this is the heritage of aleppo. to have hot water in such a crisis is something great. >> festivities mark the social ceremony for a man on the eve of his wedding. such gatherings at public baths have also been a feature of life in aleppo. they have disappeared as fighting intensified. now he is keeping an ancient tradition alive in one of the world's oldest cities and its citizens hope they stay alive to enjoy it. gerald tan, al jazeera. >>> you can read more about us from your bath, anywhere in your home by logging on to our website at aljazeera.com. >> oregon arrests, the leader of the armed pro test at a wildlife center is now in police custody. one member is dead. >>> i won't be dog the debate. >> donald trump pulls ouch final faceoff before the iowa caucuses. the reason he won't take part. >>> stopping the virus, president obama calls for action as zika is found in another u.s. state.

this is a heritage of aleppo. to have hot water in a crisis is great. >> festivities mark the social ceremony for a man on the eve of his weddings. such gatherings have been the feature of life in aleppo. it all but disappeared as fighting intensified. now he is keeping an ancient tradition alive in an old city and the citizens hope to stay alive to enjoy it >>> plenty more on the website aljazeera.com. >>> i'm david shuster in for ali threat. a natural gas leak lead to a nationality disaster such as the oil spill, and so far there's no way to stop it. a water crisis in flint michigan sparked outrage and focused attention on ignoring ageing infrastructure. in flint's case it was old lead pipes allowing corrosive water from the flint river to leach

aleppo is the place where my heart and soul want to be.as well as my home was bombarded. if someone was to die it should be at home for in a bathhouse. >> reporter: before the war he operated four bathhouses. he shut them all down, as aleppo turned into the battleground it is today. he has now decided to reopen one in an area controlled by the opposition. he says it's his way of carrying on, despite the daily bombardment. threatened with death, he is trying to live. others share the sentiment. >> translator: i swear we are happy. we haven't seen such a bathhouse in liberated areas for the past five years. this is a heritage of aleppo, and to have hot water in such a crisis is something great. ♪ >> reporter: festivities mark the social ceremony for a man on the eve of his wedding. such gathering at public baths have also been a feature of life in aleppo that all but disappears when the war began. the citizens hope they can stay alive to enjoy it. >>> for me jane dutton, and the rest of the team, thanks for watching. ♪ >> al jazeera america

the battle for aleppo will be the tipping point. syria's commercial capital has been a divide city for years. the government and its allies are fighting to encircle the opposition-held east and they have been trying to cut rebel supply lines into the city from idlib and the turkish bored. >> aleppo has a name that is important, as a city is important, as a location is important important for the regime, important for the opposition, important for turkey, important for others. >> reporter: the government says it is winning the war and the officials are making clear that they are in no mood to compromise. the opposition may be on the retreat, but it hasn't been defeated. no doubt the government has strengthened its position with the recent battle field gains >>> for more on this joining me here is a syrian academic and also an associate analyst at the doha institute for research and policy studies. thank you for coming in to speak to us. one of the most contentious issues right now ahead of friday's that's talks in geneva, is which ku

at the same time there has been russian air strikes in aleppo. i've been talking to politicians, ordinary refugees. they all say that they don't think that in 2016 they will be able to go back home >>> thank you for that. of course, it's not just in syria. in iraq conflict also forcing people to leave their homes across the country. whether it's the fight against i.s.i.l. in anbar or violent attacks in baghdad. many places in iraq are simply no longer safe. the u.n. says 7500 civilians were killed in 2015. nearly a thousand iraqis were killed last month alone. our correspondent at the bakara camp for internally displaced people in irbill in northern iraq. it's looking pretty bleak there. tell us what the camp is like. >> reporter: absolutely. it just gives you a feel of what life is like at this camp. the windows and doors behind mean are shut in these small caravans that people live their lives in. it was raining up until about half an hour ago. now there's very, very strong winds. it's very chilly conditions that these people have to face every

