>> a huge explosion rocks beirut. details are emerging. we'll have the latest from the scene. >> hello, you are watching al jazeera live from doha. also on the program - east african leaders meet in nairobi for urgent talks on the crisis in south sudan. >> dozens and thousands more homeless after days of floods and mudslides in brazil. >> and a rescue mission led by a snow dragon, a chinese ice

breaker rushes to help a ship frozen in the antarctic sea. >> we start the bulletin with breaking news from lebanon. there has been a huge explosion, a loud explosion, in the capital beirut. a plume of black smoke rising over the part of the city where many hotels are based in central beirut. we'll try to speak to our correspondent in the lebanese capital. again, there is no information at this point about casualties. emergency services are rushing to the scene. we see screens of devastation, and reports that the explosion was due to a car bomb. from the pictures we have seen, we can tell it's in the center of the lebanese capital.

it appears to be closer to where there's a memorial to the assassinated prime minister. again, it is not clear what has happened, but reports of a car bomb in the center of the lebanese capital - eyewitnesss have been reported as saying they are seeing a plume of black smoke rising over the part of the city where many hotels are based. we have our correspondent who is there in the capital. what more can you tell us about what happened? >> well, we know that there are at least four people killed according to initial reports. this explosion took place - what we are getting is it's a suicide car bomb, happening in a down-town area in beirut, an upscale area in the town, a commercial area and residential. some are saying that there might have been some kind of official

convoy that passed by when the explosion happened. so far we don't have any confirmation. and the rescue people, and the rescue teams and the police are trying to pick up as many people as possible. there are many injured. you can see them laying on the ground. it's not a crowded area. at that time of the day many people had been going to work, to school, and still, you know, it's christmas there, celebrations going on here in the city in that city. new years is coming up and that area of beirut, there are a lot of teens working, trying to give spirit and it happened less than an hour ago. it's an area that is more newly built after the war. we don't know what is the target and the rescue teams are picking

up the pieces, all the people injur injured. >> rule of thumb, the pictures appear to be close to whether the memorial with raf eke harr eerie was assassinated. >> it's close, but not right there. if you drive with your car, it's 5 minute's drive, but it's not in the same street. it's in an area newly built by the harr eerie, to redo downtown. what is interesting is that the security here has been on high alert for the past 10 days, fearing that such explosions would take place. we are seeing road blocks and checkpoints early in the morning, checking any suspicious cars or people inside the cars. and these areas don't have

secure measures, but the security forces have been trying hard to block and they didn't. >> thank you for bringing us the latest on that explosion in the center of beirut, in downtown ray route. as rulea was telling us, there are reports that it is a suicide car bomb, and according to initial reports four people have been killed. security and emergency services are trying to rush people to hospital. it's not clear yet what the target was, but there are reports that it was an official convoy passing through the area, and as rula was telling us security has been on high ahurt because of fears about an attack like this one. we'll bring you more on these developments in beirut as we get them. >> in other news african leaders

are meeting. they are trying to mediate an end to the fighting in which over it 1,000 people have been killed and we'll get the latest from the talks in kenya. first, haru mutasa's report. >> soldiers patrol. people living around here were caught in the middle of the violence. many families are sleeping at the u.n. base where they sought safety. officials are trying to convince people that it's safe to go back. >> minimise the looting and losses. we have to deploy forces - police, security, the army in different locations and maintain law and order. now we are trying to disarm those with the guns. we are trying also to disarm those who are not allowed to

have the said guns. so that people go back to their homes. >> this is where many people were killed. people haven't come back to this part of town. it's eerily quiet. most buildings have been looted. this used to be a supermarket. there's nothing left. >> some of the damage caused by days of fighting can be seen. parts of the capital are busy, people are trying to move on. this family wants to go to war in jonglei state, to bring back the remains of the loved one. he was a brig deer general in the army killed on december 16th. >> he had to bring back his body, but it was buried in the bush, yes. there's no way. also they were fighting. they were carted off somewhere. they buried him. juba is quiet. there's still fighting in the

oil-rich state of unity and other states. the kenyan president and the prime minister of ethiopia were in the capital trying to broker peace talks. >> the issues we discussed were among others, one is on the decision of hostilities, and the second issue is on the immediate start of talks or dialogue to settle the issue politically, and the third issue is on the detaining or suspects of the coup, and the four is the human tare yn crisis. for that to happen the president of south sudan, and his former deputy, who he accuses of attempting a coup, need to put aside their differences and

