>> welcome to the news hour. these are the top stories. gearing up for a showdown. south sudanese troops to put down a rebellion. the political crisis in thailand deepens. the opposition is boycotting the election. >> reporter: in london with the news from europe, including back with his family, but not in his home country, the russian tycoon pardoned by putin. and remembering lockerbie,

25 years on, services held in the u.k. and u.s. >> and a century of head scratching. how the humble cross word continues to befuddle and frustrate. welcome to the program. the fighting in south sudan began with a local power struggle between the president and former dope taking on an international dimension. three u.s. military aircraft shot at. four service men from injured in that attack. meanwhile south sudanese troops take on the rebels. these are the latest pictures of the soldiers leaving their barracks in juba to head north. and pushing for a meeting two rivakiir and machar.

the base was overrun on friday by 2,000 youth. now the u.n. is not confident it can handle another attack. >> reporter: a memorial service for united nations peace keepers killed in south sudan. they died trying to carry out their mandate to protect civilians but were unable to protect themselves. the bodies of the two indian peace keep percent flown from jubo from akobo. they were attacked by 2,000 armed youth fro. several civilians were also killed. the compound is now empty. staff from the united nations and other international groups were evacuated by u.n. troops,

but there is little information from the local south sudanese who were there seeking refuge. >> there were there with 43 peace keepers. we had around 30 civilians dead. this attack happened like a frontal attack on the base itself. the two peace keepers were killed in action in protecting and trying to prevent the entry into the camp. >> reporter: an estimated 35,000 civilians are now sheltering u.n. bases across south sudan. there are currently 4,000 united nations soldiers in the world's country but with the violence spreading they claim its nowhere near enough. >> it would face those numbers of attackers, there is no way any military contingent consisting of 43 could manage that. it's just not possible.

>> reporter: however, the u.n. secretary general office said increasing the size of the peacekeeping force is not the solution. >> ultimately that is not the solution. that cannot prevent further violence if there are so many armed groups, so many different peoples of different ethnic origin trying to attack each other. ultimately what has to happen is the fighting has to stop. there has to be political solution. >> reporter: but for a political solution to emerge the president's opponents say he must first release all of those arrested in accused of plotting the coup. >> if we can bring the men who are known in history to have taken care of the country, the men who are being detained at the moment, the people who have good credibility with the country, splm members, we have a lot of at stake. we need to get them to the

table. >> reporter: the threats of a much wider conflict is very real. >> south sudan's foreign affairs minister denies arrests of politicians during fighting last beak was politically motivated. >> they were arrested because they were involved with the attempted military coup. was investigated and then it will be take to the arena of the court of law. it willaw. >> the president of the central african republic warned rebel fighters they will face justice for crimes against civilians. the comments were made during

heavy gun violence in bangui. many are struggling with cope. we're in bangui with the latest. >> reporter: the condolence call for national reconciliation and also made an appeal for humanitarian aid. then for the first time he assured the c.a.r. that there would beust for both sides, that includes former rebels on both sides. >> those who have helped in our fight or those who have spread chaos, justice will be done. >> reporter: now this assurance of justice is undoubtedly in response to major pressure from world leaders to come out and spell clearly that both sides will be treated equally in the courts. but whether this is too late and whether it will be delivered is an open question. not only that, there are so many

divisions in the government. so much instability, but he did assure c.a.r. in a he wilr. thal deliver fair elections. >> two men have been accused of abusing their power by taking bribes. at least a dozen others have been charge who are closely linked to the prime minister. it is described as a dirty operation against the government. >> these recent days very strangely ambassadors have been involved in provocative acts. calling on them from here do your job. if you leave your area of duty this could extend into our government's area of jurisdiction. we do not have to keep new our country. if turkish ambassadors are involved in such games let us know. there is no need for you to send

them back. we'll immediately call them back. >> two people have been died when fighting between demonstrators and security forces broke out in yemen. protests have been launched over a death of a tribal chief. he was among six killed on december 92 in fighting which erupted when his bodyguards refused to hand over weapons to soldiers at a checkpoint. the body of a 32-year-old british surgeon arrived in lebanon. his family believe that syrian officials say he committed suicide. the body of the father of two was flown to the u.k. on sunday. 18 soldiers have been killed in an ambush in western iraq. several top ranking officers were among the dead in the country's sunni dominated anbar province. it's not clear why so many senior officers were in an area

