consider this. >> hello, good to have you with us for al jazeera news hour for the next 60 minutes. peace keepers are killed in the line of fire in south sudan, and attacks are overwhelming. the political crisis in thailand deepens. the opposition is now boycotting the election. >> reporter: in london with the news from europe, including out of jail, out of russia, freed

tycoon mikhail khodorkovski in germany. and praying solidarity with russia. >> south sudan's crisis fighting between forces loyal to the president an kiir and machar are escalating. the united nations is struggling to maintain any semblance of order. >> a memorial service for united nations peace keepers killed in south sudan. they died trying to carrying out their mandate to protect

civilians but were unable to protect themselves. the bodies of the indian peace keepers from flown. they were attacked by tw 2,000 armed youth from a tribe. several civilians were also killed. the compound is now empty. staff from united nations and other international groups were evacuated by u.n. troops but there is little information about south sudanese who were there seeking refugee. >> now we only have 43 peace keepers. they were trying to protect the civilians under threat in this area. we had 30 civilians death. this attack was like a frontal attack on the base itself. the two peace keepers were killed in action in trying to prevent the entry into the camp. >> an estimated 35,00 35,000, ah

the violence spreading, they claim the troops are not enough. >> there is no way any military continue tin gencontingent conss size of troops could prevent this. >> this could not prevent the violence if there are so many armed groups, peoples of ethnic origin trying to attack each other. ultimately what has to happen the fighting has to stop. there has to be a political solution. >> reporter: but for the political solution to owe merge the president's opponent said he must release all those arrested.

>> if we can't try to bring the men who are known in history to have taken care of the country, the men who are being detained, the people who have good credibility in the country, we have a lot at stake. we need release them and bring them to the table. >> but unless both sides meet for peace talks the threat of wider conflict is very real. >> give us a sense of the geography. the friday attack was in the east of south sudan. the base was overrun by approximately 2,000 youth from the group. that is the group to which machar belongs. now u.n. bases have braced for some kind of trouble. the center of the country currently shelters 14,000 civilians and a thousand peace

keepers reportedly surrounded by arms. men at the smaller base up in the north currently giving refuge to 5,00 5,000 are curreny surround: let's talk about the attack and then let's look at the situation facing the u.n. and others. what do you know about what happened to that military aircraft? >> well, we've been seeking to people who werality the airport and who saw what actually happened. bor is controlled by the rebels. they started firing thinking that it was the enemy. and there was panic and pandemonium on the ground. the concern now is that people who need to be evacuated have not been evacuated, and they're

worried what is going to happen to them. >> these u.n. bases giving shelter to so many civilians who fear for their lives. are those people who are threatening those inside the bases, are they part of any kind of attempt to overthrow the government, or are they reacting to events that happened in the capitol? >> i think it's a bit of everything. there are some people reacting to events that happened before. there are people who are part of the rebellion. and there is a tribal element, one tribe attacking another and vice versa. it's a conundrum of so many things happening there. one little thing that seems to be sparking off everything, that's why it's quite volatile. >> a lot of countries nearby interested in what is happening. recent foreign ministers, any

kind of peace talks resuming? >> well, this foreign minister said they have given themselves one week. they're trying to get in touch with former deputy machar. they're saying give them a week to meet. but it's hard to compromise. a general army went to the radio station and announced to people listening that he has left the army, he's joining machar, and he's waiting to overturn the government. these areas are quiet, shops are closed. people are panicking. those who can are getting out. those who can't are wondering what is going to happen next. >> thank you. let's bring in one of th to thee

man who died in a helicopter crash in 2005. and rebecca from juba, very close to the presidential palace. how would you characterize the situation in your capitol right now? >> yes, people are worried. at the same time people are talking about reconciliation. i think the people accept what

is happening. >> i know you don't believe this is in any way an attempted coup, but it certainly is something done to show opposition to the current government, what do you think is going on? >> well, i don't believe this is a coup. they've been saying over and over it is not a coup. the coup is not being done by the civilians. i think there is mutual

misunderstanding. there were people who were arrested and knew nothing about a coup. they were in their houses and they were arrested. it is not a coup but some of the officers are sometimes killing people at random. this has gotten out of hand. >> thank you very much rebecca garang talking to us from the south sudanese capital. >> two people have been killed in yemen. it was in a city south of yemen. a week of protests have been launched over the death of a local tribal chief. he was one of six killed when his bodyguards refused to hand over weapons to soldiers at a

