>> turkey considers providing military support to the government in tripoli. , now newspread guidelines for population register.

it means i might be able to watch television. >> and with homelessness on the lifeline fornd, a christmas. ♪ we begin in syria where at least eight people including five children have been killed in targeting of a school. it happened in idlib province. hundreds of display syrians have been sheltering in a school when it was hit. syrian government forces backed by russian allies have made steady gains since launching a ground offensive to retake idlib last week. more than 40 villages are now under their control. with the sergeant fighting prompting a delegation to travel to scout to push for a cease-fire as a wave of syrian refugees are fleeing the

fighting, moving toward the turkish border. the un's has 80,000 people have been displaced as events intensified earlier this month. a former advisor to the state department says without outside intervention, idlib will fall to government forces and civilians will pay the price. reporter: humanitarian crisis is huge and it keeps on going because more and more people are being uprooted from their homes. cityrst started with one which was the target of the initial airstrikes and ground shelling. otherat we are seeing are places where people are reported from forces who are on a mission to retake every last bit of territory that is in the hands of the opposition. at one of theow

hubs for the turkish charity which is helping the refugees on the others out of the border, speaking to a city officiaial, e told us they have been trying as much as possible to help the 125,000ho a are fleeingng, and the count is steadily rising. saying they are up to 150,000 at the moment and they cannot provide each family with its own individual tent. they've been forced to build these massive tents on a hill and to avoid a flooding. they are accommodating up to 100 people in every tent. he says there is a lot of suspicion between the people because idlib has been home to people who fled places like aleppo and other places that were targeted before. there are so many other people

who set up tents on the side of the road and do not want to mingle with the rest of the refugees and he fears for their help because i don't have sanitation, they don't have clean water, and they do not have food as well. says they are forced to provide them with warm meals. here's what eight middle east analyst had to say. just 15-20 miles south of idlib city and this campaign which began in april and which has displaced a half million people already is well on its way to probably capturing the rest of the province except for an intervention by an outside power. anyone who is worried and 20 when aleppo was fine and was aghast at the images of people

seeking refuge in europe and drowning in the mediterranean should be extremely worried, because of 3 million civilians are now at risk and will do whatever they can to escape certain death, which means pushing toward turkey, pushing toward europe, toward lebanon, toward anywhere else but the hell that the russians have created for them. this is the same scenario that has been playing out in syria since 2011. idlib.s we know how this is going to go, and really the world has only watched it. airstrikes, several others were injured when a vegetable market was struck in a town east of tripoli. offensive tofinal take the capital. sendhave asked turkey to

around troops and operate is reporting lee repairing to respond to that request. the fast -- past few years libby has been divided between two rival governments. the u.n. recognized administration led by the prime minister is based in tripoli. it supported by turkey and most western nations including italy, which is worried the fighting will force more people to cross the mediterranean. backbite egypt, saudi arabia, russia, and the united arab emirates. francis also accused of providing help for his forces. more on the government's request for help. turkish say the type of military individuals requested by the government of national ,ourt is military commanders and government officials say that the troops on the ground,

the government forces are in need of military commanders to be in range and to run the battle on the ground to prevent the forces from entering the capital. why now the government is demanding military commanders? because half the forces have been recently advancing with the help of russian mercenaries, according to government military fightingthat they are -- and have been receiving weapons from the united arab emirates and also from russia. -- ankara says for the government to send troops to libya, it needs to submit a mandate to the turkish parliament so that it could be endorsed, and in this case it can send troops to libya. of thegeneral director

-- institute said the push for tripoli has been almost entirely by foreign forces. >> on the one hand the libby national army in eastern libya , one sidea government does not stand with libya predominantly, almost wholeheartedly being run by the -- using chinese procured drones. these are all documented in the u.n. reports. ground forces have been effective. they locks or campaign april 4. they are making it past the suburbs of tripoli. of russian mercenaries

are now in libya as of the last couple of months. there is propaganda sharing that has gone silent. all we know is there is a russian led operation in syria and somehow turkey has grabbed the headlines. this has been an international conflict for years on the front lines of tripoli. aough to erupt and cause nasty humanitarian crisis on the border on the shores of the mediterranean, only kilometers away. it's a very nasty specter. civilians, mostly women, have been killed in an attack in northern burkina faso. seven members of the local security forces were killed.