controlled manically by sunni groups linked to al-qaeda but it was suggested that they came to document a recent military victory nearby. now video has emerged reportedly showing friday's bombing in a hospital in syrian city of aleppo. [ explosion ] >> two explosions were suicide attacks carried out by the front. the al-qaeda linked group used two suicide-bombers to gain control of the hospital. activists say 80 government troops were killed during the attack. al jazeera cannot independently verify this footage. egypt's former president is due to stand trial in connection with the prison break during the country's 2011 revolution. mohamed morsi and 11 others are accused of being complicit in

the attack. this is the third set of charges brit to morsi since he was arrested in july. >> according to the investigating charge the mass prison breakout were the most serious act of terrorism in history. let's take a look at the charge. among the allegations against him mohamed morsi has been charged with kidnapping police officers, murdered and attempted murder of police. arson, storming of a prison, helping prisoners escape and then looting the jail, and also charged with collaborating with hamas and hezbollah and destroying state institutions. now there has been increasing concern about all of the allegations that have been leveled against mohamed morsi and the u.s. defense secretary chuck hagel has been on the telephone with the egyptian army chief generallalcic general al .

he has expressed concern about the allegation. he has seen widespread crackdown on dissent, human rights watch in particular complain there was a recent raid on a human rights group here in cry row. many of the twists are still in detention. the situation is so draconian that it's worse than even in the days under hosni mubarak. >> we have reports from cairo adding to the problem of child labor. >> reporter: in the back street workshops of cairo working conditions are tough. protection non-existent. but this is life for thousands of teenage boys in this city where learning a trade is often

seen more important than going to school. >> i'm working here because education is useful to me. they don't teach us anything at school. i learn $15 per week and that is spent on my living costs. it's a good craft. >> reporter: egypt stagnant post revolution economy adding to the problem of child labor. 1.6 million children in egypt are in work while 13% of the workforce is unemployed. three-quarters of the unemployed are 15 to 29-year-old. such poor employment prospects for young people are hardly good advertisements for families who live hand to mouth. but one group is trying to get children back to school. >> we provide families with incentives. if you give them rice on conditions the child attends class 80%, then let's start

working on changing the attitude attitude. the rice or liter of oil, the whole family will benefit from. >> reporter: the harsh realities of life in cairo means that these working children are often envied by their peers. >> better for children instead of being thieves. once they work they can buy shirts and trousers and underpants. here he can help his father. there is no shame in it. >> reporter: egypt does have laws that ban child labor, it's just that they're not enforced. and reducing child labor depends on economic recovery. >> arab league chief has criticized israel's behavior during middle east talks. he said that israel has to ban

its settlement policies. it's changing demands do not create a positive atmosphere for talks. and proposal that would allow israeli soldiers to be stationed on earn border of a future palestinian state. protesters say they will boycott the general election next year. they say the decision was made to insure that political reforms are implemented. opposition rallies early this month force prime minister shinawatra to call for the february poll. the opposition is angry, saying she is fluids by her procedure, thansik shinawatra. >> the democratic process has been started by some groups and that makes people lose faith in

a party system and election. >> reporter: thailand's opposition party the democrats, made it official. they said they will not run on the february 2nd election. they're still looking to getting a people's couple and they want reform before they go back to the polls. after the election they will call all the parties together and they will form a people's reform commission. the people's reform commission will sit for two years, will look at all possible reforms within the thailand democrat political system, and then at the end of the two years that reform commission will put together recommendations but there will be no mandate for the government to follow any of those recommendations. meanwhile the protest plan for sunday could now potentially have three million people. that's according to the democrat opposition party. they'll protest throughout bangkok and many in the opposition party promised to

make bangkok a deadlock for traffic with nothing moving for several hours. >> still more to come up on the news hour including. [♪ music ] the president of chad markets millions for anniversary but not everyone has reasons to celebrate. and what south korea is doing to trim unemployment numbers. the sensational sandstorm of suarez in th premiere league. >> now he spent ten years in prison in rush, now the oil tycoon mikhail khodorkovsky is out of jail. where is he now. >> well, he's in berlin now 24 hours vladimir putin pardoned him.

khodorkovsk y is russia's richest man. >> all eyes have been on this hold in berlin. after being released from prison in russia on friday. we haven't seen him yet. we've seen pictures but his son did come out and speak to the media a little earlier on. >> my family is finally reunited, and we're very, 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 sport 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.

