>> another deadly attack in russia. an explosion killed 15 on a trolley bus in volgograd, a day after 17 were killed when a blast hit a train station in the same city. the flu was back and spreading quickly across the country. doctors say it was widespread in 10 states. stranded in the ice, a russian ship trapped in frozen ice. >> honouring a group of ground-breaking pilots - women who flew critical missions in world war ii.

>> welcome to al jazeera america, i'm stephanie sy. there has been another bombing in the russian city of volgograd. at least 15 were killed in the attack on a trolley bus much the latest blast comes a day after 17 were killed in a suicide bombing in a train station in the same city. volgograd is 600 miles south of moscow and 600 north of sochi, where the olympics will be held in six weeks. this is the third such attack in the russian city in the past two months. the u.s. is condemning the attacks, saying it stands with russia against terrorism. peter sharp is in moscow with the latest >> the chaotic aftermath of an attack at a railway station in volgograd. a body lies on the ground as emergency services scramble to

treat the survivors. police say a woman set off the device near a metal detector station. the station was packed with thousands leaving on christmas holidays. >> everything was covered with smoke. after 10 minutes i was able to see. inside the train station everything was destroyed >> the attack killed and injured dozens of people. >> translation: commodoreding to preliminary information, it was the same as 10 kilograms of tnt. there were lots of people in the waiting hall but because of the checking system she wasn't through. >> seven died in a suicide bombing on a bus. the latest killings raised serious security concerns ahead of february's winter olympics at the black sea resort of socchi.

>> president putin offered support to 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 deployed 30,000 troops and security personnel into the region in an attempt to lock down the olympics. >> in an internet video. the leader of russia's muslim separatist levels urged supporters to use force to disrupt the games. he was cancelling his moratorium on attacks inside russia. his group claimed responsibility for attacks, including the 2010 moscow underground attack that killed 40 people. two days ago a car bomb killed three in a southern russian city. as the violence continues to

claim lives ordinary russians may wonder when the next attack will come. >> security has been tightened at railway station and airports across russia. for nearly 20 years russia has been fighting an insurgency in the north caucasus, including chechnya and dagestan and sochi. there has been 15 attacks in russia over the last 10 years. the attacks killing and -- killing hundreds, including children. >> violence is no stranger to vladimir putin's russia, stemming from decades of conflict. in 1999 the russian army ipp vaded chechnya under orders that putin described as an

anti-government group. 50,000 died. the conflict in 2001 was declared over. separatist groups spread through the northern caucasuses, a reege squon -- a region the center of an islamist insurgency. >> there's a pattern here. there has been these attacks. what they want to do, first and foremost, is remind the kremlin that they are here, and they are forced to be reckon with. >> chechen warlords called on militants to strike russia and prevent them staging the sochi games. the attack in volgograd raise the question as to whether more attacks will follow and where. >> the maximum impact is to pull off an attack like this in moscow. russia is a combination of a city that is sizeable.

volgograd is a big city. it's close to the caucasus, and has to be easier to get into instead of moscow. >> easier than the winter olympics. drones and special troops are monitoring traffic in and out of the city, 60 miles along the black sea and 30 miles inland. russians outside that perimeter may not be getting the same level of protection. >> the winter olympics begin on february 7th. across the border protests in ukraine got personal. demonstrators marched to viktor yanukovych's home, calling for a resignation and carrying a coffin to symbolize what they hope is the end of his political career. jennifer glass has more. >> hundreds of protesters took

their protests to the streets. calling for viktor yanukovych to resign or call early elections. the calls are unanswered >> translation: we are not here more anything, we are here for the future >> independence square first held demonstrations in november after viktor yanukovych refused a deal with the european union. then the numbers were in the hundreds of thousands. demonstrations waned. the new tactic to tackle ministers and the president. >> the government doesn't listening to people, it only uses force. that's it. they don't want to think that ukraine wants something else. they ignore us. this makes us and people around angry. >> with hundreds of riot police blocking the road to the president's house, the demonstration was peaceful. the question now is what next. the demonstration runs its course and opposition leaders are relying on a civil society

movement taking the momentum here and turning it into change in ukraine's cities and regions. >> in an earlier protest thousands gathered in independence square over the beating of a reporter who exposed the lavish live styles of the president and other officials. the u.s. is offering egypt help investigating bomb attacks there chuck hagel spoke with army chiefs, and he is concerned about the latest developments. a bomb exploded outside an army building. the egyptian army labelled it a terrorist attack. saudi arabia pledged $3 million. the lebanese military has grappled with sectarian violence stemming from the syrian civil war. france's president pledged

support. >> what i know is france equipped the lebanese army for a while. and will readily answer solicitation why, because lebanon must remain united. integrity must be expected and guaranteed for all the reb niece. >> lebanon is rebuilding after its own 15-year civil war. a new report says the u.s. could lose its momentum in afghanistan after a troop drawdown, the national intelligence estimate says it could take three years for the taliban power to grow. the report says security conditions would likely worsen regardless of a u.s. presence. hitting a health care milestone days before insurance is set to kick in. thousands forced to flee as a dormant volcano roars to life.

