>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello welcome to the news hour, i'm jane dutton, in doha. coming up, syrian rebels fight back after a major government offense south of damascus. afghanistan's president says talks with the taliban will only work if the group truly wants peace. and we'll take a look at the gender imbalance that could have

major consequences for india's future. and the latest major global city to welcome in 2016. ♪ rebel factions in syria are fighting back to regain control of areas lost in a government offensive. the army backed by russian fighter jets have launched a major campaign to recapture a city on an important route that connects the south and the capitol, damascus. hashem ahelbarra reports. >> reporter: these rebel fighters are on the counter offensive. they are launching an attack to recapture an opposition strong hold in southern syria. they say that part of the

government offensive were either destroyed or forced to retreat, but the army backed by russian fighter jets say the fight is almost over, that the city will soon be under its control. >> the russian arrival is like a game changer, it added more military assets, more air power, more intelligence. since we know earlier when president assad said i don't have enough personnel in order to fight. so accordingly the russians are here trying to, you know, limit the spill back of the regime. >> reporter: it's the birthplace of syria's uprising, while the capitol is still under government control, the rebels have captured most of the towns. it's crucial for both sides. if captured, the rebels will have to pull out, it's fall is

also going to be bad news for rebel factions based on the outskirts of damascus. it's also a vital supply route of weapons and recruits for groups in the east and dara. there are many armed groups operating in the area, mainly the nusra front, free syrian brigades, and [ inaudible ] fighters. but the opposition rebels have been weakened by divisions and internal fighting. the opposition has called on the rebels to set their defenses aside, a defeat at this particular moment could undermine the chances of the rebels pushing for more concessions in the up coming talks in geneva. hospitals in the yemeni city of ta'izz are on the verge of shutting down as fighting

continues continues. rob matheson reports. >> reporter: at the closing of the year, no let up in the fighting in yemen, houthi rebels fire shells at a hospital, killing a child. hospitals are on the front line in the battle between the rebels and supporters of the government. medical staff are struggling to cope. at the hospital in ta'izz, they plead for more oxygen supplies. without them, they say, medical care will suffocate. >> translator: we are protesting today, because we are no longer able to save our patients. we cannot help them. there is no oxygen or surgery equipment. >> people are having bring in their own oxygen bottles. the united nationses says more than 21 million yemenis now need

humanitarian aid, roughly 80% of the population, but houthi fighters aren't allowing supplies through. some of it is being supplied by saudi arabia, both sides have been criticized for the number of civilians killed and injured in bombing campaigns. saudi arabia, says its convoys are being targeted. >> [ inaudible ] other organizations backed by military people or non-military people who are attacking those humanitarian aid, and we are calling for all of those people that you are violating international law. >> reporter: the patients at the hospital are unlikely to care where the aid comes from, just as long as it comes. rob matheson, al jazeera. a humanitarian advisor for doctors without borders says people are suffering on all

sides of the front line in ta'izz. >> people are caught on the other side of the front line. they have not chosen where they are living, they find themselves in a besieged area, and are paying a very high price. the military dynamics in ta'izz are quite complicated, in that local fighting has developed in the last few months, and even when we have positive signs at a national level, we are not always able to reach the besieged hospitals because local fighting forces and local commanders refuse sometimes even to acknowledge some of the orders they might receive from higher above. the other point which is important to make is if besieged areas in ta'izz are currently under blockade, the whole country is suffering from a defactor embargo, since the

security council resolution was passed in april, and they feel themselves besieged as a whole. no commercial else haves are reaching the port and allowing much-needed fuel and aid into the country, which also effects the hospitals. so it is everybody who is suffering from the current conditions, and it is only with a reduction of the fighting and with specific efforts by both belligerent forces that the humanitarian conditions for the population will improve in the coming weeks. the battle to retake ramadi from isil has destroyed much of the city. the army claims control of central ramadi on sunday, but isil is still fighting in other districts. many remain trapped, and thousands have escaped and are living in camps nearby. >> translator: at that time everything was in disorder, the

