witness documentaries that open your eyes at this time on al-jazeera. iran blocks the messaging app a telegram saying it's to maintain peace after three days of protests. hello i'm sue chance and this is al jazeera live from london also coming off

a grim and to the year in syria asked strikes continue in the rebel held suburb of ghouta as fighters announce they're forming a new united front under us points the finger at neighboring guatemala over a wall of rubbish that biologists say is killing nearly everything in its past. and happy new year cities across the world are fireworks crazy as they ring in twenty eighty. iran has temporarily blocked some social media apps including the messaging service telegram which is being used to spread details about upcoming protests the app is estimated to be used by around fourteen million iranians for three days now and they've been protests across the country against the clerical elite the government

is warning of a crackdown if they continue on saturday night two people were killed in the city of daraa road though there is confusion over just who's responsible for the deaths here to shop reports. and those that i'm going to find as anti-government protests escalated on saturday night the first fatalities attributed to the unrest were reported two people were killed in the city of daraa route the provincial government denied security forces were involved. the visuals of cheering the clash that took two lives no bullets were shot from police and security forces the people gathering was meant to end peacefully but the presence of the agitators unfortunately this happened and resulted in the deaths of two protesters. the protests in various cities began on thursday thousands demonstrating against rising food prices and benefit cuts but their anger soon turned political. they chanted not garza not lebanon my life or iran don't be afraid we're staying strong

together an expression of anger about claims the government is focusing more on regional issues than economic problems at home on sunday the islamic revolutionary guard corps warned of what was described as an iron fist if demonstrations continue the revolutionary guards commander said the protests have degenerated into people chanting political slogans and burning public property iranian t.v. showed a display of strength by crowds of pro-government supporters in cities nationwide tens of thousands of people on the streets chanting death to america down with israel in support of iran's supreme leader ali khamenei letter that people have protested against inflation other problems but that does not show that our people have turned on each other or are against the ruling system and their leadership saturday's pro-government rallies were pre-planned to mark the anniversary of the

end of the unrest in two thousand and nine. these were huge displays of support for the iranian leadership but government leaders will be concerned just how quickly an anti-government protest about food prices became political pizza shop al-jazeera. thank you. are all factions in syria have announced they're forming a united front to stop the afghan government's at vons opposition fighters are fast losing ground in syria and the government bombardments of their strongholds is relentless at least nineteen people six of them children are reported to have been killed in the latest strikes on rebel held parts of damascus asama binge of aid reports. or after almost seven years of war in syria a routine sound in a civil damascus. city for what is strikes have continued in the rebel

controlled suburb of ghouta close to four hundred thousand besieged syrians here have been bombed for years. as a dash to search for survivors debris scarcely removed before moving to spot it under the rubble but you know. how do you react disoriented and scared children stumbled through the mangled metal and wreckage and kids make up the highest number of the dead and injured in syria's war. besides the shelling in airstrikes have also continued in the countryside of western syria. these families have been forced to leave their homes because of the ongoing push by syrian government forces to regain control of more areas bordering hama and it promises. by god look at the kids when the planes hit near the children my god how they scream the biggest push for us was our kids they don't know anything but the sound

of airplanes and shelling a life of exhaustion and terror. rebels are trying to stop the steadily advancing syrian army and they're forming a united front called the national army it's made up of thirty seven factions from aleppo there are homs and hama but it's not the first time that a similar group has been announced and questions remain about how scattered militias will be brought under a united chain of command and how will they be funded. the government and the national army put servants and guards for the country and our families on all syrian lands we call on you to be united and to agree on the national project to support your sense here who have announced an open war on all the enemies calendars show a new year but the change of dates doesn't mean much for syrians who've lived through almost seven years of suffering or some of a job. well deserved. seventeen people have been killed in a suicide attack at a funeral in the eastern afghan city of jalalabad

