♪ this is al jazeera. ♪ welcome to the news hour, i'm darren in doha, two suicide bombs in two days and the russian city of volgograd is hit and at least 14 people are killed. and shoemaker was this an accident. they get a boost from saudi

arabia. in brazil, the police try to gain control before the world's cup. ♪ welcome to the program and we are getting reports of heavy gunfire in the democratic republic of congo and people with guns and machete have got control of the tv channel and have taken several journalists hostage and gunfire across the city and we will keep you updated as we get news from drc. russian investigators say a male suicide bomber that carried out an attack that killed 14 people in the city of volgograd on monday. it follows another bomb attack at the city's train station on monday and we have more.

>> "the twist"ed, gutted remains of a bus in volgograd and debris strewn across the street and a male suicide bomber is responsible for the attack and this is within two days and on sunday 17 people were killed by a female in the railroad station. investigators say security controls at the entrance to the station prevented even more deaths. >> translator: the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber who when trying to pass through the metal detector gates saw a police officer and detonated the bomb with grave situation. >> reporter: by the winter olympics in sochi, there are fears of a campaign of violence before the games. the sochi olympics is a big

project for putin and no one claimed any of the attacks but earlier this year the rebel leader called for maximum force to prevent the olympics from being held. they want to carve an islamic state out of south earn russia and soldiers and police are being held to protect the olympics so they can make the olympics the safest in history. >> reporter: the international olympic community has come out in support of preparation for the games in sochi and a statement reads security is the responsibility of the local authorities and we have no doubt that russian authorities will be up to the task. when moscow says 37,000 personnel will make it safe, we will talk to a monitor in

moscow. fred, this is the second deadly attack in two days. what more details are you hearing there about the second attack? >> well, it's what was in your package there. we know that it's another suicide bomber. there seems to be no doubt although it's not yet confirmed that them inseminates from the islamist terrorist networks that are entrenched there and it isn't covered on a daily basis and acts like this and bomb ings and shootings are daily occurring in the region and part of russia there are no order of controls or anything like that, you know, to put up any kind of firewall and therefore virtually all of russia is vulnerable if there is indeed an orchestrated campaign underway to disrupt the olympics. >> reporter: fred, no group has yet claimed responsibility but

who is likely to be behind the attack, where are the fingers pointing at the moment? >> there is the north caucuses whose nominal head is a cechen war lord and the guy who inherited the presidency of the independent which was obviously defeated by russia but he is not a national list any more and doesn't call him the president of cechena and he is part of a larger islamic area. but we do know there are large numbers of recruits to this cause. and they are capable of now we seen again capable of striking in the russian heart land. >> reporter: what about the attacks on the run up to the sochi games, are we likely to see a much tighter security

presence than the one they have at the moment? >> i think they are frantic. today ahead of the security service was dispatched to volgograd obviously to lock that situation down and it's i'm sure that security will be tightened up. putin ordered his council of ministers and security chiefs to do just that. the problem is that security was already pretty tight. i mean, there is a huge garison and downtown moscow is tightly controlled and i don't know how many security resources additionally the russian government has at its disposal and this is a vast and sprawling country. and it's never even under the best circumstances well organized. and therefore i think if we are looking at an organized and well-planned campaign of

attacks, i greatly fear we are going to see more. >> reporter: fred, just a final thought before you go, what is the mood there in moscow? how are people reacting to all of this? >> people are reacting with a kind of cynical despair. people, you know, it's not as if this is the first time we seen these types of events in the last decade and ahalf they have been depressingly common and come in cycles and people ten to be quite fatal isic about it. >> reporter: fred in moscow and thank you. french doctors said that michael soo maker is suffering bleeding on the brain and fell skiing in the french alps and fighting for his life following brain surgery and we have more. >> reporter: one of the greatest formula one driver of all times but he is known to be an experienced skier and skiing