compromise. >> live to nairobi now, where the summit on south sudan is taking place. who is expected to attend the summit? >> well, this is a summit for eight east african leaders, the leaders of eight east african countries, the development authority as it's called here. they are expected to discuss two main issues. essentially trying to put an end to the fighting on the ground - perhaps discussing a cease fire. as the summit is taking place they are fight - there is fighting on the ground in two places. and, of course, to move to the second stage, the more complicated aspect, which is to try to open a dialogue and reach a political resolution to the crisis. this is the message underscored by african leaders that this has been primarily a political crisis, and they need to address

the political grievances of both sides. that's the message from here. this is not an all-out ethnic conflict, but a political dispute between the two sides. the president and his former president. the president salva kiir is attending, riek machar is not. an invitation will be extended to him to attend mediation talks in nairobi, but he's not attending this summit per se for protocol reasons. this, after all, is a heads of state gathering. >> without riek machar there, what chances are there of success, of trying to find the mediated solution. african leaders have been pushing hard. african leaders - european and american leaders, the international community - for east african leaders this is an

important gathering, it's important to prevent the conflict from spiralling into an all-out civil war in south sudan, something that could undermine the civility of the region, there's concern that this could spill over across the border. we heard concerns from the north western states in kenya. this is an important push for the african leaders. both sides, and the former vice president laid the preconditions, so to speak. the government wants riek machar to renounce the rebellion. riek machar, on the other hand, wants the political prisoners to be rounded up. officials have been rounded up in relation to this rebellion to be released first. what the east african leaders are trying to do is get both

sides to show compromise and goodwill. without which it's not possible for us to see a political resolution soon. >> thank you very much. once again. there in nairobi, where the summit on south sudan is taking place. we are looking at the latest pictures out of the lebanese capital, beirut where there's a big explosion in downtown beirut. you can see the smoke rising over the center of the city, near where many hotels are located and close to government offices. our correspondent in beirut says that there are reports that this is due to a suicide car bomb and at least four people have been killed in the initial report.

it is not clear what the target was. we have got the correspondent on the phone for us from beirut. what more can you tell us. has any more details emerged. people are speculating what was the target. they want to clear the area and want to make sure, and i think it's a car bomb. this area is in downtown beirut. it's very upscale. they are very big and wise. many people are going to the opposite area of downtown beirut. the security forces have been on high alert. checking cars, anything

suspicious. they suspect [ inaudible ] it shows a level of tension and alert that the security forces here. many people avoided certain areas during the week, since the celebrations because they were afraid of an attack. [ inaudible ] >> okay. thank you. apologies for the poor quality of the phone line with rula there in beirut. again, if you are just joining us, there has been a huge explosion, a loud explosion in the center of the lebanese capital beirut near where many hotels are located and close to government offices. as rulea was saying, security

forces have been on high alert for the last 10 days, trying to prevent such an attack. it's not clear what the target of this reported suicide car bomb was. there are reports that there was an official convoy passing through the area, but again that's reports at this point. this, again, is downtown beirut. a newly built part of beirut, and not a crowded area. as rulea said, many people have been avoiding certain places since christmas eve because of concerned about an attack. lebanon has been witnessing violence amid fears of a conflict in syria. iran's embassy was attacked in beirut. before that, attacks in southern ray route. this latest explosion in the center of the lebanese capital

near where rafiq hariri - not the exact area, but close to where he was assassinated. there are reports that this was a suicide car bomb. initial reports say four were killed and emergency services have been scene rushing to the area to bring the wounded to hospital. it's not clear what the target is. we will, of course, bring you more information on what is happening there in beirut as we get it. >> let's move on to other news. japan approved the long-awaited relocation of a u.s. military base on the island of okinawa. it will be moved to a less popular area. it's taken 17 years for the agreement to be reached. the u.s. had a major military

presence in okanawa since the end of world war ii. >> japan's prime minister is being criticised after visiting a controversial shrine. a handful of protesters were outside the japanese embassy. >> china says the yasukuni glorified convicted war criminals. >> more than 40 people have been killed after rain caused flooding and flood slides in brazil. 60,000 have been made homeless. dominic kane with this report. >> this is what 10 days of torrential rain had done. swathes of land submerged by floodwaters, hills by mudslides. transport and communication links have been cut. tens of thousands of people have been forced from their homes. they are the lucky ones.

the mudslides killed dozens of people and left more missing. >> we only hope that they find bodies of my children. i think the chaps of finding them alive is doubtful. >> in most places people had little warning of what was coming. >> they were pushing against the wall, they were buried. i found a piece of wood and grabbed on to it. i heard my daughter call for help. i got her out as well. >> the national government mobilized the military to help coordinate the relief help. >> this woman came to see it for herself. >> you have to save people and guarantee them shelter. this is what you do when confronting a disaster. the first important priority is human life. that's what we worry about saving first. >> but with so much

infrastructure of this area laying in ruins, it's clear that when the waters recede, rebuilding this space will be a difficult task. >> the thai government says...