a spokesman for the provincial governor says the attacker blew himself up as people gathered for the funeral of a former district governor there's been no claim of responsibility only this week i saw said it was behind the killing of at least forty one people at a share cultural center in kabul. human rights watch says security forces have shot dead two people at protests in the democratic republic of congo demonstrators in the capital kinshasa have been demanding that president joseph kabila step down their anger at his refusal to leave when his term ended a year ago event promised elections by the end of this year have now been delayed until next december. retired we've never had peace in this country nothing works we don't eat well president kabila is still young and he can leave his place to someone else and come back later if he wants he's worked it out already it's enough we don't want him he should go dressed. i don't. even know the president of boots

who dictates you could much peacefully today we just don't understand any more we are really tired of could be the customs officials in south korea have seized a panama flagged vessel suspected of transferring oil to north korea as a second ship held for allegedly violating international sanctions on friday south korea said it had impounded a hong kong flagged vessel in november the un security council impose new sanctions last month on pyongyang limiting its access to petroleum products was in response to north korea's nuclear and missile tests. australia has welcomed the new year with a spectacular fireworks display on sydney harbor about one point six million people crowded around the harbor to watch eight tons of fireworks produce about one hundred thousand individual pyrotechnic effects an estimated one billion people watched around the world around by waterfall of the harbor bridge symbolize the legalizing of same sex marriage in australia in november. two hours earlier

thousands of cheering revelers celebrating the new year in new zealand in oakland fireworks were launched from the tallest tower in the southern hemisphere sky tower is a land was one of the first countries in the world to welcome twenty eighteen the island nation of samoa is the very first an hour earlier. south korea ushered in the new year with a light show and a fireworks display from the country's tallest building a lot to world tower in seoul the official celebrations are expected to continue as tens of thousands of people head to the eastern coast to watch the first sunrise of twenty eighteen. as the rest of the world prepares to welcome in the new year the u.n. secretary general antonio terrace has called for unity saying he truly believes peace can be achieved. in a call for unity i throughly believe we can make our old more safe and secure we can settle conflicts overcome etudes and the friendship of values but we can only

do that together i urge readers everywhere to make these new year's resolution never again bridge the divides rebuild trust by bringing people together around a common goal unity is the best. a security has been posted around times square for its annual new year's eve celebrations up to two million people are expected to watch the famous ball drop at midnight alexia brian has been finding out what the place i'm doing to keep people safe. it's called the crossroads of the world attracting visitors from near and far to ring in the new year but this year more than ever times square is in the crosshairs. the new york police department has seen an increase in iceland speired attacks three in the past sixteen months killing eight people most of them tourists my man i hate was petrified about me

coming to times square on new year's day because of the risk you know i see all of the policemen around and the camera is missing like they keep for to say but i'd rather not be around i think we're ready john miller the department's deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism says eisel is more focused on attacks in the west as it loses ground in places like iraq and syria the shift has been towards marketing the propaganda to the masses on the idea that some tiny tiny infant asimo percentage of them may act so may go out to millions or hundreds of thousands of people but a five of them do something if three of them succeed or one of them it's a great impact what the terrorist groups are focused on is low tech low cost but high impact. n.y.p.d. patrol offices and special ops teams are the first line of defense this year more will be stationed on roofs and no towels and nearby parking carriages will be closed police will also be using more dogs trained to sniff out someone carrying

explosives in the crowd this is actually where the ball is going to drop behind the scenes at the n.y.p.d. joint operation center where they'll also be watching the crowds for suspicious behavior not just in times square but all around the city. and offices have new guidelines on how to handle a would be suicide bomber it's a moment of great pride for new york city city officials insist time square will be safe terrorists regard new york as the exact kind of place they want to disrupt and new yorkers respond consistently with strength and resiliency and plenty of tourists are willing to take the risk and i feel like they're doing everything that they can so i feel like we should have nothing to worry about i try not to think about last resort with so much security cold weather more people away from this holiday tradition than fear. al-jazeera. so to come on the program israel's governing party considers

a draft resolution urging its leaders to formally an expanse of the west bank and at least four soldiers are killed as gunmen storm a training camp in indianapolis to kashmir. hello there it's all very quiet weather wise across the southeast in parts of china at the moment the temperatures well they're not take too badly shanghai there at twelve degrees and force in hong kong around twenty one see the winds there feeding up a fair amount of moisture say for some of us here will see the clouds begin to build and then that will gradually push its way towards the northeast as we head through choose day nor to a great deal of rain all not though if we head towards the west we can see where there's far more in the way of wet weather you can see this area of cloud here in the bay of bengal that still developing and it's gradually running its way towards