>> i think what everybody wants to know is what mikhail khodorkovsky is going to do next. people want to find out if he intending to back to russia at some point. >> now president butten's amnesty has extended to two jailed members of the pussy riot rock group. but they're unlikely to be freed yet because it's the weekend. they were charged with hooliganism. a third band member was released several months after the conviction in august of 2012 on suspended sentence. >> if onlfor him it was a slap e face. that's why this happened. >> there is anger in spain after

the government approved a controversial new anti-abortion law which would see many women the right to termination. abortions up to 14 weeks into pregnant could be banned unless a mother was raped or there was a serious medical reason. the bill would still need to be approved by parliament before becoming law. >> i think it's a mistake because women will continue to abort illegally, putting them at risk. i think the law should protect them in some way. it should protect all women who want to abort. women should have a right to choose, women who want to abort and those who don't. >> it has been 25 years since the lockerbie bombings. 270 people died when pan am a.m. flight 103 flew up above the scotter town of locker bmw b bi.

who was behind it remains controversial. >> reporter: it's been 25 years that many here in lockerbie, the wounds are still fresh. pan am flight 103 was just a half hour into a journey from london to new york when it exploded. >> from then on the world became different and remained so in the 25 years since then. no undoing what had already happened, and nothing we can do can undo that terrible evil. >> that terrible evil took jim swire's daughter flora day before her 23rd birthday. he accused the british government of a cover up. >> when people are stripped of

their children it is the most unnatural and horrific situation to be put into. and it doesn't help. >> reporter: only one man an intelligence officer was convicted of the bombing. he served eight years in jail before his controversial release on compassionate grounds arriving home to a hero's welcome. he maintained his innocence until his death last year from cancer. his family wants to appeal the conviction. some say that he was a scapegoat in the investigation with a lack of real punitive action from the british and american government. >> did these people really die and generate so little response from the british and american government? >> reporter: libya formed an

investigation into the bomb, and maybe one day jim swire's questions will be answered. >> more from me later including a month after protests began in ukraine the orthodox church praised with solidarity with russia. >> a puzzle for you, what does this place, the humble puzzle and world war ii have in common? that's coming up later in the program. >> now millions of people in land lock china can barely afford food but each year celebrations costing million of dollars mark the 1992 time of power. we go to the town of bangul.

>> dance and tribulation a day people of chad call freedom. >> i'm glad that they came here. we the poor are no longer poor. >> every year on this occasion chaddens from all walks of life are expected to look and sound happy. they are the anniversary of the come to go par of the chadian president. >> like on all previous occasions they spoke of great achievements, and gave a rosy picture of chad. but many here would say the talk of prosperity and development exists only in the minds of the political leaders of the country, and what you see behind me is the real chad, where the majority of the population still live in huts like these in

abject poverty, and where the basic amenities of far and basic electricity and even schools are far to be found. >> reporter: chad was an experter of oil in 2003. but millions of rural chad still live in structures of stick and straw, this is how they survive, waiting for food. in the very words of the president himself the country is plagued with corruption. according to some estimates the anniversary celebration cost around $3 million. enough money to build hundreds of schools or supply hundreds of villages with water and electricity. but in chad as in many other african countries support for leaders depends on many other factors than just leadership. al jazeera, chad. >> china's military has accused japan of raising regional

tensions after tokyo announced a five-year boost to its defense budget. the two countries are locked in a bitter dispute over islands which japan controls but are claimed by china. in a statement japan continues to deny the history of world war ii aggression, challenging the post-war order and the feelings of those victimized nations. now is pouring water in a restaurant a full-time job and what you about those who polish the nails? now the job markets are changing. we have reports from seoul. >> reporter: what type of water would you like with your meal. in south korean restaurant it may be common to see a new member of staff with a new still. the water sommelier is an expert

in drinking water and how to serve them. >> how to provide help to the helps to enhance the taste of the ditches. >> reporter: some jobs that were considered part time like a water expert and server will now be legitimatized as official jobs. on the face of it this plan looks like a way to increase the number of people in legitimate employment overnight simply to make the numbers look healthier. but the government hopes by widening the scope of jobs available it will encourage smaller industries to grow. by adding 100 jobs to the official list each year the government hopes to increase the employment rate from 64% to 70% by 2017. the newcomers will be allowed their own training facilities such as one to teach manicures and pedicures or nail art as it's known in south korea. >> at the moment there isn't a

national license for nail artists here in korea, but now the government will recognize it as a proper job and i also heard there will be a national license for nail artists. >> the unemployment figure is 3%. it's hoped the new job plan would reduce it even further through diversifying the potential markets. >> we have to experiment that kind of new market creating, and new potential creating jobs in industry in other areas. >> if they do, those who specialize in pouring water in a restaurant may get the respect that they felt they always deserved. >> much more to come on the news hour, including losing their religion. why people in tijikistan have very little contro in religion.

