or london. on al-jazeera. al-jazeera. hello i'm barbara sara this is the al-jazeera news hour live from london thank you for joining us coming up in the next 60 minutes emotional scenes in kiev after ukraine and pro russian separatists swap all their prisoners in a move to end the 5 year war in the. as a missile hits a military parade in southern yemen the who the rebels say they have a list of 9 targets that they plan to strike in saudi arabia and the u.a.e.

plus. violent. spurred by hate york's governor says a stabbing attack at a rabbi's house was an act of domestic terrorism and residents and holiday makers in australia's victoria state are told to evacuate made warnings that monday will be a day of extreme danger. and on peter's terms in doha with sports liverpool win a game in the english premier league but once again the video assistant referee really it's controversial. but 1st the u.s. military has carried out what it's calling defensive air strikes in iraq and syria against a militia group they come 2 days after an american civilian contractor was killed in a rocket attack on an iraqi military base 3 locations where he in iraq reported to

include al qaeda which is on the border with syria sources say that at least 10 fighters were killed and so he 5 people injured that the target was a shia group called hezbollah which is part of the popular mobilization forces that actually help the iraqi government fight i sold it is not affiliated with the lebanese group hezbollah. well the pentagon has accused the group of being allied with iran in a statement it says cathay has valar has a strong linkage with iran's crudes of force and has repeatedly received lethal aid and other support from iran that it is use that to attack coalition forces the pentagon says iran and their company has ball a proxy forces must cease their attacks on u.s. and coalition forces and respect iraq's sovereignty to prevent additional defensive actions by u.s. forces well some wonderful team has more now from baghdad. well there are quite

significant because this is actually the 1st time that the u.s. actually strikes a target on iraq his soil let's remember that not until too long ago the u.s. and the were fighting against eisel on the same side but of course since then the tensions between the u.s. and iranian backed groups have played a quite a bit in this particular attack we're hearing from a source inside the pm and has claimed as many as 10 lives with dozens of people injured and of course this particular strike comes at the back of a series of rocket attacks that were aimed at military bases where both of us and iraqi personnel are based in the u.s. attributed some of these attacks took a type has followed the last one happened last friday and for the 1st time it actually claimed the life of one u.s. contractor and it injured several u.s. personnel now of course secretary of state has said before that any such attack that harm u.s. troops or their allies would be met with decisive force so this strike is basically

a response to that now it does present a departure from the previous stance of the u.s. when it basically tried to urge the iraqi government to rein in groups like hezbollah reminding the government that it is responsible for the safety of u.s. troops because of course they are here at the invitation of the government so this is these strikes represent a departure from the policy in a sign that the u.s. is now taking matters into its own hands was latest from baghdad let's get more now from share in washington d.c. so she has this group. is actually part of the p m f which we heard similar mentioned there which is the popular mobilization forces help the iraqi government fight against i saw now they're being attacked by the u.s. what could this to to u.s. relations with the iraqi government. you know it's interesting i was just looking back a few weeks ago. around the time when mike compare was warning that action could be

imminent and there was a reuters story which quoted an unnamed defense official who is warning look something a flashpoint could occur and this is what he said to reuters there's a point at which their actions change things on the ground and make it more likely that some other actions some other choices made by somebody whether it's them or us will escalate unintentionally and he added that the that the coalition would group may respond with force and no one will like the outcome so there were these the u.s. is aware of just how tricky this is what they've done in effect is bomb an arm of the iraqi state these this particular group was part of the it is part of the popular mobilization forces but since july there's been an order to the fight against islamic states as rather receded somewhat to bring the p.l.f. into the iraqi security apparatus they are formally part of the iraqi government and now the u.s. has bombed a part of the iraqi government so it's in all that complicated we should also add

though that there has been no claim of responsibility for any of these escalating attacks and in fact just on saturday iraqi spokes person suggested that maybe it's the islamic states who are bombing bombing these these bases nonetheless the u.s. has decided the time has come to confront this particular shia militia but we should also add that many of the paramilitaries in the shia militias have said for some time now the very thing israel and the u.s. have been bombing their deposition facilities for some time now so whether this is or isn't that's open to debate as well but clearly this makes things very complicated for the u.s. rocky relationship iraq is quote in a very difficult position and this comes at a time when already there's this upsurge of iraqi nationalism in the streets with the demonstrations and so on where the chant is neither america nor iran so this is another complicating. and we're already hearing hearing. there was a report very. influential shia cleric.