cruel punishment was above all else. the extremist groups just enjoyed slaughter and blood shell. my 12-year-old cousin was killed by them. they said he took pictured of him, they killed him and put him in a garbage bag and we were not allowed to bury his body. mosul was taken by isil last year. and hundreds of thousands are estimated to have been displaced. many belong to minority communities and have escaped to ere bill. our correspondent reports. >> reporter: the holidays haven't been the same for the last two years since he lost his arm in a car bomb explosion in mosul. it's hard, he says, to learn to write with the other hand, that's why he goes to a class for younger students. his family first had to leave their home after isil arrived and told christians to pay a new tax or leave.

they left to a town 20 kilometers away. when isil came there too, they left again. like many around them it's the cheerful times at the end of the year that are the hardest. >> translator: my family and i can't celebrate. my son lost his arm, my brother is missing. it's very hard to feel happy when your loved ones are missing. >> reporter: at this camp for displaced christians 50,000 are from mosul. they miss their homes and they are uneasy living so close to the front lines as isil locally known here at daesh. this man is a priest. he too was forced to leave his home in mosul. >> translator: we like to give our people hope, and we all believe that god is always with us. isil is very close to where we are. it's a threat for the christians and peace-loving muslims in

kurdistan. >> reporter: many who lost everything, still hold on to the one thing they can, hope. >> i and everybody hope [ inaudible ]. >> translator: we want to go back to our lives, and go back home to peace and safety. ♪ >> reporter: as the politicians search for a solution to the conflict, in areas like this, just out of the reach of isil fighters, christians have fled and the local people who have sheltered them can only wish that the coming year will be better than the last one. afghanistan's president has warned that up coming talks between the government and the taliban will only be successful if the armed group truly wants peace. the dialogue is set to resume on january 11th. pakistan, china and the

united states will also attend the meeting in islamabad. >> translator: the fundamental issue here is the choice, choose peace or terrorism. there is no second choice. the step that has been taken is in the framework of quad lateral cooperation. there will be no tolerance of terrori terrorism. >> reporter: a political analyst joins me now from the afghan capitol. i'm wondering what you make of his demands of the taliban, and what the taliban is demanding in return. >> well, i think it's great news because after a long time there is a date set for negotiation between taliban and afghanistan. afghan government, and also it shows that there is some seriousness on the part of pakistani government to bring taliban into negotiating table

with afghan government, but i think -- any negotiation or peace talks take place, it's very important for the afghan government to set some preconditions for the taliban, the most important is some sort of de facto ceasefire. they have to stop attacking targets inside of afghanistan. because otherwise peace negotiation would be meaningless. the most important thing is while the afghan government do want to start negotiation with the taliban, by if they are ready and really are sincere in trying to have peace with the afghan government, they have to stop attacking. they have to -- when it comes to negotiation, they have to really tell the afghan government what their demands are, and then the afghan government taking into consideration the constitution of afghanistan they have to look at those demands, and based on those demands, they have to

start negotiation with the taliban. >> you touched on pakistan. pakistan and china are going to be there. why is china and the importance of pakistan being there, considering that traditionally the afghans have considered pakistan as being a dishonest broker. >> china's role is important, that's why there is going to be another meeting in the near future. so i think china can play a very important role, and one of the reasons that this specific date is set for the negotiations is because the four major countries, pakistan, afghanistan, china, and the united states have agreed to meet together and seriously talk about peace negotiations between afghanistan and the taliban. so there is a major role that china can play, diplomatically china can bring serious

diplomatic and political pressure on pakistan to cooperate in that particular issue, which is trying to broker some sort of peace negotiation between the afghan government and the taliban forces. >> does ghani have support for that. >> reporter: can you repeat that? >> from the public support. >> people are in support of peace in afghanistan, but they are also concerned that unconditionable agreements with the taliban will not bring this to an end. so it is important to set conditions for the taliban that they have to stop attacking people, stop targeting military targets, and if they are really sincere to that, there has to be a commitment also on the ground

