this this ... this is al jazeera. this is al jazeera. >> welcome to the al jazeera newshour. i am jane dutton from our news centers in doha. in london, these are the top stories. a suicide bomber attacks a russian train station more than a dozen people are killed. >> i think he is being vindictive certainly. >> pakistan's former military ruler tellsays he believes he is the target of a personal vin t vindett. >> all of the news from

procedure including week six of protests in kiev and anti-government protesters marriott presidential residence. >> all of the sport with formula's one michael shumacher suffers a head injury in a ski accident. details later in the program. >> a suicide bomber has attacked a train station in southern russia killing at least 15 people, another 34 have been injured. it happened in the southern city of volgogr a d weeks before the russian went 00limpics are due to start in the black sea resort of soch: peter sharp reports from moscow. >> the chaotic aftermath of the attack on a railway station in volgograd. a body lies on the ground as the emergency services scramble to

treat survivors. officials say a woman set off explosives near metal detectors near the main strain station. the blast cam toured on camera. the station was packed with thousands of people leaving from their christmas holidays. the attack killed and injured dozens of people. >> according to preliminary information, the power of this explosion was the equivalent of 10 kilograms. there would have been more if it wasn't for the guarding station. it prevented the suicide bomber from getting through the metal detector into the waiting hole where at the time there were lots of people because three trains were late. >> in the same southern city in october, essentially people decide in a suicide bombing on a bus. the latest killings raised serious concerns ahead of february's winter olympics, sochi. president putin offered support to the families and relatives of

those killed and injured in this attack. security at the winter olympics will continue to be an overriding concern for the kremlin. it's already dproid more than 30,000 troopseployed more than 30,000 troops into the region in an attempt to lockdown these winter olympics >> reporter: in an internet video earlier this year, the leader of russia's muon lim separatist rebels urged supporters to use maximum force to sculpt the games. he said he was cancelling what he was calling his more toryium on attacks inside russia and warned of new violence. his group claimed responsibility for attacks including the 2010 mosque out underground attack that killed 40 people. two days ago, a car bomb killed three people in the southern russian city of piatogost. ordinary russians may be wondering where the next attack will come. peter sharp, al jazeera in

moscow. >> the global research director for controlled risks and joins us live from london, thank you for joining us. who do you think is behind this? >> a pleasure. >> he wanted to do everything he could to disrupt the sorbi olympics. he has labeled them an unholy event, and on u tune and it appears that the tranquil period that had exceeded this bombing and some of the others that led up to it is now over. >> over destabilizing the game some six weeks away, what is it that he and his followers want and what are their capabilities? >> well, it's interesting. there is a bit of a pattern emerging here that is before certain large federalents and the sorbi is the biggest of them all, but prior to federal e elections and other large national events, there have been these sorts of attacks.

i think what they want to do first and foremost is remind the criminallin they are here and they are a force to be reckoned with and that even in spite of the enormous security that will accompany the olympics, there is a force out there that is cableable of pulling off ernts like this. >> it has a psychiatric impact on the population. >> it's a large city, a significant southern city. it is close all though not the closest to the caucuses. it has to be a softer target than mock out. the capitol is relatively difficult to penetrate under these sorts of circumstances. so volgegrad, i am assuming is going to be a little easier to attack than the capitol. >> where do you think this leaves putin and the view and the image of him and his capabilities? >> i think this leaves the kremlin having to completely redouble its security efforts

around sochi and to make sure that even in the fashion of this provocative act there can be no disruption of the olympics. the entire world is watching. this is an enormous prestige event for russia and this sort of warning shot is enough to say, this problem is more serious than we initially anticipated and there will be an absolute doubling down of the security efforts all around sorbi. >> very good getting your thoughts. thank you. >> it's a pleasure. >> there is confusion in south sedan about the intentions of the 25,000 stronged militia, belonging to the so-called white army are reportedly continuing a march 20th recapture the oil city of bor, despite reports that government planes bombed

their position. >> it has been denied by him who is in a power struggle with the president more from the capital, reports reaching us from south sudan indicate that some of the white army militias, the thousands of them who have been marching on to the town of bor with a view over taking it from the defense forces have disbanded and there are different reasons being given for these. the government information minister said that they standed and requested them to abandoned their commission and go back to homes. other sources say that bombardments were carried out where they were. they say these aerial bombardments were to warn the militia not to advance to the town. however what we know and can confirm right now is that some of the militias are seen

marching to the town of bore. the defense forces have taken positions in and the town of bor to defend the town from the approaching militias. white army as they are known brings its name from the members of this militia usually apply on their face to protect themselves against them. they are from the south tribe which also from a vice president belongs to. >> people in oil producing areas of south sudan are being particularly affected by the conflict this video was filmed where the capital of epinile state. streets are almost deserted. buildings appear to be burned out. thousands are seeking refuge at united nations camps to even escapevite less than. >> thousands are trying to escape vie list.