to try and confront the americans on foreign interference or foreign interference rule. with the latest on that story from washington d.c. should have thank you the ukrainian government and russian backed separatists have exchanged all 200 of their prisoners in a move aimed at ending 5 years of war a group has just arrived back in the ukrainian capital kiev where they were by president. those released think soldiers civilians and members of a special police force who are accused of killing protesters in kiev in 2014 now this latest prisoner exchange follows talks between ukraine and russia leaders a few weeks ago in paris and is being seen as a sign of a possible resolution to the ongoing war and the heywood reports. for many this was

a long time coming ukrainian prisoners finally free to leave the territory they fought to keep but still controlled by pro russian separatists security was tight as a prisoner exchange began in eastern ukraine some had arrived at the checkpoint in heavily fortified because the identities checked and checked again but the men disbelieve them relief that it was happening and they will be able to return home. to. this cranium prison or that they would fight for their country president ever. again while this pro russian separatists thought he'd been beaten and tortured by the cranium security services. sunday's exchange was the result of direct talks between president for lenski and putin in france. they agreed to implement a full ceasefire in a bid to end the war in the region of ukraine and relations between russia and

ukraine for howard when protesters in kiev managed to drive out a kremlin backed government in 2014 russia then seized control of crimea from ukraine and within weeks russian backed separatists took control of the eastern part of ukraine. more than 13000 people including civilians have died during 5 years of complaint the have been attempts to pull to try to end the war and the prisoner swaps ukraine wants to join nato once your union wants to move west. i'm not sure where ukraine and this. difference may just be. why a prisoner exchange this one has caused controversy in ukraine protesters gathered outside a detention center angry some members of a ukrainian police unit accused of killing demonstrators in kiev and 2014 were released there is little will i want civilians caught up in the fighting for this

war to continue this prisoner exchange then a sign that tensions could be easing and he would out as there are. all the journalists. in moscow says the prisoner swap has largely been welcomed but there is some criticism that ukrainians who died in the revolution have been betrayed. zelin ski faced criticism in ukraine from the very start when he openly showed his willingness to talk with russian president vladimir putin and also a willingness to compromise with him and critics say he might have compromised too much or did he is a bit too willing on the other hand there is effect that he did win the elections by promising to end this conflict and we could read on social networks and also in ukraine in media that this prisoner swap is welcome the there were posts like

a finally our people are heading back home some of them have been kept by the russian separatists since 2015 at the same time what it calls the criticism mostly in this particular swap that happened today is that. the russian separatists were released 5 x. special police members who were charged with killing people in the square with a pen this in the center of kiev in 2014 so before the crimea was and it was by russia before a 1st gun was fired in east ukraine and critics say why are you handing over dispy people they have nothing to do with the fighting in east ukraine and they feel that people who died and the whole ukrainian revolution of 2014 has been in a way surrendered has been the way betrayed andre dobriansky is that the rector

of communications at the ukrainian congress committee of america and he joins us now via skype from new york sir welcome to al-jazeera so this prisoner swap obviously good news for the people involved but looking further ahead do you think it is a step towards a potential peace or at any rate resolution for eastern ukraine. it seems that this is completely unrelated to any possible. end of the conflict it's very clear that this is something that president elect he has been successful with before he got the sailors who were captured in november of 28000 released earlier this year this is yet another prisoner exchange it doesn't require seating any territory changing the law or constitution this is that instant political win for president selenski with a lot of good media attention however we don't know going forward how that will affect them in the polls there will be some kind sort of local elections in 2020 at which we can see if this is a fact it is popularity is say you say it isn't related to any potential pieces you

mentioned potential territories faults is that what you think would need to happen to try to come to some sort of solution between the 2 countries and it seems almost intractable the path forward 'd it's something that presents a once yes promise to work on in his 1st term of office so that's why we're seeing a lot of this with the prisoner exchange where he also made some progress with president putin is signing a 5 year gas agreement which will end this perpetual sort of damocles that russia has held over ukraine for many years of shutting off their gas on a yearly basis but in terms of the conflicts there everything is so tied together in terms of the constitution of ukraine would have to be changed for any of the terms that russia is proposing there's no political will to change the constitution ukraine especially on behalf of the aggressor state so that's not something that can happen very easily i think what ukraine is possibly being for is to get some international monitors right up to the line of conflict and seeing them enter

