On what it says is a shocking scale. Never shall carry this is out of their life also coming up. There is no treatment available for me i have nothing no medicine no money. On the medical evacuations underway or torn syria are too little too late. Woman or results expected on thursday and that liberias president ial election runoff between soccer legend george clay and Vice President joseph book. And hundreds of Prisoners Exchange in ukraine one of the biggest swaps agreed between moscow and kiev. And a report released in the past few hours the u. N. Is warning that children in conflict zones across the world are under attack and what it calls a shocking scale in a sex report says children have become front line target choose just human shields killed maimed and recruited to fight rape forced marriage adduction and enslavement have become standard tactics and many conflicts reports highlight childrens deaths linked to conflicts during two thousand and seventeen seven hundred killed in afghanistan one hundred thirty five child suicide bombers linked to west africa and five thousand killed or injured in the war and yemen in agency is calling on all parties to conflict to abide by International Law and stop targeting children schools and hospitals and reports. When during the old moderate refugee camp in Lebanons Bekaa valley. Last year for several months shelters which are made out of bits of wood and plastic sheeting were blown. It did in snow warm clothes are often in short supply and fuel can be expensive or hard to find. Really to help vulnerable refugees prepare for the cold temperatures the u. S. Refugee Agency Offers cash and other assistance to those who most need it so far around six hundred fifty thousand refugees have received some form of help but many others are still doing without they need more c one in winter to keep warm they need blankets they need more food they need medicine because of the diseases that spread more easily in the winter season. According to the u. N. H. C. R. More than three point eight million refugees and internally displaced people in syria lebanon iraq turkey jordan and egypt need winter assistance a Cold Weather Program which began last month is aimed at helping the most vulnerable families they receive a mixture of cash assistance Building Materials to repair and weatherproof shelters and winter items including thermal blankets gas heaters and warm clothes but of the two hundred twenty eight Million Dollars needed to finance this years Winter Program so far only one hundred forty three Million Dollars has been received a shortfall of nearly forty percent today we are facing funding shortfalls which forces you and other aid agencies to target the assistance that we are able to deliver to the families who are most in need the poorest of the poor unfortunately we know that many other families who are also in need do not have access to this assistance today and while Syrian Refugees and internally displaced children face another winter away from their homes according to unicef children have been used as human shields trapped under siege targeted by snipers and lived through intense bombardment and violence unicef is demanding all parties involved in the fighting abide by International Laws so that children like bees dont have to suffer in aljazeera. Doesnt foresight as the deputy executive director of unicef says children are increasingly being drawn into conflict. What weve seen in recent years and even more so in twenty seven is children being deliberately targeted i mean weve heard stories from our staff on the ground in bangladesh but also in mean maurice south about wrecking the children who stood by us soldiers of right on their mothers have shot their father even brutalized those children themselves and theyre saying to those two and theyre deliberately doing this we have stories from within syria and from a school that we worked in with snipers deliberately targeting the children in the playground i was in Northern Nigeria recently and i met children who would who had to talk to me about being forced to be human bombs for baccarat her arms and this deliberately targeting of children to make them part of the conflict to brutalize an army is a is a is a new development yes its always happened in part but it seems to be growing and growing is normal now that you can target a hospital a group of doctors in syria told me recently when i was in northern turkey how the armed groups wouldnt even come near the hospital because the hospital was more of a target than the armed groups so hospitals and schools are being deliberately attacked children are being brutalized and it feels like all the rules in war as you say that used to at least protect civilians and children in particular in these terrible wars have all disappeared and that feels like there are no rules to protect the most Vulnerable Children in these conflicts and our appeal is unicef is to all the warring parties where their governments or rebel groups is it surely we can all agree that we need to protect the children. Aid workers have began evacuating critically ill patients from eastern go to the rubble whole area under siege in syrias capital damascus but for some children treatment has come too late to her has this report which includes pictures some viewers may find disturbing its a start but its not enough only a handful of east bhuttos critically ill are being allowed to leave to hospitals in damascus which is less than an hours drive away twenty nine patients the majority of them women and children a six month old baby was on that list but when the aid workers reached those house they found out she died weeks ago the