♪ ♪ welcome to al jazerra america, i am del walters, these are the stories we are following for you. a deadly blast, all sighed by bomber targeting a train station in southern russia killing at least 15 people inside. pulling out and putting a nation at risk. new insight in to the impending troop withdrawal in afghanistan. i think it's really nice, the weather is so much better then in germany. >> and boosting the average of leisure travel inside iran. ♪ ♪ at least 15 people are dead after a suicide blast at a train station in the southern russian

city. reports indicating a saw side bombing detonating explosives as they approached the station's medical detect door. it's about 550 miles from the capitol city of moscow. today's blast happening six weeks before the winter games in sochi. peter sharp has the details. >> reporter: the chaotic aftermath of the attack on a railway station. a body lies on the ground as the emergency services scramble to treat survivors. regional officials say a women set off explosives near metal detectors near an entrance to the main train station. the blast captured on camera. the station was packed with thousands of people leaving on their chris mat holidays. inevitably the attack killed and injured dozens of people. inning. >> according to preliminary investigation the power of this explosion was the he whiff lent 10 rounds of tnt. there would have been many more victims if it weren't for the

so-called guarding at the train take, preventing the suicide bombing from getting in where at the time there were lots of people because three trains were late. >> reporter: in the same southern city in october 7 people died in a suicide bomb on the ground a bus, the woman behind that attack was a muslim convert from kazakhstan, the latest killings raise serious security concerns ahead of february's winter on olympics at the black zero sort of sochi. president putin offered support to those injured and killed in at tack. security at the winter olympics will continue to be an overriding concern for the emelin. kremlin. it's already employed more than 30,000 troops and security personnel in to the region in an attempt lock down these winter olympics. in an internet video earlier this year, the leader of russia's muslim separatist rebels urged his support toers use maximum force to disrupt the

sochi games. he said he was canceling what he called his moratorium on attacks inside russia and warned of new violence. his group claimed responsibility for attacks, including the 2010 moscow underground attack that killed 40 people. and just two days ago, a car bomb killed three people in the southern russian city. as the violence continues to claim lives, ordinary russians may well be wondering where the next attack will come. peter sharp, al jazerra in moscow. >> and at this hour there are conflicting reports as to whether that suicide bomber was a man or a woman. fred joins us now live from moscow, he's the moscow correspondent for the christian science monitor. fred, we know who is behind the attack, at least we believe we do. now comes word they are stepping up their efforts ahead of the winter games in sochi. so how concerned should u.s. citizens travel to go europe be? >> reporter: well, i think that it's an immense concern.

it's clear that there is going to be a terrorist offensive to take advantage of the importance of the sochi games. you know, the president vladimir putin's prestige is riding on them. this is obviously a target of opportunity for them and they are going to go all out to do something spectacular. i think that is the consensus of experts. and so i guess people who worry about such matters should definitely worry about this. >> so would you take the trip if you were one of those holding the tickets to the winter games? >> reporter: well, i am probably the wrong person to ask because i have to go in a professional capacity. but i guess so. you know, if you stay at home and lock your doors and bolt your windows and never do anything just because there is a threat, then what kind of life

can we have, what kind of world can we have? but, yeah, i would be worried. >> i want to read to you this quote that was in jane's defense weekly quoted by many as the bible in the national security world, it warns that there is a, quote, a heightened risk of terrorist attack against softer targets such as transportation, infrastructure in sochi and the surrounding area. it was written in october which seems to be a blueprint for what we are seeing happening now, so with something like that, with a punch being telegraphed so far in advance, what does it say about the russian security apparatus? >> reporter: you know, we have had sporadic terrorist attacks for over 15 years in russia, they have hit downtown moscow, they have killed hundreds of people. they have blown up airliners from the sky. they have hit in cities all around the country. we we hav have had these kind of attacks going on for a long time. they go in a hiatus for a period

of time and then reappear. it's clear that we are in to a new cycle of these kind of attacks, and they stem in large part from the fact that we have a major insurgency underway in the south of russia. in five or six provinces that are known as the north caucuses there is an active islammist up rising underway and there are terrorist events happening there, clashes with police forces, bombings, killings every single day. it's as if in the united states you had a major insurgency underway in, i don't know, california. and at times they reached out and sought to attack other american cities. this is the big difference between russia and other parts of the world that suffer from occasional terrorist attacks. >> and, fred, there is something else i want you to comment on before we run out of time. but you and others maintain that this particular blast could actually be a precursor to