proposed talks between warring parties this week and activists say government helicopters pounding aleppoocusing on the southern city of hama and captured the strategic town of sheikh maskin in the southern providence offender -- of deraa and russia air strikes have been key to the gains and moscow says the intervention helped the ground and we report on the government's resent advances. >> reporter: the syrian flag flies again on shake shake and it has take intense fiebling with rebels to retake the town in the southwest providence of deraa and show them entering the town center after securing supply lines and also reported to be continuing on the out-k t outskirts and it is on the main road linking damascus with deraa and they began giving up until the intervention and it's being seen as a game changer. >> things have just changed around 180 degrees for the regime since the russians came in. just last summer the nusra front al-qaeda affiliate was making gains in the providence and now there is a significant reversal which will affect the rebel logistics. >> reporter: russian jets carrie

russian fighter jets blamed for attack in the aleppo countryside and several people have been killed injured including children. and mohamed has gained access to the front line of syria's war in the southern providence and sent us this update. >> translator: we are now inside shake nearby the building if the town where fierce fighting and hard fought battles between the syrian opposition and the syrian army and supported by foreign fighters from easy-hezbollah and this is described as street war far in the northern quarters and as well as other areas and controls the main buildings in the town and say the syrian regime used military and technological capabilities in order to storm this town and have been supported by russian air cover. they also indicate they are determined to remain in this town and regain what has been taken by the syrian regime's army. mohamed, al jazeera, shake. >>> many syrians holding out hope for peace in 2016 and we have their story. >> reporter: the play performed in one of the most dangerous places on earth, the syrian city of aleppo is divided. battered by

east and my own organization saw two of the schools we had in aleppo bombed to pieces by aerial bombing this month. a center for the poor displaced was bombed more of the civilian displaced dead. every hour, in fact, that is wasted now from the talks started until we getting ament agreements means more displaced from the homes trudging in the snow and bitter cold in syria, 50 families every wasted hour. so we also expect sponsor, supporters and military partners of these parties who all sit in international support group for syria to do their job which is to put much more pressure for peace to do much more facilitation for peace they have the power to do that and let me then as a humble humanitarian appeal in particular to five countries, russia and iran, the united states, saudi arabia and turkey to do all they can and not lose a single hour from this weekend on wards as we do -- we can as humanitarians reach the besieged areas all of them within days of the agreement, all of the millions are out of reach within weeks. we can do it. so finally if they lose this momentum i think they wi

he wants to stay in the region so he can go back to his hometown, aleppo, as soon as it's safe enough. >> if you go to gaziantep, where i am based there, you can see all of the syrians from aleppo city living in gaziantep. like because gaziantep, it's really close to aleppo, like the same kind of food, the same, like, weather and everything else. >> look, they have syrian coffee here and all the trademarks are syrian. >> reporter: rana, who was an english literature professor in syria, is now a social worker helping her fellow refugees get food and housing. she believes many refugees' cultural ties to the region are holding them back from going to europe as much as the financial and legal obstacles. >> it depends on the mentality of syrian people. for example, if they find jobs, and they could be able afford living in turkey, i think they would rather stay in turkey, they don't need to even exert the effort to learn the language, and they share a lot with turkish people. >> reporter: that's especially the case for the syrian kurds like taksim and his family, who share a common languag

hour, i'm laura in doha and our top stories defying the spare under ground and the shadow of war in aleppo what was my crime to be fought after my country, why am i a refugee? >> reporter: we will be talking to displaced people from syria and iraq. also in the news making it official rwanda president seeks a third term. and iran says it is expanding its ballistic missiles program and the u.s. is considering new sanctions against tehran. ♪ with the dawn of a new year we begin in syria where many hope 2016 will bring an end to a war that killed a quarter of a million people and sent millions more abroad in search of safety. russian fighter jets are blamed for attack on a shelter in the aleppo countryside and correspondent says several have been killed and injured including children but despite nearly five years of war many syrians are holding out hope for peace as we report. >> reporter: the play performed in one of the most dangerous places on earth, the syrian city of aleppo is divided. battered by air strikes, shelling and fighting. despite the intense campaign by russian fighter jets nea