on behalf of the pakistani government that they will continue that agreement, it shouldn't be a onetime negotiation. so consistency of that negotiation, and also commitment from the afghan government is key. >> okay. thank you. germany's chancellor looks at the positives from the refugee influx in europe. the flood in the united states has killed dozens and forced hundreds of people from their homes. in sport line messi met in his 500th match votes are being counted in central african republic after the election passed without major violence. it marks what is hoped to be an

end to the two-year conflict that has killed thousands of people. >> reporter: there were isolated instances of violence, shots fired in a village, and several people injured, but on the whole, this was a peaceful election. the focus now shifts to the credibility of the election, more particularly in the vote-counting process. one of the leading presidential candidates, the most prominent muslim candidate says he was a little concerned about instances of voter fraud but thought that those would be not too significant, and it was more the transparency of the vote-counting process in the coming days, a provision result, he said, not expected for at least another ten days. all of the top five presidential candidates served under the ousted president, so some questions as to how much of a fresh start this really will be for central africans.

they all made the right noises, saying they would be the ones that would bring unity to the area. but because all of these five leading candidates are from the previous government, they exist in a small political landscape, and how in touch they are with the people are -- is another matter. a 22-year-old belgian man has been arrested, accused of participating in a terrorist group. it follows the cancellation of new year's eve celebrations due to security concerns. the german chancellor said the new refugee will provide a

opportunity for germany's future. dominic kane joins us live from the refugee camp on the out skirts of the capitol berlin. what else did she have to say? >> reporter: as you say, we're now inside the refugee center here, one by a group that translates into people's solidarity, and that is a theme that angela merkel stressed repeatedly this year, to our fellow german citizens that they should adopt. and it's a theme she returned to in her new year's ef address. >> translator: there is no question that dealing with the influx of so many people will be demanding. it will cost time, effort and money, especially in the view of the very important task of integrating those who will stay here permanently. we want to learn from mistakes

of the past. our values, our traditions, our understanding of the law, our language, our laws, our rules. they make up our society and they are a prerequisite for our country. this applies to anyone who wants to live here. our country has always benefited from successful imthat grags, both economically and socially. likewise, there is no question that our country has already mastered so many big challenges and has always grown from them. >> she wants them taken into society and welcomed. what is the swear there where you are? >> reporter: jane, we're in the [ inaudible ] here, the eating area, dining area, and you can see behind me, families are here watching tv, and in a few hour's time they will have a special new year's eve year, prepared by the organization which is taking

in so many people here. they say the organizers, perhaps around 300 people from the world's conflict zones are being housed here. and it's worth remembering that less than three months ago this was not a refugee center, and the organizers told me it was a real struggle at first to get all of the logistics in place to cater to so many people, but now they say things are proceeding very well. i have spoken to a syrian refugee who fled the islamic state of iraq and the levant when they captured raqqa, and he told me he was glad to be in germany and hoped to give something back. and as you can see and hear from the family behind me, they are very happy to be here >> thanks for that. dominic kane. two people have sentenced to death in bangladesh for killing

an and it threeist blogger in 2013. six others received prison sentences. this is the first verdict delivered in the case involving the targeting of secular activists in the muslim-majority country. there are fears that cultural divisions in india are continuing to contribute to the sex ratio. faiz jamil reports from the capitol new delhi. >> reporter: there are now officially 918 young girls for every 1,000 young boys in india, that's a drop from 925, despite years of campaigns making sex-selected campaigns illegal. but despite the law and government campaigns, indians are still having fewer girls. >> in fact, i think it will go

down further. >> reporter: social researchers say it is deep rooted in india's culture. >> it has existed over time, and has been there for many years. but what is new is the new technology that allows this to happen much more easily than in an earlier era. >> reporter: among the different communities, hindus recorded the largest drop in girls being born. both communities already had among the worst statistic in the country with fewer than 900 girls for every 1,000 boys, which has lead and will continue to cause social economic and ethical problems. >> we need to confront that the policies that we're applying to this are wrong. they are not working.