something much, much larger, explain what you mean when you say that. >> we were having difficulties as you could hear with friends joining us from moscow via telephone. he is a mouse could you correspondent for the christian science monitor, obviously we have lost his signal. there is a new national intelligence report that was published in the washington post, it says that the taliban could have a resurgence of power three years after u.s. troops withdraw in 2014. some american officials are already saying there are too many uncertainties to make this claim. al jazerra's tom ackerman is in washington, d.c. and tom, first of all, explain a national intelligence estimate and does that indicate that all was no nofornot in afghanistan? >> first of all a national intelligence estimate is a report which is a consensus of

the 16 intelligence agencies on the outlook, their estimation of an outlook for a particular policy question which probably is impending. and in this case it's the course of the american posture in afghanistan. which may or may not have 34,000 or 10,000 or maybe zero troops by the end of 2014, depending on the negotiatio negotiations curg conducted with the afghan government. now, this is the report that you are talking about is actually a leak and these reports, these nies are always classified, but always emerge in the media as the product of a leak. and you can be pretty confident that one side or another, which feels that the conclusions in this report favor their side of the arguments here in washington, that they are responsible for this. and in this case, it sounds like it's the civilian intelligence

agencies which their voice comes through in this nie. >> tom, this has been a thorny, wicket in the obama administration side. how might this particular niu influence policy in. >> well, as you can hear from the back and forth with the government of president hamid karzai, the american relations with the -- his government at least, are very, very frigid right now. and there is the ongoing threat that the united states, if they do not conclude a security agreement with the government, and this, again, is the outgoing government, because karzai does not have another term, he cannot succeed in to another term, that the united states is threatening the afghan government with just pulling out completely, because there is no understanding as to the status of forces in afghanistan at the end of 2014. so the question here is for

policy makers in the united states, how does this intelligence estimate, which talks about the taliban resurging in not necessarily in kabul, but in the provinces, how much that would inform the way the american administration should conduct itself in these negotiations with the afghans. >> tom ackerman joining us live from washington, d.c. tom, thank you very much. activists on the ground in syria now saying that more than 20 people are dead after an air strike there. they say the strike was carried out by the government. the forces in the town claiming barrels filled with explosives were dropped on civilians at a vegetable market. on a relief effort they are trying to run aid in from iraq. still trying to help those trapped inside the war-torn country. now one lifeline is in danger of being cut on. here is a report. >> reporter: the palates of cargo are loaded. final preparations begin.

these vital aid flights in to syria are carrying much-needed supplies of blankets, sanitation and clothing to some of syria's 4 million internally displaced people. people who are effectively refugees within their own country. the flights began on the 17th of december, the unhcr, the u.n. refugees agency they say it's taken a massive effort. >> we had to transport from jordan and from dubai here now her transporting it to syria. >> reporter: but getting all of the permission to run aid flights has been a difficult business, involving the regional government, the federal government in baghdad and the syrian regime. he was part of those talks and says the regional government is doing its best to help facilitate the flights. >> it has been an agreement discussed by the headquarter offices in geneva between iraqi prime minister to the united nation offices in geneva. basically baghdad as well as with the syrian officials.

it has been an iraqi-esque and syrian agreement for [inaudible] facilitated that fligh flight te airport port. >> reporter: back on the apron of the old russian airplane dating back to the '70s were ready to go. we were allowed to film this part of the journey, but the syrian authorities won't allow united states to get on this flight. that gives you an indication of just how politically charged the whole thing is. now, once these flights come to an end and it has been an initial experiment. they are trying on keep calling the humanitarian corridor open for more of these flights in to syria. that these flights have even been allowed to take place is a success for the u.n. refugees agency. but continuing them now the

focus. that will take political will, political will that needs to come from damascus, baghdad and the regional government. there are reports that south sudanese military planes are dropping bombs on an armed group known as the white army. the government claims 25,000 men had been marching to a city. he's in a power struggle with the president. more than a thousand people have died in that violence. and things are changing in iran. following the election of president hassan rouhani. the country seeing an infliction of foreign tourists here is more on how one sport is pumping up the economy. >> reporter: it's one of the world's highest and most pristine ski fields. it's 3,600 meters up. and one of the country's major attractions. locals already know it, and now foreigners are catching on too. >> i think it's really nice plus the weather is so much better than in germany. there is always fun and the snow is really good.