the battle for aleppo will be the tipping point. the commercial capital has been a divide city for years. the government and allies are fighting to encircle the opposition held east and to do this that they have been trying cut rebel supply lines. >> aleppo is important as a city is important as a location is important, important for the regime, important for the opposition, important for turkey, important for others. >> reporter: the government says it is winning the war and officials are making clear that they are in no mood to compromise. the opposition may be on the retreat but it hasn't been defeated. no doubt the government has strengthened its position with the recent battle field gains >>> 30 iraqi security forces within killed north of ramadi. i.s.i.l. are believed to have carried out the attack at the headquarters of the tenth division of the iraq' army. forces have been fighting to regain full control of the city of ramadi from i.s.i.l. in other world news, in the u.s. five people, including the leader of an armed militia

in aleppo we couldn't sleep at night because of the air raids. that's why we fled. reporter: if hale hadn't joined the children's circus, she would have had to work at the market in mardin -- like hundreds of other refugee children, to supplement her family's income. now the circus pays her parents enough to cover the lost wages. because hale's parents are embarassed by their poverty, they don't want us to visit their home. >> my parents aren't doing so well. they have no work and no money, and they don't feel at home in turkey. that's why they'd like us to move on to another country. reporter: in the evening, hale packs her bag for the trip to istanbul. there, the children will attend a circus and hip hop workshop. the boys are already warming up. the volunteer who supervises them says art and culture are just as important for poor children as financial support. >> here they get a bit of the self-confidence they will need to create the life they want for themselves later on. culture should help children understand the world around them, that ultimately people need

the syrian city of aleppo is divided. battered by air strikes, shelling and fighting. despite the intense campaign by russian fighter jets nearby, actors invited people to this secret underground hiding place to put on their latest work. a play about the dreams of a nation hoping for a better life and freedom. dreams that were shattered by violence and uncertainty. >> translation: the play tries to unmask the other side of our personality. it provokes us into acknowledging our sins and mistakes so we can have a golden life. the stage is the best place to tell our story and awaken the world's conscience. >> reporter: the play is a portrayal of helpless syrians, left on their home facing death at home. this woman says she wanted to be a doctor. a dream she had to abandon when her village in idlib was ravaged by war. her family fled to neighbouring turkey where she attendes youth. she has chosen-- attends university. she now wants to become a politician back home. >> translation: i keep asking myself what was my crime to be forced out of my country, why am i a refugee. i

the battle for aleppo will be the tipping point. syria's commercial capital has been a divide city for many years. the government and its allies are fighting to encircle the opposition held east and to do that they have been trying to cut the lines into the city. >> aleppo has a name that is important, as a city is important, as a location is important. important for the regime, important for the opposition, important for turkey, important for goods. >> reporter: the government says it is winning the war. officials are making clear they are in no mood to compromise. the opposition may be on the retreat but it p hasn't been defeated. no doubt the government has strengthened its position with the recent battle field gains >>>. a syrian academic and writer says the russian insistence on the presence of the kurds going to geneva is being driven in part by soured relations with turkey >> i think the russians actually attend to achieve both holds. on the one hand they want to punish the turks for downing the russian jet a couple of months

same week, six children were killed when a mortar hit a unicef supported child friendly space in aleppo. >>> james bays joins us live now from geneva. we were given information about the trauma people are suffering from there. did they propose what needs to be done? >> well, i think everyone is looking towards the talks that are supposed to start here at the u.n. headquarters in europe on friday. this news conference i think very deliberately timed to show the world the scale of the problem and what needs to be done and point the finger at those that will be turning up here in geneva, because they are the ones in the end that can alleviate the human situation. let's discuss this further with one of those who is on that humanitarian panel. i'm joined by the head of the norwegian refugee counsel. let me start by asking you to perhaps look back, five years ago, start of the war in syria. we all thought it was a disaster then. could you have conceived at the scale of things now? >> no i could not and not even in my worst nate mayor nightmari think that we would have scenes like the second w