3,000 people have boarded emergency flights over the past five days. there has been a surge in fighting in recent weeks despite the prince of u.n. and african union troops. christian and muslim armed groups have been targeting each other. saudi arabia is giving lebanon $3,000,000,000 in aid. the lebanese president called it the largest grant ever given to the country's armed forces. leb niece military faces threats from neighboring isreal and hezbollah backed by iran. lebanon's former finance minister has been buried in beirut. he was among eight people killed by a car bomb in the capitol on friday. from beirut: ♪ >> an honorary medal from the lebanese president. other lebanese dignitaries lined up along mosque for a final fair well to the former government minister and ambassador.

security was tight in central beirut as more thankers gathered for the funeral position proces in the bodies were laid to rest. hariri the man who build the mosque was himself a victim of an infamous car bombing more than eight years ago these mourners said they would remain defiant in the face of such attacks. >> i came today to participate in his funeral and to show that we do exist and if they think they can kill us all, we are still here as long as we are all standing, we will stay here. >> what i want of the lebanese government? we don't want political parties. it's enough. we don't want hezbollah or anyone else. we want a real government. >> among people here, anger and assassination but also despair, that there is very little they can do to stop similar assassinations in the future. >> former price minister, a

leading figure in the anti-syria march 14th alliance told the crowd that the way that things were before the assassination would not be the same after his death. we have a date with you at the squares for democratic and peaceful action. we decided to liberate our country from the occupation of arms. we have decided to liberate our country. >> seniora was referring to the arsenal of weapons held by the hezbollah movement. the march 14th alliance wants to channel popular anger into support for a new government that doesn't include hezbollah and it wants to pressure the group to give up its arms all though the assassination has polarized lebanon further, the turn out for the funeral was modest. a reflex of the challenges facing the march 14th camp to get supporters out on the str t street. whether protesters take to the

streets or not, war weary lebanese are bracing for more trouble in the coming weeks. rula amin, downtown beirut, al jazeera. >> a car bomb has gone off at an army intelligence building wounding four people. the explosion happened in anshas, about 10 on kilometers north of cairo. it is the second attack on secure services in the nile delta in less than a week. a suicide attack on tuesday at a police compound in man sewera killed 16 people. there have been more protests at the university in kye ro, here is peter gresta from there. >> let's first talk about that car bomb explosion outside the military intelligence headquarters. we understand from the authorities that a vehicle packed with what they think is about 20 kilograms of explosives was parked outside the building. they say three men detonated the device before escating in a 4 x 4 and the police say that they

have cordoned off part of the city. we don't have any idea who was responsible for it. nobody has claimed responsibility. the authorities have made no statements on that front. the university protests, we are seeing more clark between the university students and police. police say they wint through the building looking for any small groups of students that might have been congregating, trying to disperse them with tear gas, rubber bullets and birdshot before they were able to form any kind of critical mass and launch another demonstration. police say they arrested about 32 people who they say were all carrying crude weapons such as knives, fireworks and so on. what we seem to have now is a struggle for the political will if you like inside the country. on the one hand, there is the muslim brotherhood and the anti-coup alliance who are trying to maintain it saying that the government deserves to

be topelled and the government insists it is trying to crack down on what it calls a terrorist group for the time, it looks as though we are going to see clashes through the coming weeks. >> tens of thousands of anti-government protestsors, our people newscenter. salina? >> jane, thank you. despite freezing conditions, the country's opposition has vowed to continue sdmonstrations for more than a month now. they have occupied the city's central squares but this latest protest is a lot smaller than some of the others. jennifer glass is live for us now in kiev. jennifer, is the protest losing its momentum? the protests today, more numbers than we have see in recent weeks perhaps 20,000 people on the square on this sunday afternoon far fewer than the hundreds of thousands we saw when these protests began last month, as i

said, there were two protests today, one here in sgenings square which has been the heart of the protest. the other, about 22 kilometers out of town near the president's house. hundreds of ukrainians took their protests to the streets. trying to reach the palatial residence of victor yancich. the demands have gone unanswered. we are not here for money or any kind of privileges. we are at index square for ourselves, for or future. >> demonstrators first converged on the square in november. after yanokovich refused a deal with the european union. then the numbers were the hundreds of thousands. after five weeks, demonstrations have wayne waned. >> the government doesn't listen to people. it only uses force.

