this is al jazeera. hello i'm daryn jordan is the out a 0 news hour live from doha coming up in the next 60 minutes tens of thousands of people from northern syria as government jets continue bombarding in the rebel held in the province. turkey austin is here to help secure a cease fire in libya days after uncle offered military support to the un recognized government in tripoli. typhoon fun seen through the philippines causing havoc with strong winds and heavy rain plus. i'm alan fischer in mexico city with

the paintings gathered over hundreds of years from people giving thanks for what they see as an act of divine intervention. tens of thousands of syrians are fleeing in the provinces russian backed government forces close in on the last rebel held province there are new ground an air offensive that has seen more than 40 villages recaptured by the syrian government many syrians are on the move north towards the turkish border but turkey's president has warned his country cannot cope with another influx of refugees for now the syrian government forces are focused on capturing the town of. which sits on the strategic and 5 highway mahama the dough has moved now from untucked on turkey's border with syria. no letup in the mosque exodus of civilians from serious

last ripple held strong. tens of thousands of to its the turkish border scrambling to escape the aerial onslaught from brush and city and forces on. the asterix shelling and but obama talks on it lip appears designed to do just thought push people out and then i'll quote it with nowhere else to go. you know all of salt. my god take revenge on all those who caused this what if we done to deserve this what have we done i plead to god for mercy be god to punish them for displacing us because in all of those humiliating us for god's sake we had being pinned to live. long queues of cars on trucks loaded with people's belongings i had that most of the techies border crossing of bubble how awful comes for the displaced off school forcing the new displaced to set up camp in the open here they

bomb shops and tweaks to stay warm in the biting winter weather techie's aid workers say they're doing all they come to help at the bakery yvonne by the charity i had judge it's tough walk around the clock to bake bread for the ever increasing number of displaced citizens the shutdown of the winter conditions are diet we are providing down with top meals bread accommodation and heating materials but the families have so many means. syrian government forces advancing towards the strategic city of my doubts and as they push deeper into the west and the problems but often no man is on the m 5 high assad's forces are determined to cupcakes you know about 3 open that route linking the couplet of damascus with the city of aleppo syria's largest just like that rest of it live problem is not out to none none have been out of food for city of families who fled other areas damascus out of the captured during the 8 and

a half year civil war it's now almost does it and i'm almost without government i fled from assad regime 2 years ago after the destruction of our homes since then i have been. forced to flee with my family 3 more stories and here we are again the new fighting comes despite an agreement in august by the leaders of turkey russia and iran to commit to this commission efforts in the. attack he's president of egypt tabor do on how to put that to say them kyra come out 100 a new route $54.00 on its own a spokesman for the turkish president now says there was russia for a ceasefire to avoid the must cycle of civilians in towns and villages were taken by syrian government forces but russia's deploy involved in the operation in keen to help its ally recover the last bit of territory under the control of rebels it's not clear if the turkish police will be heard mohamed on the wall just zita

kentucky as well as talks not to hashimi he's the director of the center for middle east studies at the university of denver he's also the co-author of the syria dilemma joins us via skype from denver how significant is this syrian army offensive on demand given this latest onslaught not it is a bit like it to finally fall to the russian backed government forces. well i think it's very significant from a human rights perspective from a humanitarian perspective we are literally seeing you know the massacre of civilians a state sanctioned war crimes and crimes against humanity by russia and the syrian government so it matters immensely if you care about human rights but of course the big question is you know what's the end game here for russia and for the assad regime there's about 3000000 people in it live none of them want to live under

assad regime control there's also 30000 extremist fighters. in this area that don't want to live obviously under assad regime control and they have nowhere else to go so there seems to be the absence of a long term plan here by the relevant players turkey russia and syria over the future of this particular region and some analysts say that the ferocity of russian and syrian air strikes and shelling on ad lib is designed for one thing in mind and that's to push out the civilian population. yeah i think we're seeing you know. the use of civilians as effectively cannon fodder by russia and the assad regime to put pressure on this rebel held on klav. they're the primary victims. it remains to be seen you know what happens next politically and diplomatically

turkey's pressure pressure is is pressing russia for a ceasefire in flatten your putin is due to visit turkey in early january so i suspect after that date there might be more clarity on what the future diplomatic plan is for this particular part of syria but in the meantime we're witnessing massive you know civilian casualties let's let's let's stay with the humanitarian angle for a 2nd not a because as ever as you say it's the civilians who get caught up in the middle of the fighting tens of thousands we know us streaming towards the turkish border all we like to see another humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in syria given the fact that effectively turkey said look we can't take any more refugees. but we're seeing it already turkey rightly argues that they have roughly 4000000 syrian refugees that they've hosted already they can't take it anymore and the turkish