and you need a much larger consultation with people and so on to see that this violence being done to women stops right from the womb itself. >> reporter: another worry is if this continues it could lead to more human trafficking in some parts of the country. indians capitol is no exception with even some after few went areas to the city showing a low child sex ratio. while literacy and education rates have gone up, the number of girls being born continues to decline. staying in india and on friday, new delhi will restrict the number of cars on the roads in a bid to cut air pollution. it's the latest government effort to reduce pollution by

half. but environmentalists say they need a permanent ban on diesel and other cars. in the united states the mississippi river has risen to dangerous levels at least 24 people have died mostly from driving into flooded areas. hundreds of homes and businesses have been destroyed. andy roesgen is in the state. what is the situation then, how are people getting in and out, if they can? >> reporter: well, the big story, jane, really is that a sizable chunk of two of the major thoroughfares in the middle of the country are shut down right now, and that's because the river continues to rise, and it is going to crest in the next few minutes, they say. but beyond that the major interstate in and out of st. louis is closed right now this

section, and in the last few hours, they have also closed the major thoroughfare, heading south out of st. louis. those two are closed here, and it might be a day or two before they are reopened again. authorities were just telling me that as the river here flows into the mighty mississippi river here, the mississippi river won't be that bad. apparently it is not going to reach the record heights it did in the great flood of 1993. that's the good news here in st. louis, but as the mississippi heads south and starts to move down, it will pick up, and could reach greater than the historic flood of 1993. it will hit memphis around january 5th. so that's a big issue for a lot of people. but in the meantime this river

is far worse here in missouri. it has chased hundreds of people from their homes, and the national guard has been called in. jane? >> andy thank you. coming up on al jazeera, profiting from peace. trade picking up in a part of nigeria once reeling from boko haram attacks. china defends its decision not to renew press credentials for a press journalists. and san antonio moves to victory in the last part of 2015. details coming up in sport. ♪

>> this is it. >> oscar winner alex gibney's "edge of eighteen" marathon.

>> if i said that i'm perfectly 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. ♪ hello again, you are watching the news hour on al jazeera, here is a quick reminder of the top stories. syrian government forces have launched a major offensive in the south of the country with the help of russian air power. it is a main supply route connecting the capitol with another city. afghan government has warned that talks with the taliban over

peace will only work if the taliban truly wants peace. the army claimed control of central parts of ramadi on sunday, but isil remains entrenched in the southern district. the nigerian government says it is close to defeating boko haram. a specialist on boko haram says their ability to carry out major operations now limited. >> reporter: boko haram are only able to carry out attacks now that are soft targets, not necessarily carrying out organized military attacks, which is very different from what we were seeing before this current military expedition. so things have improved. we have moved from where we were. and what we need to do now is

focus more on intelligence gathering. it does not appear that boko haram will be able to carry out a massive vision. and successfully occupy parts of nigeria, but at the minute they have been significantly weakened to the point that i do not foresee them being able to carry out any kind of vision and occupy any part of nigeria. at the minute i believe they are very weak. and despite continued attacks blamed on boko haram, the nigeria government says it is close to defeating the armed group. the army has been seizing territory from the fighters. our correspondent reports on how improved security in the region is slowly boosting trade. >> reporter: cashing in on the relative peace, trucks with essential supplies to liberated areas of northeast anything.