>> the suffering that is going on, and it's been treated so badly by the authorities in syria. >> i think the fact of knowing that anybody can go out to help people, doesn't matter where you are fro or what the situation is. it is so inspiring and upsetting. >> ruesults of a post-mortem ma reveal signs of whether dr kahn

was tortured. >> the british government tried hard to get consular access to dr kahn, to no avail. the family feel more should have been done to help him. the british government is being criticised for its performance on another key issue relating to syria, that of refugees, and the fact that few were allowed into the u.k. the u.k. refused an appeal to take in more refugees. 16 countries agreed to take a total of 10,000. the british government says the focus of aid should be to help the neighbouring countries deal with the problem. >> i believe such initiatives should be the focus, rather than the settlement to replace repatriations to the syrians. critics say the u.k.'s failing in its moral duty to help, and that the u.n.'s latest appeal

calls for a few hundred syrians to be allowed in. the pressure is on lebanon and jordan, such that we have to share the responsibility for coping with the refugee flows. that's why we are calling for the u.k. to participate in a global resettlement program. >> the british government is playing tough. it's a big domestic issue. syrian refugees may be paying the price for that. >> and if you are just joining us, a reminder that there has been a loud explosion in beirut, the capital of lebanon. we are getting reports that four people have been killed. our correspondent is on the phone for us from beirut. you have more information, i believe. >> yes, the target behind the car bomb.

former february minist -- firns minister, a member of the future movement. he was kill. we have confirmation that he was killed in this attack. it seems that this was an assassination using a car bomb. it happened in an area where there was a meeting for future movement in the area. he was a prominent member of the future movement. [ inaudible ] >> can you repeat his name again, because the line is not very clear right now. can you repeat again what you have just told us. you said he was close to rafiq

hariri. >> he is the former finance minister, close to former prime minister hariri and a prominent member of the future movement. he had a prominent position in the future movement. he was close to the former prime minister. >> was he the only person that you know of who was. >> so far the confirmation is he is the only politician killed. >> his convoy, as you said, was travelling through the area when the explosion went off. you said it's believed to be an

accused car bomb behind the explosion. we don't know if it was a suicide car bomb. >> okay. are you still there. the line cut out. please continue. >> what we are saying is the former finance minister was killed with his body guard in the explosion. we can confirm this, that it was a car bomb, we are not sure if there was a suicide bomber or explosions were detonated from far away, it's something that has to be decided later. it was a political assassination, an attack on a member of the future movement, a prominent member of the future movement. a close aid to the former prime minister. >> a close aide to al-harir.

>>. do you have a clearer number of the casualty numbers. it's very early still to decide on the final numbers. many were injured in the attack. [ inaudible ] it's very hectic, the situation. security forces are on high alert, they are trying hard to keep people away from the site, trying to make sure they get all the help and clues possible. >> to repeat what rula told us. the national newsagency confirmed that the target of the assassination car bomber was mohammedel-sassa, the ex-firnane

minister. the explosion was due to a car bomb. it's not clear if it was a suicide bombing. it is confirmed that it is a political assassination, this latest word coming from our correspondent who is there in beirut. you can see the scenes of chaos. the security forces, emergency services are unseen. there's a large number of injured and four people have been killed. mohamm mohammad al-satar. it's not clear who the other casualties are. a car bomb in the center of the beirut, in downdown beirut, where mohammed al-satar's convoy was passing through, close to where rafiq hariri's memorial

was. you can see the charred remains of a car. four people have been killed in the political assassination. they are putting out the fire. a car bomb was used. you can see many milling around the charred remains and a fire engine putting out the fire earlier from the car bomb. not clear if it was a suicide car bomb for remotely detonated. mohammad al-satar, the ex-economy. close to former prime minister harari and member of the future movement, a prominent member. the bomb went off close to where a lot of major hotels were, and

close to where a lot of government offices are located. again, a political assassination there in the center of beirut. mohammad al-satar, ex-economy minister has been assassinated in a car bombing.