>> from paris, it is 9:00 p.m. here. these are the top stories. afghan fighters are battling to regain helmand province, in danger of falling into atilano's hands. troops rushed to the area. in a major push, iraqi forces have entered the center of ramadi, a city that has been in the grasp of the group since last may. much celebration in spain as the annual el gordo lottery sweep is drawn just before christmas with billions of euros up for grabs.

>> first, afghanistan, where there are real fears that helmand province could be in danger of falling under taliban control. food and am mission supplies have been dropped by air into the city. this is under siege by a group of taliban's fighters. more nato troops have rushed to the southern province to aid those afghan soldiers. here is more. >> we did get before the night fall what the fighting was doing. right now because of night fall, there is some sort of respite. but it looks like it will continue again tomorrow morning. as we have seen in the last two days, this onslaught has

happened from the taliban. helmand province has been occupied. this is the third city they would occupy. some observers and ground sources are saying this the rapt of the helmand province. if they reach that, they would occupy one of the most important northern routes and the route between kandahar and kabul goes through that. right now we do know that the ound forces are sort of in the police headquarters. the iran army is there, too. the british should have gone to help and the americans are already there. it seems likely that the taliban are gain negligence this onslaught. they have done this in other provinces also, where they came in and holding places for at least a week. it could be similar here also. after that they moved ahead. a lot of people are saying

these are messages from the taliban saying we are in control and we are in shape to take on the iran government. this comes at the same time that the afghan government is trying to open negotiations with the taliban with the help of the pakistani government. there are reports that the taliban talks might resume in january, but they want to talk from a position of strength. we are seeing that the taliban are continuing with their forces, and the ground forces sort of in dire condition right now. we are seeing they could not really do much, and here in helmand, we are witnessing a similar situation. >> that is our report from islamabad in pakistan. in other news, the iraqi army has entered the sydney of ramadi, a city that has been in

the hands of the islamic group since may. as well, they are bombing i see targets. thomas has more. >> these are the latest pictures of iraqi troops poised to recapture ramadi. they are push began early monday as they crossed the river. it was broadcast live. >> our armed forces started their advance at 10:00 a.m. with the support of the air force and coalition forces. this morning, counterterrorism yoonts started their advance toward the center of the city of ramadi to clear it of terrorists. >> the city, situated some 100 kilometers west of baghdad, fell into the hands of the state group on may 17th after the jihadists pounded government forces with car and

suicide bomb attacks. it forced thousands from the city. >> they came in, killed and pushes us out. we escaped only with our clothes. >> the militants then built tunnels underground to be able to maneuver out of sight of the bombing campaign. these aerial shots released by iraq's defense ministry purport to show the air strikes against the jihadist hide-outs, which have gradually cut off many supply lines. the progress was initially slow, but little by llingts, government troops have chipped away at the jihadist's hold on the town. iraqi intelligence now estimates that only 300 islamic state group militants remain entrenched in the city. but they are not stopping civilians still living there from leaving.

it would be the government's second win since april. >> a number of migrants and refugees crossing into europe by land and sea this year illegally have now passed the figure of one mill. the record number was released by the center for migration. most passed by sea. more than half half of them are from syria. 11 people drowned this tuesday and seven others ress kiawahed, after a boat sank off turkey's western coast. >> and news of a major terror plot being foiled here in france. interior minister, bernard cazeneuve released details of the plot, apparently targeting the city of orioles in the center of the country. two french nationals were taken

into custody on monday. here is what the interior minister had to say. >> they were in regular contact with the french jihadists based in syria. the ongoing investigation will determine if he was indeed the main organizer of attacks, one of them admitted they were planning against military personnel, police officers and state officials. "france 24" has more. >> the 10th attack foiled in france this year. because of the security measures that have been taken because of the attacks in paris, this enabled them to foil the attack. they managed to find an individual inside the city who had made major preparations for this attack in orioles. orleans.'t -- in

earlier in the day he said some sort of attack might be prepared against church churches somewhere christmas eve. > certain measures have been imposed. searches and house arrests are legal. this comes after a group of activists voiced their discontent they will be prevented from taking part in demonstrations during the recent u.n. climate summit in paris. here is our report. >> did french authorities take advantage of the state of ergency to lock up activists and critics of the summit? france's constitutional summit says no. they say these measures do not amount to a deprivation of liberty. the ruling comes after a group of seven activists challenged e legality of the security

measures put in place since the paris attacks. these include police searches and house arrests. like many far left militants, they intended to take part in demonstrations during the climate conference, but the young man was placed under house arrest. >> i haven't been accused of anything specificallye sides organizes of the copp 21, which many of us did. i am being punished without a trial. but that is a worrying sign for individual liberties. >> defenders of the law say new measures are necessary to prevent future attacks. however the minister says the government may have gone too far. >> there have been several abuses and lots of guesswork, meaning that the measures were lot of llow for a