territory that russia has blocked for many years and maybe in that way we can really reduce the end mind of armaments that russia has included in ukraine and is a lengthy is obviously quite new in the post an experience president he does seem to have had successes and mean the main on the pieces as you say but he has had to prisoner swaps what do you think is behind he's at least i guess trying to move forward in the conflict with with russia. well i all i see that his relationship with ladder very different from the previous previous president and also most other presidents i ascribe that to not only a president elect keeping a political novice because he hasn't helped little office not a judgment of character but also in the fact that he's a very young that in dealing with president putin present goodness dealing with somebody an entirely different generation a man who really came of age in the post post soviet space and doesn't really speak or think of the world the same way the present president putin i think is into

interaction with him in terms of the gas deal is something that's probably probably wasn't expecting when they sat down at the normandy format who was probably thinking of doing something more along the lines of a carrot or exchange and present black is very concerned about the economy and growing ukraine out of its financial hole but in terms of getting out of the conflict it's really intractable the sanctions that europe especially has put on are all tied into specific metrics laid out in the minsk agreement that the radically can't be achieved just because of the nature of the conflict. andre dobriansky director of communications of the ukrainian congress committee of america series thank you for joining us thank you. for coming up on this news hour live from london a deadly spiral of violence in central african republic 5 years after rebels overthrew the government. the show goes on in france despite the

ongoing nationwide strike emptying theatres and tickets a plus the queen of the slopes adds to her world cup tally and also peter has all the action. but for us the yemeni government is blaming who the rebels for a missile attack on a military graduation parade which killed at least 7 people no one has claimed responsibility for the strike which was in the town of the ally in southern yemen the apparent target was the security belt forces who are trained and the quipped by the united arab emirates they're part of a government allied separatist group in southern yemen the saudi and erotic coalition intervened in yemen's war in 2015 trying to restore the exiled government to power. portray the militias have tried to move the party away from the battlefield after they suffered losses on the front lines i mean to

the heart of darling by way of a strikes and this strike. there because the joints of the forces will not stop in just securing they will also try to secure and other areas here but meanwhile the who these say that they've identified 9 targets in saudi arabia and the u.a.e. you which they plan to hit next year who say no he is a pro who the journalist based in sanaa he says that this agreements within the saudi u.a.e. led coalition fighting in yemen mean that they are at risk of splitting up. i think because if we see that the goal in the south is different saudi arabia is supporting the legitimacy of the other on the other side we see that united arab emirate is creating a militia and security forces which actually want yemen to be separated over they call it the session of yemen that's why i think if they continue this way i don't think that this coalition can continue on as well we have seen today press

conference for the spokesperson of yemeni out of voters here in sanaa and he has one saudi arabia and i have a minute and he said that this year. 2020. name if they are victory in a difference because we know that in many other means and has been developed there any difference and if they can limit. the strength and the power of saudi a night out of air force i believe that they can conduct a major attack against saudi arabia united arab emirates and i just want to mention that 2 days ago yemeni a ballistic missile has targeted a military base in niger and i think that was a clear declaration of the end of the unilateral truce that was announced in sanaa 3 months ago on the spokesperson today have said in sanaa that the yemeni army would respond to any attack against yemen either here in area under the control of some or any other attack or a major development in the south especially from the united arab emirates. the

u.n. has sent a rapid response team to central african republic after violence between shop owners and fighters demanding money at least 40 people were killed in the capital bangui on thursday and dozens of shops and homes were set on fire trade was refused to pay the un is warning against an escalation of fighting following years of unrest between muslim and christian militias we'll see our is one of the world's poorest and most volatile countries it's been gripped by conflict since an alliance of muslim rebels known as the seleka overthrew president. government in 2013 soon after that fierce fighting erupted between the seleka and christian fighters known as the cap in 2014 the un sent a peacekeeping force to support african union and french troops who were already deployed there but the violence hasn't stopped cease fires have been signed and violated and all sides have been accused of war crimes the u.n.

says 2 thirds of the population that's more than 3000000 people need humanitarian aid to survive or one shop owner who did not want to be identified the said that he's fed up with the violence. we've had enough every time they're asking for money sometimes they take things by force we can't continue like this when will it end. and attacked by a man with a machete on orthodox jews attending hanukkah celebrations at a rabbi's house in upstate new york has been described as an act of domestic terrorism 5 people were injured including a rabbi son it's the latest in a number of recent attacks against a jewish community in the u.s. as rosalynn jordan now explains. 37 year old grafton thomas faces 5 counts of attempted murder after an attack at a hanukkah party a month see new york