checkpoint. the sons of two turkish cabinet members have been charged with a huge anti-corruption investigation. they've been accused of abusing their power by taking or facilitating bribes. these are people closely linked to the prime minister, and he's described it as a dirty operation against his government. at least 18 soldiers died in an ambush in western iraq. according to police several top ranking officers were among those killed in the attack in the sunni dominated anbar province. it's not clear why so many senior officers were located there. but sources suggest they came to document a recent military victory nearby. egypt's former president is due to stand trial with a prison break during the country's 2011 revolution. mohamed morsi and more than 100

others are accused of being complicit in the attack that ladledto their escape. our correspondent is joining us live. tell us more about these charges, peter. >> reporter: the charges are pretty dramatic. in fact, the investigator judge described the whole event as the most serious act of terrorism in egypt's. history. let's look at the charges in more detail. he has been charged with kidnapping police officers, murder and attempted murder of police. arson, the storming of the prison. helping prisoners escape and looting the jail. he has been charged with collaborating with hamas and hezbollah to destabilize egypt and destroy state institutions. it was pretty rough allegation. this comes on top of two other

charge. he's now facing three trials. >> peter, there has been since the overthrow of mohamed morsi an awful lot of talk from the authorities about not liking dissent, and it looks like they're actively putting those words into practices. >> reporter: yes, david, this is not just the only problem, the only set of charge. the authorities a few days ago raided the headquarters of a human rights group. human rights watch has complained about that. and american defense secretary chuck hagel has been on the telephone to the army chief of staff general assisi to voice his concerns about the charge against mohamed morsi. we're hearing critics of the administration all being charged

with similar offenses. we're seeing human rights watches describing a crackdown on dissent on anyone who is critical of the administration here. >> live for us in cairo. thank you. >> you're watching the al jazeera news hour. what the south korean government plans to do to cut unemployment numbers. and a do it yourself job. astronauts suit up for a spacewalk at the international space station. and we have the latest from the world cup. >> thailand's main opposition party said it won't take part in a general election next year. the democratic party leader said the decision was made to ensure

political reforms were impleme implemented. the prime minister shinawatra has called for the election. but many say she's under the influence of her brother, thansik shinawatra. >> the democratic process is being slanted by some groups and that's makes people lose faith in the party system and election. >> we have more from bangkok. >> reporter: thailand's opposition party made it official. they will not run on the february 2nd election. they say they're still looking to get a people's council, and they want election reform before they go back to the polls. meanwhile the government party said after the election they'll call all the parties together and form a people's reform

commission. the people's reform commission will sit for two years, will look at all possible reforms with the thailand democratic political system andality the end of two years they will put together recommendations 37 but there will be no mandate on the government to follow any of those elections. meanwhile the protest fine for sunday could have 3 million people. that's according to the democrat opposition party. the planned protest will march through the city of bangkok and many outside of the opposition party has promised to make bangkok a deadlock for traffic with nothing moving for hours. >> in russia khodorkovsky is out of jail and out of the country, too. where is he right now? >> reporter: he's berlin believed to be held up in a

hotel. he is one of russia's richest man, and critics say he was imprisoned under trumped up charges. he claims he wasn't guilty. what is the reaction in moscow? >> reporter: all eyes have been on this hotel all day. everyone hoping for a glimpse of khodorkovsky. we know he has been reunited with h his family but we have yt to see him. his son did come out and speak to the media a little earlier. >> my family is finally reunited, and we're very happy to be together after the ten years of separation. as you can imagine my father is going through a lot right now, and he cannot possibly be with all of you today, but he really

appreciates all of the support that he has received through these years, and all of the people that have cared for him and cared for his story over the past ten years. >> a russian analyst here in germany, may i ask, everyone seems to be surprised by this, but the wheels of diplomacy have been moving for a long time. >> i'm happy for the freedom of mr. khodorkovsky. he'll be able to find a new way for himself. the second point is the bureaucracy between russia and germany are working very well together. that's very important for the solution that we find here. and the third point i is that te family comes together.