leeway. >> 368 people have been placed under house arrest and over 2,700 searches were conducted since the state of emergency was declared last month. >> it has extended its state of emergency for another two months. the measure was expected to entire this tuesday. islamic state group claimed responsibility for that bombing. >> the greek parliament have voted in favor of calling on the government to recognize the state of palestinian -- palestine. however, the prime minister says athens will judge when the time is right to make the formal move. eeks will no longer refer to palestinian authority on official documents, but to palestine. here is what they had to say. >> it is a day that will be

recorded in the history of the palestinian people. it is a step he takes with the decision, which is a step for the support of the palestinian people. said the onse, others efforts were meaningless. rescuers are still searching for survivors after a mudslide in china. government officials have admitted the landslide was caused by the improper storage of waste soil from construction sites nearby. >> staying in china, good news for supporters, but still a major concern for international human riots organizations. pu zhiqiang has been released from detention after receiving a suspended jail sentence.

he had been found guilty by a court for inciting ethnic hatred by posts. >> he is one of china's leading defenders of human rights. lawyer pu zhiqiang could have been given a prison term of several years, but instead was handed a suspended sentence of three. that means he has been released from custody and placed under formal probation. a lighter verdict than some had feared, but guilty still. some people his social media posts constitute a crime. we don't believe that. he has been criminally charged, so he won't be able to practice law anymore. >> first detained in may last year, the charges against pu zhiqiang include quotes, picking quarrels and inciting ethnic hatred on posts on social media. he described the crack down in western china as excessively

violent and poked fun at officials. e took part in protests as a student. his detention has taken place amid a crack down on free speech by chinese authorities. >> the human rights situation in china has worsened over the last year or two. we see a huge crack down on lawyers and activists. this sentence could be a sign that the government is not willing to go and persecute the lawyers still in custody to the full extent it might. >> police barred journalists from approaching the court where the trial was taking place. activists and diplomats who wanted to attend were turned away. >> to the u.s. now. donald trump has hit back at hillary clinton. he took to twitter demanding an apology from his leading democratic opponent, this after

she said he was an islamic group recruiter's dream. here is more on the spat between the two candidates. >> with just over a month before the first presidential nominating contest kicks off in iowa, the front-runners in each party are sharpening their tone. it starmented with this comment made during saturday's democratic -- it started with this comment made during the debate. >> he is becoming isis' best recruiter. they are showing videos of donald trump insummitting islam in order to recruit jihadists. >> trump took to twitter and demanded an apology and called her a liar, saying there is no evidence to back her claim. >> the clinton campaign shot back saying hell no it an apology. during a rally trump mocked

clinton's late return to the debate. >> hillary is going to get beaten. what happened to her? i am watching the debate and she disappeared. where did she go? i thought she quit. i 0 thought she gave up. >> trump argued he is the last person clinton wants to run against in a general election. but while a new poll shows trump would win a head-to-head contest against either of his two closest represent rivals, ted cruze or marco rubio, he would fall short of defeating clinton if held now. >> spain has been gripped by lottery fever this tuesday as the annual el gordo was drawn. it is broadcast live to the nation with billions of euros up for grabs. this year's top prize winners came from one coastal town with

each getting a share of four million euros. thomas has more on the celebrations. >> 79,140. that was the luckiest number on tuesday. those ticket holders won a share of the top prize. >> i was watching tv, and i said i will switch it off, i am not going to win. but then my number came out and i was stunned. >> with the kitty totaling 2.24 billion euros, there was reason to celebrate for thousands of others. >> where the second price winning ticket was bought, the owners cracked open champagne. every year millions club together with family and others

. the three-hour long draw broadcast on tv gripped the entire nation. hundreds cramped madrid's royal theater to watch school children pick the winning balls from two rotating drums. >> but members of the audience had very different ideas of how they would spend the money if they won. >> if i win the lottery, i will get a tombstone made of marble for my mother, and i will do something for my house and i will live better for a few years. >> truth is life would be easier. i am out of work. t would be really helpful. >> the lottery began way back in 18 12 and is now rank the as the world's richest for the tomato sum paid out. it is traditionally drawn own december 22, just in time to bring a touch of christmas joy to thousands. >> definitely buying a ticket next year for sure. let's take a look at what is making headlines this hour.

afghan fighters are battling to retain helmand proffis, in danger of falling into taliban's hands. >> iraqi forces have entered the city of ramadi, a city that has been in the grasp of the islamic group since may. nd the annual el gordo lottery sweep was drawn with billions of euros up for grabs. >> it is appropriate now that i am joined by our business editor, marcus karlsson. we are starting with the upshot of the low price of oil. >> we have been watching owl prices like hawks recently. today is no different. we are seeing signs perhaps of a stabilization of oil prices after what has been some pretty steep falls in the past few weeks or so.