>> that's t they don't want to think ukraine wants something else. they simply ignore us. >> even with hundreds of riot police blocking the road to the president's house, the dishonstration was peaceful. >> the question now is what's next? the demonstration seemed to have run their course. opposition leaders are relying on a new civil society movement to take the momentum started here and turn it into real change in ukraine cities and regions. >> what does this mean for the opposition movement and for president yanokovich? at a time demonstration continues with. hardcore opponents of the government who stay through these long winter nights, the ukrainian winter nights, numbers have dwindled. the opposition is hoping their civil movement will keep the momentum and ideas that started

here going forward they like to see presidential e elections move forward from 2014 and af r that's what they are hoping for in the new year. new year's eve, the next big gathering here onzence square. opposition leaders have asked ukrainians to come out with the holiday season here and in the coming days if wisee the turn out getting bigger here as ukrainians don't have to go to work, have their days off, we will get a sense that still has it. unclear now whether that will happen. >> jennifer, thank you. jennifer glass for us live in kiev kiev. >> that's almost all from me for now. in about 20 minutes' time, it's war and peace and everything else besides taking tolstoy's total output online. >> what's come in the news hour, including this is much needed aid for syrian refugees, getting it into the country is proving to be increasingly challenging. plus anger on the streets of bangladesh, opposition supporters say they will boy

cost of cot next week's e elections. in support, three of the premier league's tom team in action, find out who will finish the year in top spot. a new intelligence report says the u.s. could lose most of any progress made in afghanistan by 2017. >> that's even if foreign troops remain in the country according to the national intelligence estimate. it predicts the taliban will become more powerful as the u.s. winds down military operation. it also suggests afghanistan could descend quickly if the government doesn't sign a security deal on the role of international troops after 2014. the report also anticipates the central government could become increasingly irrelevant. tom ackerman joins us from washington, d.c. tell us more about the national intelligence estimate here, tom.

>> if the national intelligence estimate is a periodic review of the consensus opinions of the 16 u.s. intelligence agencies, both civilian and military and it's meant to be sort of an advisor document for policy makers giving them some kind of guidelines as to what to expect. in this case, it's coming right at a crucial point where the united states government is in very, i would say, difficult negotiations with the hamid karzai government as to the withins of the status of forces agreement following the end of the scheduled end of american presence and isaf presence, the western alliance in afghanistan at the end of 2014. the administration's conse consentently said the after gans have made progress in moving forward and taking the lead in the combat operations and in

maintaining control or regaining control of certain crucial areas. this report obviously shows a different view, a more pessimistic view and one by the way that is contested by the military, at least in their open statements. >> do you think this could flew policy then? >> i think in this intended partly as a weapon in the war of words within the united states policy making establishment. many of the people who are critical of the way that the united states left iraq at the end of the bush administration leaving no combat forces there at all, also, may be just a posturing mechanism for the way that they are negotiating with the 56 began government in the way that they are -- the kind of threat that they are making to the karzai government, of course, karzai is on his way out, so i think that the military is really intent on trying to basically produce

whatever material they can use to but res their opinion that more forces should remain. whereas public opinion and the overwhelming sentament in congress is given the difficulties of the afghan internal situation, it is just wise for america to drop its -- take its losses and just leave as scheduled. >> thanks, tom. the u.n. has been flying aid into syria from northern iraq for the past two weeks, but those flights are about to ends cutting off a crucial lifeline to thousands of people caught in the war. the kurdstan region of northern iraq. >> the 358ets of cargo are loaded. final preparations begin. >> these vital aid flights into syria are carrying much needed supplies of blankets, sanitation and clothing to some of syria's