what was happening in aleppo that made you come here to this camp? "they destroyed our homes," she told us. she said her son was killed. you lost everything? she told us she didn't know who was responsible for the barrel bombs dropped from a plane that destroyed her house. but barrel bombs are a signature weapon of the assad regime. do you hope to go home again? "god willing," she said. she told us she felt safe here in the government-run camp and she was grateful to the russians for helping out. full report on our website, cbs.com. the "overnight news" will be right back. in one tiny pill. move free ultra. get your move on. and now try move free night. the first and only 2-in-1 joint and sleep supplement. >> important message for residents age 50 to 85. write down this number now. right now, people are receiving this free information kit for guaranteed acceptance life insurance with a rate lock through the colonial penn program. if you are on a fixed income, learn about affordable whole life insurance that guarantees your rate can never increase for

what was happening in aleppo that made you come here to this camp? "they destroyed our homes," she told us. she said her son was killed. you lost everything? she told us she didn't know who was responsible for the barrel bombs dropped from a plane that destroyed her house. but barrel bombs are a signature weapon of the assad regime. do you hope to go home again? "god willing," she said. she told us she felt safe here in the government-run camp and she was grateful to the russians for helping out. >> you can see bill whittaker's cbs.com. the "overnight news" will be right back. in one tiny pill. move free ultra. get your move on. and now try move free night. the first and only 2-in-1 joint and sleep supplement. >> important message for residents age 50 to 85. write down this number now. right now, people are receiving this free information kit for guaranteed acceptance life insurance with a rate lock through the colonial penn program. if you are on a fixed income, learn about affordable whole life insurance that guarantees your rate can never increase

this was last year in 2014, you went to aleppo. i think people are interested in , how did you get into syria at this point? isis had been driven out of aleppo. how did you make your way there? how did you report the story? matthieu aikins: the reason i was able to go back is because there was a split between the syrian rebels and isis. they actually fought a battle and drove isis out. isis had come back and they were pushed out again. so they would go back and it is almost an impossible situation working in syria but the way that you do it is to have the right connections with the people on the ground, who are willing to protect you and who understand. and we went in with a rebel group. we stayed there with them, a group of first responders who were living every day as a mass casualty event in the united states, dozens of people being killed. they pull people out of rubble. under the constant threat of a double tax strike -- double attack strike. usually the regime would come back and hit the same site 15 minutes later as they are

what was happening in aleppo that made you come here to this camp? hey destroyed our homes," she told us. she said her son was killed. you lost everything? she told us she didn't know whwh was responsible for the barrel bombs dropped from a plane that destroyed her house. but barrel bombs are a signature weapon of the assad regime. do you hope to go home again? "god willing," she said. she told us she felt safe here e was grateful to the russians for helping out.t. >> you can see bill whittaker's full report on our website, cbs.com. the "overnight news" will be right back. it's not always as easy for me as it is for him... it's easy for me cause look at her. aw... so we use k-y ultragel. it enhances my body's natural moisture so i can get into the swing of it a bit quicker. and when i know she's feeling like that, it makes me feel like we're both... and i enjoy it. feel the difference with k-y ultragel. check this out, bro. what's that, broheim? i switched to geico and got more. more savings on car insurance? yeah bro-fessor, and more. like renters i

what was happening in aleppo that made you come here to this camp? "they destroyed our homes," she told us. she said her son was killed. you lost everything? she told us she didn't know who was responsible for the barrel bombs dropped from a plane that destroyed her house. but barrel bombs are a signature weapon of the assad regime. do you hope to go home again? "god willing," she said. she told us she felt safe here in the government-run camp and she was grateful to the russians for helping out. >> you can see bill whittaker's full report on our website, cbs.com. right back. it's not always as easy for me as it is for him... it's easy for me cause look at her. aw... so we use k-y ultragel. it enhances my body's natural moisture so i can get into the swing of it a bit quicker. and when i know she's feeling like that, it makes me feel like we're both... when she enjoys it, we enjoy it even more. and i enjoy it. feel the difference with k-y ultragel. check this out, bro. what's that, broheim? i switched to geico and got more. more savings on car insura