and fraz ep in the ocean, a russian ship stuck in the ice near australian antarctic division. -- near antarctica.

valvel salvadorsan miguel

>> a militia vowing violence in south sudan has disbanded and returned home. the minister of information says the group known as the white army is no longer planning a vicious military confrontation. the militia is made up of 25,000 young people, loyal to the former country's vice president. riek machar is accusing the company of causing a coup. hundreds have been killed and thousands forced to flee. there's increasing pressure to end the violence in south sudan. china is calling for calm. the chinese red cross is offering emergency humanitarian aid to the region, china invested heavily in south sudan's oil sector. >> in neighbouring uganda two decades of a civil war has

killed hundreds thousands of people. during that time a man by the name of joseph koni led a violent campaign, abducting thousands of children, forcing them to fight. the conflict ended in 2006, but many are struggling to move on. >> this pair of boots is all that remained of this man's son, who was abducted by rebels of the lord rebels army in 1997 at the age of 12 years old. they were notorious for abducting people. christopher is trying to combat what is probably true. >> if my child is alive, come back. if you come back, i be very grateful. now i don't think.

>> christopher's wife was so upset at the loss of their only child, that she killed herself. now he lives alone with only his chickens for company. he says he's waiting for god to take him away. he's one of thousands that went missing during the civil war. christopher said things were easier when he joined a counselling group organised by the red cross. here, several groups have come together to hold a memorial ceremony. for most of the children abducted, there's no record, no comprehensive list of names and numbers. many are poor. view have family photos. the red cross estimates 12,000 went missing and never came back. the lra are small in number,

scattered across the neighbouring countries, and few of the 12,000 will come home. people gathered to try to come to terms with that and begin the process of coming forward. >> they take turns to say the names of those that never came home. the memories are painful. >> the ambiguity of not knowing what happened with a person. normally a son or a daughter. it's something that for those that don't live it, it's difficult to understand. now they have somebody that understands them and together they can find a way forward. >> most of these people never buried or saw the bodies of their loved ones, something that is important in the culture here. it didn't have closure until now.

while the counselling or the ceremony won't bring anyone back, it can start to ease some of the grief. malcolm webb, al jazeera, from northern uganda. >> human rights organizations estimate joseph koni's army abduct 30,000 children to fight as soldiers in the civil war. >> thousands of people are evacuating their homes in el salvador. a plume of ash shot out of the chaparrastique. there are no reports of injuries, several were freed for breathing problems. it was more than 7,000 feet tall, and the last big eruption was 30 years ago. >> rescuers are trying to free a research ship. two attempts to reach the vessel surrounded by thick ice have failed. al jazeera's correspondent explains there's no guarantee another ship will reach them.

>> what was supposed to be a scientific expedition left the russian ship and passengers stranded at sea. many are stuck off the coast 100 miles east of a french research station. they left new zealand in november on a privately funded expedition commemorating the 100th anniversary of a journey led by australian explorer douglas mawson. last week things went wrong. battling the weather, the ship sent a satellite distress signal after high winds trapped the vessel in ice. >> a chinese icebreaker came within six nautical miles of the ship. bad weather and ice conditions kept the ice breaker from reaching it. these explorers hope that the

"aurora australis," located 100 miles away can free them. >> it is making way, but very slowly, due to the ice, as well as the weather conditions. there are snow showers at the moment and it is poor visibility out there. >> despite being stuck in 13 miles of ice, 10 feet thick, a ship is not in danger of sinking. chris turney is a leader and said in a skype interview from the ship that even though they are at a frozen standstill, the 74 reachers crew say they are doing fine. moral is high. >> it sounds worse than it is. everyone else, i'll reassure you is comfortable below decks, where they are having a cup of tea or coffee. >> we have enough food and water. we have plenty of fuel on board. we have shy of two weeks worth of fresh food. >> if the ice breaker is

unsuccessful the next text will involve using an ice breaker. >> the thick ice is a common hazard for ships travelling through the area where ships can travel at slow speeds. >> more than 1.1 million have signed up for health insurance using healthcare.gov. more than 975,000 enrolled in december alone. the figures come after glitches compromised the roll out. it is short of the 3.3 million enrollees predicted by january the 1st. >> flu season is here. they are seeing a lot of cases. the virus is widespread.