>> there are serious improved in the last few months. people are now coming to the market to buy goods. >> reporter: some of the goods he sells ends up in the hands of retailers. boko haram's attacks on this market have decreased. the last one was four months ago. now business confidence is gradually returning. even customers from across the border in niger are slowly coming back. but there is a long way to go. >> it used to be the major trading post. it has impacted negatively such that, believe me, it has eroded the economy of our community by as much as 90%. >> reporter: it could be decades before the region finds its seat again. as infrastructure and business confidence have been badly

shaken. >> locally the madness is finally coming to an end. and we might experience [ inaudible ] like we experienced two days ago, but believe me we have crossed the river and the loss is over. >> reporter: traders are trying to look to the future when they can regain access to cameroon, chad, and niger. they say insecurity along the borders has cut the economic by as much as 80%. everyone here knows it would only take a spark to shake their confidence. a french journalist has left china after being expelled for questioning communist party policy. it is the first foreign journalist forced to leave since 2012 when al jazeera journalist,

militia chan was expelled. >> reporter: this journalist is used to deadlines, and this was one she couldn't miss. china's government told her to leave the country by midnight on december 31st after a decision not to renew her media credentials. >> there is something really ridiculous, crazy, silly, and i just cannot understand it. >> reporter: the authorities had demanded she apologize for an article that it said supported terrorism. the report suggested that china had ulterior motives for declaring solidarity with france after the attacks in paris. the real season, she was to try to win support for the chinese government in an area with

mostly muslim uyghurs. she says she has nothing to be sorry about. >> i cannot apologize about something that i have not written. i didn't write that i supported terrorism. that would have been suicide. >> reporter: her home is just around the corner from china's foreign ministry. >> translator: china protects the lawful rights and interests of permanent offices of foreign news agencies and foreign journalists in china, but will never accept speaking freely on terrorism. >> reporter: she is the first journalist to be expelled from china since 2012 when the al jazeera journalist, melissa chan was asked to leave the country.

she has been sup -- subject doed death threats and abuse online. one news agency celebrated her expulsion. all part of a campaign that she believes was officially sanctioned. >> my god, it was incredible, and incredibly sexual and dirty, incredibly, even facebook, you know, did censorship. >> reporter: she left china just as a new anti-terrorism law came into effect. the government says the legislation is similar to measures adopted by many western countries and is not designed to target any ethnic community. a political and economic affairs comment at iter. he says the article shouldn't be

considered news report but an opinion peace. >> she said merciless oppression of the uyghurs, that these kinds of attacks could continue as long as the uyghurs were being ruthlessly put down. she also made a distinction between what she said was the situation there, and in china. when you have people killed in their sleep, whether they are haan or parisians or in the middle east, this should be a great concern to everybody involved. people who kill next people are by definition terrorists. they are trying to achieve political aims by putting people in fear for their life and their livelihood. in the west we take it for

granted that you can say inflammatory things and this will just be taken in stride. we have multi-and duel party systems where this is part of the every day. you have people like donald trump and others who are debating the issues of whether they should just ban muslims almost entirely from the u.s., but when you come to china in a single party system, when you start cite -- criticizing it, they take it very seriously as a criticism of the government. in venezuela there was a mo move, the opposition took control of congress for the first time in more than a decade. severe flooding has forced

thousands of people out of their homes in south america. more than 100,000 people are in shelters. just months after puerto ri rico's debt crisis, it is in trouble again. it is due to paid creditors $1 billion on january 4th, but the government says it will not be able to pay all of the money. robert ray has more. >> reporter: as 2015 comes to an end, the island of puerto rico is set to default for the second time in its history. $37 million in interest payments. they will pay the majority of the 1 billion due. their fekt payment in february of 200 million, they say, no problem. but we have rare one on one interview with the governor yesterday, where he told us that congress is to blame as much as the island.