e did see nimex crude settling higher in new york. at the same time we saw brent crude settling slightly lower this tuesday. a little bit of a mixed bag. signs of stabilization as i say. still, though, we are seeing il prices near $36 a barrel. near 11-year lows, half the price we saw last year. it is bringing a respite for drivers. here in france, diesel has gone below one euro per lighter for the first time since 2009, a psychologically important level. it is a boone for the larger french economy as we explain. >> diesel under one euro a litter, a more than welcome early christmas present for car users in france. >> it is the first time i have

seen diesel below a euro. i am delighted. i hope it lasts. >> i drive a lot, every day. so for me this is a real blessing. >> fuel prices in france have reached their lowest levels since 2009. between may and december, prices for diesel and unleaded 95 have fallen 19% and 13% respectively. car users are benefiting, and so are businesses. transport companies like this one are making huge savings. >> this is quite significant. our total expenses have gone down between 5% and 7%. >> tumbling fuel prices have come as the price of oil has 2014. 60% since june of >> all-pro ducks has reached record levels, while demand remains low. this is unlikely to change in

the near future. prices could actually fall further. >> it is estimated that france's economy has saved 20 billion euros on fuel coasts in 2015. that is 10 billion euros for businesses and 10 billion for consumesers. it is predicted that lower fuel prices could boost the economy in 2016. >> moving on now, workers at amazon in germany have walked off the job. it is the third year running that the union has called for a strike running up to christmas. the company saying its compensation deals are attractive. amazon say shipments won'ting delayed to customers. workers of six out of nine warehouses are taking part in

the walk-out. it will continue until christmas eve at at least four of these warehouses. now the american economy grew at a slower pace than estimated in the third quarter. this is due to a revised reading from the u.s. commerce department. it puts growth at 2%. that is down from 2.1%. still, the economy seems to be growing as a healthy pace. analysts had been expecting a sharper downward revision. it wasn't as bad as it could have been, in other words. investors seem to be liking that downward revision or that it wasn't as bad as feared in the united states this tuesday. we are seeing shares trading to the up side with the dow jones dustrial average currently trading more than .9% higher. we have seen energy shares taking back losses we have seen

in recent weeks as oil prices are stabilizing. the dax under performed and the german index closed about .1% below the flat pipeline. the ftse 100 powered upward about .8%. chinese leader signal they are ready to apply more sim louis to help out the chinese economy. that is sparking hope that european car exports will increase to the chinese market. that is why we saw the european car shares trading higher in the session. let's bring you up to date with other stories. is talking steal deals.

tata is looking to off load its british based long unit. it has been struggling with a down turn in global steel prices. a french retailer has its sites set on romania. it is buying a chain based in that country. it will add 86 stores and would make the retailer the bigger supermarket chain in romania. the deal needs approval from authorities. washington is turning up the heat on russia for its velocity in ukraine. they have revealed 34 sanctions. the list includes 14 individuals who have been linked to attempts to evade sanctions. russia says the new measures are highlighting an unfriendly start.

now is space travel about to become a lot cheaper? the american company spacex says it has made a giant leap to recover the costs of a rocket launch. it selfly landed a rocket others on solid ground after delivering a payload. here are the details. >> this video isn't being played backwards. this rocket booster safely landed back on earth after it was kicked into orbit. for spacex, it is a considerable technical achievement that could revolutionize the space industry. >> it is like launching a pencil over the empire state building, having it reverse and land on a shoe box on the ground in a windstorm. >> falcon nine became the first

unmanned rocket to successfully land back on earth. this was no test run. the main body of the craft managed to launch 11 satellites into orbit. the rockets will be able to make several trips to space in the future, saving money once the details are found out. >> we are only half way there. now we have to make sure the launcher is in good condition and determine how the rocket could be launched again. >> only time will tell whether spacex will be able to compete with space giants. the france-based company successfully launched 12 rockets in 2015, setting a new world record. >> there we go. we will see what happens to those space launches and the cost of them. >> very interesting. recycleable rockets. >> indeed.

it costs so much to build one rocket and blast it off into space, never to use it again. the idea to use them over and over again. still a long way to go according to experts before this can actually become practice in real life or before we actually seeó

12/22/15 12/22/15 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! did u.s. military leaders undermine president obama's policy on syria? a new report by veteran journalist seymour hersh says the joint chiefs of staff has indirectly supported basher al-assad in an effort to help him defeat jihadist groups. hersh will join us to detail his claims and respond to his critics. then, spying on pete seeger. >>