4 machine internally displaced people, people who are effectively refugees within their own country. the flights began on the 17th of december, for unhcr, the u.n. refugee agency. they say it's taken a massive effort. >> we had to transport from jordan and here and now we are transporting it to syria. >> getting awe of the permission to run aid flights has been a difficult business involving the kurdistan regional government, the federal government in baghdad and the syrian region e-mail. part of the talks and the kurdstan regional government is doing its best to help facilitate the flights. >> it has an agreement back at the headquarter offices in geneva 2010 iraq in addition in geneva. the syrian officials. it has been an iraqi and syrian

agreement for that's i think tating the flight rotations to the airport. it's mainly ukrainian crew are ready to go. we are allowed to film this part of the journey. >> the syrian authorities won't allow us to get on to this flight. that gives you an education of just how politically charged the whole thing is once these flights come to an end and it has been an initial experiment although the relevant plays are discussed whether to try to keep what they are calling humanitarian core -- om for more of these flights into syria. >> these flights have been even allowed to take place is a success for the u.n. refugee agency. continuing them and getting aid into certain i can't is now the focus. >> that's going to take political will. political will that needs to come from damascus, baghdad and the kurdistan government. imran kahn.

>> government protests have turned violent with the deaths of 21-year-old student opposition activists have rallied on a ban. demonstrators want the prime minister to step down and for upcoming e elections to be cancelled. pakistan's former military ruler musharif said the prime minister has a personal vendetta against him. he is scheduled to go on trial in january. he has given his first international television interview since he was released from house arrest last month. >> reporter: after four years in self-imposed exile, he returned to pakistan earlier this year to, in his own words, save the country by running in may's general election. it would appear his real challenge has been to save himself. the former military ruler has

been named in a number of criminal cases stemming from the time he was in power. the charges include allegations he was involved in the assassination of former prime minister benazir bhutto. he was freed on bail last month. still, the most serious charge facing mushafaraf is treason. we will see him in court. the case stems from the state of emergency he imposed in 2007. he suspended the constitution and detained several judges including the chief justice, sparking widespread protests. if convicted, he faces life in prison or death. he told us he didn't believe he would get a fair trial in a country ran by sharrive, the imagine he ousted in a military coup in 1999. >> he is in government. he can influence.

i expect justice from the courts. >> you say he has a vendetta against you. explain that to me. >> all of thetions, i think he is being vindictive certainly in the background, all that is happening, either it was being done by him or the ex chief justice. they have both being vindictive. if you see all of the cases you are talking of, judges retention case, now, this article 6, all of them smack of injustice and some -- some force behind the scene influencing justice. >> general musharrive said the military has expressed concerns about his treatment by the government since his return to pakistan. >> they are alarmed and worried. they are in my favor. the feedback within the army of the serving officers, many of

them is they are extremely positively disposed toward me and they are very worried. >> what are they worried about? >> about whatever is happening to me and they don't like it. >> all the though musharaf's legal troubles are far from over, he says he is determined to fight until his name is cleared. if you would like to see that interview in full, on "talk to al jazeera" watch next saturday at 4:30 gmt. still to come in the news hour, find out why this regular playstation console in brazil costs five times more than the average retail price worldwide. coming up in sport, the milestone century for cricketer jack tallis in his final test match for south africa.

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to life. on techknow, our scientists bring you a sneak-peak of the future, and take you behind the scenes at our evolving world. techknow - ideas, invention, life. welcome back. a quick look at the top stories, at least 15 people have been

killed in a suicide attack in the southern russian city of bolgograd. the explosion at a train station happened weeks before the country hosts the winter olympics. lebanon's former finance minister has been buried in beirut. mohammed chata was one of 8 people killed by a car bomb. he was a crit ilk of the shiia group, hezbollah. the governmentplans in south sud an have reportedly bombed an arm group known as the white army. they are believed to be marching toward the capitol of the oil producing state. let's get more on this crisis, joining me in the studio is a researcher with the valley institute, the fact the government is getting involved, what do you think that suggests about the battle? >> it suggests that the battle for bor is going to be a difficult one. the government lost control of bor, recaptured bore and now there is an apparent attack with

forces to retcapture the city. >> he seems to be distancing himself from some of the groups. does this suggest there is a split in the nur tribe. >> i think he is distancing himself from this connotation of the white army. it has historical roots dating back to the civil war, the 1980s and 1990s. >> that's something which is intentionally being used by the government to suggest news sentiment. i think the position is that these are forces that are going to be fighting the government. how many fronts are we looking at at the moment and what are the capabilities of all fronts concerned? >> i think the difficult part is that south sudan is a big place. there are disaffected people in many parts of the can you want tree, and mushar will be trying to get as many of those people disaffected to join up with him. many states within south sudan are potentially at risk.