>> yeah, the location is really great because of the mountain and we are astonished a little bit. positively spoken because the mountains are very high and snow quality is great. >> reporter: iran's president is aiming to attract 10 million foreign visitors each year. an increase from the current 4 million. comprising mostly of religious and medical tourists. and with iran's good ties to china many are likely to be from there. >> so now you know china has developed very fast and the peoples living standard is go high and most of chinese want to go abroad, to have a visit of some other countries such as iran. >> reporter: but in order to handle more people, the country needs investment, including on the ski fields. >> the equipment is old. over the past 37 to 38 years it's remained the same and just

three new facilities have been added. but the ski field has so much potential. the whole mountain can be used and i hope investors in the company that supervises this resort invest more and make it bigger and bigger so we can introduce it to the world, excuse its future and make money. >> reporter: it's not hard to see why this is known as one of the best places for skiing and know boarding not just in the middle eats but throughout the entire world. more than 2,000 people come here every week, that is iranians and foreigners as well. not just amateurs and tourists too, iran's national teams for skiing and snowboarding also use these slopes for training. iranians have long had the country's best sites to themselves, now with more and more tourists arriving from abroad, they are learn to go share them for the benefit of everyone. ali ran. ahead a al jazerra american a formula one legend injured during a run in the french apls.

something new that they haven't heard about. >> talk to al jazeera with ira glass. many worry that the gains made in education will not stick in the future. aljazeera's jane ferguson takes us to a school in kandahar city that was long considered a success and is now facing closure. >> it's a place offering more than these girls know, a quality education in real tangible skills, a path away from positivity and early marriage and towards university and a

career. since 2002, the modern stud has been teaching women languages, like management and computer skills. that they are skills that speak of ambition which in the heart of tallle ban country is remarkable. >> we are a unique school, preparing women to go to jobs. our school is preparing women to go to universities. i'm phil torres. coming up this week on techknow. it's roll-call for the santa cruz police. their locked, loaded, armed with a computer program that could change everything. >> we found that the model was just incredibly accurate at predicting the times and locations where these crimes were likely to occur. >> alright, where are we going? >> put your hands behind your back. >> can science predict crime before it happens?

retired formula one driving legends michael schumacher is recovering in a french hospital. according to several reports, he was injured in a skiing accident. seven-time champion was skiing in the french apls when he fell and hit a rock suffering a head injury. he was wearing a helmet at the time. his injury is not considered to be serious. the first election since the death of nelson mandela are just around the corn never south africa. those elections are usually dominated by the issue of race, but not always. tanya paige takes to us a place where color doesn't mean voting black. >> reporter: this is the cape town you won't find in tourist brochures, there is a distinct group of people here of mixed race known under the apartheid system as colored. many speak highly of nelson mandela, but most don't vote for his party the african national congress. the western came is the only province not held by the anc.

in 1994, they supported the national party which introduced apartheid. more recently they voted for the democratic alliance a party considered to be predominantly white. he doesn't think that will change because these people were treated better under apartheid than blacks and so wheel loyal to whites. >> they were party to marginalizing and disrespecting blacks that came in to the area in pursuit of jobs in other facilities. so in many respects, what happened to colored people is they identified with the europeans and disassociated themselves with som some things african. >> reporter: some people we spoke to at this market agree. but some say it comes down to who governors better. >> it's because people watch tv, read the papers and see corruption in the anc, ask fraught and it's the people inside government that do those things. >> reporter: just like the anc has struggled to reverse the legacy of apartheid in other

parts of the country, so has the democratic alliance in the western cape. in some parts of the city it seems little has changed. there is high unemployment. high crime, drug abuse and a big gang problem. it also seems as if the people here have no intention of changing their voting passions at next year's election. on this side of the table mountain it's complicated and it's clear to some people the color of a person's skin still matters. tanya paige, al jazerra, cape town, south africa. >> the next elections in south africa will be held in april or july. voters will electric a new national a sevenbly which will then electric a new president. the 74 passengers aboard an ex-by defensexpedition vessel ce free. it is 100 miles east of a french research station and an australian ice breaker making progress reaching the russian

vessel. a chinese chippewas six nautical miles away on saturday but couldn't get any closer because of unusually thick ice. the rushing an vessel there all part of a scientific expedition. ♪ ♪ >> meteorologist: i am dave warren, we are looking at the storm here across the northeast and you will notice a lot of green on the radar here. there is a mixed possible here across new england but as of now, it's just all rain. not really cold enough to see that snow coming down, but as the storm begins to push north in to some colder air we'll see significant know fall across new england, rain all the way up the east coast not seeing a break yet along i-95. washington, baltimore, philadelphia, new york, rain heavy at times throughout the day today. the temperatures remains in to the mid to low 40s the forther northug. it's just a rainy and colder day. the future weather computer shows this mix starting and then really intensifying as the storm really getting wider as the

