>> welcome to al jazeera america. i am richelle carey. here are the stories we are following for you: further into chaos, diplomats work to end violence. intention storm caused havoc saturday. should you be on the lookout for more today? in the wake of a controversial shooting in dallas, peace are reaching out to their community. >> in south sudan, battles between militia's loyal to the president are escalating.

the united nations is evacuating all of its non-critical staff. as many as 500 people have been killed there. fewer and fewer are left to observe the casualties. al jazeera america spoke with the vice president who was fired last summer under the rule of the former militia turned political party. people are rallying for his leadership. >> they are the ruling party and here, they to lead the people inside in the ethnic fighting. now dividetion the country. >> doctor if salva khir does go,

do you want to be president of south sudan? >> yes. >> more from juba. >> reporter: there have been a lot of people in and out of juba trying to get the two sides to meet. the u.s. envoy and the nigerian envoy and other politicians. people think or hope that political dialogue is the way to resolve this crisis. what's happening in south sudan. look at angola. maybe this is a process the country has to take. as quickly as thing. this is a fight 2010 two leaders. we mustn't get involved or start killing each other. a lot of people are wondering which way the country will go next. >> we will stay on top of that.

meanwhile, a bomb exploded on a bus near tell a previo telaviv. a passenger alerted the driver who quickly ordered the passengers off of the bus. nick schifrin is in jerusalem with more. nick, tell us what we know about what happened. >> you are right. police are calling it a terrorist attack. three hours ago a, a passenger saw a black back. he quickly told the driver, the driver asked, hey, is this anybody's bag? if everybody said -- after everybody said no, he pulled over and said to the passengers, you have to get off. he got off, too. he called the police and just as the bomb squad was arriving on the scene, just as they were beginning to diffuse that bomb, that's when it exploded. the only person who was wounded was that bomb squad expert.

he wasn't seriously wounded. this was really a case of what could have been a much worse incident being really prevented by the two people, by the person who found that bag and by the driver getting everyone off. >> thank goodness for the people that noticed this. nick, could you put this in some perspective for us against the back drogba of what the last year has been in jerusalem? in israel, every israeli would say we have been a very peaceful year. there hasn't been an incidents like this in more than a year. the last time a 3w078 exploded odd a bus in telaviv was in 2012 when israel was fighting a war with militants in gaza. it was a different context. this is pretty rare to see a bomb on a passenger bus in one of the most crowded, one of the most popular cities in israel going off and, again, could have been much, much worse if those two people, bus driver and passenger weren't more alert. >> i did to say telaviv, but

thank you for broadening this out to israel as a whole. nick, thank you so much. hundreds of striking railway workers clashed with 600 south korea ian police officers in riot gear sunday. police used tear gas to force their ways into taking custody of 100 union leaders. 6,000 workers walked off the job two weeks ago to protest a possible government to privatize the south korea ian rail system. mounting tensions against the rein # -- reigning prime minister. protesters blocked traffic and some marched to the prime minister's home. the rally is after the democratic party announced it would boycott the e elections. demonstrators in germany turned

violent. over 7 people,000 people, when they began throwing rocks, bottles and fireworks at police officers. german police used water can ons to quell the protesters. they say 22 officers were injured in the clash and an unknown number of demonstrators were also hurt. former russian oil tycoon vows he will do all he can to free other political prisoners in russia. speaking at a news conference in berlin, he thanks angela merkel and the media to secure his release. he was pardoned by vladimir putin after a decade. he is in germany, reuniting with his family. angela hayward. >> hundreds of people have packed into a small room. i don't think anybody was expecting it to be quiet so chaotic when the mother and father arrived, there were shouts of bravo from one person and when he arrived, himself,

