiti at the dominican border than when we first visited this camp. since then there's been an outbreak of cholera and dozens have the illness and at least nine died in this camp. there's cases in the camps that run up and down this border. this follows the doe port takings or fleeing crisis of thousands that left the dominican republic. many were forced to because they feared for their lives. this is a tharj the dominican government continues to deny. meanwhile, the situation is bad here. unsanitary conditions in the camp and sleep in dust and dirt

and breathe it in. they think that's the reason they come down with call rethat they collect to drink. for months they had no clean water. they go to rivers and auk deducts near by. meanwhile on christmas eve we spoke with someone with the water department in haiti installs a basic filtration system in some latrines. that water pump is running dry, and people continue to get water from the river and aquaducts places themselves at risk seeing young children using the toilet in the open in this camp making it extremely unsanitary and increasing the likely hood of more cases of cholera and more death here. the fate of a u.s. airbase in japan prompted a court baelths between community leaders and japt neez government. the military is building a new base in okinawa, the sail island home to an existing base

shuttered. island residents want the u.s. marines gone and they filed a lawsuit. 50,000 american troupes are stationed in japan on auk gnaw what. turkey's president is credited with safing a man's life. he was contemplating sued suicide and they told him the president wanted to speak with him. after being escorted to the car the man leaned in for a conversation. officials say he was depressed over family issue and he promised to help. it is one of the oldest aerial tramways in the world but it's a crucial load of transportation. al jazeera takes a leap of faith for a ride. plus, we've all been on the receiving end of phone calls from strangers, but have you ever had a wrong number from outer space?

♪ hello is there anything in there ♪ just nod if you can hear me ♪ ♪ is there anyone home

at this time of year, few sights evoke more feelings of cheer and goodwill then the twinkling lighting of a

christmas tree. >> that was england's queen elizabeth delivering her traditional christmas day broadcast. they had an upbeat tone but did acknowledge horrific events this year. the queen said it's better to light a candle than curse the darkness. here's a look at sorries making head liens across the united states in our american minute. the southeastern united states is still getting battered by severe weather. this afternoon a tornado touched down in birmingham, alabama. the cleanup effort is yufrndway in a dozen different states after stormed killed 14 people and destroyed many homes. investigators say a fire that damaged the birthplace of former president bill clinton was the work of an arsonist. it caused minimal damage to the back of the house in hope, arkansas. he lived there with his mother and maternal grandparents until he was 4 years old. it's a designated historic site.

as we sing carols and win notice ball fights, let's take tame to pay tribute to those that have given our country so much. >> president obama and the first lady michelle obama used the annual christmas message to honor the u.s. armed forces. they're in hawaii on their annual christmas vacation. the eastern european nation of georgia is home to one of the oldest tramways in europe. in one small mining town cable cars are used to transport miners. as we report, they will likely be used for many years to come. >> this is the daily commute. this is in a little more than rusting boxes suspended from steel ropes. it's not for the faint-hearted. >> translator: i'd be delighted to go with you but i'm afraid.

>> reporter: for those that 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 operated cable car force the past 17 years. >> translator: it's the fastest and most comfortable transport. >> reporter: the cable car system was installed in the 1950s to ferry workers and all from the mines. it no longer resembles a socialist utopia, but 11 lines still operate and rides are still free for everyone: the cable car system is the public transport for this city. this one was built in 1952. it's been running since then 24/7. they keep them rolling with a lot of oil and unshakeable faith

in a system that was built to last. >> translator: i think the machinery will outlive me because it's metal and will work longer. who knows. i might die tomorrow. rr they're promised a new network on cable cars until then it depends on soviet engineering, engineering that outlasted the soviet union. and finally, we've all gotten calls from a wrong number, but probably never one from outer space. that's what happened when britain's most famous astronaut dialed the wrong number on christmas eve. he tweeted, i'd like to apologize the lady i just called by mistake saying, hello, is this planet earth? not a prank call. just a wrong number. no word on who he was trying to call. he's the first astronaut from great britain on the space

station. i guess you could describe that as a rooke arer arery -- rookie? see you back here at 11:00 p.m. eastern for a look at today's top stories. [ ♪ ] everything you are looking at at some point were covered with water. a lot of people want to move away, they can't afford to sell their house, throw another well. >> how did we get to this point. >> assuming that water would never run out.