>> the fighting capabilities and who do you think would be interested in the success of these movements if you can call them that? a regional point of view. looking to sudan? >> there is always the olden me, sudan and it's very difficult to say if there is involvement of sudan at this stage. i think we should be very careful about that of course? >> that assumption. the longer it goes on, the greater chance it feels it's interinterests are threatened. in terms of military capability, both sides have a long history of fighting. they are both from the military stream of thought so they really have the ability to fight for a long time should they wish to do so. oil has something to do with it. certainly the first fighting doesn't lap in an oil pricing area that's not looking likely.

the government side. both sides are wanting to improvement their military position before a cease fire is called. in this their interest. both sides in south sudan, thank you for coming in to talk to us about this. a fire broke out on board a ferry bound for the netherlands. jane, thank you, there are six people air lifted to hospital after breathing in smoke during the fire. police later made two arrests in connection with the blaze. the ship had more than a thousand passengers on board when the emergency call was made around 30 miles offshore. here is nadine bashber >> reporter: these shots were taken by britain's royal air force and they show the moment helicopters air lifted people

after a fire on board. two passengers and 2 -- four passengers and two crew members were treated. others were treated on board. it was bound for the netherlands. >> we have a lot of smoke in the area. >> footage filled by passengers shows people listening to safety announcements and then waiting by lifeboats although they didn't have to use them. once they were back on dry land, many passengers paid tribute to the crew. >> everyone was very quiet and patient and easy. so, it's a very good and stewards take good care of us with the food and drinks and everything so no problem at all. >> we stayed calm? >> yeah. >> it was a lot of smoke we could smell. but for the english people, the reroute. >> they announced it was back to

new cassel. connected off. a couple of guys got arrested. >> police arrested two men including a 26-year-olds passenger suspected of starting a fire in his cabin. it's not clear whether it was an accident. some passengers tried to get on flights to the netherlands. the operating company says there is limited damage to the ferry and its safe to travel. nadine barber, al jazeera. some of the other news from arrest europe and france is to go ahead with plans for a super tax on higher thankers. it was a key election promised by francois alons to have a tax of 75% of people earning more than a million euros a year. there have been protests from business leaders as well as sports and film stars. the last of 26 foreign activists arrested over a protest at a russian arctic oil rig has left the country. greenpeace says the activists were freed on bail in november

and pardoned early this month. pope francis has called on catholics to show solidarity with my grants and refugees around the world during his weekly prayer in saint peter's square. thousands of people turned out to hear the address as part of the church of christmas celebration. the famously prolific author, now, the entire works of lee 0 tolstoy are being digitized making them more accessible in the modern world. at tolstoy's estate outside morning on you >> reporter: this is the voice of the 19th sent tree russian writer, leo tolstoy widely considered one of the world's greatest novelist for works such as "war and peace" and anna karenenia. 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 of a photo shoot for the magazine. it has been the driving force behind a project to digitize the entire works of tolstoy to put a new generation literally in touch with his heritage online. >> i wanted people to return to reading tolstoy with all of the ways that 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 2000 copies of his complete works were ever published, impossible to buy. 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 his diaries, and

less well known works. the cost of prove receipt reading the threaten today halt in its tracks. thousands of volunteers have volunteered to help. tolstoy's country estate only attacks a small stream of visitors these days. it's hoped 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 expected back at any minute. [bell tolls ] >> perhaps his most famous quote comes from the opening lines of anna karenina, "hammy 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 forese foreseen. david chatter,a al jazeera. >> you are up to date with the news from europe. let's take you back to doha and jane. >> the first general election since the death of nelson mandela will be held next april. many people in the western cape area won't be voting for man dela's african national party. how race still divides politics in the country. >> this is the cape town you won't find in tourist brash user. there is a distinction group of people of mixed race known under the apartheid system as colored. many speak highly of nelson mandela. the western cape is the only province not held by the amc.