with his 14-year-old son and others on sunday near the peak and french ski resort when he fell and hit his head on a rock. he had been wearing a helmet. within ten minutes the 44-year-old was air-lifted to a hospital in the nearby town before being taken to the university hospital center. >> translator: mr. shoemaker was at the hospital in a late-morning skiing accident and suffered serious brain trauma and required immediate neurosurgical operation. he remains in critical condition. >> reporter: his wife and two children are said to be at his bedside and supporters and worldwide hope for his recovery. >> translator: i'm like you, i heard the news and as i am from the region i came to see him. as we can't see him we will see

tomorrow. >> reporter: michael won the world championship 7 times before retiring for the second time last year, his hospital treatment is over seen by the neurosurgeon who is also a close personal friend of the racing driver, i'm with al jazeera. >> reporter: and tony is a former formula one team leader and said he has a passion for speed. >> characters like him and especially at the pinacle of the formula one he only knows one thing and that is his motor sport. he has lived for that. and when he retired in 2006 he could not leave motor sport along. he even tried motorcycle racing and he ended up racing in the championship after he tested a grand prix machine.

people advised him not to do that and he is quite lucky not to break his neck in a motorcycle accident. but he carried on doing that and of course as is well documented in 2009 he decided to make a come back. he had missed grand prix racing so much he came back for three seasons and the end of 2012 largely unsuccessful and i personally thought it was an ill-judged move because i watched him driving quite poorly and he should have stayed out of sport but that is michael and he is always pushing the edges of the envelope and always pushing and looking for his next adrenalin challenge. >> reporter: well let's go back to the developing story from the

democratic republic of congo and they are reported to be under attack and let's get more on this and speak to a reporter in the capitol and there are reports that the tv station and the airport have come under attack by gunman and just tell us what you are seeing and hearing on the ground. >> television and radio. and in the morning around 7:30 gmt, this is around the compound and almost one hour and during that time almost 25 minutes of gunfire i saw the activity, a group of young men and present

and there was a signal but we kept hearing gunshots all around but at the moment they were normal gunshots, a gunshot far away from where i am in my neighborhood. the army, it's not clear what is

happening. and a group of young men stormed the international tv. >> reporter: are you seeing soldiers on the streets? what are you actually seeing in terms of the security situation? >> yes, the large number at the tv at the moment and i am in the compound and i am told we can see soldiers moving around national tv but at the moment no no gunshots. >> reporter: in the capitol and thank you for that. up now saudi arabia is giving $3 million in military aid, the largest grant given to the forces and struggling to deal

with the civil war and weak with armed internal groups including hezbollah. >> translator: this aims will support lebanon and religions and the army that is known for supporting national unity and provide it with all needy conditions to achieve the great national cause it was set up for. >> reporter: let's talk to joseph from beirut and he is a middle east analyst and $3 billion is a huge amount of money by anybody's standard and why are they doing this now and what is the thinking behind it? >> reporter: the president's term is coming to an end in the next several months and it seems that unless something drastic is done to reengage the state into claiming the legitimacy we will have a political void in this country with parliament's term extended, with no government in

sight, with serious conflict over the presidency. i think what the saudi's have played is an important strategic card in their hand, saying to the president we are going to put really some money where our mouth is. we will build up on the single institution that can, in fact, preserve the national unity of lebanon so that the disintegrating situation does not get out of hand and the country does not come apart. it's a major, major commitment to the state itself, to its single remaining institution around which all of the lebanese parties can gather. >> reporter: in terms of the wider regional picture analysts say it's a clear attempt by saudi arabia to get iran's influence via hezbollah and what are they worried about the iran,

hezbollah and syria access? >> they are really sending a message to iran saying we are not giving up on liberty than and not allow hezbollah to determine lebanon by itself and we will put up a chancing fight and they are not doing it directly. they are doing it indirectly. they are supporting lebanese and national institutions and don't forget the hezbollah chief argument has always been the reason why it's not giving up the arms in the fight against israel is precisely because the lebanese army cannot defend lebanon against outside force. the saudis are saying if that is the case we are going to provide the kind of support the lebanese legitimate military so that it can build up its defenses. the question now, the real question is whether or not they will see this through before the next presidential elections,