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in fact, we depend on you, your ideas, your concerns. >> all these folks are making a whole lot of money. >> you are one of the voices of this show. >> i think you've offended everyone with that kathy. >> hold on, there's some room to offend people, i'm here. >> we have a right to know what's in our food and monsanto do not have the right to hide it from us. >> so join the conversation and make it your own. >> watch the stream. >> and join the conversation online @ajamstream. >> from our headquarters in new york, here are the headlines this hour. >> al jazeera america is the only news channel that brings you live news at the top of every hour. >> a deal in the senate may be at hand and just in the nick of time. >> thousands of new yorkers are marching in solidarity. >> we're following multiple developments on syria at this hour. >> every hour from reporters stationed around the world and across the country. >> only on al jazeera america.

>> welcome back. a quick reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. troops headed to south sudan trying to take control of the regional capitol from rebels. thailand's opposition party said it will boycott elections in february. demonstrations continue in the capitol. the son of two cabinet tour ministers in turkey charged with corruption. >> there has been a big operation to evacuate people from south sudan. what is the latest with the

evacuation? >> people hoping to be evacuated could not be evacuated. they're still there, and they're wondering how they're going to get out. things are not good on the ground. there is fighting going on. there are dead bodies on the streets i in the town of bor. and the army sending in reinforcement say once they get to the town it could be a bloody battle. >> we know thousands of people have left the fighting, they have south shelter at u.n. bases and are the u.n. bases expecting more trouble? >> well, since the attack on the one in akobo people are concer concerned that there could be more fighting. thousands of people are cramming into the u.n. bases. those who look after them providing food, water and shelter, i think the

u.n. is under a lot of pressure to look after all these people running away from danger. the question is can they protect the civilians. a lot of people really worried about what would happen if there is another attack on an u.n. base and who can protect the civilians as well as the staff. >> what is the latest on the diplomatic efforts to bring both sides to the table to talk peace? >> original foreign ministers left a few hours ago. they say they have given themselves one week to give president kiir and vice president machar to meet and agree to peace talks. but machar said he wants the president to resign and all those arrested released from prison and taken to ethiopia. the president said that will not happen. it's difficult to fin see what l

happen if the two men do not comagree to talks. >> back to london now. we have more from the news center. >> reporter: darren, thank you. in ukraine there was fierce opposition to the president a month after rallies began after he rejected the e.u. trade deal in favor of russia. we're live in kiev now. jennifer, neither side appears to be backing down. what is the latest. >> reporter: that's right. behind me you can see hundreds of people gathered, and the crowds gathered, this is part protest and part pop concert going ton for four weeks now. despite concerns there might be clashes. we saw some anti-european protesters come into the city from quite far away.

>> reporter: from ukraine's east and south supporters of the orthodox church came to pray for solidarity with russia. >> western culture is not orthodox. western standards are not acceptable for us. >> nobody will win against us because with us. we're an united people blessed by god. >> 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. they're turning to the west is not part of the ukrainian culture. >> reporter: they marched peacefully outside of government where he supporters had gathered for days. many were bussed in the city. al jazeera has seen some of them being paid to be here. the police have remained in full force but keeping their distance

from both demonstrations. promise to tear down barricades at independent square came to nothing and the demands remain the same, that the government embrace european values. >> you see how they live in russia, and you see how they live in europe, the difference is obvious. >> the protest camp continues to grow. the latest edition of photo exhibit on newly built barriers. organizers are calling for a mass gathering here sunday which will show how much support they still have one month after the demonstrations began. >> jennifer, you mentioned that mass demonstration planned for sunday night. what is likely to happen? how long can it go on? >> reporter: well, that is the big question. how long can it go on? i think we'll get an indication tomorrow how much support these pro european protesters still have here.

president yanukovych has shown no signs of concession towards this gathering. it has gone on day and night for four weeks now and you can hear behind me this kind of music i can tell you goes on for hours and hours all night long. there are people who have been living here for weeks. they say they're going to stay through the new year. they're going to stay until their demands are met. but we'll get a sense with this mass rally how much widespread support remains for this prote protest. >> jennifer glass live in kiev. no a protest has turned violent in the german city of hamburg. local media said that the building had been a meeting point for left week activists for 20 years. police had been on the alert for trouble with three large demonstrations planned for saturday.