government's position seems to be this needs to be a global collective problem in other words europe and the west needs to step up and provide some humanitarian relief but in the meantime while these back and forth accusations are taking place you know we're witnessing literally a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the early months of winter and it's a it's and it's another moral outrage that that we're being subjected to just a final thought from it not i mean turkey and russia as you say will be meeting to discuss syria and often libya and turkey is cold on russia to declare a cease fire and if they have how crucial is turkey's role in all of this well i think it's absolutely crucial because they are. they are right on the border of this you know unfolding crisis potentially they could play a significant role the problem is that russia really is in the driver's seat because russia for the last roughly 3 to 4 years is heavily invested militarily in

this part of syria well turkey is not so russia basically is calling the shots while all that turkey can do is call for more cease fires more diplomacy while russia sets the terms of what's happening in syria by virtue of its military offensive they effectively are you know in charge of this unfolding crisis that we're talking about not a hashmi thank you very much indeed for talking to out as they're next. meanwhile turkey's president. has made an unannounced trip to tunisia to discuss ways of bring stability to neighboring libya and korea has offered military support to the internationally recognized government and its fight against the wall orderly for have to are not without the wind has more now from tripoli. turkey's president erdogan landed in tunis to discuss trouble is brewing in next door in libya and encourage attorneys is new president to help secure a ceasefire. the internationally recognized government in tripoli has yet to

request that turkish troops intervene in the conflict. we are not guests without an invitation and if it comes we shall look into it we are in constant communication with them however we should raise an issue the forces president libya more than $5000.00 troops from sudan what are they doing there we should ask why are these forces present in libya a request was made to turkey and that's why turkey answered the call based on the agreement related to our economic zone we have signed agreements to rely on and our moves are based on legality and lawful forms however the other foreign troops have no legality to be present on libyan soil in addition have tar is not a legitimate representative of the libyan people forces loyal to the world really for hefted are bringing the fighting closer to the capital if turkey sends its a troops and with russia backing to have to his forces the next few weeks could

prove crucial for libya they are now the 2 key dynamics that will determine whether a mediation takes place because have to believe that international apathy towards what he's doing in libya backing from france paralyze the e.u. the u.a.e. giving him the weapons you are giving him not just he believes that the world is telling him we're willing to accept a military victory provided you can clean up tripoli quickly and this is why how it is attacking tripoli but if you find that this war with this battle which is already taking 8 months is becoming protracted and now techie sending troops and now there's all this hoss in a military and it may well be that the international media comes in and says look after you had 8 months to really trouble say look i turned a blind eye to it i called you an ally in terrorism you couldn't take tripoli we're very sorry about this but it's not time now to go to mediation it's about how long the d.n.a. can last beyond turkey and russia the conflict has a growing number of international backers playing a rule both in fighting and efforts towards mediation his recent military

cooperation with libya view and that the government has been criticized by some. regional and international powers but president as he deals with libya's legitimate government other countries back in half are dealing with illegitimate institutions who would have. to police. security forces in between a fast around a dozen soldiers have been killed in an ambush the attack took place in soon province part of the volatile region that comes just a day after the country suffered one of its deadliest ever attacks 2 days of national mourning was declared after a raid in the same region killed 35 civilians a warning some viewers may find the following images an omnivorous is report disturbing officials in brooklyn a fossil say these are the bodies of some of the men who were attacked positions and civilians in the north the military says it killed at least 80 of the attackers

. it's one of the worst attacks by armed groups since 2014. this attack on a restaurant in order to create 2017 killed dozens of people. the government of booking a fossil has declared 2 days of national mourning for victims of tuesday's attack well since. we have to think about solidarity and national cohesion people women for the most part were getting water and got murdered in cold blood by the terrorists while they were retreating we must show compassion with the populations that is why all flags will fly at half mast for 2 days and all christmas celebrations are cancelled. although there are thousands of international forces in west africa sail region the violence has increased in the past form and there are fears of more attacks the same handgun countries have played a major role in the global war on terror clearly in hosted military bases joint