believe that we have 3,000 terrorists from turkistan that are chinese, they came to a village near aleppo with their own families and they are established there after slaughtering the syrian citizens who lived there. they took their homes their land their houses and they killed many of their children and wives. and now they are declaring themselves an islamic 'e 'em ra. emirate. >> this is syrian's ambassador to the united nations giving an impassioned briefing to recorders outside the security council, members of the security council have just been given a briefing from stephen o'brien, and jafari flatly refuting any suggestions that the syrian government is starving people within certain areas in madaya, he says those who are doing the starving are the terrorists who are controlling these towns. using these civilians as human shields, that aid has been delivered enough aid he says, athe peoplathe people in controd stolen that aid and had moved it on for their own end. consumexcuse me. the subject of one of the attacks, one floor above that position now, diplomatic editor james bays. jaf

what was happening in aleppo that made you come here to this told us. she said her son was killed. you lost everything?didn't know who was responsible for the barrel bomb dropped from a plane that destroyed her house. but barrel bombs are a signatured regime. do you hope to go home again? "god willing," she said. she told us she felt safe herecamp, and she was grateful to the russians for helping out. for those on the receiving end a different story. the russians have presented this war through a series of videos of precision strikes withllites and drones. yet as we were shown the planes being heavily armed for their missions, we saw many of whatbs" being loaded- unguided weapons, which deaths.m wrong-- i have read that many of the targets hit by the russians have been selected by the syrians. is that true?ated ): we use our data and syrian data. but i think there's a trick in your question-- that supposedlyre hitting the wrong target. yes, there may be mistakes. but you have to know that such things happen.es the americans have missed, you know. war is not like going for a stroll

activists say government helicopters have been pounding the city of aleppo, while russian air strikesave been focusing on the southern city of hama. this comes as government forces recaptured a strategic town in the southern province of daraa. it is a significant victory for damascus. russia's air strikes have been key to those gains. moscow admits its intervention helped reverse the situation on the ground. >>> the syrian flag flies again in this area. it has taken the army weeks of intense fighting to retake this town in the southwestern province. state television showed military forces entering the town center after securing supply lines. battles are reported to be continuing on the outskirts. the importance of the ruined town cannot be overstated. it lies on the main road linking the capitol with daraa, the city where the revolution began nearly five years ago. government forces have given up much of this territory, until russian armed forces began their military campaign last september. the intervention is being seen as a game changer. >> things have turned around 180 degrees for

on the ground in syria 23 people have been killed in a suicide bombing in aleppo city. had happened at the check points. four civilian were among the dead. no group has claimed responsibility for that attack. our correspondent with the latest on what is happening on the ground in syria. >> reporter: the reference to the urgency of ceasefires and humanitarian corridors couldn't be more relevant right now with a number of gains by the regime forces heading north in latakia province with the fall of rabiar, the town that has been in opposition hands now for four years, and this is a very strategic position because it enables the regime forces possibly to move on idlib and, indeed, into aleppo province and opening up another route in that direction is, also cutting off possibly opposition supply lines, automatic the way through this operation, this move northwards, the russian air force has founded away-- pounded away at opposition positions. so this is very relevant. also this situation in derazor is degree getting more and more critical by the day. more than 90 civilians