the northeast and as it does say it is giving us some very intense outbreaks of rain so we're seeing some wet weather mostly over parts of me and ma and it's choose day where we're expecting some very heavy rains in me i'm on that could well give us a problem with flooding towards the west and generally a lot quieter for many of us here should we draw for most of us in sri lanka and across india and into pakistan of course to some of us in the northern parts of india now we are seeing a problem with the pollution and with fog as well and there's been a fair amount of folk here in doha over the past few days as well there's still the risk of seeing a little bit of fog as we head through the day on monday particularly monday morning of course but on tuesday the winds will be picking up and that will scare any of the folks who way. in a country where parents often pick who you will marry when your love can have serious consequences one on one east meets the men risking their lives to protect india's

young loved. one is that this time on al-jazeera. you stand the differences. and the similarities of cultures across the world. al-jazeera. welcome back commander of the top stories here on al-jazeera iran has temporarily blocked some social media apps in my spawn's to days of protests across the country against the kyra cull and eat prebble factions in syria have announced they're forming a united front called the national army to stop the acid government's advance and

human rights watch says security forces have shot at least two people a protest against president joseph kabila in the democratic republic of congo. gunmen have stormed an army training camp in mystic kashmir killing at least four soldiers a ministry spokesman says they armed men threw grenades and fired automatic rifles at the camp and vomit district victoria gate and reports. a wreath laying ceremony the soldiers killed during a rebel siege is an army training camp in indian administered kashmir the attack took place and we were all fully alert and it was because of overlooked is that we were able to find them. the building the operation started and the evacuation was done and you've already to this.

earlier on sunday soldiers try to flush out the rebels extra police were sent to seal off the camp while the sea jump folded. the sound of grenades and automatic gunfire an indication that the rebels had no intention of surrendering rebel stormed the camp on saturday night the local police chief says he was already aware an attack was imminent. they were driving. through. these villages who live near the camp shout pro-rebel slogans. for decades indian administered kashmir has been at the center of a muslim separatist movement against hindu dominated indian rule separatist groups

are fighting for the indian administered portion of kashmir to either become independent all merge with pakistan. the killing of a prominent rebel commander last year provoked widespread protests and there's no sign the latest siege will do anything to ease the tension the tory gazin be al-jazeera israel's governing the current party is preparing to vote on a draft resolution on the party's leaders to establish israeli sovereignty and formally an expanse of the west bank would not be binding but carries political force inside the pot say well how much i'm joined joins us now from west jerusalem mamma can you just get a bit more detail on this particular resolution and if it is likely to go all the way to the knesset. yes so this is a very good question and there's a lot more questions all throughout the day and even at this hour than there are answers this meeting by the likud central committee in which they are supposed to vote on this controversial resolution it was supposed to have started last hour and

we don't even know yet at this point if it started now what we understand is that this is a resolution they are presenting that the liquid central committee believes is a binding resolution that if it passed would compel prime minister benjamin netanyahu and the other likud party members to take this resolution which would in effect annex parts or perhaps all of the west bank to israel take that in to the knesset and try to pass it into law of course this is very controversial this is something that analysts we've been speaking with said that if it were to even make it to the knesset this would be very incendiary this would bring a lot more international condemnation upon israel at a time when they're already facing so much in light of president trump's decision to recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel so there's a lot of variables at play here now other analysts we've been speaking with today have said really this is just cynical political calculus we spoke to israeli

pollster mitchell barrak earlier in the day this is what he told us about how he perceives this issue. i think if the likud central committee passes this vote i think the biggest thing that will happen is will take up a lot of newspaper space will be a lot of printing done of this because it really is not binding it's not even relevant it's just you know the prime minister's right of center party just trying to make a statement a policy statement which really is meaningless and even if you read the statement it's doesn't even go into depth and it's just kind of getting ready the drumbeat of election is happening in israel we don't know when it's kind of you know this government is not the most stable and people are wondering how long is it that you know that to be around given all that's going on with the investigations so they're just trying to shore up their their popularity on the right to other key points to that we need to mention at this hour number one it's unclear if prime minister netanyahu is actually going to show up at this meeting it has