a witness called the attack terrifying just winning is the word knife i don't know what it was back and forth that the people descending described after me when they came out here is going to have to be hey you all got you but that's it that's about it so far thomas has not been charged with a hate crime the new york state governor says the suspect should get that and more i think this is an act of terrorism i think domestic terrorists are trying to inflict fear they're motivated by hate. they are doing mass attacks these are terrorists the muncie attack is the latest in a series of assaults on jewish americans this year new york city police say that as of december 15th $213.00 anti semitic hate crime complaints have been filed this year that's 36 more than in 20188 of those attacks have happened in the last couple of weeks including a woman and her son attacked while leaving

a coffee shop. in nearby jersey city 3 people were murdered in a kosher supermarket and december 10th while police are increasing neighborhood patrols and some israeli politicians say it might be time for jewish americans to leave the u.s. others say it will take much more than law enforcement to fight anti semitism we would leave. even more. educational efforts with regard to the whole course remember and the fight against something you think and theism atheism is more needed but right now people are scared and the priority is keeping people safe rosalyn jordan al-jazeera washington at least 2 people are dead and another is critically injured after a shooting at a church in the u.s. city of fort worth texas according to reports a suspect armed with a shotgun believed to be seen here in the top right of this photo opened fire

during mass he was then shot by someone attending a service apparently seen in the top left is ours he said not confirmed if the attacker is among those killed or injured. it's going to australia now what tens of thousands of residents and holiday makers have been told to evacuate parts of victoria state because of bushfire threat officials say monday could be a day of extreme danger with forecasts of strong winds lightning strikes and temperatures above 40 degrees celsius more than 100 bush fires are burning across australia with new south wales the worst hit state prime minister scott morrison says conditional compensation will be available for all volunteer firefighters who have lost income due to their efforts to stop the blaze. as this is a very prolonged for a solution this is putting additional demands on our firefighters in particular and it means that the turnouts in the call outs have been far more extensive than in

previous years going well and beyond and above what is normally expected of those who are engaged in volunteer service and i've got a site particularly when i've been out now sort of the cities and seeing the impact to clean rural communities on farmers who are dealing with drought during the day and doing with far as it not in through the afternoon a 2nd avalanche in the italian alps has killed the skier and the 4th fatality in the area in 24 hours the most recent victim was among the group of 4 people struck by the avalanche in the dolemite mountains on sunday morning meanwhile on saturday to 7 year old girls and the mother of one of them died after a wall of snow crashed into the center is valley prosecutors say they are investigating whether the slope should have been closed because of the high risk of battle which is. now the ongoing strike in france is proving bad for the

entertainment industry at its most important time of the year but the show has gone on in prison theatres just without sellout audiences for and it's miss for imports from paris. of paris is the cast expects to perform in front of full houses at this time of year. but amid the rows of excited children there are empty seats a drop of 20 percent in ticket sales means the public transport strike is no laughing matter. for the only family that owned the circus for almost 90 years it's one of the toughest seasons they've had we we doing the show until 16 of march so if we lose 20 percent every show is a lot of money is a lot of lost but we can stop we have contract with an artist and public already more ticket until the 16th of march so we can say we stop it's impossible. sometimes it's the performers who are on strike dances or against government plans

to reform pensions because for now they get to retire at $42.00 after a short career the puts enormous strains on their bodies. were against the pension reform the government wants to implement but it's also a gesture toward spectators because we as artists are very sorry for what's happening to deprive 100 spectators from christmas shows. the opera house says it's lost $9000000.00 since the start of the strike on december the 5th ticket sales in many paris the it is a drop by as much as a 40 percent and december is the most important time of the year its money will not be able to make back. just $250.00 tickets have been sold for tonight's performance at the $650.00 seat today after the montana us when people have spent an hour and a half on foot to get to work it's too much to expect them to go out again here when the crowd applaud the act there's the act of clout that the crowd back because

they are the real heroes who've managed to make it here it is says bertrand the biggest slumping theatregoing he's experienced in recent memory. for the performers the show must go on of course but it's getting harder to live up to the principal. going to smith al-jazeera palace. so lots more to come on this hour including why taiwan's presidential election has become all about china plus. chile is leading the developing world with a pledge to relinquish coal to generate power but for those who live in the so-called sacrifice 30 years is too long to wait. and rangers decade long victory drought at celtic comes to an end the peter has the.