one. and, two, whether the french presumably the primary party that will benefit from the financial fall out here whether the french will actually transfer effective weapons and not talking about a few trucks and tanks, we are talking about sophisticated weapons. >> reporter: a final thought, how is the lebanese army likely to use this money to counter hezbollah, as we know hezbollah is very well armed and wide political support at the grass roots and some say some influence in the lebanese army. >> reporter: they have a great deal of influence within the lebanese army and hezbollah is not a minor player on the lebanese fair ground if you would like. what this money needs to go to, if, in fact, the lebanese army is supposed to become an effective power is to get effective weapon systems and attack weapons and helicopters

that presumably will be able to defend the country from outside force and see if the french will transfer the kind of sophisticated weapons that presumably this deal is all about. >> reporter: joseph there in beirut and joseph thank you. >> thank you. >> reporter: and richard murphy is a former u.s. ambassador to saudi arabia. >> it's not designed to turn lebanon into a major fighting power but it's designed to increase confidence in as far as the leadership is concerned in its ability to do what the president spoke of, bring an end to terrorism and the proliferation of arms in the country. i don't see it as destabilizing the situation in lebanon but given a measure of confidence to

the lebanese leadership they can prevail in keeping their country on a sound footing as much as possible. it's a terribly difficult time in lebanon. >> reporter: more than 500 syrians including 151 children have died after two weeks of government air strikes in aleppo according to the human rights and bombs are being dropped on crowded areas and crowded areas are targeted by an aerial campaign by government forces since the 15th of december. [gunfire] and in eastern syria at least 19 rebel fighters were killed in battles with government troops with control over the military air base and there has been fighting in the airport for three days. and the government shelling has continued in other areas under

rebel control. these pictures are from the damascus country side and they say they have been worst hit. and we are getting reports the syrian army is evacuating residents of the township north of damascus in large numbers and they witnessed heavy fighting between opposition fighters and opposition forces recently. for the latest let's go over to live from the capitol and what can you tell us about syrian forces evacuating civilians and why are they doing this? >> this is the official news agency for the company the army had 5,000 families shelter and aid after they evacuated them. and audra is an industrial zone and as you said it has been witnessing very heavy fighting in the past 2-3 weeks and most of the residents there are jews and come from the minorities who

support president assad and almost two weeks ago on december 16 there were claims the rebel forces and especially those went to the village and massacred 80 civilians and these are claims and counterclaims but since then fighting continues and the government is trying to get the family out of there and show pictures of them and show the people desperate to leave. they say they have not had any food or medicine or any supplies come into town for three weeks. we know there have been similar deals going on around damascus. the government delivered aid on saturday evening, trucks loaded with food and canned food and bread. part of the deal with rebels there who announced a cease fire and the flag raised. it seems there are small deals being arranged around damascus to alleviate some of this

between the rebel groups and the government. >> reporter: all right, thank you. still to come on the news hour. >> addiction had a negative impact on my life. i think i really made a strong will to quit. >> reporter: shooting up with maymar and two thirds of young people are hooked on heroin. a pair of boots is what remains of a child soldier and we will hear the father's story. and they hold the league after a win in liver pool and joe will have the sport a little bit later. ♪ egypt's security forces arrested al jazeera in cairo and they were picked up from their home and hotels. our correspondent peter with producers and cameraman are being held in custody and

experienced journalists for 20 years and he is reporting from cairo has awards for extension covers of africa and al jazeera demanded the staff be released immediately. the iraq security forces tried to break up an antigovernment sit in and there are tents in the square of the city of ramadi and they said on sunday they reached an agreement with demonstrators and it began with an arrest of an mp by the sunni-led government. he is held on terrorism charges and supporting activists, protesting against what they see is the persecution of the soon news by the shia-led government and the police faced resistance

and one tank and both sides let a battle and the sit-in continues. let's check on the global weather now with steph. >> reporter: thanks and we will have a look at australia where there is a huge tropical cyclone at the moment. we see the distinctive circulation of cloud here. it's very close to the coast at the moment. just about to make landfall but already it has given us heavy rain. we have seen 70 millimeters of wet weather already and by the time the storm clears away we are expecting another 200 millimeters on top of that. clearly the region is going to see a problem with flooding but it's not the only hazard we will have from the storm. the winds are going to be a major issue, sustained winds are 140 per kilometers at times and