>> the pope has warned vatican staff that they must remain professional and not get caught up with gossip and squabbling. now probably the most popular buzz until the world. certainly one of the oldest newspaper games around, i'm talking about the cross word and it turns 100 on saturday. the first one was written by an englishman and published in new york in 1913. these puzzles with one or two words defining the answer became a popular fad. within a few periods taken for the earth to rotate everyone was doing them. they would multiplied by the 1930's. in fact, employers got worried about how much time work was tent doing them. but in the second world war u.k. cross word solvers helped crack

germany's mean of secret communication. cross word puzzled moved on to more obscure clues. so what is the appeal? why have they remained so popular? phil lavelle went in search for the answer. >> what is that. >> it's a cross word. >> reporter: confusing us over coffee the cross word has been causing headaches for exactly 100 years. this was the very first. it was published in the u.s. but it's author did not copyright it which was a 15 across or major fail in today's language. phil does his with a cup of tea every day. less problem solving and more problem creating.

he's a cross word editor, and when it comes to clues he wrote the book. this one, in fact. >> the moment is the absolute of any cryptic cross word include. the moment you get it, and you say yes, that's brilliant. >> reporter: here's one clue that has had many fan flommoxed over the years. 58 letters. giggling troll follows clancy. have a think. the answer is coming in a mome moment. and here's a hint. it's a place. and this place is fletchly park. and during world war ii behind those windows, behind those doors some of bi britain's biggt brains from cracking the german code.

and to find suitable people was a job in itself. they were given a cross word and the goal was to complete it in 12 minutes. >> filling in the gaps, recognizing that five of these letters formed part of a word and the next letters formed the rest of the word. mark would have been snapped up. 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 it, key words that may come into the clue you can play with the word and the clue and figure it out. >> and speaking of figuring things out. here is the answer to the earlier tough one. guessing it is one thing. pronouncing quite another. then again not that it matters, after all its just for fun, and it has been for a hundred years. phil la vele, al jazeera, with a

massive headache. >> those are the headlines here in europe. it's back to darren. >> thank you. now protesters in brazil are angry over hike in bus fares. demonstrate necessary rio are also demanding more spending on public services. instead of next year's world c cup. we have more. >> reporter: several hundred people showed up today here in downtown to protest, the bus fare will increase by 10% next year. people are saying that money should be spent not on the world cup by education, and healthcare and public transportation should be free. they caught a lot of attention over the summer where they started in sao paulo and spread all over the country in rio and other major cities. what they are promising to do is

continue to fight until free transportation, which is something that the world will be watching as we get to the world cup. these protesters have promised to keep up the fight and we'll have to see how this develops in the coming weeks and months ahead. >> still plenty more to come, two fishermen and one cold night. why the pair had to wait 15 hours to be rescued off the australian coast. we'll have all the details stay with us.

>> welcome back. now people in tijikistan have very little freedom when it comes to practicing their faith. in the capitol many feel the laws are an attempt to clamp down on political opposition. >> reporter: tijikistan is bringing students back from recognized institutions abroad. >> people who go abroad to institutions, they know--they decided to control this situation. >> like the 25-year-old who was studying in iran. he now attends classes at the

islamic institution. all teaching programs here are approved by the ministry of education, which says it is necessary to avoid conflict between followers of different ideologies. >> if their parents don't comply and bring their children back they are fined, and if they still don't act the enforcement agencies for that. >> laws governing religion affect every member of society. women are banned from praying in mosques. and the parental responsibility act says that parents must prevent their children from taking part in religious activity until they are 18 years old. dozens of mosques and prayer venues have been shut down across the country, yet tijikistan is said to be building a mosque. >> this is the state of what will be the thir world's third largest mosque.

the government hopes it will draw people away from other radical place of worship. human rights campaigners say it's aimed at stemming political opposition. the biggest opponents of the government is the moderate islamic renaissance party. it's the only legally recognized islamic party in eastern asia. >> these laws have a reverse affect. it oppresses people and many young men leave the country or they might migrate to russia or they stay here and join organizations to vent their frustration. >> it is the poorest of all the former soviet states. it's government is accused of corruption and poverty is widespread. many here feel the government should be focusing on improving their lives instead of trying to

monitor their faith. >> now two fishermen have been rescued 15 hours after their boat capsized off the coast of australia. they were found wearing life vests and clinging to a water cooler. they spent the night in the water before they were found. >> i'm pretty exhausted. very happy to see us, and happy to be back on land. >> let's check in on sport now. >> reporter: liverpool had the top of the english premier league. this time against cardiff. it was the 18th and 19th goal this season.