al jazeera's brandon chutly has more on the outbreak. >> doctors are seeing more patients than usual with flu symptoms. >> we are seeing an uptake in patient volumes. doctors and neighbours say they are seeing 50% more patients than usual suffering with the flu. houston's department of health says most of the cases have been caused by the h1-n1 strain. >> 80% of the strains were h1-n1. >> nearly 400,000 had to go to hospitals. health officials say the best defense is a flu shot, protecting more than the person who gets it. >> you can save the health of your family and other families also. >> fewer than half of americans had flu shots this season. it's not too late. doctors say anyone six months

and older who hasn't, should get one now. >> the c d.c. says there are many strains of the flue virus, with h1-n1 being the most common. >> france has given the go ahead for its much-debated million air's tax. under francis hollande's proposal companies will have to pay a 50% duty on wages, 1 million euros for $$1.4 million. it was a way to make the wealthy help with the financial crisis. >> it's called flood rum - the alcohol that barely survived the floods in colorado, and is now being sold. >> the rose ball parade is honouring some women this year, who took to the skies when

flying was considered a man's job.

>> well, on sunday afternoon and evening it was messy along the eastern sea board as the system made its way up. we saw problems on the highways and at the airports. it's exiting quickly so monday things will improve quickly. the other pig problem across the united states is the temperatures across the northern plains, so this morning this is what it will look like. fargo, you'll wake up to minus 19. minnesota minus 13. chicago, you'll be at zero, but it does not factor in what the wind chill will feel like, so it will feel lower than this. towards the north-west there'll be showers lingering. we have snow towards montana and wyoming. we'll see the temperatures reaching to 49 in seattle.

you'll be a little cooler at 34. just above freezing. we don't expect to see rain for seattle until we get to thursday. re rainy there. a problem with sworn california because of the wildfire threat. it's try and worm. there has been no rain in the forecast. the temperatures are not as high as last week. we were seeing 80 degrees. we expect today to see 74 degrees. staying low. it's also very dry across the area. they'll keep the bands out for the next couple of days. across parts of texas, it is dry. we expect to see showers towards the south. dallas over the next few days - dry and sunny. temperatures 43 until 62 on

wednesday. same front causing problems in the north-east is exiting the picture here. atlanta starting today at 33, up to 50. >> a lot of folks in colorado are recovering from devastating floods in september. residents are looking at an unlikely survivor as a symbol for the town's perseverance. a flat of rum was found floating, now liquor from that barrel of food was sold at auction. everyone was asking when is the flood rum going be ready. >> proceeds from the first 25 bottles will go to help the lyons fire department rebuild the station house that was destroyed. >> the 125th annual rose bowl parade will honour a special group of women. the heroic veterans were the first to fly planes.

brian rooney sat gun with one known as a wasp. >> her hands are not as steady, her eyes not as sharp. in her heart she's still a pilot. it's what florabelle reece wanted to fe. >> i used to tell my father that's what i wanted to do. he said, "it's not something girls do, but if you figure out how, more power to you." i was never discourage the by him. >> there was not much hope. florabelle reece saw an ad seeking women pilots, who went for training in texas. i was excited because i was going to get to fly. we could see the airplanes in the field. the military was forming the women airforce service pilots. the wasps. they shuttled bombers and pilots around the country. when they started flying was a man's world. the flight suits were for men. >> you went in, picked it out. hopefully it fit you.

too long in the legs, in the mid 8 and you rolled them or did what you had to do. >> the training was difficult. one of the things we had to do, they would blindfold us and name an instrument, and you had to touch it, tell it what it said, and what it would do if it malfunction, and why it was important it was in the airplane. it turned out women could flip, she learnt on the 86th trainer. >> i did the wheel verse, the spin, everything i could think of that we had been taught to do. and it was just a beautiful airplane to do it. >> she ended up as a transport pilot, and flying a b 26 bomber dragging a pilot in live-fire exercises. it never occurred that it would be dangerous. >> it was dangerous. over 1,000 women who became pilots, 38 died in accidents. >> after the war she had a

family and never flew again. new year's day, commemorating the wasps she'll be there.. >> i'll where my wings and staff. they tell me who i am. >> this is her moment of recognition for her, season other wasps that will be in the parade and the wasps that are gone. >> this is recognition, i'm living proof that women did fly in the war. new year's day she'll fly high once more. >> a national treasure. the women that served as air force pilots in world war ii flew over 60 million miles in every type of military aircraft. that will do it for it edition of al jazeera america news. thanks for watching, have a good

evening. more online at aljazeera.com. you're watching a special edition of the listening post. this week we're going to do something different than our usual year ender. we asked our producers to submit their favorite stories, our user generating content makes its way into the papers and on to television screens. next up will be israel, where