Syrian Government is allowing them to be treated outside the besieged opposition stronghold after the armed group. Agreed to release some government prisoners its not clear if new deals will be reached it has been four years since east hutto was besieged by the syrian army the siege has tightened in recent months there are according to the United Nations almost five hundred Urgent Medical cases. Man has brain cancer she says her condition is only deteriorating the u. N. Says more than a dozen people have already died while waiting to be evacuated for treatment i know there is no treatment available from here i have nothing no medicine no money im just waiting for gods mercy its not just the lack of medical supplies there is a lack of food the United Nations says the area is experiencing the worst case of child malnutrition since the start of the conflict. The lack of medical equipment of vaccines have affected children also they are malnourished and this has that to a number of diseases unfortunately that children are facing in dire conditions. There have been three reported deaths because of malnutrition in the past two months. Not even two months old when they died the u. N. Says more than one thousand five hundred children are at risk among them two hundred thirty two who are acutely malnourished more than four hundred thousand people. Are believed to be children. Despite the russian guaranteed deescalation that was supposed to have. The area for the first time in months but it was only for forty thousand people there is suffering in this region and the fear is that the worse. The government is using the siege and starvation tactic as a military strategy and as the situation worsens the likelihood of a surrender becomes more real. By various Election Commission is expected to announce official results on the president ial runoff on thursday. For victory but his opponent president. Says is to close to call. In the capital monrovia. Many place what they call a peaceful. Vote counting is underway. There were. Very small number of incidents to report where the incident occurred and i should mention they have been dealt with on his part in most of these cases if not all the contest pits fifty one year old former football star george where against seventy three year old Joseph Walker i who has been the countrys Vice President for the last twelve years but falling coincided with christmas and many chose to stay home observers say the tunnel close much lower than the fuss round held in october then after a Commission Says it will announce the results in four days its what happens often and whether the losing side will accept defeat that cause most liberians concerned. Liberia is one win thats willing to destroy the women and that will mean for us to go back to war for a new body to be president of this country he will not do it we are going to have peace the children of this country need peace and they also want peace and were going to call for whom ever we decide is president of Liberia International observers to a calling for calm so one person was with that person. So the issue is now when you know. If you when you celebrate it is celebrated in the should be because you have to be president of everybody if you lose you also accept for the first time in more than seventy years this was founded by freed american slaves will see one democratically elected government hunt power to another whoever wins will inherit tonic or me but by forming prices of liberias exports of rabat and i dont want to force depreciating currency in the past twelve years Ellen Johnson sirleaf has guided this country through the process of recovery from civil war on the horrors of a bull outbreak but you too has been criticized for not doing much to talk all poverty and corruption in hog government behind it all does it or monrovia liberia still had on aljazeera ill tell you why more and more people in argentina are relying on food donations to survive last. Time when hey reporting from thailand where the military government says democracy will return at the end of two thousand and eighteen but well tell you why many believe it wont happen. Hello the story of lake effect snow has been pretty widely broadcast and its because its really cold has been coming across with us to open water lakes at the moment so if you are just on the edge of the lake for example pennsylvania pennsylvania new york state you get a lot of snow from you know the potential still exists for a while but were cutting off the flow really deep the cold air as you can see the wind isnt really flowing in from the west as it was before so if anything it will be less in the way of lake effect snow with those to be some and coming into the Pacific Northwest yet another winter storm all the way from British Columbia dancer probably too odd to have beyond that a lot of snow still to come here once also when to certainly tucked in high temperatures even sunshine in dallas down to about eight degrees and out to twenty six miami is hanging on to the sunshine if you like but usually does of course south of this start all nice and quiet at least for the islands even the big ones but the onshore breeze the prevailing breeze means the showers been concentrating on the coast of costa rica nicaragua your honduras and belize and the chances are theyll carry on doing that in the next day or so if anything theyll concentration it could briefly be rather unpleasant at least on that northern coast of panama and costa rica. After years documenting streetcar to see john this book. Was inspired to transform perceptions that we are the reason to change the subject to capture the vibrancy of the emerging black