hello there some pretty good weather across central and western areas of europe there's a lot of cloud around and we are actually still seeing some fog across the central areas particularly in the valleys boss it is caring for the most part and we've seen plenty of snow of course this is the southeast of poland it looks very pretty but of course it does make for very dangerous driving conditions as we go through monday it really is not about picture out toward in fact across into poland it's mostly goings because of a cloudy skies and the winds are coming from fairly mild direction to say look at this 11 celsius in london on monday 7 in paris 4 in warsaw it's cold in moscow minus one but really the main weather is this system here in the eastern and of the mediterranean this is going to sit here for the next couple of days heavy amounts of rain we could see about $150.00 millimeters into coastal areas of syria and in fact the snow that will continue to accumulate across into turkey we could see

about 50 centimeters to the mountains then through choose a we've got a little bit more in the way of snow again pushing through poland east was for ukraine and on into areas over russia and it's generally cloudy across areas of the u.k. and across into northern areas of from what we will see though of the next couple days is some shows along coastal areas of north africa. capturing a moment in time. snapshots of other lives. of the stories. providing the clips into someone else's what. they. do day or. inspiring documentaries from impassioned filmmakers. witness on al-jazeera.

examining the impact of today's headlines you use the misinformation but i use the term by setting the agenda for tomorrow's discussions how unique a load is this in terms of modern american history when it comes to racism you have the makings of a neo fascist mold international filmmakers and world class john analysts bring programs to inspire. on al-jazeera. above. time now for reminder of the top stories on. ukrainian government forces and

russian backed separatists have exchanged all 200 of their prisoners in a movie aimed at ending 5 years of. a missile attack on a military graduation parade in southern yemen has killed at least 7 people the government has blamed the attack on. and the u.s. air force says targeted militia fighters in syria and iraq including in the border area. sources say that at least 10 fighters from the. group were killed and 35 people. well the iraqis have suffered decades of war and economic upheaval they've endured an invasion sectarian conflict the rise of i saw as well as u.n. sanctions now many say that they've had enough of their own government and have taken to the streets demanding change so mona felt in reports now from baghdad or what may be in store for iraq's protest movement in 2020. hundreds dead tens of thousands injured dozens of activists assassinated or

abducted and only one resignation that is the result of 3 months of anti-government protests in iraq as unrest spills into 2020 the rift between iraq he's and ruling elites only appears to be growing in but that's the here square the epicenter of protests some people call this a revolution they want the end tired political class to leave across the bridge in the fortified green zone politicians offer token concessions as they cling on to power all of the candidates put forward by major political parties to replace prime minister i love the mahdi have been firmly rejected seen as the product of a political system that has failed the people can i mean what does once the demonstrators say about the candidates cannot be disregarded we put down all conditions and do something to the politicians and all the world the protests have galvanized iraqis from all walks of life muslims christians the elderly women and the youth all united by demands for

a just and sovereign government that serves its people regardless of religion sacked and status i demand my rights i'm a student and i want to get a future for myself i hope there will be change for the better in the country and the skills will improve the majority of demonstrators came of age in the post saddam era but after promises of democracy they feel that down iraq are tearing up the reality of education is that 1st of all we're in 2019 and there are schools built of mud in 2019 there are over 100 students and one class a student can learn an environment like this but as the weeks passed and crowds growth and so it seems there is the prospect of sweeping change what we have is. a system whereby there are multiple political actors who are very well entrenched within the state. they are we fighting for their political survival right now. they're really looking to find a way out of this current crisis. consensus i believe through finding some sort of

an agreement between them that can push forward a new government that can pops in the future address some of the demands. for now prime minister of the of the matter remains in a caretaker role a new election law passed earlier this month and while it allows voters to elect independent legislators rather than choosing from party lists it doesn't give the people the right to direct the elect the head of state 3 months the chances that this protest movement will usher in a new political order appear less and less likely that people are discouraged by the lack of progress and intimidated by the state's violent response but unless the root causes of this crisis are addressed it seems iraq will bear witness to more turmoil in the. al jazeera. on monday we'll continue our 2020 look ahead with a report from venezuela where the new year bring an end to the country's political and economic crisis. here on al-jazeera. now the

somali government says an al shabab operative has been killed in an air strike in southern somalia a spokesman says sunday's operation took place in coordination with the u.s. africa command it comes a day after a devastating truck bombing killed at least 80 people in mogadishu the government has blamed for that attack some of the wounded have been flown to turkey for specialist treatment how do reports now from nairobi in neighboring kenya. they survived saturday's truck bomb blast in mogadishu some of the worst some victims had been airlifted to hospital in turkey clinics and hospitals in mogadishu are struggling to cope with the dozens of wounded. from the time the explosion occurred up until now the government leaders have been working hard to provide the services needed by those injured. explosion it's now possible for us to elope 16 of some of

