let's go to adrian brown. he is joining us from the capital.hat can you tell us, adrian brown. >> well, this verdict was not expected. people in china are no longer surprised by the sight of former government officials standing trial. since january 5, '25 government officials have been arrested on corruption charges, so as i say, this is not really making news in china. now, leo was the first ministerial official to be expelled, the deputy head of an agency which plays a key role in helping to steer the vast economy. at the trial in september, he was found guilty of accepting millions of dollars in prescribes, money paid through his son. at his trial he broke down and wept several times saying he brought great shame to the communist party, and also to his family. >> last week, chinese authorities announced a top official would be tried for corruption. is this part of hundreds of arrests. president xi jinping wanting to be seen as fighting corruption? >> that's right. several months ago when the president launched the anticorruption crusade, he

adrian brown, al jazerra, in northeast china. >>> now, a multi million dollars cyber heist worthy ofwood thriller. last month hackers broke in to sony pictures security system revealing sensitive information. it's not known who did it. but as rob reynolds reports, there is no shortage of suspects. >> reporter: the hack attack stole enormous amounts of sony's confidential information. and brought the studio giant to its knees overnight. data made publically available on the internet, included financial documents, e-mailed transcripts, unreleased movies, and the salaries, tax identification numbers and personnel files of 3,800 sony employees. including ceo michael linton and all of the company's senior management. sony has asked the fbi to investigate. the hackers, who call themselves guardians of peace, have not been identified. but some cyber security experts and u.s. officials suspect north korea. the regime in pyongyang is furious over sony's soon to be released comedy the interview in which stars seth rogan and james franco obtain an interview with north keyon leader kim jong un o

adrian brown takes a closer look at china's international portfolio starting with a major waterway rogua. >> reporter: the businessman behind this high-profile deal tends to keep a lee public profile. he made his fortunate in mining and telecommunications but has no experience with such large infrastructure projects. he insists he doesn't have a political background, yet the company's website boasts of his links to government leaders. whatever the true nature of the relationship, the deal is very strategic for china. >> this project is not just a canal, it's about roads, airports, and also tourist resorts. and it will create a lot of jobs for the local people. the local people will definitely benefit from it. >> reporter: this week china signed another contract that it says will create jobs and help one more small economy. this time in europe, the project to funds and build the new highway in montenegro. the cost just over a billion dollars. small change compared to china's investments elsewhere in the world. only last month a state-owned company signed off on a $12 billion contract to

well, it's currently sitting on savings of more than $4 trillion, adrian brown, al jazerra, beijing.ernment in peru has threatened legal action against greenpeace activists, it's accusing of causin causing irrer rabble damage to a world there are taj site. archeologists say food prints left by the activists could remain on the desert ground for decades. >> reporter: they are one of peru's most fame unmonuments. giant images scratched in to the desert more than a thousand years ago. but when activists for the environmental group green peace used the lines for a publicity stunt. an action that was meant to draw attention to climate change, backfired. on friday, an angry crowd hurled intent at greenpeace's executive director as he arrived at a peruvian courthouse to testify about the incident. >> the people are totally angry. as you can see here the people are saying justice, we want justice. >> reporter: peru has accused greenpeace of dawessing irreparable damage to the world heritage site after active sreufrts went in the dez to the place their sign. around 20 activists are accused of

adrian brown, al jazerra, beijing. >>> the government is peru has threatened legal action against greenthat'because accur. archeologists a foot presents left by the activists could remain in the desert ground for decades. david mercer has more. they are one of peru's famous monuments, giant images scratched in the desert more than a thousand years ago. when activists used the line for a publicity stunts an action that was meant to draw attention to climate change backfired. on friday, an angry crowd hurled insults at green peace's executive director as he arrived at a pa rule vinnie courthouse . >> the people are angry. the people are saying we want justice. >> reporter: peru has accused greenpeace of causing irreparable damage to the world heritage site after activists went in to the desert to place their sign, around 20 activists are accused of leaving footprints and overturning stones in the ecologically sensitive area. the stunt coincided with a major climate change conference that took place in peru's capital lima earlier this month. >> translator: i am saddened that this happened