Youth Culture now is one of the people that their camp said i will be giving a speech to all of us this is where things like the new african photography not so much of this time on aljazeera. Theyre watching aljazeera lets recap the top stories for you right now and the report by unicef warns that shelter and conflict zones across the world are under attack on a shopping scale that report highlights the death of children over the past year in afghanistan child suicide bombers link to boko rom at least five thousand killed or injured in the war in yemen. Aid workers have started evacuating critically ill patients from eastern guta thats a rabbit hole on crave of syrias capital damascus last month the un called for five hundred people in need of Urgent Medical care to be allowed to leave you only twenty nine cases have been given approval at least eighteen people have died awaiting. Woman a result in liberias president ial runoff are expected on thursday former football star george wayas says he is on track to be this excess are to the outgoing president Ellen Johnson sirleaf Vice President joseph camp says its still too close to call. The cranium government. Have completed a swap of hundreds of prisoners in war torn Eastern Ukraine. The exchange took place near the city. Which is mainly controlled by separatists. Its going to take a since the conflict began in two thousand and fourteen to me crying and prisoners had been speaking about their relief. Im very happy that im going back to ukraine and i thank everyone for the work thats been done to be able to help me see my loved ones again. Spent a year and a half in a cell one by one and a half meters without anything no deliveries nothing they treated us as if we were dogs. Well both sides are now confirms that this prisoner swap has concluded with people being handed in both directions across the front lines in Eastern Ukraine the numbers that actually did scruffs the lines a bit different from the earlier advertize figures of three hundred six people going from kiev territory back to the east and seventy four people going from the eastern regions back into kiev territory the reasons why the numbers are different is because some people were transferred earlier and some people on both sides it seems didnt actually get want to go back to where they come from this is an events that has been quite a long time in in the making the final impetus though came as a recent meeting in moscow there was attended by the heads of the two separatist regions in Eastern Ukraine by the head of the Russian Orthodox church Patrick Carroll and by representatives from kiev but the the real political will it seems as come from both kiev and also from moscow with Vladimir Putin saying that he was going to use his influence with the with the separatist regions to make it happen its a breakthrough undeniably a step in the right direction and the sides now are talking about keeping this going theyre doing more prisoner swaps but while people are still dying while moscow is still supplying the rebel regions with weapons and hardware etc and while there doesnt seem to be a final drive for peace this is just a step in that direction we havent got to the destination that we want to get to yet which is a final political solution. A bomb exploded at a supermarket in the russian city of St Petersburg injuring at least ten people it was caused by how made device packed with shards of metal police say was hidden inside a locker for shoppers to store their belongings no one has claimed responsibility for that. Russian Opposition Leader alexina vali says hell organize a nationwide rally in january to support his call for a boycott of president ial elections of all the has been barred from running in the march election over a fraud conviction that he says is politically motivated russian president Vladimir Putin has officially filed his documents to run for reelection if he wins people will remain in the kremlin until two thousand and twenty four moves in what is our choice. We will start a big campeon on one hand to persuade everyone to participate in the boycott and not to take part in the election and on the other hand to kind time many people really come to the polling stations im not to let putin fabricate the numbers and of course we need an all russian street action. French fries that men will not grown has ordered saudi arabias king solomon to lift the blockade of yemen since october imported fuels food and medicine have been limited by the Saudi Led Coalition which is fighting with the rebels around says he is concerned about the humanitarian crisis with millions of people on the brink of famine parts of yemen are also in the grip of a cholera outbreak a political prisoner in yemen has spoken to al jazeera about his brutal experiences behind bars human Rights Groups say thousands of the minis have been arbitrarily detained and tortured in the countrys two and a half year war. Reports. Yousif knew the opposition newspaper he edited made him a target of the armed rebel who thiis it was time to take precautions but it was too late last year he says he was kidnapped outside his home in sanaa. I was repeatedly tortured and interrogated due to my job as a journalist before my detention i openly declared that i was suspending my work because of the harsh conditions facing journalists opposed to the who hes in sanaa and so began more than a year held in several prisons in yemens capital. To have the. I was threatened with physical abuse and rape so was my family i was put in solitary confinement for twenty six days my health deteriorated. Human Rights Groups say thousands of people including children have been