bases facilities for example i've cos it's not going to be hosting an act of terror training camp so the. new global war on terror and i said was all i receive in the backlash for the contribution in november the army launched a new offensive against local and foreign armed groups operating in the country. many believe the recent attack in more than brooklyn a fossil was a response to this new offensive but you know fossil has seen many attacks in the past 5 years that killed more than 700 people with half a 1000000 forced from their homes the crisis in northern mali has. security problems with 5 just kenya did with al qaida and i still regularly cross the border to launch attacks. to kill a fossil is due to hold its presidential elections in 2020 and president wants to restore peace before the vote but it's not clear if his army is up to the task the

public increase. object. let's not so to come on the news hour including critics fear more discrimination against muslims in india as the government unveils plans for a population register. the christian holiday of christmas is recognized in muslim majority for the 1st time in 8 years and in sports the financial threat hanging over english teams in part 2 of our feature death of a football club. now iraq's largest parliamentary bloc has nominated a donnie to be the country's next prime minister but despite governing the oil rich province of 2017 the shia candidate has been rejected by iraqi protesters who are calling for an independent candidate his nomination comes out the prime minister. resigned last month under pressure from anti government protests more than $450.00

people have been killed in demonstrations which have gripped iraq since october with protesters calling for a complete overhaul of the political system well so manifold in is in the iraqi capital she explains why it's taken so long to nominate a candidate. well danny has now officially been nominated by the back. which was the cleric. the largest bloc in parliament we've seen many names floated throughout the past weeks but this was the 1st time that representatives of the pienaar coalition actually met with president by ham salad to officially hand over the nomination now much of the delay that we've seen throughout the past weeks has been because it was not exactly clear who is the largest bloc in parliament president barham salih had sent requests for clarification to the iraqi speaker of parliament who don't confirm that it is indeed benign now in terms of the options going forward for president he cannot challenge the speaker of the parliament on which dr is supposed to be nominating but what he can do is actually reject the

candidate that be not has put forward on the grounds that this may not be a can do this that is acceptable to the streets and this may not be acceptable to the other political parties because let's remember that the prime minister has to be a consensus candidate is accepted by all of the parties and as of now we're still waiting to hear their reaction especially from side on which is the bloc that is led by shia cleric looked at us that are. well from a hashmi legal adviser to the national council for iraq your opposition he says the nomination will further escalate to rest in iraq. i think the offering of this. pass for a governor is in fact not only a disgrace but it's also a challenge to the protestors on the streets of iraq because they have made their demands quite clear that they do not want anybody who was involved individual political process sister 1003 to date now we have this gentleman who has been

accused by the people of us or of themselves of not developing this city of also corruption and of very much leniency towards neighboring iran i think we are heading in any of that towards an escalation of these protests i've said this before we may see an escalation from the number of protests around to a level of revolution whereby. whereby protesters from all over iraq would gather in baghdad in order to force a change in government all of the uprooting of the entire government i certainly hope that all of this will stay peaceful because if it doesn't then we are going to have a catastrophe on our hands however i think what what's what's happening at the moment is a said a continuous challenging to the will of the protesters i don't think that the government will succeed in any of that by submitting to the will of the political parties within parliament and that's exactly what's happening on the news

a government is allowing or the there is an allowance of a nomination by political parties which is rejected outright by the professors of the start so any nomination that comes from these difficult parties is rejected so i don't see why they all nominating i think they should start listening to the streets they should start this into the demonstrators by nominating somebody who is completely independent somebody who is possibly an academic or of military background was not been involved in any corruption was not been involved in a major office within government to tell the story in order for the for these protests to start at least getting down. protests have been taking place in the indian capital new delhi against plans for a national population register but governments approved more than $500000000.00 in funding for the project but critics fear it could be used to further discriminate against muslims for the 1st time indians will be asked to share information about the birthplace of their parents and also have to give details of their identity documents. well confirmation of the national register follows weeks of

demonstrations over a new citizenship law which critics say discriminates it provides a pathway to citizenship for religious minorities but excludes muslims and as i was at one of the protests. here at a rally in the capital new delhi where people are continuing to protest the protests have been spit on by the government approving funding for this national population register the government says that is just part of the fence but critics say the national population may just over form the face of. the national register or. even a cross in the country protesting against. that. act now some of india's most prominent intellectuals and i hear at this rally. yet. now that there are protests against the citizenship act and the national

register of citizens the government is using a back door in the form of the national population re just we know the economy is ravaged they destroyed the economy with the monetized a hiding that it and a lying about it to the people. but that he made. no protest and all over the country are asking why the government is spending $500000000.00 on a population by just when the economy is at its worst state in 6 years to stay the course work on the register 10 states have said they want to implement citizenship carry out the national register office for the government in getting some pushback from around the country and. now this approved funding for the national nation by distance the protests a set to continue until the supreme court hears petition against the citizenship