>> i think that he can lead the house to produce a comprehensive bill that allowed puerto rico to restructure their debt. a five year, fiscal controlled plan. they now have our part. we need theirs. and if congress, if ryan will move, i think that will help the senate to -- or that will compel the senate to move too. >> reporter: the governor is working closely with speaker of the house paul ryan to come up with a restructuring plan, but the big issue is how to convince congress that puerto rico is worth it. it is what they are calling as a reorganization of the debt. they expect something in the next few months.

puerto rico has cut back many services, including health care, public transportation, they have laid off 30,000 public workers in the past few years in this terrible recession. they have closed over 100 schools. so the governor says they have done their part, but now it's up to the united states congress. a new set of u.n. global goals will come into effect on january 1st. one is to end extreme poverty by 2030. in the second part of our series on the u.n.'s goals, david mercer reports on rural guatemala. >> reporter: inside this shack, this woman prepares food for our family, but with five children to support and a job that pays

only a few dollars a day, it's a struggle. the 48 year old says she is doing the best she can. >> translator: my husband only finished third grade. i can't read or write. so it's difficult. i tell all of my children they have to study hard to get ahead so they don't end up poor like us. >> reporter: seven days a week, she makes corn tortillas to sell, but increased competition means she has to sell less while her costs continue to rise. >> translator: it's not much, but it's enough to sustain my children. it's important to administer the money well and find ways to make it last. >> reporter: in january a new set of united nations development goals into come in

to effect. one part is to eradicate extreme poverty completely. it gives governments a focal point and a way for ngo's to assess their progress. but funding them and putting them into practice is difficult to predict. in guatemala the poor are actually getting poorer. raising the standard of living of nearly half of the population will prove difficult. >> translator: the prop here isn't just that there is lots of poverty. it's that there is massive inequality. if we don't look at things in an interconnected way, and how our economic system is structured, then we can't reduce poverty. >> reporter: when 2030 rolls around what kind of live will her children have? much will depend on how

commitment all are to the new goals. david mercer, al jazeera, guatemala. and you can watch part three on our series on the u.n. global goals here on al jazeera on new year's day. rob reynolds reports on what people are doing to cut food taste. still ahead, it has been a turbulent year for the government's football governing body.

>> we're seeing more and more video, you hear a lot of statistics coming out of facebook, the number of video views growing and growing, so it looks like the trend is there. >> reporter: what is known as the sharing economy has always been in the headlines. it has been blamed for displacing traditionally secure jobs. ores say it brings more wage opportunities to more people. hover boards have been a popular gift this year. but they have been in the

headlines fore catching fire and for resulting in the suspension of this priest in the philippines. though this u.s. company which launched a board that does in fact hover, are hoping theirs will be the hit of 2016. there has also been innovation in car technology. this features autopilot functions which keeps its distance from other cars, can change lanes and park itself. >> when there are enough on the road, you can imagine that things like pileups on the motor ways will be much more unlikely, and once you get car-to-car communication set up, you are one step away from driverless cars, and that will completely change our relationship with the car. and spacex landed a reusable

rocket. there has also been controversy over how more after more appliances with record what is being displayed in front of them. the technology has raised privacy concerns. with more than 3.5 billion people now connected to the internet, and another 65,000 comes online each day, it's clear in the years ahead, technology and connectivity will play an increasing role in our lives. and now the sports news. >> it has been another stunning year for spanish club barcelona. they will end the year at the top of the table. there was a rebound in a loan goal.

leonel messi played in his 500th game. there was also a missed penalty for renaldo. but he redeemed himself by scoring a second spot kick. ending up with two goals. in the nba the war -- war records were without steph curry, and they left the loss. and the spurs routed phoenix for the 90th home win to start the season. they won 112-79 on wednesday. it extends their home winning streak to 28 straight games. despite not having a world cup or olympics, 2015 was a busy

year of sport. january saw asian champions in football for the first time on home soil. ecuadoral guinea won their match. police swooped on top fifa officials meeting in switzerland, arresting a number of officials, and u.s. and swiss officials open an investigation. in june american [ inaudible ] become the first horse in 36 years to win the state crown. the united states won the women's world cup in canada. new zealand became the first team to successful defend the rugby world cup. november saw russian banned in world sports for wide-spread