arbitrarily detained and tortured by both sides in the war Yemeni Forces and who the fighters are accused of beating using electric shocks and forcing prisoners to strip others taken captive have simply disappeared this human rights Attorney Says families have reported the deaths of almost one hundred twenty prisoners when i was in severe and if there are secret prisons human Rights Groups have documented four hundred seventeen alone in sana from residential houses to schools and even places of worship with kidnappers have abducted individuals from all walks of life and juniors doctors and even journalists they are subjected to brutal torture but journalists are given a harder time aztlan was eventually transferred to a military prison camp where he says he was housed along with prisoners of war last month he was released as part of a prisoner swap. But if. I wished it didnt happen that way simply because i was not to convict a person i was kidnapped outside my house. Is lucky to be alive days before he was released the camp was bombed dozens of his former cell mates die natasha going to zero. Argentinas president. Pressing on with the reform agenda that he says will modernize the country but as traceable reports are going to plenty of opposition to the plants. Free vegetables in front of congress when a site is well senators gather to vote inside in the last session this year farmers brought twenty thousand kilos of their produce to give away to those in need of us all like we are here so that senators know the part they vote for has an impact on peoples lives costs for everyone inflation transport energy but we want to share and draw attention to the demand that this government needs to do a lot more i. Was elected two years ago with a mandate to rein in Government Spending and rejuvenate argentinas lagging economy after years of the center left precedence of Cristina Fernandez the commissioner the government of the so market has pushed to have a series of laws that it says will make argentinas economy more competitive like reforming the pension and tax system but there are many here who disagree they say that the government reforms are benefiting corporations and north the countrys most vulnerable. Among them are people. Shes retired and says she couldnt miss the opportunity of getting some free food for us you know he finds the pension i get is not enough and what im buying now would cost me a lot i worked all my life and now i can barely survive. Despite scoring a resounding victory in octobers Congressional Elections mackley spent reform sparked a violent protest last week in one of scientists that left dozens of people injured and new legislation changed the way pension increases are calculated which could end up hurting the elderly and those who depend on social security. The government said there were four aim to restore order to arjun. Chronically imbalanced fiscal accounts. The path of the argentinean economy is very tight with the possibility of crises along the way but for now i believe the government has a clear idea of what it wants to do its trying to open up the economy to the world after years of financial isolation. Argentina has a history of Economic Crises that have left millions living in poverty even though the government insists Economic Reforms will lead to a Brighter Future there are many who doubt that the governments plans will turn out well. As two thousand and seventeen draws to a closer look back at some of the biggest stories of the year through the eyes of five families and our final report we focus on the crisis between north and south korea and its impact on the people there. Man who has been separated from his father for nearly five decades. This is one of treasured possessions its the only photo he has of him with his father he was two years old when he last saw his dad nearly fifty years ago it wasnt until he was nine that he found out the truth you know when. I asked my mother when he was coming home she told me he was on a business trip to the United States and will be for christmas i believed her and waited and waited his father. Had been traveling on a domestic flight in south korea but it was hijacked and flown to north korea. The incident sparked an International Outcry north korea eventually returned most of those on board the flight but refused to allow eleven others to leave including kwans father. There was a time i hated my father so much because i was told by my family that he stood out too much during ideologist sessions in the north he would argue with the of dorrys and thats why he wasnt sent back to hong has spent much of his adult life campaigning for his fathers release setting up a group to the south korean government and International Community to pressure north korea to release the remaining crew and passengers. When there were tensions around the Korean Peninsula intensified my fathers case was pushed aside it whenever there were any issues between the corps yes and our story became the least priority when its a tragedy my family has to carry look inward. And security concerns on the peninsula have deepened this year in september north korea tested a Hydrogen Bomb weapons experts also say north korean scientists appear to have made rapid progress with each missile test and could possibly combine nuclear and Ballistic Missile capabilities by next year. One realizes these developments will make a reunion more unlikely but hes certain his dad zillions for hope. They tried to defect in two thousand and thirteen i heard that the rest of the people in his group who made the same attempt were all executed by one then in march two thousand and sixteen i heard he was living