it's amazing that the family, time before christmas. it's the time together. that's an important point for all of us, and tha that is for h of us. >> you met him ten years ago, where do you think he'll base himself. >> he has been in ten years in prison. he has to find his way to society. germany has changed. russia has changed. he has to decide what that means for his personal lifestyle and he has to look at what he'll do in the future. we'll hear from him tomorrow. >> what do you think he'll do? >> personally i like to think about the point that he is thinking about those inside the prison system. he will help them and the second

point is to find a way personally inside society. he needs time. and that is for the family and the new solution which he will find in the future. >> do you think the timing of this is very significant considering we're only six weeks until the sochi olympics starts. >> i think we have to look at some months before this time. first of all the discussion in russia at the beginning of the year. we had discussion about amnesty and other points. first of all. second, it was clear that thousands of people in russia now have the chance to become free. that is very, very important to see. and the next point is it depends on the russian laws. it depends on many things. and for the russian society,

others all this discussion about sochi, you'll find the russian president will go in front, that was the best he could do. before sochi is coming, he gives freedom to many, many people. >> thank you for joining us here on al jazeera this evening. we should find out more about mikhail khodorkovsky sunday. >> that is news of the russian oil tycoon mikhail khodorkovsky has been released from prison. wreaths have been laid marking 25 years since the locker by bombing. >> it was a half hour from london to new york. 11 people on the ground died

when wreckage of the plane hit the area. the bomber was released from jail in 2009 and he died in may last year. somsome like jim spire, whose daughter died in the bombing, do not believe that he was responsible. he has been investigating the event. >> not only were there extraordinary flaws in the security that should have protected the lives of our families, but we have been deceived. >> let's head to ukraine where there is fierce opposition to the president after a month of mass rallies began following his decision to reject an e.u. trade deal and following russia.

>> reporter: from ukraine's east and south supporters from the orthodox church came to pray for solidarity with russia. >> western culture is not orthodox. western values, so-called euro standards, they're not acceptable to us. >> nobody went against us because god is with us. we are an united people blessed by god. >> reporter: they say the orthodox church is one nation and should stay that way. >> these marchers represent the divide in ukraine. they say their country should be aligned with russia, not europe. it's not part of ukrainian culture. >> they march where supporters have been gathered for days. many were bussed in the city. al jazeera has seen some of them being paid to be here. they came out in full force.

promise to go tear down barricades at independent square came to nothing. and in the square itself the demands remain the same. that the government embrace european values. >> reporter: we see how they look at russia and how they look in europe. the difference is obvious. >> the protests camps continue to grow. the latest edition of a photo exhibit. it will show how much support they still have one month after the demonstrations began. >> the protests have been going on for a month, what is the latest happening there now? >> reporter: well, as you can hear behind me this protest demonstration pop concert is going on. and as often as happens here it's saturday night, and the

question is how many people will show up on sunday when organizers have asked them to come out in big numbers. organizers say they're going to stay here on independent square for as long as it takes to get what they want from president yanukovych. they say they'll stay here despite the cold, cold weather through the new year. >> jennifer thank you. jennifer glass live in kiev. now we'll have more from europe a little later. including anger on the streets of spain as leaders approve anti-abortion law. plus in southern england with a puzzle for you. what has this place, the daily telegraph, the cross word and world war ii have in common? fancy a clue? that's coming up later in the program.

>> well, now is pouring water in south korea a full-time job? what about those workers who varnish your nails? the government is trying to cut unemployment. the jobs market is changing. we're talking about south korea. we have reports from seoul. >> what type of worth would you like with your meal? in south korean restaurant it may soon become more common to see a new member of staff with a new skill. a new water sow mal soma llier t to drink and how to drink it. >> we help customers by selecting appropriate water to enhance the taste of the dishes. >> reporter: some jobs will now be legitimate as official jobs. on the face of it this plan

looks like a way to legitimatize employment overnight simply to make the numbers look better. but the government is hoping that it will encourage smaller industries to grow. by adding 100 jobs to the official list each year the government hopes to improve the employment rate from 64% to 70% by 2014. people will be thought nail art. >> at the moment there isn't a national license for nail artists here in korea, but there will be a national license for nail license. >> it is hoped that the job plan will reduce unemployment even further by introducing new jobs

to the market. >> we have to experiment new market creating, jobs and industries in other areas. >> if they do those who specialize in pouring water in a restaurant may be given the respect that they feel they've always deserved. al jazeera, seoul. >> coming up, a checkpoint turns battleground in central african republic. losing their religion, why people have little freedom in practicing their faith. and we'll have that story for new 15 minutes.