people were being pushed back because they were getting too close to him he started off by thanking those people who have been instrumental al in securing his release, thanking angela merkel, the german chancellor, he was quick to point out there are many political prisoners in russia. he will work toward getting them free. he also gave a few more details about how he learned of his release. he said he only found out at 2:00 a.m. on friday morning and found himself a few hours later in berlin. melissa heyword recording. >> mike rogers and today on abc's this week to talk about nsa spying. he defending the findings on nsa phone calls, recording collections but he cautioned against the panel's recommendations to take phone data out of the nsa's hands. >> they said the information is important but where we keep it may be i hope for debate. >> that's, i think, a very

important milestone, devastating to the nsa? i disagree. basically they said this information is a vital parts of our counter terrorism effort to keep americans safe. we don't think they should collect it in a safe place, in a vault, if you will, with the nsa. we think we should spread it back across the phone companies. >> here is my concern. privacy groups reject have beens the phone companies access these records is probably less safe than the configuration that we have. >> rogers also said nsa whistle blower edward snowden should be prosecuted for treason. >> a human rights group is appe, says assad's forces launched a campaign but rebel fighters managed to fight back capturing a strategic hospital. a specific report:

>> reporter: two huge truckloads of explosives are detonated and the battle begins. within a few hours, rebel forces declare victory. their target, a hospital in alepo, or at least what's left of it. it was transformed into a defactor out post earlier this year. strategically located, the building's top floors overlook key roads leading to aleppo's northern countryside and another to the city central prison, also being used as a base by the syrian army. >> this is just one of the series of attacks which will target the regime everywhere. we will not rest until we reach the tyrant's palace in damascus. >> as with most gains made by rebel fighters, the capture of the hospital is followed by a government reprisal. barrels filled with explosives and other bombs are dropped from

the decide as forces try to limit the rebels' advancements. as both sides prepare to see who will win the next round in this ongoing conflicts, the fact that a hospital once intended today save lives his being used to assemble death and destruction will leave many wonding what possible victory there could be for either side in this bloody war. jamal alshayad. >> police in bangladesh have charged 13 people at a garment factory that killed 112 people. according to the charges, the death toll is a results of for safety standards. the couple who owns the factor are charged and could face life in prison if conflicted of negligent homicide. afghanistan has been renowned around the world for carpet for many women, weaving could be a way to export wears in a

reliable arm. an organization in chicago is helping women do just that. >> the rich cultural history of afghanistan's province was largely blown up by the taliban with these towering statues of buddha. and they were driven to pakistan, depleting the heart of the nation leaving shoeless children and jobless after gans. now, a non-profit rug maker has brought the cultural revival for afghan women. >> there have been a lot of changes people who were unemployed before can work now. the wages that they give are very high. >> as you can see, it'stribble. >> the idea came from american former investment banker cony duckworth who visited afghanistan in 2004 in return with a business custom dined for

afghan women. >> it was really seeing the conditions of women, many living in rubble with their small children that hooked my heart. the ultimate definition of sustainability is profitability. we are not there yet. why? we need to sell more rugs. >> the revival of authentic afghan weaving comes with a western twist. arzu makes traditional rugs and modern carpets, a big change from complex afghan patterns? >> we are comfortable with the foreign designs because they are simple. >> at first, most of the women were illiterate sign with their pay -- for their pay with a thumb print? >> now, you look and it's all signatures. all of these women know how to write, read. they are learning math. what we have done, how we have transformed their lives is inspirational. >> it's a change appreciated

also by the men. >> some of the people here have nothing. nothing. nothing to move their lives forward. thank god the lives of the people have gotten better. >> moving on with their lives remade as dram at clique as the design on their looms. >> ahead on al jazeera america, dangerous weather in the forecast for you today? and a freight train slams into the kenyan slum. we will have the latest on that coming up next.