the seriously injured in the attack to our brothers in turkey. a truck loaded with explosives has degenerated as a security checkpoint in the capital somalis president is blaming the armed group al-shabaab and mohamad abdalla for my joseph in the country won't be demoralized by the attack which caused the highest number of casualties in 2 years. the magnitude of the damage caused by the blast led the prime minister of somalia to request assistance from the turkish government to provide treatment to those injured in the attack. a turkish military transporter landed with much needed supplies and medical staff someone's day to treat patients at a turkish one hospital in mark addition as turkey seeks to boost its influence in the horn of africa is been an increasingly important a donor especially since the somali famine in 2011 as more as a rise and the badly injured leave the country is on edge somalis constantly wondering when and where the next attack will be. al jazeera. someone

has lifted a 6 week state of emergency after bringing a missiles outbreak under control the highly infectious diseases killed 81 people mostly babies and young children around 5600 more have been infected the government ordered widespread vaccinations closed schools and restricted travel to stop the disease from spreading immunization is now at 95 percent. people in northern india are being warned to stay inside as the region is gripped by a cold snap the country's weather service has issued a red warning for areas including new delhi where temperatures have plummeted the capital is expected to recorded 2nd coldest assembler in almost a 120 years in neighboring bangladesh meanwhile at least 50 deaths have been linked to the cold conditions. hundreds of indians have protested against police brutality in the capital as unrest continues over

a controversial citizenship law that was straighter is war bandages to symbolize injuries inflicted by police on student protesters at least 26 people have been killed in iraq and the unrest and more than a 1000 arrested and reports now from new delhi. protesters bore bandages in a sign of solidarity with students at giambi amelia islamiyah university in new delhi. they accuse police of the capital of beating them up by demonstrating against the new citizenship law 2 hits ago. in unison the chanted slogans against the law. and reenacted a moment of resistance. people female students formed a circle around their main friend trying to protect him from the police. john that and star who were a part of the group say their university was started because most students almost

no biggie. but it was only i didn't think. delhi police declined to comment on the allegations these are. going to. happen to contain. my fellow talk of need. so big boss joined yet another protest in the capital to raise her concerns about the safety of her family in the neighboring state of predation where over a 1000 protesters have been arrested. many people have just been picked up by the police from their homes and their voice is not reaching delhi this is a complete media shutdown and people are terrified. at least 26 people have been killed in almost 3 weeks of nationwide protests condemning the citizenship police

say only one of the deaths was due to officers opening fire. here it is really the whole ministry should be unsuitable the question is of holding them to account there is a feeling in the administration that they can get away with anything therefore the whole ministry often indicates to local police authorities that whatever they do would be fully supported by the administration was courteous to say once the government makes it mandatory for everyone to be registered in a national registry the citizenship law will protect hindus but exclude muslims the indian government denies the law is discriminatory as hundreds in new delhi chanted slogans condemning the legislation. they were confronted by supporters of the north it's the kind of division many in india i wondered about.

al-jazeera. more than 1000 pro-democracy protesters of rallied of hong kong's financial district the city has been disrupted by demonstrations for nearly 7 months but the protesters say they will not back down until all their demands are met here's foran story from the protests in hong kong. the area. and the.

movement. and. the protest. events in hong kong are being watched closely in taiwan where the presidential candidates have held their final televised debate ahead of january election the president saying china is the biggest threat to the island sovereignty and the

ocracy meanwhile her main challenger wants closer ties with beijing alexy o'brien reports. relations with china dominated the heated t.v. debate between the 3 candidates vying for taiwan's top job as she bids to secure a 2nd 4 year term president sighing when says beijing is the biggest threat to taiwan's free and democratic way of life. they went are my rival hesitates when asked which country he thinks would harm the well being of taiwan the most let me tell you now that country is china. from the chinese nationalist party or k. m. ting is widely seen as ties main challenger he favors kosar ties with beijing and accuses of exploiting the protests in hong kong to bolster her case. people are bleeding from fighting against china president what have you done to

help hong kong people are bleeding while you are enjoying electoral gains your campaign is based on the blood of hong kong people so the. pro-democracy demonstrations in hong kong over china's perceived efforts to curb the territory's freedoms have ignited concerns in taiwan some say the 6 months of protest in hong kong is given a timely boost to its size reelection campaign. a steady and he's. responding to events in hong kong and china benefited from the end of the chinese government. for example many and i and. president xi jinping is emphasise that taiwan is a renegade province that needs to be reunified by force if necessary china's pressured countries to cut diplomatic ties with taiwan the number of nations