for next month. well karen n n b is a supreme court lawyer in the indian state of go up she explains what impact the register will have on citizens. idea behind the national register citizens is to sort of identify little lost on the people who are seeking to demonstrate. what functions in the us are just not the problem with this is that in a country that is very very short of documentation and also somewhat short of interest this is disastrous because what happens is that you get the point at the electorate you get marginalized you get tribal was left out 1st 2nd problem is that of course there is a well discrimination against muslims in those just shipmen so there's something on the tracks for those demonstration at. the us citizens and i think

a new christian indeed any other religion but if you're muslim then you can't then . be recognized and amenable because that's the only really been left out you see we've also seen in an arson process instead about some. true it so far that has been he was just going to action against muslims as well in that process although a lot and also think that's really what they're going to be all sorts of people. what do you mean the diameter perhaps that is us. in afghanistan 27 activists have been abducted while on a peace march the leader of the people's peace movement says the group was taken by the taliban in the west and district the taliban has not responded to the claims will be. a spokesman for peace movement afghanistan he says some of his colleagues

have been captured by the taliban before. this is not 1st. such incidents so this is photon the taliban their culture our members and they're asking certain questions that. who are you and how you started them this is this gathering i just move into but the main issue is that this moment is. started by local people and this is our effectiveness in the princes in the districts and among the people of the communities is very efficient under people like us because they want peace and they want to make a good life for themselves and it's a. good life for every afghan. going to meet in to what you want to make a good life for them. only incident that to this simply happened. distract actually we had planned to conduct

a gathering much and. and but this is but our people do a common. wanted to conduct the covering a much in purpose this incident to happen. and i reassure the taliban that. there will be there to get. from the taliban to do to provide. proof and evidence that local movement and it's not a letter to anybody and we want just anyone. several people are missing and feared dead after a typhoon told through the central philippines destroying about 100 homes. made landfall in the eastern province of sama on tuesday with gusts of up to 150 kilometers an hour more than $4000.00 people were evacuated thousands of holidaymakers remain stranded after flights were grounded and ferry service was halted want to be low is in manila and says travelers unlucky to remain stuck for

several days we are outside the main port the off manila where traditionally over the holiday season thousands of passengers wait to board their respective passenger ferries going back to their provinces in different islands in the philippines now christmas is a very important occasion for this predominantly catholic country and as you can see families are waiting here they've got their packages here. but they've had to spend their christmas eve here because this year this type or locally known as a personal or maybe landfall in the central region of the philippines christmas eve one and that has grounded all pipes of travel in the country and so here they are this is where they spent their christmas eve they've only had food that's been given to them by the philippine coast guard and you have children here who have

basically nowhere to sleep and they have nowhere to bathe and they're saying this is has been a very difficult christmas for them i don't know me at midnight i'm very sad and i've been crying for days i told my child that i can't do anything they did not let us board the ferry because there's a typhoon and we understand that. my wife wants us to be together but to be here and there's nothing that we can do now the situation here isn't unique. across the country in different ports thousands more are stranded and it is likely that they will remain stranded until the typhoon leaves the philippines now passengers here tell us that they have not been assured that they can leave immediately assoon as the typhoon leaves the philippines they've also been told that it is likely that it will be one more week before they can actually get on

their fareast go back to their provinces so it is likely that they will be spending new year's here as well time for a short break here now to 0 when we come back our residents in the chilean city about what i saw during christmas celebrations as out of control wildfire tens through the town it should not expect that this person is on the ticket of kill just because they can from a refugee background and the sky's the limits we hear from a syrian refugee about her hopes and dreams have to flee. out of school there's a close shave at the school well come summer we have the details of that stay with us. welcome back we're here cross southern california over the next few days the flood threat is on the rise we do have a system that is coming out of the pacific and with it we're going to be seeing

plenty of moisture in the low levels and it's going to be snow into the higher elevations and for los angeles you could be seen quite a bit of rain over the next few days and the temperatures down to about 12 degrees there but by the time we don't go to go from the thursday and into friday we are going to see some better temperatures but still very heavy rain also some very heavy snow across much of the southwest out here towards eastoe it's going to be new york with some clouds in the forecast jumping up to about ninety's there washing to that 10 and atlanta a chilly day for you at about 16 degrees well here across the caribbean finally the rain the very heavy rain we have seen over the last few days is finally moving. we'll be seeing plenty of sun across much of the area particularly out here towards the west not a lot of clouds for have in it with the temperature finally coming back up to about $26.00 degrees and also down here across much of rio de janeiro expect to see more rain that has been going on for the last few days the frontal boundary causing the rain is really stationary across much of that area down towards one is that is the rain is out of the picture for you we do expect to see