in punk song but was told last december you know that those surveillance was too strong for anyone to approach him or talk and that i can prove. But one is not giving up determined to be reunited with his father no matter what it takes florence lee aljazeera saw. Two thousand and eighteen is shaping up to be a landmark year for thailand a new king will be crowned and the military government is planning to hold elections signaling a return to democracy after a coup three years ago and the first of our series looking ahead to some of the big stories of next year when he reports from the northeast of the country where many are doubtful the vote will go ahead. A long dusty dry season is well underway on the plains of northeast thailand by the time this crop of kosov is harvested in about a year thailand should be a democracy again most ties here back to the government ousted in the military coup three years ago including parrot borne home town a torn a coordinator for a prodemocracy group called the red shirts she says people in the northeast dubbed the military will honor its pledge to hold an election in november. I would say seventy percent of the people here dont believe the election really happened and thirty percent think it might happen even if the election is held the type of democracy will be different to what ties had before the coup the military and the establishment in the capital bangkok know that its very difficult for them to win support in parts of thailand like this thats partly why theyve designed a system that will result in weakened Political Parties after the next election the military will hand pick senators to sit in the upper house of parliament who will also have the power to install an unelected Prime Minister the plans are being criticised by the major Political Parties i think everybody will recognise that that bus fall short of the kind of standards that we would like to to return. The leaders of the coup in two thousand and fourteen are also drafting a twenty Year Strategic Plan that future governments must follow everything is is planned or decides so and that the military military can hold on to power with the. Plans and strategy that he had earlier formulated. A good time i was the party ousted from power by that coup former Prime MinisterYingluck Shinawatra whos in exile avoiding a five year jail sentence for negligence related to a failed rice subsidies scheme says her trial was politically motivated as in Rural Communities in the north and northeast with incomes of fulling who parties popularity seems to be intact but while political gatherings remain banned campaign is such as pirate porn have no choice but to get their hands dirty networking in the fields wayne hay al jazeera you dont tony thailand and in part two of our look ahead series the report from the us on what midterm elections could mean for Donald Trumps presidency thats on friday here on aljazeera. Take a look at the headlines here on aljazeera a new report by unicef warns that children in conflict zones across the world are under attack on a shocking school and the report highlights the deaths of children over the past year and afghanistan child suicide bomber saying to poke a hole at least five thousand killed or injured in the war and get men. Aid workers have started evacuating critically ill patients from eastern guta a rebel held on klav of syrias capital damascus last month the u. N. Called for five hundred people in need of Urgent Medical care be allowed to leave but only twenty nine cases have been given approval at least eighteen people died while waiting well mary results in liberias president ial runoff are expected on thursday former football star george way and says hes on track to be the successor to outgoing president Ellen Johnson sirleaf but ice president joseph papp says its too close to call. Ukrainian government and pro russian rebels have completed a large scale prisoner swap and the war torn east of ukraine it took place near the city or live which is mainly controlled by separatists exchange is said to be the biggest since this conflict began in two thousand and fourteen some ukrainian prisoners had been speaking about their release well. Im very happy that im going back to ukraine and i thank everyone for the work thats been done to be able to help me see my loved ones again we. Spent a year and a half in a cell one by one and a half meters without anything no deliveries nothing they treated us as if we were dogs a bomb has exploded at a supermarket in the russian city of St Petersburg injuring at least ten people the blast was caused by a homemade device packed with shards of metal no one has claimed responsibility for that attack the french president has urged saudi arabias king solomon to lift the blockade on yemen since october imports of fuel food and medicine happen limited by the Saudi Led Coalition which is fighting who the rebels says hes concerned about the humanitarian crisis and Argentina Senate has approved a major government Tax Reform Program as well as next years budget plan as part of president push to cut costs and bring and last week widespread protests created a pension reform bill. But those are the headlines and news continues here on aljazeera after artscape keep it or. As another year draws to an end well take you around the world to find out whats expected in twenty eight. Join us for a series of special reports as we assess the potential Global Impact of wants to come. Twenty First Century africa a continent undergoing great change and finally seizing control of its image but its been a long but one that he has a goal for telegraphy was a colonial to god had a right to a place