retaining relations with the island has shrunk to 15 and china is seeking to win favor with voters in taiwan by making it easier for taiwanese companies to invest in the mainland part of the opinion polls are correct and sayah is reelected china's efforts are expected to face a further backlash on china's island neighbor brian al-jazeera. votes are being counted in guinea-bissau presidential runoff election people hope the result will help them turn a page on your constant political turmoil 2 former prime ministers are competing to replace president. who failed to get through the 1st round last month was the 1st leader in 25 years not to be ousted in a military coup it was the african nation is long be mired in poverty corruption and drug trafficking. a rhino believed to be the world's oldest has died at the age

of 57 state conservation authorities in tanzania say the eastern black rhino who was named faust died of natural causes she had poor eyesight and wounds from hyena attacks that was 1st seen out in the wild back in 1965 by a scientist from the university of doris salaam according to experts rhinos are expected to live between 37 and 43 years there are only 5500 black rhinos left in the world. this by being battered by social and economic unrest government is standing by its some vicious promise to go carbon neutral by 2050 the commitment is being praised by environmental advocates but in cities like coronet it's far too early to celebrate as our last in america editor explains. this is what remains of the once impressive coal company in the city of quarter.

but while today the mines are closed 28 thermoelectric plants powered by coal continue to supply more than 40 percent of chile's energy and 3 of them are located within a 3 kilometer radius here in. america shows us the giant coal ash dump of one of the largest plants he says that since 2003 high levels of arsenic and other heavy metals have been contaminating the air and filtering into the water supply from. cornell is the only city in the world that has a coal ash dump inside a residential area 100 meters from a school $150.00 from a nursery school 30 from homeless the ash is a health hazard. and that's why is known as a sacrifice own more than 70 residents especially children have tested positive for heavy metals including planet 9 this who has dangerously high levels in her blood stream she and her 2 children suffer from headaches exhaustion muscle and body

pains lack of concentration and other symptoms. and no one has taken responsibility they haven't said what will be the long term consequences what will happen to our children we've been totally abandoned by the state what will happen to my children if i die. the good news is that chile's government has vowed to close down all coal plants by 2040 and replace them with clean and. sources like solar and wind. these measures aim to confront climate change and contribute to reducing greenhouse gases but they also are intended to create a positive impact in the cities where there is contamination from coal plants chilies pledge to each carbon neutrality by 2050 it will require one of the fastest coal shutdowns yet for a coal dependent to call enemy but the government's plan to begin by shutting down 8 of chile's oldest electric plants is regarded as an ambitious by

environmentalists and much of the communities that live next to them. plants are unlikely to be shut down for another decade the government argues transitioning to alternative energy takes time and technology. unfortunately for residents like 109 this is the dream of no longer living with her children in a so-called sacrifice zone will have to wait. to see in human. chile. so ahead in this news hour japan's ski jumping sensation wows the crowds in germany peter has the story. and the no snow has fallen in moscow so far this winter so how come there's plenty on the ground to welcome in. a city defined by military occupation there's never been an arab state here with

the capital of jerusalem everyone is welcome but this depôt structure that maintains because only a project that's what we refuse it was one of the founders of the settlement this and the story of jerusalem through the eyes of its own people segregation occupation discrimination injustice this is apartheid in the 21st century jerusalem our rock and a hard place on al-jazeera. al jazeera. arabic.

and now with the sport here speech or barbara thank you very much we start in the english premier league where david moyes is back as manager at west ham united he's been named as replacement 2 men well peggotty me who were sacked after saturday's defeat to leicester which left the hammers one place above the relegation zone 2 years ago moyes was brought in also with the club in trouble but he only stayed until the end of that season despite keeping them up. liverpool will go into 2020 with a 13 point lead in the title race but v.a.r. incidents dogged their one mill win over wolves on sunday disagree saudi manet

goal counted after review wolves then had an equaliser cancelled out by a tight call using technology coach nuno espirito some top believes v.a.r. is sucking the soul out of the game decisions are made has been are being taken by by so by a referee that miles away from here miles and miles away knowing the t.v. screen he doesn't feel the game he doesn't get. to feel the game is not in the game. elsewhere on sunday mikel arteta was beason a nice 1st home game in charge of arsenal that's the spine taking the lead against chelsea through america about a young 2 goals in the last 7 minutes from georgina and tammy abraham snatched the points it leaves arsenal down in 12 place in the table. the final premier league game of 29000 was won by the champions manchester city goals from sergio aguero and