a term to there of $26.00 degrees and by the time we get towards friday some clouds in the forecast with a temperature of 28. january on out you see the. president don't know trump is that the president in history to be impeached what does this mean for the future of the u.s. leadership on the brink of an election before much chilian presidential candidate explores the defeat of left wing political parties a close match in america and look at how this year's world economic forum to focus on ways to tackle the impact of climate change the next probation of family links to the city's regime examines it it's early may now be embracing freshest ideologies most believed gone forever with the general election out of the way breaks it is now simply proving you can proceed with the transition a few months january on al-jazeera.

to. cut. welcome back or come out about top stories on the news out thousands of people in syria continue to flee the country's last rebel held stronghold of the province as a government offensive intensifies more than 130000 people have left the area this month alone many heading to the turkish border. and so this president has made an unannounced trip to discuss ways of bringing stability to neighboring libya anger

and has offered military support to the internationally recognized government in its fight against the warlords and. the have top. security forces in britain a facet of say around a dozen soldiers have been killed in an ambush in the northern soon problems comes just a day after $35.00 civilians were killed in the same province one of the country's deadliest ever attacks. now the leaders of eritrea and ethiopia are meeting to revive stalled peace talks and return president as i.s.f. work he arrived in the ethiopian capital addis ababa on wednesday where he held talks with the prime minister of the ahmed the 2 countries signed an historic peace agreement last year and then a 2 decade military standoff but i'm certain the remains of economic cooperation and border crossings again the official says 7 in their return for ball players have disappeared at the end of a regional tournament they went missing after the final game in uganda is capital kampala the players are the latest to defect from eritrea which has been described

by human rights group says one of the most tightly controlled regimes in the world well over the past decade dozens of eritrean players have disappeared or refused to go home and 201510 players refused to return after a tournament to qualify for the world cup in botswana and last october 5 players disappeared in uganda in the middle of a regional meet now eritrea's government is forcing footballers to pay a bond and surrender their property ownership documents before leaving the country but it's not just footballers every year tens of thousands of eritreans flee mainly to escape and forced military service and rights abuses i well i was a lecturer at killed university in england he explained why this keeps happening and what the prospects are for real change. i think maybe because that it's one of the most of the pacific countries in the world where there are you know why it's strange and because well nations. force military conscription that is

indefinite by nature and economy that is not going for society that is crazy creative and industrious by nature and people are leaving the country to avoid the harsh realities and also the economic the provisions the meaning. i think people who have been observing the countries where hoping that a peace deal between. would hopefully you know on the brink of space. and. chance to have an active save the politics of the country never took the economy but unfortunately you know even after a peace deal has been reached and the chance of a major undertaking 20 asian with neighboring ethiopia with adverted their interest is continuing its practices. indefinite its national has remained in place where there is just a few cases. and i think this stage i think it's very difficult to see any hope why

are they going to be in place for egypt to move forward. residents in southern lebanon fear another war between israel and hezbollah could happen in the last conflict in 2006 more than a 1000 lebanese civilians died and as tony berta reports now from the kuta the discovery of oil and gas reserves in the waters disputed by lebanon and israel has raised the stakes. this should be productive farming land but south lebanon has been a war zone for 40 years and areas lie idle for the last 20 years it's been a battleground between israel and hezbollah are enemies separated only by a thin blue line of un peacekeepers. the armed group has amassed a huge stockpile of rockets and missiles that can reach as far as television but as well as its military capability israel is concerned about has was growing power in the current lebanese political crisis. think has

a financial. planner a conflict with the israelis so i think they're not really in a position to enter a conflict at this stage but on the israeli side maybe israel will see an opportunity and launching a war at this at this moment that's a constant fear in september there were heavy artillery and rocket exchanges between the 2 sides after an israeli drone attack it lasted only a day but underlined how fragile the peace is along the so-called blue line. the blue line stretches 120 kilometers about 20 kilometers of it is concrete war but most of it is open and easily cross a ball now in 2006 this was a battleground in the war between hezbollah and israel but the u.n. then was powerless to stop it since then israel and lebanon have disagreed exactly where the land and maritime border runs in some stretches this includes the zone