been stated by members of the likud central committee that they hoped that prime minister to prime minister netanyahu would actually be there but it's not clear if you will be secondly there has been news emerging in the past few hours that the prime minister will be issuing some kind of a statement whether that's written or whether all be broadcast at some point later this evening after the voting takes place at the home of john ging lama for us from west jerusalem. more journalists are in jail than that's any time in recent years according to figures released by the international federation of journalists it says two hundred fifty journalists bloggers and cameraman are imprisoned worldwide one hundred sixty of them in turkey eighty one journalists were killed this year compared to ninety three last year they i.f.j. welcomes the fall in the loss of life but says the total remains on acceptably high mexico afghanistan iraq and syria top the danger list the i.f.j. says it is

a long and by the growing number of media workers killed in india six died this year so let me understand is the author of the hostages daughter a memoir that details her journalist father terry anderson's abduction and captivity by fighters in lebanon my father was the middle east bureau chief of the associated press in lebanon during the one nine hundred eighty s. and before he was taken hostage it was a very different time in journalism journalists were were thought of as neutral observers not to be harmed and what happened to my father kind of kicked off a new era where journalists became targets. for kidnappings you know just it became a whole different ball game and that is kind of where we are now and as we saw with the isis kidnappings and what happened to james foley and the other hostages. things are things are different than they used to be. and i'll just there is demanding the release of its journalist backward her saying it's been more than

a year since he was arrested and jailed in egypt and saying it is accused of broadcasting false news to spread chaos which he. strongly deny he's repeatedly complained of mistreatment in jail. and he said six people have been killed in a bus crash in kenya the vehicle collided with a truck near the town of not cruel about one hundred fifty kilometers north of nairobi local officials say the buses brakes may have failed more than one hundred people have died on the same stretch of road this month. tens of thousands of people have been demonstrating in togo demanding an end to the fifteen year rule of president for the same day is the latest in a string of protests organized by opposition groups in the west african nation that have been taking place since august recess to as one new rules limiting presidents to two terms in office now same day and his follow before him. since one thousand

nine hundred sixty seven. that the more we've been claiming our bikes for four months now they don't even see is it looks like the current regime doesn't even consider with the monarchy it is necessary that at least the study told the government knows that we are tired we want to see different. now back in july french president emmanuel markram said he wanted to see no more homeless people sleeping rough on the end of the year but that hasn't happened in the capital alone there's around thirty thousand homeless people both refugees and locals and according to charities the problems getting worse and the dean barber reports from paris. he's been homeless for five years and he's still only twenty three tony doesn't want to show his face but he's happy to explain why despite the dangers he generally spends his days begging and his nights sleeping on the streets and not in a state funded emergency shelter. recently someone stole my tent then when i was

sleeping on a mattress someone kicked me in the head so they could grab the bag my head was resting on it so life on the street is very hard but in those emergency shelters you also get attacked when you get lots of drunkards there and evan if you don't look for trouble if you find it it's not safe there. the debate about how to deal with the hundred forty thousand people officially homeless in france was reopened this summer when the newly elected president made a surprise announcement that put me on a day. to delusion to the first battle is to have everyone in a dignified manner of life by the end of the year i want no more women and men in the street in the woods last only. michael suggested he could achieve this by providing more emergency shelters and better follow up by social services but groups who work with homeless people say they've not seen evidence of either

they say there are now more rough sleepers than ever partly due to an increase in the number of refugees camped out in places like the can are some things like this . across the french capital and there are less than one hundred thousand people sleeping rough in the sitting and its surroundings and although it's hard to believe homeless charities say things are actually getting worse. critics argue that the government could create thousands of extra beds for homeless people right away using existing facilities here. where there's a door back is the marina it's possible to a hospital wings that are currently empty they've got heating and sanitation they can be converted quite easily they're also not hard to army barracks that you could use then there's a question of financing the organizations that look after the homeless and run the premises. whatever the reality it's clear winter brings extra hardships for rough sleepers according to one charity four hundred homeless people have died this year alone and the average age was forty eight for alleviate who became homeless this