adrian brown reports. [ air raid sirens ] >> reporter: a deeply symbolic moment. the decision to upgrade was made this year when relations with tokyo was still at a low end. also present are some of the dwindling numbers of survivors. president xi jinping said that the crimes committed here could never be forgiven but there was a conciliatory note. >> we shouldn't hate a nation just because it has a few militaries. we should look to the future and work together to contribute to peace. >> reporter: 77 years ago this was a broken and brutalized city as invading japanese troops began a six-week killing spree. this is one of the last remaining eyewitnesses. now 97, he was a soldier in the nationalist army depending the then capitol. their contribution largely air brushed from official accounts. he was paraded before the local cameras but officials would not allow us to talk with hill. staring up at these 300,000 people that china said were killed here. japan said it's half that number, but either way it's still a large atrocity. it's the events here 77 years ago that

adrian brown reports. >> reporter: across china lies the destructive legacy of another country, it's a bomb. 100,000 that they admit to. half of them are in this pro minutes. >> they are everywhere. sometimes we find them when they beat the land. >> reporter: he was badly burned after stepping on another shell ten years ago, and he can't understand why this one has not been removed. >> of course we worry. how can we not? it could kill us if we accidently touch it. >> reporter: nearby a father of another victim. he tells me his son was playing with friends beside this now frozen stream. he saw a steel tube lying at the water's edge and tried to retrieve it, thinking he could sell it for scrap. ned, chemicals inside caused serious burns on his hand, and left him and a fruitless battle for compensation from japan's government. >> how can i not be furious? the japanese choose to drop all these chemical weapons in our soil. not only to kill our ancestors, but to harm our children and next generations. >> reporter: japan admits its retreating army left behind weapons that contain chemicals

adrian brown, al jazeera in beijing. >> half a million people in the philippines are expected shelter ahead of the typhoon that is scheduled to make land over the weekend. winds up to 215 miles per hour are expected, people in places like tacloban are still recovering from the last typhoon. scott heidler, are they prepared for this one? all right, we're sorry. sounds like we lost scott there. we'll try to go back with him. probably the weather playing with the phone lines. >>> richard gordon is chairman of the philippine red cross and he explained how emergency services are preparing for the storm. >> we have 55 provinces right now that are affected by this humongous typhoon. we have 25,000 parcels being packed right now. obviously we can't just deliver anyplace else until we are settled. the typhoon is prepared to make landfall tomorrow. we are prepared with payloaders so we can get this in, everything is ready to get in and rescue, rubber boats, so i guess we can be -- this is so big, we need a lot of help but we're going to cope. people are already in schools, which have been trans

adrian brown reports. >> reporter: across the frozen landscape of northeast china lies the destructiventry. it's a bomb. one of 700,000 of the japanese government admits to. more than half of them in this province. >> translator: they are everywhere, sometimes we find them when we see the land. >> reporter: his son was hurt after steps on a shell and can't understand why this has not been removed. >> translator: of course we worry, how can we not, it could kill us if we accidentally touch it. >> reporter: nearby a father of another victim, and tells me his son was playing with friends besides this now frozen stream and saw is a steel tube lying at the waters edge and tried to retrieve it thinking he could maybe sell it for scrap and instead chem ps inside caused serious burns to his hand and left him with a long and so far fruitless battle for compensation from japan's government. >> translator: how can i not be furious? the japanese troops left all these chemical weapons in the soil and not only killed our ancestors but also going to harm our children and our next generations. >> repo

adrian brown, al jazeera, bi jing. now, it's been years since a vinyl record got to number 1 in the music charts but it seems records are fighting back against downloads. viable sales have past the 1 million mark in the u.k. for the first time in almost 20 years. phil lavell reports on a new record for the record. >> reporter: once upon a time before these, before these, before these, there were these. the snap, crack he will and pop of the record was the sound track to many a life, and it is making what is for some a very welcome return. vinyl record sales passed the 1 million mark last month. retailers say if you take into account the busy christmas period, that will be more like 1.2 million by the i wanted of the year. it's the first time we have hit seven digits since 1996, the year we first heard about the spice girls. whatever to them? and it is nothing compared to vinyl's hay day in 1981. >> year, 1.1 billion records were sold. >> if you look at the charts and you see which were performing well, you will see it'