called block 9 in a corridor rich oil and gas reserves have been discovered which are worth tens of millions of dollars and desperately important to lebanon's depleted economy. israel . claimed that it has some part of it and we claim that it is fall under the sovereignty of lebanon according to the law of these it's a part of the economy so in this case if israel objected and me and conducted an operation military operation against. the. the companies which are bringing. in this block i think that there will be a war. whatever the reason for a war the outcome is the same for the people of south lebanon they pay the human price the village of kfar killer is right on the blueline it is under hezbollah control and has suffered many civilian casualties in the exchanges with israel especially in the last war 13 years ago. akhmed faqih is 84 years

old and he remembers even as a boy hiding in olive groves to avoid israeli shells the prospect of war is a fact of life he says. either you live with the situation or you leave because some people are scared but the fears are not only from this border it's a general loree when you see the world on fire around you like syria and iraq conventional wisdom suggests that the won't be an immediate war but wisdom is something that has been in short supply in this volatile and unpredictable region for now most can only watch wait and hope tony berkeley al-jazeera neck or a southern lebanon. a wildfire has destroyed an estimated $150.00 homes in chile and injured a dozen firefighters the fire started now forest. that's west of the capital santiago and quickly spread into residential areas many were forced to flee their

homes during christmas celebrations solid balance reports for. a neighborhood wiped out by a wildfire that tore down from the hills a valid part of esau on christmas eve. i live over there and my house was burnt my cousins and uncles were relatives in the street this is my mother's house that house was built by my father i was born here. the port town is renowned for its colorful wooden houses that's left is charcoal hundreds of residents spent christmas day sifting through the debris i sense that escaped the place. we were preparing dinner with the family with everything that had already happened . so with protests we were very sad because we could not work and now we have finally lost what we need to live and stay here. i managed to get the pets and the t.v. out but i couldn't take more because the police took me away there was nothing more

that could be done. the fire began on tuesday fanned by strong winds and a hot dry start to summer firefighters began a ground an aerial if it limit the destruction to move swiftly into the dance neighborhood that i don't really know at least 60 homes have already been damaged and this number is likely to increase because many are in bad shape so it's difficult to count in these minutes. that number soon. residents of what they could before they were evacuated some using buckets of water to douse the fire annoyed i feel powerless because all the houses are praying another fires coming here and there's my mom's house down this government official surveyed where the blaze began speculating it had been started deliberately. as if any but the i'm going to feel there is evidence being investigated by the prosecution post investigators are carrying out all the due diligence to find possible responsibility and if prevented him and the highest penalty for now though it's residents who are paying the

penalty harmless they're sleeping in school buildings clearing out what's left to start again. dallas al-jazeera now millions around the world are celebrating christmas but in hong kong the festive period has been marked by more violence between anti-government protesters and police demonstrators occupied a shopping mall and rallied in the streets around the business shopping district and county. and gaza a small christian community have held a mass in gaza city to mark christmas day this year very few applications to visit . bethlehem and jerusalem were granted to people from gaza. strip around a 1000 questions israel tightly controlled any movement in and out of the area. for the 1st time since 2011 christmas has been officially recognised in muslim majority . as transitional government says it wants to be more inclusive for sudanese of all religions he has more than a sudanese capital to. the sounds of the choir singing on christmas day

this year has a different feel for william. as sudanese from a christian minority he says the muslim majority countries declaring the day an official holiday is a welcome change from the way things have been for the past 80 years. in the past we felt like we were part of the people of this country we christians were treated as the lowest caste lower than all other religions but this year the government gave us recognition by making christmas an official holiday nationwide. sudan's previous government stop recognizing christmas after predominantly christian south sudan gained independence in 2011 christians make up about 5 percent of the 41000000 population and many have reported persecution in the past in september a transitional government was sworn in after months of political turmoil it has

since appointed the 1st christian from the coptic minority to a position of power it's also called on minorities of other religions including jews who have left the country to come back home many christians now say they feel part of the society for the 1st time signs of. the pyramid of churches here and some markets like this one here sudan's transitional government has pledged to be inclusive when it came to power at all. just and this month the united states removed khartoum from its list of countries where religious freedoms are a threat a list it's been on for 20 years now minister the news here and abroad want to see just how far the government would go to keep its promises the government has also granted school holidays on sundays for christians some have criticized the recent wave of changes but the government insists it's determined to create religious equality. but that. we have to stand in equal distance from all religions to be able to create

a more religiously tolerant country it's about being sudanese not the religion that you follow. christian leaders here say the changes will help bring unity the their way of living and so get a good thing. dividing people among themselves was done by political parties by political entities and the government unfortunately i hope they change it up and. actually it's a change that will continue to change our way of doing things a lot of mentality and our way of dealing with one another. these worshipers now feel better able to worship how they want but this freedom is new they'll be hoping it lasts people morgan al-jazeera shots on. time from a short break here and al-jazeera when we come back we hear from the liverpool cap as they refocus on the premier league title challenge after world conquering triumph morna stay with us.