the flood willing be a problem not only from the rain, it will be thanks to the storm surge and it will give us some severe flooding. we will see a lot of rain in the west of australia as it stays very stormy and there goes southward. meanwhile in the east it should be fine and dry. no great programs and 26 is the maximum in sidney. just a few showers there across tazmania and showers could be lively. >> reporter: they were obducted by the lord's resistance army during the long civil war and years later many families are trying to come to terms that their children may never return and we report from the district in northern uganda. >> this pair of boots is all that remains of a donga sunday and his father said he will never forget when his son was

obducted from the army in 1997 when he was just 12 years old. the rebels obducted children and mutilating people and he is trying to accept what is probably true. >> come back, if you are coming back i would be very grateful, very grateful. but now i don't think, yeah. >> reporter: his 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 is waiting for god to take him away. he is one of thousands in northern uganda whose children went missing during the civil war. christopher says things got easier when he joined a counseling groups with people

with missing relatives organized by the red cross. here several groups have come together to hold a memorial ceremony. for most of the children abducted by the nra there is simply no record, there is no comprehensive list of names or number and they are poor and few have family photos or memorabilia and 12000 went missing and never came back but nra are small in number and scattered across the countries and few of the 12000 are going to come home. people have gathered here today to try to come to terms with that and begin the process of moving forward. they take turns to say the names of those who never came home. the memories are painful. >> and not knowing what happened with a person in your family

like a son or a daughter is something for those that don't live it it's very difficult to understand and now they have somebody that understands them and went through the same and together they can find a way forward. ♪ most of these people never buried or even saw the bodies of their loved ones, something that is important in the culture here. it didn't have any kind of closure until now. ♪ while the counseling, all the ceremony won't bring anyone back it can start to ease some of the grief. malcolm web al jazeera in the district in northern uganda. >> reporter: still to come we are in pakistan and we will not st stop. >> reporter: to see how trucks carrying major supplies in afghanistan are being forced off the road. [gunfire] and force in brazil as police

try to regain control before the football's world cup fans arrive. usa hands spain about handing the cup to australia and more on sport with joe in a few minutes. ♪

♪ welcome back, and these are top stories on al jazeera, heavy gunfire at the airport of the capitol of the democratic republic of congo and they have taken hose adjusts of state tv

and rodeo. they cannot predict the outcome of michael's head injury and he was put in a coma after surgery and he fell while skiing in the french alps. and the french president has increased security nationwide before the winter olympics after two bomb attacks in 24 hours and in volume grad people were killed and a train station bombing which killed 17 people. and staying with our top story the second suicide bombing in days in the south of russia and coming several hundred kilometers where the olympics will be in six weeks time and to talk about this we have an analyst on russia and let's talk first if we can about volgograd and it now has been hit three times recently. let me ask you why volgograd and

does it show the bombers can operate with impunity in the area? >> well, it's a city as you just mentioned, very close to sochi where olympic games are scheduled in february. and it's evident that the man of the terrorists and scaring guests and i agree with you that the terrorist attack for the second day speaks about complete incompetence and follow agree security process especially the forces in that region. >> reporter: how embarrassing is this for putin and russia and it is threatened to be up staged and under minded by the suicide

attacks. >> extremely embarrassing especially for president putin personally because everybody knows that he is because of the olympics and it's his initial idea to get olympic, winter olympic games for russia being in the area. >> reporter: if this is about undermining, putin's credibility and his authority and how is putin going to deal with this then? what is going to happen now? >> he is silent until this moment. i suppose that he may make a decision about the top security

means. >> reporter: and let me get a final thought from you. what impact to the suicide attacks are having on russia psychologically? it's supposed to be the festive season and winter olympics are around the corner, what are people making of this? >> in volgograd and he is expected to talk across the country on new year's day. it's a huge psychological blow. >> reporter: and we are in moscow and thank you for talking to us. and truck drivers in pakistan are being stopped from carrying nato supplies to afghanistan and roadblocks were set up five weeks ago with drone strikes and we report. >> they have been here since november 22nd stopping any trucks suspected of carrying supplies for nato forces in