adrian brown reports. [ sirens >> reporter: nine deeply symbolic moment for an anniversary that stillere almost 80 years on. the decision to upgrade the ceremony was made earlier this year when relations were tokyo were still at a low end. also friend some of the dwindling number of survivors. the president said the crimes japan committed here could never be forgotten. but there was also a conciliatory note. >> translator: we shouldn't hate a nation because it has a few militaries. we should lack to the future and work together to contribute to peace. >> reporter: 77 years ago this was a broken and brutalized city. as invading japanese troops began a six-week long killing spree. he is one of the last remaining eyewitnesses. now 97, he was a soldier in the nationalist army defending the then capital. their contribution largely air brushed from official account. he was paraded before the local cameras, but officials wouldn't allow us to talk to him. staring out from these walls, photos of some of the 300,000 people china says were that is considered here. japan still disputes the figure

expanding it's influence by undertaking a number of large infrastructure projects around the world adrian brownakes a look at the man behind the project. >> the businessman behind this deal tends to keep a low public profile. whehe made his money but has no experience in large infrastructure projects. he said he does not have a political background yet his website boasts of government leaders. whatever the relationship, the deal is very strategic for china. >> this project is not just a canal. it's about airport and tourist resorts. it will create a lot of jobs for the local people. the local people will definitely benefit from it. >> this week china signed another contract that it says will create jobs and help one more small economy. this time in europe. the project, to fund and build the new highway in montenegro. the cost just over $1 billion. small change compared to china's investments elsewhere in the world. only last month a state-owned government signed off on a $12 billion contract to expand nigeria's rail network with a high speed train service. the problem for china is not money but

adrian brown, al jazeera in jalin province northeast china. >> a major computer glitch disrupted more than a dozen airports in the united kingdom yesterday, u.k.'s air traffic control center is investigating the cause. air traffic officials of officials do not suspect a cyber attack. >>> new disclosures about enhanced interrogation techniques. now there's evidence of a u.s. covert program that employed cuban rappers to upset communist rule in cuba. andy gallagher reports. >> they call themselves los aldianos but this duo could be more than just musicians. according to a recently uncovered document, they were part of fueling political change in cuba. the idea was to infiltrate the island's hip hop scene and spread a message of dissent. but the program backfired. u.s.a.i.d, found out contractors for millions of dollars. it's said to be inspired by serbian protest concerts that helped oust slobodan milosevich. on at least six occasions, cubans were detained and interrogated, putting cuban artists at loggerheads. never a secret, but part of an effort to strengthen cuban society. the state

adrian brown. al jazeera, hunan central province, china. >> coming up, we will report on how life is about to get harder for these syrian refugees in lebanon. as the u.n. runs out of money to feed them. >>> we have a very famous golfer who says he's back on course preparing to make his come back from injury. >> a dirty deal. struck at the heart of government. >> egypt mismanaged its gas industry. >> taking the country to the brink of economic ruin. >> it's obvious that egypt was being ripped off. it's basically saying to the israelis, "look if you want to screw us, here's a tool you can use to screw us". >> al jazeera exposes those who made a fortune betraying an entire nation. >> you don't feel that you owe an explanation to the egyptian people? >> no... no... >> al jazeera investigates. egypt's lost power. december 17th. 10:00 eastern. on aljazeera america. >> we run to the global headlines. alcid said that it was behind the bombing in yemen. the ambassador, we understand, was not there, and at l

adrian brown has more from beijing. >> well, rios was deputy head leo was head of his office an, and he broke down several times during his hearing saying he brought shame fought just to his family but to the communist party. this verdict will not have surprised many ordinary chinese people. since january of this year 500 low ranking officials have been arrested and charged with corruption. partly the result of xi jinpin xi jinping's now program. in will be the biggest trial since the gang of four 20 years ago. >> the big headline is that no country in the world scored a perfect 100, but as ali velshi shows us there are many who did not even come close. >> the corruption scale, zero is the most corruption. 100 points is the least corruption. more than two-thirds of the countries in the world scored fewer than 50 points. the most corrupt countries in the world, somalia, and north korea had scores of 8 out of 100. sudan came in third with 11 points. on the other end of the scale denmark scored the highest with 92 because of its, quote, strong rule of law. followed by new zealand with 9