what happens when plans for a new life are brewed and derailed by committing serious crimes from drug trafficking to robbery. only i don't remember how many times it stopped the way her boyfriend spoke to me and even her al-jazeera world goes inside an italian prison meeting men and women from north africa who left home only to face life behind bars double exile on al-jazeera. when the news breaks today the current government has lost the trust of the people they can't do anything because. when he came to places like world will represent the last hurrah for opponents of drawing the conservative . teams on the ground it now hopes the meeting in paris will push politicians to create a competent and credible government to bring the. documentary. and

online. welcome back now the end of the year for many people is a time to reflect on what's happened in the past and also to look forward to some who fled war and conflict settling in a new country can be tough being away from loved ones even harder let's hear the story of one syrian refugee who arrived in britain 4 years ago and believes nothing is out of reach. my name is mike is out i'm 20 years old and i'm from damascus syria i'm going to hoping to become a commercial pilot one day and you know perhaps be the 1st ever female syrian

refugee problem i was 11 when the war started and it just moved closer and closer until it happened. we're always prepared that we're going to do something at some point because that's what war does that's what everyone's face them experience during the war is losing something whether like a relative a loved one their house their businesses and different stuff so it was always thought when i were like my parents would leave the house they would say goodbye as if we might never see them again so we were alive but we were not living. my mom my 2 younger brothers and i got from damascus to live on on us of the air for on them from the airport we went to turkey and then from turkey to bermuda i always. believed that if you cation is what's going to define my future and education is

how i can represent myself my country my family where i'm from i knew the kind of stereotypes that people have about refugees of being on a hated unskilled i just feel like some people look at me i don't want them to define me with these kind of stereotypes and labels you should not expect that those persons on those you keep it on school just because they came from a refugee background you don't expect them to be broken and soudan like you know the past like they can be you offer your best support and like try to be the kindest you can but also expect that you're treating just a normal human being with normal additions and hopes and dreams. great story time for the small now his son. thank you very much reigning n.b.a. champions the toronto raptors came up sold to as they staged their 1st ever christmas day game in franchise history the league usually saves a must see encounters for the 25th of december and this year it was no different to

toronto playing host to the 2nd place team at the boston celtics and brown was the standout performance he scored 30 points as the celtics took the game 118202. liverpool returned to english premier league duty on thursday after coming back from qatar as club world cup champions manager yogen club but takes his team to 2nd place leicester city liverpool go into the game at temple into clear of leicester but they have experience of losing leeds before as they bid for 1st league title since 99. we are not in the situation where we are in because we will be told things all before they are over we are not in the sense that there is rain because we didn't take each game we played so far 100 percent serious always when i was in focus and that's what we will be the premier league is now a world away for

a club that twice won the f.a. cup and were the pride of the town near manchester f.c. a were kicked out of the english league this season their tail a warning for other teams that could pay the price of financial mismanagement all just as lee wellings reports in part 2 of death of a football club. this should have been much diane berry the pictures be maintained in hope but there will be no match. after 134 years of existence bury f.c. is closed today. big clubs including manchester united feared giggling and the white shirts of barry at the turn of the 20th century the team won the famous f.a. cup twice. while the big clubs got bigger very couldn't keep up. was chairman tried but i was stretched themselves

a familiar tale in modern football the controversial joining the liquidation process steve dial has stayed away from the town the people of barry are angry with him and at the english football league for expelling them but mainly they are heartbroken. or almost grieving. and going through something to remember and all the good times and look and upset. then and so that's something i like about barry and especially. we're not going to when i've really zoe hitchens staged an exhibition of barry memorabilia every manchester i knew that there is no shortage of precious memories in the town bizarrely to collect. the given 40 years of support. for his. back in february of 0. well there is very big strong community of. everything

the mess in the one lock in the old football the old. last really without wall were as big as man city monday night in the. been a big club. score in unethical. too much money now in the snow sports anymore is just a business in the. area one of many english clubs who've had severe financial problems 10 kilometers away much. wonders. survivals one of english football's glorious clubs i nearly went out of business just a few months of guard barry were kicked out of the football league and were punished with points deducted but they were rescued when a buyer intervened just in time there's just something about mark.