afghanistan. and he works for the movement for justice party and here every day since the blockade started. >> i will come until it's not stopped and innocent people have been killed, that is why this protest will go and we will not stop until this is not stopped by the americans. >> reporter: drone strikes are deeply unpopular in pakistan. the government routinely condepositions each attack as a violation of national sovereignty but gives approval to some strikes, whatever the case, the prime minister does not support these protests. the government has been largely silent about the blockade and it's no doubt a concern. the u.s. congress recently passed a bill that could see pakistan receive more than $1.5 billion in cash and linked to the movement of supply lines and if that stopped so too could be the payments. >> reporter: it's not just the

government that is concerned and he runs this outdoor restaurant that caters to truck drivers and said since the blockade started he is barely able to keep his business running. >> translator: this road used to be packed with trucks. now there are none. and those that do come through here don't stop for food. and the nato blockade continues i will have to close the restaurant because i won't be able to meet my expenses. >> reporter: not all supply lines are blocked, a route through the eastern province remains open and goods can also be moved through central asia and still this is the busiest and most important used for nato forces and move military hardware out of afghanistan. the longer it stays close the more complicated i becomes for coalition partners to are draw combat troops ahead of next year's deadline, al jazeera. >> reporter: and let's talk to nts in islamabad and center for

research and security studies think tank there and the blockade is in protest at these u.s. drone strikes but the drone strikes have not stopped. so the blockade doesn't seem to be having the effect in terms of cutting off the air strikes, does it? >> yeah, it doesn't at all because it's based on our own foundation. the demand by the taliban in pakistan as by the party have been that the united states stop the drone attacks. and they are demanding the government to savor relations with the united states until the drones come to an end and it's an issue that the pakistan government hardly has any control and the united states has a stated policy of pursuing al-qaeda and the operatives wherever they are.

so as long as the cia and the pentagon would have reports about the presence of al-qaeda operators and leaders i think they will continue. however, what is happening and what is playing out right now is on the one hand, the blockade has effected several thousand families, those who were involved in the cargo business. on the other hand the federal government which is being run by prime minister pakistan has allowed the provincial government to continue with this in the hope that this will discredit and defame the party and province. >> reporter: you talk about khan and say the blockade will continue until the drone strikes stop, does he have a much wider political support to stop the drone attacks? >> no, i don't think he has a

broader support because largely if you look at the political spectrum the pakistan people's party which was a lead part in the muslim league which is now leading the federal government, they may be openly publically criticizing the drone strikes but there is some sort of come policety to understanding with the united states that as long as the drone strikes kick out people and militants who are direct to pakistan interest as well, they will be reminded and let's be clear about it, pakistan being a very small country simply cannot afford to take head on on the united states or other nato countries and that is why whether it's the army or the main political parties they have been criticized about it. >> reporter: a final thought and you talk about the issue of quiet complicity, will we link

aid and future aid to pakistan to keeping those supply routes open? >> well, i don't think this blockade will continue for very long because they will very soon realize he needs to get out of his personal ego and turned this issue into his personal and an issue of ego which is not serving the long-term to the electorate and hurt business in the region and the supplies will keep running through the southwest parts of the country and this is what is happening right now. >> reporter: thank you for talking to al jazeera. chinese police say they shot dead 8 people trying to attack their police station with knives and explosives and another person detained in the far western region of shin-jong and

incidents are common where people say they are being repressed by the government. antigovernment protests are violent in bangladesh with the death of a 21-year-old student. opposition activists are in daca with a ban on political gatherings and want him to step down and up coming elections to be cancelled. 6 out of 10 people in mianmar are thought to be hooked on heroin and it's widespread and political instability in the so called golden triangle and we have been there to see the extent of the problem there. >> reporter: the mountains of the state, beautiful, imposing and dangerous. this is where poppys are ground and the heroin produced here cast a shadow on the state.