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 at least two people are dead after storms swept through south. in arkansas, multiple tractor-trailers were overturned after a tornado hit crittendon county. the storm prediction center says there were 300 cases of damaging winds. threat for more today.

it's going to be pretty dicey for a while, jalilia? >> it will be across the southeast. nothing but like yesterday. we are going to see the chance for some hail across portions of the southeast. we can't rule out the chance for an isolated tornado or two. the front that produced the heavy rain, see that line here it's making its way into mobile alabama now extending into marietta, georgia and into atlanta, also. it will continue to make its way toward the i-95 corridor and definitely on into this evening. one of thing it has done is cool down portions of the plains. look at how cool it is in fargo into tulsa, 27 degrees yesterday. in oklahoma city, we had an ice storm, really paralyzing travel across the roadways making it difficult for commuters to get around along i-35 and particularly, along i-44. as we continue to track on into this afternoon we will see a few lingering snow showers, just a little bit of snow? st. louis, also back into

lubbock, texas. different story on the east coast. it is definitely a warm day, record-breaking heat across portions of the southeast extending into the mid atlantic and northeast. the heaviest rain right now, looking at between mobile, alabama and mayrietta, georgia, up toward atlanta. that thunderstorm is purring through. that heavy rain makes it's ways toward the i-95 corridor. it is it is going to dump heavy rainfall, particularly between the portions of indianapolis up towards detroit and across atlanta as well. the rain, we can see as much as four to six inches of it by the end of the day. again, the heat, the major story here across the east coast, savannah, georgia, reaching 81 and records will be broken across portions of the northeast. take a look. pittsburgh here expected to reach a high of 72. normal -- not normal. their record high 67, washington, d.c. climb to go 78. the record is 72 degrees. recordbreaking warmth in new york city today.

73 for our daytime high, record high being 63. back to you, richelle. >> jalila thank you very much. emergency crews are searching for people trapped in homes after a train derailment in nairobi. the freight drain derained and six -- de-railed and we spoke to ria raga on the scene. >> >> reporter: there is a blame game going on here. you have a train company. the government had repeatedly warped people not to have the two-room shack so close to the railway line and a risk of their lives, being questioned. on the other hand, you have the area telling me this is a very old right arm line. the trains coming through.

unstable and essentially, poor maintenance therefore, that's who they are blaming. the blame going on as workers are essentially laboring here, trying to lift off those two wag options that have slipped off to see if there are any survivors. >> pope francis used his last prayer before merry christmas to make an appeal for homeless families. he spoke of the difficulties homeless families face and called for everyone to do everything possible to help find a home for them. the pontiff encouraged the world's 1.2 billion catholics to reflect on how they can help others during the christmas season. >> social tensions in greece have been running high, especially in the roma community after a child abductor case. they are mostly poor and segregated. now a community in centra greece is trying to break down barriers

that separate it: >> he wants his children to grow up middle class. he wants to be a policemen. marina, a teacher. authority figures in a world where the roma are usually on the wrong side of authority. >> here, in the central greek town of sopha, they live segregated and that segregation begins in this elementary school built to keep them out of sight. more than 500 are enrolled, but only half that many fit inside. in may, the european court of human rights ruled the greek government discriminates against the roma by running this elementary school exclusively for them. through that lawsuit, 23 roma children won the right to transfer to mixed schools. so far, om three have done so. >> because they have been

deliberately held back with bycratic formalities. the authorities' latest offense against their assimilation. >> if you go to the mixed elementaries, you will see the roma at their desks. no one is complaining about them. but the government wanted to place 500 roma students there. that would have meant one non-roma to three roma. >> the elementary school is key to change, only a handful currentlymake it to middle school because their grades are poor and by 12, some roma girls are already being married off to become part of a cycle of poverty that fuels prejudice. authorities and the media wrongly assumed in october that a blond child living in a roma camp must have been an ab ducted westerner. she turned out to be roma. all the "t's" same, the local mayor says he can't sacrifice the non-roma half of his constituen constituency. >> the romas didn't begin to attend school in large numbers until the 1990s. as soon as that happened, the

ghetto schools were set up. finally, the roma realized education is important to find work and get away from this lifestyle. >> still hoping that the court decision will lead to gradual closure of the roma school but given such poverty, the fight to enter the social mainstream is unlikely to end there. jon certain opinion lus. sent tra geese. >> how do you get to know the people in your neighborhood? police in dallas have a cup of coffee. that might be a start. that story is next on al jazeera america.