with m. night shayamalan sunday at 7et / 4pt on al jazeera america

>> every morning from 5 to 9am al jazeera america brings you more us and global news than any other american news channel.

find out what happened and what to expect. >> start every morning, every day, 5am to 9 eastern with al jazeera america. >> you're watching the al jazeera must hour with me, david foster. an u.s. military aircraft was shot at during a rescue mission in south sudan.

four service members were injured in the attack. thailand protesters say they will boycott elections. now former russian tycoon mikhail khodorkovsky reunited with his son after his release. he spent ten years in prison for tax evasion. he is now in berlin. warning rebel fighters they will face justice for crimes committed against civilians. the comments were made after a gun battle that killed 37 people in the capital bangui. civilians were among the casualties. let's glet's go to bangui, whate president have to say, andrew? >> he starts off by offering

condolences to the families of those killed on thursday and friday. he also offered condolences to the two french soldier familiesh soldiers who were killed. he appealed to the country to calm down again and called on the international community to give more aid to avert an even worse humanitarian crisis that exists right now. for the first time he addressed both sides of the christian militia, and those who fought with him who overturn the government back in march, these groups are out there attacking christians, he warned them along these lines along with the christians. this is what he had to say.

>> those who help in our fight and shows who spread chaos, justice will be done. >> can you take it further. we heard what he said. can we read between the lines and wonder what he actually meant? >> reporter: well, this has been a long time coming. world leaders are under immense amount of pressure on him to come out clearly and state there would be justice meted out to those involved in the atrocities. he didn't elaborate how the justice would be served. he didn't put any time scale o, and really the issue is whether or not anything is delivered. and furthermore this is is a dysfunctional government. since he took power there have been a range of issues of former

bfighters disbanded, and furthermore there is a major issue on this situation with the elections because the prime minister, he is completely divorced from the president, and he will not have anything to do with the prime minister. and the prime minister announced only the other day that the elections would be brought forward. there was no reference to that in this speech. well, does it make any difference? well, he has conformed to what the u.s. president wanted to what the u.n. secretary general wanted, but it determines what happens next still very unclear. >> thank you. that's andrew simmons live from bangui in central african republic. there is a certain amount of anger in spain after the government approved a controversial new law. we go to selena in london to

explain what it's all about. >> reporter: yes, the anti-abortion law would deny many women termination. it could be banned unless a woman has been raped or there is a medical reason. the bill would need to be approved by parliament before becoming law. the founder for the spanish group gynecologists for life. he's against the new abortion laws and joins me now from madrid. dr. chivas, why is spain doing this? >> well, i think you know that the new law from my point of view, and my colleagues is a more protective law. i think it is much better than ththan--i think the government d

previous commitment in the elective program. >> but earlier this year spanish newspapers suggested 46% of those wanted to keep the law and so it's not exactly constitutional, is it? >> well, i think, you know, the minister of justice has made clear on several occasion the situation, second under 14 weeks. i think this is--this law is much more eye cor accord with te

discussioconstitution law of 19. >> will women go to prison? >> it's not crimization, the number one thing in this law in no case is the woman going to be punished. >> but there was a fear that this law could force spanish women to travel abroad perhaps to countries that are more lenient with regards to abortion or perhaps it could force them into so-called backyard abortions by people not medically trained to carry out this type of procedure. >> well, i don't think so.

we've had an amazing increase of the number of abortion in the last year we have had 500,000 cases. i think this is not positive. we cannot allow that situation this dramatic, and we have to change the way we are-- >> the trend of all the european countries many of whom are relaxing their laws, and some have even legalized it. >> you remember for centuries there have been many situations in society that have been approved, slavery and racism, and so fo forth, even for europ, this entire continent, that the embryo has its own rights.