in this secluded shed students are looking for the daily high and brought disposal syringes and powder and $35, enough for two hits each. they don't want to be identified but they tell us they have been doing this for years. >> translator: this addiction had a negative impact on my life. i think i really need a strong will to quit. >> reporter: the rate of heroin abuse here is high enough for three syringes to minimize the risk of spreading disease. in just 15 minutes we managed to find about five used syringes and statistics on drug abuse are difficult to come by but nongovernmental organizations say they collect up to 40,000 used needles everyday. and that is just in three towns. in this mostly christian state it's the church that has stepped in to fight drug addiction. a church spokesman says 65% of

people abuse heroin. at this rehabilitation session recovering addicts signed up for a three-months program. and he has tried to kick the habit several times but has not succeeded yet. >> translator: in my hometown near the chinese border i can buy the drug easily, any where, any time despite the risk of the police. >> reporter: they have been fighting for autonomy and some church officials blame the government for being lax on drug enforcement and allowing poppys to be grown by malitia and drug abuse is more complicated. >> translator: in a way it's true, the problem is related to political instability, the government is not controlling it but we have to ask ourselves who is growing the poppy, it is them themselves. >> reporter: as a result christian pastors say more and more people between the age of

18-25 are dying from drug abuse. and these three friends say they don't want to end up a statistic. >> reporter: still to come michael shoemaker is still critical after the skiing accident yesterday and we will have more on that to come. stay with us. ♪

. ♪ welcome back, civil defense

workers in el-salvadore and 5,000 people living nearby in the east face being moved and several people have been treated for problems. the volcano's last eruption was 1976. with the world cup six months away police are trying to cleanup the towns in brazil. the drive began five years ago but critics say any success has come at a cost and rachel reports from rio. >> reporter: and lead security forces attempting to regain control of poor communities in rio ruled by drug gangs for decades and called pascification launched to secure the neighbors and close are tourist attractions and the world cup is coming. after the military operation,

the hard part for police is keeping the peace. >> translator: he was absent in the communities for many years. we arrived and we have this obligation to reconcur this community and for the residents to grow to trust us. >> reporter: the resident-friendly police are having success. murder rates are dropping quickly. and so is the number of violent crimes. but the tactics of the pacification are questioned of unarmed people being killed or abducted and police have limited action in places. this is a community yet to be pacified and controlled by a gang with illegal activities conducted out in the open. people line up to buy drugs, cocaine, meth and marijuana are sold on the corner, guarded by armed men who block off the streets. the traffickers say the police only show up to arrest people

but never stay for long. >> translator: there are more police here now and it's tougher to work and most earn money from us as well and we end up getting pushed back. >> reporter: by the time of the world cup in rio they want 40 communities with a permanent police presence, a fraction of 900 in the city. >> these areas have been neglected by the problem and there is no question that the problem has been very selective and toward certain project force the city and it's to turn rio into an international tourist center. >> reporter: some worry that the captain and his force believe once the sporting events are over but he says he is not going anywhere. rachel with al jazeera, rio. >> reporter: all right, time for the sport, here is joe. >> thank you very much. and as you have been hearing in the last hour michael shoemaker

is fighting for his life says the doctors, the former racer is in a coma and he was with his 14-year-old son in the french all p resort of bell when it happened and he is known to be an experienced skier and wearing a helmet and air-lifted to a nearby hospital where he had surgery to remove a clot from the brain and reduce swelling. doctors describe his condition as critical and not giving a prognosis for the driver's recovery. >> translator: our team with the neurosurgical team are working night and day at his bedside. it's too early to say what the prognosis will be. i think the force of the blow of his helmet has partly protected him. of course someone in a similar accident without the helmet would not be here today. >> reporter: he is such a big name of formula won and let's

remind you what he achieved in the great career, 21 years in racing and won 7 world championships, two and five in consecutive years for ferrari and had victory in 91 of 307 races he took part in and 40 more titles than the nearist title and it's not just the wins that count. he made it on the podium 155 times, topping the standings in that category as well. kevin easton is the motor racing correspondent with the times newspaper in london and says what made shoemaker such a good formula one driver was his passion for speed. >> this is a thing he lived with speed all his life since he was 8 years old. he is experienced and has a big ranch in norway and spends a lot

of time in the alps skiing and very experienced skiing and loves speed and danger and when he finished motor racing, going back to 2006, his first retirement, he took up motorcycle racing and actually hurt his shoulder very badly and that prevented a very early come back to motor racing in 2009. and he is a guy that can't help himself. he likes to go fast. michael has a lot of people who perhapses are not very fond of him or don't see his place in sporting history but i think you have to acknowledge him with success of a formula one driver of all time and also he was the first billion dollar sportsman if you like. he was the first guy who broke through as a really big figure in sport and trans sended it because he broke every record there was to break.