in 1994, they supported the national party which introduced a apartheid. more recently, voters for the democratic alliance, the party considered to be predominantly white. tony arenate doesn't think that will change next year because these people were treated better under apartheid at black and feel loyal to whites. >> inspecting blacks who came into the area forn pursuit of jobs for other facilities. in many respects, what happened to colored people is they identified with the europeans and disassociated themselves. >> some people we spoke to at this market agree race is an issue. others say it comes down to who corns better. >> it's because people watch t.v., read the papers and see corruption and fraud and it's the people inside the government that do those things. just like the amc has struggled

to reverse the legacy of apardon ite and other parts of the country, so has the democratific alliance in the western cape. >> some parts of the city, it seems little has changed. there is high unemployment, high crime, drug abuse and a big gang pr problem. it sees seems as if people have no intention of changing voting patterns on the side much table mount and the complexities are concentrated it's clear to some people, the color of a person's skin still matters. tanya page, al jazeera, cape town, south africa. >> the crew of a russian strip is trapped by ice in antarctica, a chinese ice breaker called the snow dragon failed to get through, but may make another attempt in the coming hours. an oughttralian ice breaker is on the way. the russian ship is carrying scientists and led by an aust 2r5i8ian climate change expert. all still ahead. opening its doors to more visitors, how iran plans to

straka more foreign tourists in 2014. >> that's still ahead. and in sport things go from bad to worse as england's cricketers.

bra braysilians fed up with the high cost of living have taken to the streets. high taxes mean many things are more expensive than anywhere else in the world. a report from south sao paolo. for 5 days, more than 150 people turning up for the largest video game in latin america. the annualbral brazil game show. wade on line up to four hours. the nigh sony play station 4. in brazil, it will cost about $1,900, making it more expensive than anywhere else in the world. five times more than the suggested retail price in the

u.s., 60% of price is due to brazilian taxes. if i have the opportunity to buy it, it will be abroad. it's going to be sold initially to the brazilian elite for it to become popular, the price has to be reduced. otherwise, no chance people can buy it. >> it's not just imported video games that are expensitch here everything is, from eating out to buying groceries, to new cars, expect to pay more in brazil. there are lots of reasons for it. some of it is because brazil has some of the highest taxes anywhere in the world. the tax rate in brazil was 36% of gdp. this is the equivalent to the taxes paid in developing countries that have better services. we have a big government bureaucracy and the people's taxes end up supporting this bureaucracy the government ends up consuming a lot of the

wealth. in downtown sao paolo counts how much taxes brazilians are paying on goods and services every second of every day. >> so far this year, as you can see, brazilians have paid 1.2 trillion. >> that's about $550,000,000,000. just in the next two minutes or so that you are watching the story, that meter will go up by about $1.3 million. >> at the credit counseling center, the line is out the door. representative of a slowing economy and people increasingly in debt to pay for the spending in the boom years. rising inflation and a slow down in consumer spending are changing the economic dynamics in this country. >> back at the game show, they are awaiting to buy the fanciest new gaze when they hit the stores. here, they will have to save a lot more money to pay for them. sao paolo. >> a report.

>> i will tell you in a minute, an unfortunate incident, 7-final formula michael shimica remains in hospital after suffering a head injury while skiing in france. according to french the 44-year-old was skiing in the resort in the french alps when he fell and sustained a relatively serious head injury. but his life was not in danger while he was wearing a helmet, the director of the resort told a french radio station that shumacher was shocked but conscious and taken to the nearby hospital by a helicopter he retired from n 1 last year following his earlier retirement. moving on to the english premier league where chel satisfy see have main feigned the pressure on the leaders after a 2-1 win over liverpool. the reds took the lead at stanford bridge three minutes

after the match while chelsea came back quickly with a lot of chances and in the 17th minute, even has leveled the match, then striking the 34 minute with what turned out to be the winner, liverpool suffering the second straight loss. wrfr arsenal returned after a 1-nil defeat after a since 5th minute winner at saint james park. >> something in the team is special on that front, on the front where we have many times been questioned, you know, but at this time, showing at the game today, beat back in the last fifteen minutes and a great solidarity and a great spirit. the two other results on sunday, so everton beat southampton 2-1.