adrian brown has the latest from budget. >> leo was deputy head of the body that helps to steer china's vast economy. at his trial in september he was found guilty of accepting millions in bricks and broke down several times during the hearing saying he brought not just shame to the family but the communist party. he's been sentenced to life in jill. it would not have surprised ordinarily chinese people. since january this year 500 low ranking and government official have been arrested and charged with corruption. this partly the result of xi jinping's anticorruption campaign. at the weekend it was confirmed that the security tsar had been arrested and charged with corrosion. his trial is expected to happen next year. it will be the biggest trial since that of the gang of four more than 30 years ago. >> nobel peace price winners have received their awards on wednesday afternoon. both winners lobbied for educating chip, freeing people from poverty and uniting them across the borders and religion. >> reporter: lunch can get a bit rowdy at the rp's home for boys. with the singing and danci

adrian brown has more from beijing. >> china's leadership would have thought hard about the timing ofannouncement. they chose midnight on friday. zo yun kain was the head of the drastic execute apparatus. now, he is the most high-ranking communist party party official to be prosecuted in more than 30 years. >> was on the second most powerful of his opponents. sidelining him by putting him in jail sends a message to everybody else that ping is powerful. >> jo was a member of the polit bureau, the company's top decision making body, a theoposn that in theory made his untouchable. but he was place and his wife were placed under house arrest and haven't been seen since. he is accused of a widespread abuse of power, including accepting huge bribes, leaking state secrets and, if that wasn't bad enough, committing adult rewith a number of women. his ruin came within days of ping coming to power two years ago. almost immediately, he began an anti-corruption campaign, but has so far ensnared thousands of party officials including generals and the people's libration army. i will go after tigers

adrian brown has more. >> some of these contested islands, expected to be rich in oil and gas depositsrecent flight photographs demonstrate how the chinese government has been enforcing its claim. an influential defense magazine that obtained these images says the reclamation work points to a construction of a runway. alarmed by the buildup, philippines government is now challenging the actions at the u.n. court of permanent jurisdiction in the hague. a stunt says china. >> this is just a diplomatic move to try get some sympathy from international community. so china will definitely not accept any arbitration from the international court. >> reporter: i asked china's foreign ministry spokesman how this can be resolved. >> china has a strong resolve to protect the sovereignty of the sea. china will have to respond accordingly. >> china's claim to 80% of the south china sea is incontestable. . saying these waters have always belonged to china. but in this dispute, beijing is on its own. the dispute also includes vietnam, also taking legal action against beijing. china says it's ready to

adrian brown, al jazeera, in hunaan province, central china. >> leaders of hong kong's occupy centralement have sur enderred to police after two months of protests. they have turned themselves in a day taff calling on the students to retreat but student leaderjob haung asked students to regroup. they have been asking freedom choose a leader without with the interference frombeijing. a suicide bomb attack has killed four people. three occurs were injure did by a blast. there has been no claim so far. >> kenya's president has sacked interior minister and accepted early retirement for the head of the police. joseph olilinku was removed from his post following a third al russian al shabaab a attack. fem ahave been heading to an ai force base in fear of further attack. more from nigh robe be. >> bodies lined up on the ground, the grisly scene after gunmen entered the quarry in the middle of the night. the quarry workers were sleeping in their tents when around 20 armed men ordered them out to recite islamic prayers. then they were killed. the victims were not from the mendera region. all o

adrian education. >>> reunions between long-lost friends happen all the time but not quite like this. roger watson and dave brown reconnected a few weeks ago after not having seen each other for almost 50 years. they grew up in detroit, got drafted and became friends when they went through basic training together before heading to vietnam. they lost track of each other there and never saw each other again. that was until october, when roger learned that a neighbor he befriended a few years back was married to dave. the two old friends lived around the corner from each other for nearly two decades but didn't even know it. >> he came running out of the house and over to the corner had to hack the brush over there to get through. we just shook hands and couldn't believe it. it was just incredible feeling. >> tell you the truth, i was flabbergasted. >> we have been neighbors for 18 years and didn't realize here we were. >> two old friends back together after five decades even though they had lived just 150 feet apart. >> that's fantastic. >>> napa police department was able to spread some holiday cheer this month th