welcome back to al jazeera america. ism richelle carey. here are your headlines. tennessee of thousands of refugees are fleeing south sudan. special envoy donald hooth is meeting with government officials to help bring an end to this complicate. a bomb exploded on the bus near

tel aviv moments after it was evacuated. a passenger noted a sus specials package who e lettered the driver who got everyone off of the bus. >> a promise to help free political prisoners in russia. he said he will not enter politics. it is one of the risk iest operations to form, but surgeons in france have designed a new art official heart that could one day replace the real thing. barbara angapa reports >> reporter: this is the world's first: an artificial heart designed to sustain the body for five years. surgeons at a paris hospital implanted another one in a male patient on wednesday. so far, they say he is doing fine. >> the patient is doing very well. he's getting better every day. i saw him just before coming to see you. we are talking to him. he is recovering. he is resting. we are correcting things little

by little and slowly, we will be able to take away the drips and drains which are necessary in this type of situation. doctors designed the heart to reduce side effects by using cow tissue to connect the high-tech device to the patient. >> as you will have understood, the great advantage was the biological material which was used to try to minimize clotting. >> that's the first aspect. and another aspects which is very important is all of the computerized assistance in his heart because it adapts in realtime. >> thousands of people die every year while waiting for a heart donor. the artificial heart hopes to change that. it weighs almost a kilo, three times as much as an average healthy human heart. it runs on lithium batteries worn around the waist but at a cost of $240,000, its almost out of reach for most people. the implant fits almost 90% of men and only 20% of women.

the company karna is working on a smaller one for women. human trials must finish. three more terminal patients will receive the havert in coming months. barbara angapo, al jazeera. the dallas police department is trying to rehabilitate its image after a high-profile shooting this summer. police officials invited people to macdonald's across the city for a free coffee and a chance to talk with the officers who patrol their neighborhood mark snyder reports. >> ron skufka got here at 5:30 in the morning so he could be the first to get with an officer at 7:00. he runs a health clinic around the corner. crime has been an issue. >> i wanted to ask some questions because the pharmacy gets broken into every once in a while. and i wanted to know if we could beef up security. >> skufka said his 30 minute chat was productive. he leaves with ideas on how to better protect his business? >> it actually makes you feel like they are concerned and they

are available. >> dallas police hosted their first coffee with cops back in april, at one mcdonald's. the feedback was so positive, the chief decided to expand it to include macdonald's in all seven patrol divisions at the same time. >> police know they have some fences to mend with the public. a recent police shooting of a mentally disturbed unarmed man got people fired up. the official who shot him got fired. police want citizens to know that's not what they are about? >> a lot of people come in and they see stuff like this and the first thing they will say is, i wonder what they are doing. we were stattegecally placed at the door to let them know. some people come in and they will turn right around and walk out. >> linda collins lives in brian place, a middle class neighborhood in the middle of dallas. she says coffee with cops enhances an already good relationship they have with dallas police. >> i like this. yeah. we have had a chance to speak to the watch commander. they have offered to send

someone to our neighborhood association, to speak to the neighbors, if we wanted, something like that. so nice cas annual atmosphere, nice interaction. >> i appreciate a nice wave or how are you doing, officer camacho. just get to know people. have them get to know me. we checked out brian place wire officer daniel camacho patrolled it. don west says car burglaries are the big issue. he doesn't know any officers personally and is sorry he missed out on the coffee with them. >> i haven't heard of that kind of activity before. but it sure sounds useful and helpful. >> coffee with cops is new here but residents are beginning to learn they don't have to call 911 to get an officer's attention mark snyder, al jazeera, dallas. thank you for watching al jazeera. i am richelle carey. listening post, ukraine, is next. keep it here throughout the day. check out our website as well.

aljazeera.com. thanks for your time. >> and you're at the ifn hadding post, divided loyalties no. ukraine, and people covering the media there. not so fast. ratings go through if roof. north koreans formal ly scrub kim jong-un's uncle off the map.