the burkina faso presidedent set the attack was eventually repelled and 80 fighters were killed. to think about solidarity in n national cohesi. people, women for the most part, were getting water and got murdered by the terrorists while they were retreating. we must show compassion with the population. that is why all flags will fly at half mast for two days, and all christmas celebrations are canceled. >> funds for an updated national that criticster fear could be used to further discriminate against muslims. the survey was introduced in 20 time but for the -- in 2010 but for the first time people will be asked to share the date and place of birth of their parents. voter cars, driving licenses and passports also. the government has approved funding for the exercise, but critics say it discriminates.

meanwhile, protests continue across the country against the new law that is widely seen as anti-muslim. at least 25 have been killed in the violence so far. here is more on the latest unrest. beatter: marching to the of their own drum, thousands of people defy the band in new delhi. they oppose a recently passed law that grant citizenship to relist -- religious minorities and afghanistan, pakistan, bangladesh, but excludes muslims. to the central threat idea of a secular india. he comes on the back of so many other things, causes of resentment against the government. it's an accumulative resentment against his government. reporter: government critics age using ideological issues like religion to distract people from the problems facing the country. >> the real issue is that the

economy is on the slowdown, unemployment is at its highest recorded level in the last 40 years. in order to do direct -- to , this is beingn brought in. reporter: those here said they won't let the government do that. >> although police were told earlier to contain the demonstrations, they are just watching from the sidelines. >> never bigger protest elsewhere from the northeast to the south. governing group says these are small, sporadic protest being prompted by political parties. >> there could be protest today. where is the protest? if you have 200 or 300 people, you say that is protest.

these, give me a break. reporter: the government has launched a campaign on social media for the muslim community. this act does not discriminate against them. reporter: india's supreme court is expected to hear the case next month. the protest pose the biggest challenge since narendra modi came to power five years ago. >> time for a short break here on al jazeera. when we come back, where it all began, in bethlehem. thousands of christian pilgrims around the world gathered to celebrate christmas. and will have the latest from the galapagos islands. more on that when we return. ♪

hello again and welcome back. across china, things aren't looking too bad, but we do expect to see over the next few days more rain and clouds developing, particularly across the central areas. toch as we go from wednesday thursdsday, more rain pushing dn here t toward the south. temperatures dropping significantly from 17 to about seven degrees by the time we get to thursday, but a verery nice y in hong kong with a temperature of 26 degrees. we did see landfall of a typhoon , making his way toward the west. ringing heavy flooding rain across much of the c central philippines. flooding will continue of the next 24-48 hours. from wednesday into thursday, the system will enter into the south china sea and start to strengthen again. we will watches carefully because by the end of the week, that system m will be travelinig more toward thee west and it

could be vietnamam by the weeked that is impacted by the storm. here across india we will see an increase in moisture as well over the next few days, more clouds developing across much of the central region and that could bring rain as well over the next several days. kolkata, expect to see a temperature of 25 degrees. >> welcome back. our top stories, an airstrike at a school in northern syria has killed eight people previous government forces back by russian airstrikes are intensifying those strikes. a renewed offensive on the capital tripoli has killed several. for updatedelines be againstt could

muslims. u.s. donald trump joked about north korea's morning of a christmas surprise if washington's -- does not make concessions in nuclear talks. pyongyang gave the u.s. until the end of the year to come up with a new proposal. president trump: we will see what happens. maybe it's a nice present. maybe he will send me a beautiful face as opposed to -- abeautiful vase as opposed to missile test. you never know. until new arms controls agreements are reached. russia's defense ministry, vladimir putin said washington's withdrawal from the cold war nuclear treaty and expansion of nato were key concerns for moscow. he said 80% of the countries nuclear arsenal has been modernized. >> we are ready to work on new

arms control agreements, but until this process is launched, we will strengthen our own nuclear forces. equipment are southwest -- equipping ourselves with strategic missiles as well as nuclear submarines for our navy, and we will continue to work on the creation of other missile systems capable of defending russia and its allies. >> violent protests have broken out at a number of shopping malls in hong kong during a busy christmas eve. forces firing tear gas in a bid to disperse them in strader's. -- toes have been disperse the demonstrators. biggest homeless charity says the number this christmas has reached record levels, up 15% from the previous year. the problem is much worse when

people and temporary accommodations are accounted for. and've been in hostels bed-and-breakfast all over england for 10-20 years. >> he was one of the first to arrive when the doors opened at this center. the street is no place to be at christmas, or any other time. >> they're all squabbling over drugs and money. it gets a bit nasty, doesn't it? >> for him, this christmas enter alleviates the loneliness and boredom of being homeless. >> it means i'll be a lot warmer . it means i might be able to watch television and use the computer occasionally. >> for the seven days these centers are open, they can be a lifeline. homeless gas can get medical checkups, advice and counseling,

as well as a chance to watch and get a haircut, and more importantly, to relax. >> what you see on the last day is a group of transformed people leaving. those that come in very suspicious of people from , they leadsociety looking much better having showered, have haircuts and have their feet look at, they justly completely transformed. research from crisis this christmas shows that nearly six time as many people are caught in a precarious situation. have stayed at or more places this year, including friends and relatives. 28% have not had a stable home for four years or more. 77% said there health has suffered as a result. >> they might not have access to washing facilities.