for example, i don't know if you know right now, i have eight children, and the last one is boy. let me tell you that in spain it's almost impossible to find down syndrome in the street. at the same time society loves he's children, so there is a kind of schizophrenia that we have to stop the sooner the better. >> dr. chivas commenting on spain's new abortion laws. thank you for joining us. >> thank you very much. >> pope francis has warned the vatican staff that he must remain professional. francis warned church administrators not to get caught up in gossip, bureaucratic scrabbsquabbling and to remembey

have a responsibility to the church. it's the most popular puzzles in the world. i'm talking about the cross word, and it turns 100 on saturday. the first one was written by an englishman and published in 1919. within a few periods earn was doing them. they had multiplied by the 1930s appearing worldwide in u.k. newspapers. employers got extremely worried about how much time work is spent doing them. but in the second world war u.k. solvers helped crack communication. they moved to extremely

complicated clues. >> reporter: languages may differ but these little black and white boxes, you know what they mean. >> it's a cross word. >> reporter: keeping us from work. confusing us over coffee, the cross word has been causing headaches for exactly 100 years. this was the first ever. it was published in the u.s. but it's author did not copy write it which was a 15 across or a major fail in today's language. phil does his with a cup of tea every day. less problem solving and more creating. he's a cross word editor, and when it comes to it, he wrote the book. >> it's the absolute goal of any cryptic cross word clue. the moment when you actually get

it, and you say yes, that's brilliant. >> reporter: here's one clue that has many fans flommoxed over the years. let's see how you do. the answer is coming in just a moment. here is the hint. it's a place, and speaking of places, this place has its own unique relationship with the cross word. this is fletchly park. and during world war ii behind those windows, behind those doors some of britain's biggest brains were working on some of the ultimate puzzle cracking german codes. candidates were given a copy of the daily telegraph newspaper and it's notoriously difficult cross word. the goal was to complete it in 12 minutes. >> people were quite good fil filling in the gaps recognizing that part of these words formed

a word and the rest formed the rest of the word. >> reporter: times cross word champion six years on the run he can get through not one, not two, but three cross words in half an hour. so a tip from the pro. it's all about technique. >> you can look at a cross word clue. if you're familiar with the devices used with the key words that may come into the clue. you can play with the word in the clue and figure it out. >> speaking of figuring things out. here is the answer to the earlier tough one. guessing it is one thing. pronouncing it quite another. not that it matters, after all its just for fun, and it has been for 100 years. phil lavell, al jazeera, with a massive headache. >> those are the headlines back to europe. let's go to david foster. >> thank you very much. we still have time to bring you

this on the news hour. two fishermen, one cold night. why the pair spent 15 hours to be rescued off the australian coast. and we have sports coming up.

>> people in tajikistan have very little freedom in

its religion choice. the law of religious activity is an attempt to clamp down. >> reporter: tajikistan brings students back from unrecognized institutions abroad. >> so the government decided to control this situation. >> reporter: 25-year-old ambdj who was studying in iran. he returned to class to the islamic institution. all teaching programs here are approved by the ministry of

education which says that it is necessary to avoid conflict between followers of different ideology. >> if their parents don't comply and bring their children back they are fined. if they still don't act the enforcement agencies for that. >> reporter: laws governing religion affect every member of society. women are banned from praying in mosques. and the parental responsibility act thinks parents keep children were participating in religious activities until 18 years old. the mosque being built is the country's centerpiece. >> this is the site of the world's largest mosque. when completed it will hold up to 150,000 people. the government hopes it draw people away from the more radical places of worship but it's critics say it's just another way for the authorities to patrol ho control how peoplee

their faith. >> reporter: it's turning political opposition. the islamic renaissance party. they claim they were unable to take part in recent elections due to intimidation of its supporters. >> these laws have a reverse effect. it suppresses people and many young men leave the country. they migrate to russia or stay here and join organizations that ban the administration. >> reporter: tijikstan, many

feel they should not oppress its people. >> reporter: several hundred people showed up today. the chanting you hear hyped me is that money should be spent on the world cup, and public transportation should be free. these protests caught a lot of attention over the summer when they starred in sao paulo and spread all over the country in rio and other major cities. what these people are promising is to continue to fight until public transportation, something that the world will be watching

as we get closer to the world cup. these protesters have promised to keep up the fight, and it's something that we'll have to see how this will develop in the coming weeks and months ahead. >> two fishermen were rescued off the coast of australia. the search and rescue teams found the men clinging to a water cooler. they had the spend the night submerged before they were found. >> yes, pretty exhausted. didn't get too much of ahead in the sleep. we're happy to be back on land. >> now to storm. >> no. thank you so much. we'll start with football, and we'll start with cardiff.