so this is how the premier league will stand at the end of 2013, arsenal on top 1 point clear of manchester city. chelsea is a third point back with everton running out the top 4. liverpool have dropped from first at christmas to 5th while manchester united have moved up to 6th. jack cal is is said to end his 18 year critic career on a high after scoring a century in his final test for south africa. >> the all-rounder reached his triple figures on day 4 of the second test against indian durbin. his 45th and almost certainly last item, 100. he was potentially dismissed for 115 six wickets, receiving a reception as he started with the

stadium. south africa were disciplined for 500 in the first endings p 166 runs, india closed, 4 on 68 for 2 jack alice was known as one of the greats of test critic. let's see sunday tree's isn't tree ranks him on the list of all time tests run of course. retired just last month tops the list with 15,000921 test runs and some way behind, r ricky fountain 2 scored 41 test centuries in his 17 year career. third on the list with 13,289 runs just one read ahead of ravid. brian lara rounds out the top 5. australia's cricketers are intend to completing a 5-nil

series at whitewash against england, a repeat of the 2006/2007 series. a century to fire the host to dominant 8 wickets when on dare 4, a 4-nil series. england were let down by that captain alister cook who dropped two catches in the first half hour. he says he wants to carry on as skipper but would take it on e chin if they thought there was a better man for the job. the final test on thursday. >> that's what we need in sydney, an outstanding one and everyone jumping on the back. >> that's what kind of turns the team around, which is struggling lake we are at the moment. >> i think it's a very special win for a number of reasons, obviously, the fact that a lot of people thought that we would come here complacent and not have the same will power to

could to play the way we did in the first three ches matches but for the first time in the series, we found ourselves behind in the game. over the last couple of days have been able to turn that around and win vivenlingsingly today. i think the boys deserve a lot of credit. >> the czech republic has had a warm-up event before the australian open. they made a perfect start, world number 6, just 57 minutes to beat anna bell action 6-16-love, beating world 194, daniel mine tus straight sets 6-2 sto6-2 which gave the czechss a lead combined to win the next doubles in straight sets as well. >> a 2-1 victory over canada, beating bushar in 6-3, 6-7, 6-2.

another point a game as he beat world number 10, in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3. norwegian skier fandal has extended his lead in the overall world cup standings. he won the men's downhill race on sunday. the victory is his fourth of the olympic season and takes him to 195 points aides of 2-time defending champion, marcel. >> that's it for me. jean? >> thank you very much. with its ancient ruins and untouched landscapes, iran is home to some of the world's best cultural treasures but with the revolution they are largely unseen by foreign tourists. things are changing. iran appears to be opening up to foreign visitors. saria linny from the ski slopes. >> it's one of the world's

highest. 3,600 meters up, one of the country's imagine atractions. locals already know it and now foreigners are catching on, too. >> i think it's really nice plus the weather is on much better than in germany the snow is good. >> the location is really great, off ut mountain, the mountains are very high. snow quality is great. iran's president is aiming to atract 10 million foreign visitors each year. increased, comprising mostly of religious and medical tourists many are likely to be from china. >> now you know chinese, the living standard is high. most of the chinese want to go abroad to have a visit of some other countries such as iran.

>> in order to handle more people, the country needs investment, including on the ski fields. >> equipment is old, over the past 37 to 58 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 services this resort invest more and make it bigger and bigger so we can introduce it to the world, secure its future and make money. >> it's so hard to see why they are known as one of the best places for ski and snowboarding, not just in the middle east, but throughout the entire world, more than 2000 people come here every week. >> that's 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. >> with four seasons, a diverse landscape and 5,000 years' history, the government knows

tourism is still a largely untapped sector. >> that's why the current government is reorganizing the tourism industry to take advantage of iran's diversity and this year's increase in the number of visitors. >> i think there are two reasons. first, related to the presidential election of hasa hasan rhouni. and the other is the safety and stability that iran enjoys. the most important issue is that there is a new attitude to cultural visitors to visit iran. for example, this christmas, more than 200 people groups had planned to spend christmas in iran. this is a change if you want to compare it with the pasty. >> iranians have long had the country's best sites to themselves. now with more and more tourists arriving from abroad, they are learning to share them for the benefit of everyone. sarai linny, al jazeera, iran. >> does look good. thank you very much for

watching. bye-bye.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. i am del walters. these are the stories we are following for you. a suicide bomber targeting a busy training station in the southern russian city of volgograd. a somber forecast for afghanistan's future after u.s. troops withdraw. military units on the move in south sudan amid a growing humanitarian crisis. the death toll still stands at 15, at least 15 people dead after a suicide bomber attacks a train station i