and set up for the third. cardiff did try to get back into the game but ended 3-1 to liverpool. >> i said before and i'll repeat again i think its unprecedented for a clubbing to from seventh to first. it doesn't happen. it shows the great work that the players in the football club, and they will keep the momentum going. >> just one point behind on the table. and leading by two goals in the first half, but they were canceled out by the hosts. now manchester united with the defeat of west ham at old trafford. winners against as instan aston.

and the match kicking off in the next few minutes, in the meantime. sevilla finishing the match with ten men. it's just the second home loss of the season for villarreal. >> hope to go complete the remarkable run through the tournament. >> we know how important it is for the country, for morocco. tomorrow the king of the country is coming to the game, so that's

how important is the game, and that is good top to play football in a good atmosphere, with good supporters. >> china's had taken the 2-1 lead after 15 minutes. while the brazilian's stage a fight back for 3-1 victory. the match coming in in the 91st minute. the southeast asian games will come to an end on sunday in myanmar. it's been a major event for a nation still overcoming unrest. the tournament wasn't without its problems, jonathan gravnor reports from bangkok. >> reporter: the last time myanmar last hosts these games was back in 1969. 11 countries took part in 37

sports. and despite low attendances in some events for sports fans it was all worth it. >> although we have spent a lot of money on hosting the games we are very proud. it's been 44 years. i think it's worth the money because we've earned a lot of medals and we're very proud of our country. >> i'm very glad and happy the games have opened myanmar to the world. every in the world is interested in our country, so i'm very thankful to our government. >> while there was a lot to be proud of the games had its share of black eyes. angry spectators through stones, torran out on the pitch and torp seats in the stadium. and rioters burning their own t-shirts an.

one of the highlights came sunday on the volleyball court when the thai women beat vietnam in the finals. >> i'm glad to see the development of thai players. normally the hosts win most goals and are very effective. this time thailand is showing that it's players are not inferior to others. >> this with the help of $33 million from the chinese government, for many of the competitors this will become the highlight of their sporting career. for others they will use it as a springboard for the 2014 asian games or the olympics in 2016 in rio. >> a big task ahead of them if they're to salvage against the test against johannesburg this

is 458 runs. south africa's smith put on an opening standard of 10 in reply before losing two wickets in the final session. so south africa reached, they need to further 320 runs for victory on the final day. they are the unbeaten men. skier lindsay vaughn said she's confident her latest knee problem won't prevent her from competing at the sochi games. with her boyfriend tiger woods looking on, vaughn's knee buckled her and she had to exit the course. vaughn had knee surgery earlier this year to reconstruct two ligaments.

the day came for marianne that's sport from me. we'll have more later on. >> now robots help humans in time of di disaster. jacob ward has more from miami. >> this weekend robots are coming to save you, or they're going to try. they're driving vehicles climbing ladders and cutting through walls as part of the robot olympics held by a government agency called darpa the defense advanced research project agency. it is hoped some day a machine like these can rescue you and me. big industrial disasters result in a situation where humans need to charge in and fix things. but where doing so is suicide.

the nuclear emergency in fukushima is an example. the idea is to send in robots in our place. ones that can use the same doorways and tools that human askers might. they'll try to complete eight task this is weekend. it's the first time that these teams made made of universities and private companies made complex robots. they've give been given a half r to complete each task. think of these robots as toddlers, falling over a lot. they're in charge of insane research projects. the most insane one once upon time was the concept of a computer network that could survive a nuclear attack. that idea became the internet. then they hosted a competition like this for military vehicles that could drive themselves, and rewound up with google's self

driving car. al jazeera, miami, florida. >> now astronauts on board the international space station spent five and a half hours outside of their orbiting laboratory repairing a faulty air conditioning unit. the valve malfunctioned and cut their cooling system. stay with us here on al jazeera. another full bulletin of news is straight ahead.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey. here are the stories that we're following for you. u.s. soldiers wounded and attempted to evacuate americans out of south sudan in unstable condition. 25 years since the lockerbie bombings, and the victim victime remembered. a tricky repair job as astronaut ges get busy repairing the space station. >> the situation in south sudan continues to deteriorate. two u.n.