year after a family crisis those figures come as no surprise. there are lots of people who are ill and who don't get to hospital he says either because they can't afford to or because they don't want to be treated the new year should mean a new start for tony he's been offered work fundraising for a charity and he hopes to rent a flat with a friend but it's not easy. i have already saved up eight hundred euros was my friend will have to pay two thousand two hundred euros so that the men of accept us without a guarantee or without proof of income looking back the president's short term target for homelessness seem destined to fail but campaigners hope he will invest in long term solutions that can get people off the streets for good nadine barber al-jazeera paris. conservationists in honduras are warning of an environmental disaster as walls of rubbish wash up onto its beaches much of it has floated along

the caribbean coast from neighboring guatemala and as mariana sanchez reports biologists say the level of contamination is unprecedented. a sea of rubbish as far as the eye can see it's a wall seven meters deep and several kilometers long when slowly along the caribbean coast of undo this video posted in the internet by a photographer raised the alarm. marine biologist the stomach of it as is the tide of trash is killing nearly everything in its path if. this is an eco side caused by garbage carried by the metod well river in guatemala. there are ninety six municipalities especially thirteen they don't have trashed arms and a tributary river from the capital contributes to all this garbage. data says the rubbish mountain is blocking sunlight from the sea and affecting fishing grounds coral reefs and mangroves. much of the cocoa beach ends up here on

a more beach hospital in agro industrial residues are putting the lives of funded and cindy injure government leaders who will do this blame neighboring what they're for the disaster that what the maryland government says both countries share the responsibility for cleaning up the mess but the money has promised to send the army to clean up the mess but the rubbish highly nap on the beaches is already having an impact on communities along the shore. madelyne believe it or says fishermen like him are unable to catch clean healthy fish i. look at my little boat i can't go far out in the sea to fish the trash is too close. for your son does says the restaurant hotel he manages has fewer and fewer guests because of the filth. bust and we have less and less gas because people want to seek. beaches and we are losing money also because we're spending a lot to clean up every day. the hotel ball says the shore is a magnet for the trash marine biologists say much of it is plastic which can take

more than two hundred years to disintegrate and much of it is liquid and invisible with experts unable to say how much damage is being done. to the innocent just to see the full bore on to this. and don't forget you can find out much more on our website trending on news features and video just clip on al-jazeera dot com that's al-jazeera dot com. let's get a reminder of the top stories on al-jazeera iran has temporarily blocked some social media apps including the messaging service telegram to stop details being spread about upcoming protests for three days now and have been protests across the country against the clerical elites the government is warning of

a crackdown if they continue on saturday night two people were killed in the city of daraa rude though there's confusion over who's responsible for their deaths. during the clash that took two lawyers no bullets was shot from police and security forces the people gathering was meant to end peacefully but the presence of the agitators unfortunately this happened rebel factions in syria have announced they're forming a united front to stop the acts of governments on vallance opposition fighters are fast losing ground in syria and the russian backed government bombardment of their strongholds is relentless at least nineteen people six of them children are reporters have been killed in the latest strike rebel held parts of damascus. seventeen people have been killed in an attack at a funeral in eastern afghanistan the attacker blew himself up in jalalabad as people gathered for the funeral of a former district governor has been no claim of responsibility human rights watch

says security forces have shot dead at least two people at protests in the democratic republic of congo demonstrators in the capital kinshasa have been demanding that president joseph kabila step down and hold new elections after his mandate expired a year ago the government shut down the internet and s.m.s. services to try to stop the protests going ahead comes some officials in south korea have seized a panama flagged vessel suspected of transferring oil to north korea it's a second ship held for allegedly violating international factions on friday south korea said it had impounded a hong kong flying to vessel in november australia has welcomed the new year with a spectacular fireworks display in sydney harbor about one point six million people crowded around the harbor to watch two hours earlier thousands of cheering revelers celebrated the new year in new zealand. stay with us on algis there are be back in

about twenty five minutes one on one east is next. in india falling in love with the wrong person can be deadly. young people who follow their heart and reject their parents' choice of partners may be beaten or even murdered. but now a group of middle aged.