storm intensifies and brings in some colder air. very heavy snow across maine and new england by 11:00, 10:00 tonight, and then by tomorrow morning, it's gone. but now we have some bitter cold arctic air coming in so what snow faults down which could be close to a foot will stick armed for a while. as far as the snowfall amounts, here is heaviest snow, vermont, new hampshire and through maine will see that heavy snowfall overnight tonight and early tomorrow morning before the storm clears out. sheara lot of rain coming down, it will stay rain, as the temperature will remain above freezing barely, there is just a cold rain coming down. 42 in philadelphia, washington is at 48, new york is at 44, but it does get cold, he still just above the freezing mark in al ban and i portland, but here is the bitter cold air in montreal, toronto is at 39 degrees. the rain today, then getting colder as this bitter cold arctic air moves in, it will warm up a bit. it's really cold in north dakota but by the time the cold air gets to the northeast it will be

just above freezing. temperatures drop to 30 to 40 did he agrees, record highs yesterday today much colder feels like it's down below zero and easily with that winds chill omaha winds chill of 27 degrees, cold air seeing temperatures down below zero for a high, not including the wind chill in minneapolis and that air is pushing east. it won't be that cold. >> what do they say there, you betcha. >> you betcha. >> 2014 going out lie like a lie inning. dave, thank you so much. toll stay's great, great granddaughter giving the author a 21st century update.

♪ ♪ at least 15 people were killed with when a bomb exploded inside a train station in the southern russian city. officials saying a suicide bomber detonating explosives as he approached the station's metal detector. a new national intelligence

estimate saying pulling u.s. troops out of afghanistan could make country more vulnerable to the taliban. findings published in the washington post say the taliban could reemerge three years after u.s. troops withdrawal in 2014. he was the russian novelist who inspired leaders like began dee and martin luther king, jr. now leo tolstoy's entire body of work is being digitized for entire world to see. david reports. >> reporter: this is the voice of the 19th century russian writer leo tolstoy. widely considered one of the world's greatest novelist with works such as war and peace and annika karenina. he's reading one of hair fairytales about a world and a child and this remarkable footage shows him in his final years at his country estate. we caught up with his great, great granddaughter at his house in moscow now the tolstoy museum. she was in the middle i've photo shoot for a magazine.

she has been the driving force behind the project to disties de the edge tire works of tolstoy to put a new generation literal police in touch with his heritage online. >> i wanted people to return to reading tolstoy with all of the way that his modern technology now offers. this is part of our heritage. not all of it has been on the internet yet, but it should be available to everyone. only 2,000 copies of his complete works were ever published, impossible to buy. >> reporter: it's this russian company that was charged with the task of getting tolstoy's works online. not just the 19 volume standard collection, but also his diaries, letters, and less well-known works. the cost of proofreading such a vast amount of material threatened to halt the project in its tracks, but thousands of readers from around the world have volunteered to help.

tolstoy's country estate only attracts a small stream of visitors these days. it's hope the project will reignite interest and boost their numbers. inside the house, everything has been remarkably preserved. it's as though the distinguished writer has just stepped outside. and he is expected back at any minute. perhaps tolstoy's most famous quote comes from the opening lines of an a karenina, happy families are all alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. at the end of his life, tolstoy said i don't need any money for my work, i want to give it to the people.

his will is now being granted. and in a way, he could never have foreseen. david, al jazerra. by the way, tolstoy's war and peace translates in to 48 audio cds, in fact account the epilogue alone is longer than most novels. it is a combination of r2d2 and robo cop. security robots that can go almost anywhere, the makers say they also see, hear, feel and smell. the robot takes 360-degree video and uses thermal imaging to recognize figures and gestures some say it's a privacy risk. >> some folks have said privacy concerns and might put people on edge, you know what puts people on edge, being shot at. >> it's five feet tall and designed to send wireless data to a command center and also patrol high crime areas without any risk to people. soon after that probably anchor the news on al jazerra. thanks for watching al jazerra america, i am del walters, the

stream is next, and as always, remember, you can check us out throughout the day 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on aljazerra.com. ali. you're on the stream. you hear about local police durng into little brother. -- turning into little brother. lisa fletcher is out, but we've got omar, as digital producer. >> i.t. has really lit up. we put out the question of