the defense ministry says overnight attacks targeted the site just east of the city of aleppo- that's near syria's border with turkey. the french attack was part of the u-s led coalition against the islamic state. france has been played a in november that killed 130 people. more than 200 refugees getting away from syria's civil war have already fled to greece in 2016. one person died while groups of people took inflatable boats across some rough and cold waters this weekend. a coast guard spokeswoman says conditions during the migration were quote 'very unfavorable' with high winds on the water. from august until november, retired neurosurgeon ben carson was in the top 2 of all the polls of iowa republicans. yet his campaign has fallen sharply in recent weeks -- as texas senator ted cruz has vaulted past carson in the polls. a few days ago, 2 of the key campaign staffers for dr. carson left the campaign, with one of them saying that carson was paying more attention to his business partners instead of his campaign experts. this morning on abc's this week, carson talked about the turbul

she's been here three years after fleeing aleppo with her what was happening in aleppo that made you come here to this camp? "they destroyed our homes," she told us. she said her son was killed. you lost everything? she told us she didn't know who was responsible for the barrel bomb dropped from a plane that destroyed her house. but barrel bombs are a signature weapon of the assad regime. do you hope to go home again? "god willing," she said. she told us she felt safe here in the government-run camp, and she was grateful to the russians for helping out. for those on the receiving end of the russian bombs, it's a different story. the russians have presented this war through a series of videos of precision strikes with intelligence from satellites and drones. yet as we were shown the planes being heavily armed for their are known as "dumb bombs" being loaded- unguided weapons, which human rights groups say have led to more than 500 civilian deaths. correct me if i'm wrong-- i have read that many of the targets hit by the russians have been selected by the syrians. is that true? >> komo

. >> there is a gene bank located in aleppo, syria, which is threatened. >> it has the world's most important collection of wheat. >> the no norwegians, built this facility in preparation for a doomsday scenario. but like any insurance policy the hope is that they never have to use it. >> well, tomorrow "on target" the first of two special reports from haiti. six years after a devastating earthquake struck. >> we can all do something. >> reach deep then reach deeper. >> only six years on they're still living in these tent cities. >> that's tomorrow "on target" at 9 eastern. that's our show for today. i'm ali velshi. thank you for joining us. the news continues here on al jazeera america. >> still living in these tent cities. >> we're back to square minus one. >> the city is a powder keg at the moment. >> you see transactional sex and no one is held to account for that. >> the united nations has never accepted responsibility for this. >> an ali velshi on target special: >> in his address at the white house, the president brought it up. gun rights advocates, keeping guns out of the hands of the

. >> there is a gene bank located in aleppo, syria, which is threatened. >> it has the world's most important collection of wheat. >> the no norwegians, built this facility in preparation for a doomsday scenario. but like any insurance policy the hope is that they never have to use it. >> well, tomorrow "on target" the first of two special reports from haiti. six years after a devastating earthquake struck. >> we can all do something. >> reach deep then reach deeper. >> only six years on they're still living in these tent cities. >> that's tomorrow "on target" at 9 eastern. that's our show for today. i'm ali velshi. thank you for joining us. the news continues here on al jazeera america. on "america tonight": toxic town. could more be done to keep residents safe from hazardous chemicals? >> this is not normal that we have all these rare cancers here. we are at risk every day that we live here. >> "america tonight" visits one ohio community feeling left behind by the government. good evening and thanks for joining us, i'm adam may sitting in for joie chen tonight. the new year begins with new

in november, he followed that route through turkey into aleppo. cbs news national security analyst juan zarate says it can be hard to track would-be fight in syria. juan: this is one of the blind spots for u.s. intelligence. certainly, one of the things that keeps homeland security officials awake at night, and this case is a demonstration of that. weijia: investigators don't believe either man was planning an attack in the u.s. but republicans say their arrest is enough evidence to shut down an obama administration program that will bring up to 10,000 syrian refugees to america. rep. michael mccaul: they're ticking time bombs. and how many ticking time bombs are we going to bring in through this refugee program without a proper vetting system in place? weijia: but the white house says the president has no plans to end the program. weijia jiang, cbs news, washington. stacey: six months after his gutsy prison break was caught on camera, fugitive mexican drug lord el chapo is recaptured. mexico's president made the announcement on twitter, saying "m