as being part of life. it's something hard just be taken away from hopeful. and bury in crisis the 1st chairman. bad decisions left him with a lot of debt 2nd chairman steve dale i don't think he's sole was invested in the place and i don't think he was there for the right reasons is meant to have control over both of those people being able to run a football club for me they lost control of the both of those men footballers got to be protected and clubs like barry have got to be protected in the future because once they got the gun peterborough were meant to be barry's opposition in league one on this particular saturday nothing special but it would have meant something. joy a hot encapsulates barry football can't be so much for coming. was a player here i'm too busy and manager she had raised awareness of the plight by

handcuffing ourselves to the club it means everything it's the grace of football community we're all. with a morning i've a town. definitely it's a day. and generation it will affect. you have to be a football. really to understand that if they're thinking about is they know the death that we feel. over in bolton by school light so when then my. heart you know if you're at the yard where. you know i was a. very your dad was just what we needed was a larger event oh it's hard. to get that. barry fans just want them marched back lee wellings al-jazeera in the town of bury. now

and how not to be hit by a scare traveling at high speed caray says hits of it was hurtling towards the finish line at the time and to this week landing counted in official casually strolling cross the pierced luckily there was no collision. more later on. so i thank you very much indeed now it's a mexican tradition depictions of divine intervention for hundreds of years artists have captured the moment they felt their prayers were answered today the sometimes surreal words are popular as pieces of art from mexico city alan fischer i reports for. the hour from the devote the pious and the grateful thank you mark in recovering good fortune or success in mexico they're called exotic paintings delivered to the church a devotion or gift after prayers were answered. with

those who wanted their story to be known ordered these little paintings they were made by artists that worked near the church and people told them their story and they would interpret it painted erode a few lines about it at the bottom of a painting. the idea of giving gifts in fact has been around for thousands of years and even as the surveys see the mexico is becoming less religious there are still those commissioning paintings to mark what they see as divine intervention. one of the artists most in demand is afraid of you from a small studio in a working class area in the west of mexico city he's been painting for more than 30 years he started after losing his job as a builder. i started doing what i thought i could do drawing in small pieces of paper cardboard in solet in sardine cans anywhere and at some point i want to sell them on the street and that was it it's difficult to start as an artist. people give thanks for many things recovery from illness

a man being released from prison after he was accused of stealing turned up a prostitute who wanted more customers praying for someone to turn after the 911 attacks in new york. because it will as an ex voto painter i hear many stories but my favorites are love stories giving thanks for. having found the love of their life because his partner came back when she thought it was over those are nice because the feelings are nice there are always 2nd chances or a lot of photos work is always in demand he said exhibitions in canada germany and even at the world famous lived in paris. but his greatest joy preaching for those who live nearby for those who want a permanent reminder of the day when the prayers were answered alan fischer al-jazeera mexico city all the news of course in our website there it is on your screen all the latest on the syrian government on support in the last rebel held audience of it lived address of course al jazeera dot com that's it for me down in

jordan for this news hour but down that way i'll be back with more news the top they say that. new leaders place children in this refugee camp the latest victims of the unending sectarian violence in central african republic among them are survivors of unspeakable violence 10 year olds to the book his mother is dead her father is gone killed because they were christian by their own muslim neighbors this is silliness do you home an overcrowded refugee camp of 23000 people surrounded by armed militia groups celine wants answers she says she wants to be asking the questions and so we

traded places inch took the microphone will we find peace how can we make the violence stop when will i be able to return home. what was the last thing the president said to you about impeachment when you last spoke to him for i os multicultural society it's not at all you. think dumbing elevation thought it was only a good term how worried are you that the conditions are still right for another i think they are right join me many often as i put up from questions to my special guest and challenge them to some straight talking political debate here on al-jazeera. they wanted 43000000000 pounds with a weapon that was 6000000000 intermission. there's no fun anymore because there's always a small cobbles people really really good misfits. in essence we

in the united states have privatized the old public function more shadow on al-jazeera. long long. ago. tens of thousands of people flee northern syria as government jets continue to bomb the rebel held in the problems. along daryn jordan this is out as iran live from doha also coming up turkey seeks to business help to secure a ceasefire in libya days offered off a miniature support of the u.n. recognized government in tripoli. festivities in flames in the port city of god but i also recall the horrific wildfire that reduced their homes to ashes on christmas eve plus. i'm alan fischer in mexico city with the paintings gathered over hundreds

of years from people giving thanks for what they see as an act of divine intervention.