a set up for sterling, his 18th and 19th goal. cardiff did try to get back in the game but it ended 3-1, and now they're ahead the arsenal who host chelsea on monday. there are further six premier games in action. newcastle, and manchester are ahead of fulham, and manchester united are against west ham. the final of the club world cup take place on saturday. becoming the first african side to win the event. the moroccans beat atletico brazil, and they'll have home support on their side, but the size of their task is hard to overstate. >> we know how important it is

for the country, for morocco. tomorrow the king of this country is coming to the game, so that is how important the game, and that is good. it's good to play football, and good atmosphere. good supporters. >> south africa cricketers have a big task ahead of them. they reach 421 on day four setting the total of 458 for victory. grand smith and peterson put on an opening stand of 108. they lost two which can, etc wie final session and closed 320 in the close of play. the southeast asian games close on sunday: the host still bagged an impressive 84 gold medals. but as reported from bangkok it wasn't myanmar who finished on

top. >> reporter: the last time myanmar hosted these games was back in 1969. the government was hoping it would provide a chance to hoe case it's ongoing reform process and wo woo others. for some sports fans it was all worth it. although we spent a lot of money on hosting the games, it was worth the money. we're very proud of our country. >> i'm very glad and happy the games have opened myanmar to the world. everybody around the world is interested in our country, so i'm very thankful to our government. >> reporter: while there was a lot to be proud of the games also had it's black eyes from questionable judging decisions to a riot following myanmar's loss in a football match.

some overran the pitch and others tore down seats in the stadiums. fans outside set fire to billboards and even to hats and their own t-shirts. rocks from thrown at police who huddled in response with water canons. thailand will finish top of the medal table. one coming on the volleyball when the thai women beat vietnam. >> i'm glad to see the development of thai players. this time thailand is showing its players are not inferior to others. >> if nothing else the 27th southeastern asian games will open myanmar to the rest of the world since it's recent reforms. this with the hope of $33 million from the chinese government. for many of its competitors, this will be the highlight of

their carries. for others they'll use this as a springboard for the olympics in rio. >> the l.a. lakers have responded well after losing kobe bryant for six weeks due to injury. they beat the timberwolves on friday. kevin love hit 20 points. the lakers went ahead after the break. nick young leading the come back as they close third 81-76. the shooting guards with l.a. winning 104-91. victory ends the three-game losing streak at home. the top team in the east indiana pacers were also in action and demolished the houston rockets. it was their star paul george who did the damage. helping indiana to 114-81 win. and the nhl the new york islanders have their season back on track with the win against

the slumping new york rangers. ththe islanders with their 5-3 win. the rangers have now lost six of their last seven games. american skier lindsay vaughn said she's confident that her latest knee problem won't keep her from competing at the sochi games. with boyfriend tiger woods watching on. her knee buckled under her. she had to exit the course. she had knee surgery earlier this year to reconstruct two ligaments. kauffman clinched her first win to beat defending champion tina mayes. and that's your sports for now. david, back to you. >> thank you, thank you very much, indeed. that's it for me and the news hour team. we have a full half hour of news coming up in just a moment.

♪ interactions with pharmaceutical companies, it does impact -- and there's actually pretty good studies based -- that have looked at physician prescribing patterns and interactions with big pharma. i think one of the luxuries i have is i'm in academic medicine, and we have a policy that we don't interact with pharmaceutical companies. so i hope that gives me a better perspective. and i think a lot of these doctors aren't having these conversations with their patients because i have countless patients who come to

me and said they have never heard of iud's. so i think there is some impact of that. we know there's an impact of that. and it makes it challenging, you know, to -- to have a completely unbiased view even though we as doctors like to think we have an unbiased view, there has been evidence that shows that they do impact us in some ways. so i think it's important for us to go out and educate our providers too. there is no one size fits all birth control, and there are a lot of options that work for women. >> we want to take a closer look, are there unique challenges facing women in minority communities when

>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey. here are the stories we're following for you. in south sudan troops come under fire. a someberg memorial for those killed in acts of terrorism 25 years ago. and critical repairs under way at international space station. >> i li violence in south sudan continue. four u.s. service members were shot during a mission to