kevin the brainer giving them to no victory over sheffield united city or 14 points behind liverpool and they've played one game more than it has taken rangers the home of this decade but they'll head into the new year in buoyant mood after their 1st win at glasgow rival celtic since 28 when they collect catechize grabbing the decisive goal as rangers beat the champions $21.00 at celtic park. the german bundesliga is enjoying its 4 week winter break but parisienne dortmund's push for a 1st title since 2012 will be helped in the new year by the arrival of the highly rated teenager early in the hall and the club announced on sunday they have signed him from rb salzburg the norwegian striker impressed in the champions league group stages and has scored a prolific 28 goals in 22 games this season. australia's cricketers have a wrapped up a series victory of

a new zealand they won the 2nd test in melbourne by 247 runs with a day to spare and south africa lead the 4 match series against england after winning the 1st test at centurion. taking 4 week at says the tourists were beaten by 107 runs the 2nd test begins at newlands in capetown on friday the little move a good start as well but the way the be special the last 2 days when we get to do it with the lights on the way they do the way the gaza school was just remarkable consistent all the time. yes it's a good start and that's what we need really is a good start to get our confidence parks. so very happy to suggest that 1st. mckayla shifrin secured a slice of slalom history on sunday with another world cup win at lens in austria she called it the record of fellow american military vanishing the most women's victories in the single discipline strickland's 60 full time and 40 food in smaller

events leaving her 3 short of the record for most wins in one discipline hour by swedish great ingomar stan mark. and the men's world cup combine the events bormio in italy saw a number of delays due to crashes that is all spheres christopher noir mile he was in if it's a hospital after that incident it was defending world champion alexis spencer over who won the title the frenchman came from 12th in the rankings after the super g. section to win the slalom and with it the overall victory. and japan's world ski jumping champion review kobayashi was well when the crowds that were but still in germany on sunday night leaps of 138150 feet easy then enough to win the event this was the 1st leg of the prestigious full hills tournament with the remaining 3 competitions taking place over the next. le bron james in the los angeles lakers ended

a run of 4 straight defeats as they beat the portland trailblazers on saturday meanwhile james harden shooting masterclass as the eastern rockets down the brooklyn nets part of the scored 44 points and seemed to be able to school from everybody he chose used to lead their division and or 2 places behind the lakers in the west. but that's where we'll leave it for now more sport for me again a little later thank you very much now in the exclusion zone around the nuclear plant a new year spruce tree has been put up in the abandoned town of trip yet that's the 1st time that the talent has seen in your tree since the nuclear disaster in 1986 former residents of the town. opted not to use traditional decorations instead covering the tree with family photographs from before the disaster they say they're remembering how happier times before tens of thousands of people were forced to evacuate the town. and there is snow on the ground for new year in moscow meanwhile

the thing unusual you might think but it's not normally delivered by truck while russia's capital is currently having one of its warmest winters on record the snow is being used to beckley to new year display in the city center videos of the snows arrival have gone viral with some notion the irony of trucking in snow in a country which usually spends millions of dollars clearing the real stuff each year. you're good and you continue that side as there isn't any snow in us it's new year and it feels like it came with him but now there's a real festive spirit. for this new it's a taste of winter when you don't have any real snow this will do you with been waiting waiting for it to fall and here it is it's great. that you're this young since there's no snow this makes us happy we like it a lot now we're going to have a snowball fight and that is it for me barbara sara for this news hour do stay with us though going to be back in just

a few minutes with more of that they schools are helpful john. week stories generate found scenes of headlines with different angles from different perspectives separate the spin from the facts. with the listening post on al-jazeera. counter the costs 29 t.v. want to give it's been a world struggle to put aside short term economic game to save the planet for class of america the middle east people took to the streets protesting you know the

spread of wealth at a trade war reshapes globalization counting the cost on al-jazeera. the most incredible stories are often true. and cheering go on experiences. makes the on film you know for me. in this life diversity makes a difference. understanding the importance of being part of something much greater . and. what i want to use is freedom of expression. the right to mortgage. the march into the dawn. because you dislike. the design to understand. make sure. the human condition is universal.

emotional seems in here that figure crane and pro russian separatists want all their prisoners in a move to end the 5 yo. hello i'm barbara sarah you're watching out for love also coming up as a missile hits a military parade in southern yemen who the rebels say that they have a list of 9 targets they plan to strike in saudi arabia and the u.a.e. class this is violent.