they may have to go out during the day when their host is there. so it's a very unstable situation. begun,boardgames have the escapism and company of the centers are only a temporary respite. the numbers have increased 15% on the previous year. when the center shuts next week, many of the homeless guests here will be back outside again. paul brennan, al jazeera, north london. >> christian pilgrims and tourists around the world are marking the holy christmas in the city of bethlehem, where many believe jesus christ was born. 2019 has been one of the holy city's busiest year with an estimated 1.5 million tourists making the trip. reporter: music and prayer, joy and reflection. from the church of the nativity, built over the grotto were christians believe jesus christ was born. this was the last night mass of

the decade. planning brought this family from columbia to meijer square in bethlehem. every christian it is special to be in the place we believe jesus was born. reporter: these tourist joined a declining population of christians in the holy land. experts say in the last century, the christian population has decreased more than 15%. with 1.9 million visitors, bethlehem is having its best gear in two decades. according to the ministry of tourism and antiquities, that may be in part due to the relative calm in the area. saysmall business owners this is not a mary moneymaking

christmas. >> i spent all week decorating and preparing for this day and i'm a little bit sad after spending all this money, more than $1000 decorating. i didn't recover half of it. reporter: the biggest attraction seems to be the 16 meter christmas tree with handcarved nativity, tailor-made for the selfie age. many of those posing for photos for muslim. >> with all the different religions coming together, i really love it. it gives me a warm feeling inside. the christmas of the 21st century has evolved into something no one could envision centuries ago. but christian leaders hope the holy day spirit of goodwill and peace will always prevail. venezuelan president nicolas

maduro is urging venezuela and brazil to arrest and deport those from a military camp in the south of the country. saying the suspects in brazil have rifles and grenade launchers. 12 men reportedly took part in the raid in the state of bolivar. some have been accused of assisting the attackers. >> venezuelan weapons have been attack ina terrorist these weapons are headed for and/or in brazilian territories. we demand that the brazilian authorities capture the assailants and that the weapons of the national bolivar area and armed forces be returned. bolson has been released following a fall at his residence.

he was kept in hospital overnight as a precaution. from ecuador to chile, the final months of 2019 so various latin american countries engulfed in street protests. many were fighting for their own causes, but there was one issue most of them had in common, inequality. sporttin american editor -- reports from santiago. widower is thed matriarch of her family. she lives in a low income santiago neighborhood with her daughter and grandchildren. she has little formal education and worked hard all her life, first in the fields and then as a maid to help the family get ahead. >> i worked in homes were people with money didn't let the staff use the same cutlery as the masters. could not eat the same food or use the same crockery, either. >> are 48-year-old daughter concedes that their economic

situation has improved, but not the acute last divisions. her 23-year-old son studied law, the first in the family to graduate from university, but there is still an invisible barrier. upper classrom the have countless advantages, from not having to study and work at the same time to access to internships and jobs. their parents belong to the class with clout, and they are not discriminated against because of where they come from. >> although chile does have the highest per capita income in latin america, it also has the highest inequality index, the biggest gap between rich and poor. >> for example if you are at the bottom of income, you will need up to six generations to get to the mean income. >> that's not all. a recent study revealed an astonishing statistic. women living in the wealthiest

suburbs of santiago have a life expectancy 18 years longer than their counterparts in the poorest innocent held these. in men, the differences nine years. >> what explains the fact that there is inequality in the cd has to do with the -- in the city has to do with segregation. class dividestent helps expand the recent social outbursts in chile. more than two months of ongoing brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets, demanding structural reforms to level the playing field. we were born with different aspirations and our parents and we feel the separate -- segregation in the upper-class areas when our parents go to work but are treated like inferiors. in our neighborhoods there aren't any parks, restaurants, cinemas, or hospitals. our communities

to access a better life. that generates resist -- resentment and discontent. passed on from generation to generation, putting an end to that system is what millions of chileans are

[birds chirping] [alararm clock blaring] [alarm fadades] man: as soon as i start my sake productionon, i have toe here every single day. that part i wasn't quite ready for. sake-mamaking is a lot about the