he was an amazing man and motor racing and a sports man and he built a team around ferrari and this is the way he worked and he was incredibly successful and in many ways a humble man, a son of a builder in germany which is a small place and yet he is an incredible figure in formula one. >> reporter: his former l-1 colleagues have taken to twitter with best wishes for the driver and a teammate said come on, michael, give us one of the race stints to win through like you used to. you can do it. and phillip posted a picture of the two and wrote i'm praying for you my brother and hope for a quick recovery and god bless you michael.

the line up is complete after a regular final day of the season and the broncos and patriots are top with seattle and carolina with the top spots in nfc and go in the second round of playoffs. the remaining 8 teams will play in the wild card games in afc, san diego will take on cincinnati and indianapolis will host kansas city. nfc, philadelphia take on new orleans in the first round and other nfc wild card game will have san francisco playing the green bay packers. on to football in chelsea and maintained the pressure on the english leaders arsenal and beat liverer pool 2-1 on sunday and two minutes in the match and chelsea came back and samuel

struck in the 34th minute and was the winner and liver pool suffering the second straight loss. >> i knew it was going to be a tough schedule even if we had everyone because of the squad. i can only give credit to the players. i think they did not quite get the result. today we showed moments of the quality that was shown through the season. >> reporter: and earlier on sunday arsenal returns to the league after 1-0 defeat in new castle and ended the drought with the 56th winner at james park. >> and there is something in the team that is special on that front, on the mental front where we have many times been questioned, you know, but we are sure not at this time and we are down and not again today and

back to the war in the last 15 minutes and there is a great solidarity and great spirit. >> reporter: the two other results on sunday saw everton beat hamilton 2-1 and overcame stoke 3-nil and this is how the league will stand at the end of 2013 and chelsea further point back with everton rounding out the top four and liver pool dropped from fourth at christmas to fifth and united moved up to 6th. india are battling to avoid defeat in the second test in south africa, the tourists have 177-7 in their second after lunch. and india lead south africa by just 11 runs with 3 wickets remaining. the tennis tournament continues with the purse and usa and spain

and had easy work and the americans had the first point with stevens and got it 6-3-6-1 of anabel. and the single's match win in straight sets and 6-3-6-4 victory. and american has 3-0 tweet of spain in the mixel doubles and took the match 3-6-6-0. the los angeles lakers are down another point guard after he had an injury in the loss to philadelphia and scored 25 points for the 76ers and snapped a 10-game losing streak and beat los angeles 111-104. in the nhl the penguins are five points clear at the top of the eastern conference after the win over the columbus blue jackets

and they led the penguins with a hat trick with the fourth win over columbus, 5-3. and plenty more on the website, check out al jazeera.com/sport and details how to get in touch with our team using twitter plus we have got blogs and video clips from correspondent around the world, that address again al jazeera.com/spot and that is all the sport with darren. >> reporter: thank you very much. stay with us here on al jazeera. another full bulletin of news is straight ahead and more on the aftermath of the suicide bombings in russia and the latest on the condition of formula one driver michael shoemaker remains as joe was saying in critical condition in a french hospital. that is it for me. and we will be up next, at the top of the hour and thanks for

watching al jazeera. ♪

another deadly attack in russia, an explosion killed 14 on a trolley bus in volgograd one day after 17 were killed in a blast at a train station in the same city. hitting a healthcare milestone and 1 million people have signed up for obamacare and insurance is set to kick in for americans in the new year. stranded in the ice, a russian ship trapped in frozen seas off the coast of antarctica and rescue is almost impossible. ground breaking pilot, women who flew critical missions during world war ii. ♪