doping. the scale of investation into fifa has surprised even those journalists closest to the story this year. >> the writing was on the wall to some extent. and fifa's reputation was very badly damaged obviously for years before that, but at the same time it was still starting that seven high-ranking officials arrested in zurich. and fifa's dirty laundry finally being seen in public. the drama and the scale of the arrest, and the scale of the investigation of american into football corruption has been

actually staggering this year, and it has been a real watershed. >> that's it for me for 2015, robin will be back with more sport a little later. jane. >> thanks, jo, as this news hour draws to a close around the world, we would like to end by taking a look back at the most memorable global news stories we have covered here on al jazeera, over the past 12 months which defined the year of 2015. ♪ >> people die. >> in syria? ♪ >> fighter jets launched air strikes on the divided city of aleppo. >> in yemen devastation has

become the norm. >> no other choice. it's a war. ♪ >> we want to go to europe. >> many of the migrants here are not happy they are returning to libya. >> reporter: here comes another boat. no matter what triggered this has movement of people, the war in syria, or germany's promise to bring them in, no matter what started it, there is no easy way of stopping it. >> reporter: they have given up everything to make this journey. and they say there will be no going back. >> reporter: your family got across, and you are stuck here? [ screaming ] >> walking to germany. >> reporter: it's a very, very long way. these people have been here for more than two hours in a standoff. ♪ [ sobbing ]

>> reporter: there's a somber realization of the people and the places they have left behind. ♪ >> reporter: we have to take care of them. ♪ >> they are having a honeymoon. >> reporter: they are telling me that they had so much fun and they danced for the first time that they smiled since they got here. >> reporter: a president and a people, united in their loss. [ explosion ] >> reporter: the president declared a state of emergency. >> reporter: thai authorities released pictures. >> reporter: the only university in northeastern kenya. >> reporter: it was hit by an

explosion. >> reporter: there has been an al-shabab ambush. ♪ >> reporter: it's a very sensitive case. >> reporter: they are getting tear gassed. >> this is not life. >> translator: i can't calculate how much i lost. >> do you think you will get a deal in the end? ♪ >> reporter: there has just been a big eruption of the volcano. >> reporter: within seconds of the earthquake, completely annihilating this village. >> we have no choice but to rebuild. ♪ amazing grace [ cheers and applause ]

>> we begin with breaking news out of egypt. ♪ >> this whole nightmare is over. >> you know you are the winning, how does it feel? [ cheers ] ♪ >> russian federation will be suspended. >> australia! >> suspended for what? ♪ >> that was a hell of a fight. [ cheers ] >> reporter: tackling climate change. >> fasten your seat belts, new horizon has arrived at the pluto

system. >> we -- just stop the war. >> we start with breaking news. >> let's take a closer look.

>> al jazeera america brings you independent reporting without spin. >> not everybody is asking the questions you're asking me today. >> we give you more perspectives >> the separatists took control a few days ago. >> and a global view. >> now everybody in this country can hear them. >> getting the story first-hand. >> they have travelled for weeks, sometimes months. >> what's your message then? >> we need help now. >> you're watching al jazeera america. >> elderly americans addicted to painkillers prescribed by doctors. >> have you ever thought about going off of your painkiller dosage? >> no. i don't know if i'd have the courage to stop it. >> but is it leading to abuse more than it's helping. >> he would prescribe what he felt was appropriate... the result, she died. >> faultlines checks into rehab to investigate who's responsible for the hidden epidemic. >> i was just doin' what the doctor's told me to do.

[ gunfire ] rebels battle to stop government forces taking control of a key town in syria. ♪ hello, i'm barbara sarah, you are watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up on the program, fighting to save yemen's children. doctors warn lives will be lost without more medical supplies. at least 24 people are killed in as the mississippi river floods in the united states. and -- [ cheers ]