... this is al jazeera. welcome to the news hour. al jazeera news centers in doha. these are the top stories. a powerful explosion hit southern beirut. four people are dead. iraq's bloody year, 2013 recalls the biggest in five years. fighting continues in south sudan as rebels prepare to begin peace talks in ethiopia.

and how this puppet commercial got one in egypt in trouble. with the latest from europe, including security issues dominate as russia presses ahead with its preparations for the winter olympics in sochi. welcome to al

this this this this. >> they didn't want the lebanese to be part and it would open the way in lebanon. >> no one. but for many lebanese, it

started to reach them. the politicians, president terrorism. they called for the unity of the lebanese. but this this

>> this is one of the main groups fighting in syria.

>> that's prompted the she aled group. to try to restore order local tribesmen have joined the police in the city of ramadi to try to take police buildings that the fighters have occupied. there is anger here over the arrest of a prominent sunni lawmaker and over the dismantlement of at that camp. iraq has become bitterly sectarian. the country was having deep grievances with the shiia government. it files its interests have been neglected. malaki says he wants to talk to sunni leaders to try to resolve the stand-off but not those who were al lied with al-qaeda. >> we welcome our brothers from umbar who stepped forward to speak to us and consult and discuss. we need the real sons of ambar, not those who claim to represent

16 people dead. in a statement the interior ministry said the son of a muslim brother leader was

arrested. he has admitted to being a member of the group. the group claimed responsibility son of one of the muslim brotherhood leaders. i am confirming they are all connected. they are from the same fabric. everything that is happening in egypt is due to this apparent organization's plotting. >> two people have been killed in violent clark between police and protesters in egypt's northwestern city of alexandria. officials say attacks began after roads were blocked in the city. votofhone executives have been sreached. they show a puppet since the accusations, they have set up a twitter account in the puppet's name calling for her freedom.

votophon. >> in the past few hours, the chief of sudan defense forces, the top military man here in south sudan has spoken. he has said they are forced from the rebels by whatever means have expressed interest in moving forward to take jupa. he said this would be defending the capital, juba from bor, and that his forces will continue fighting the rebels until they have the strategic town of bor. now, the president has declared

a state of emergency in the unity regions. says this has to be done to give the governments and the local governments as well as the military a freehand in dealing with the rebellion. since the state of emergency was declared, both governors of those two regions have disbanded their governments and their support to put together -- they are supposed to put together what they are calling a war-time covenant. there has been an aattack in the democratic republic of congo. a senior leader of the troops was killed along with three of his bodyguards. the governments blame it on the ugandan rebel group. >> gang raped and burned alive. protests over a brutal attack on a 16-year-old girl. plus seeking help from unlikely sources, mexico city's latest drive to improve its public

spaces. in sports, real madrid in front after crowd of 50,000 here in doha. the, from that high-profile match coming up later. pakistan's former president has been taken to hospital with suspected heart problems. the seventy-year-old former military ruler was due in court ontrieson charges but has so far failed to attend, citing threats to his life and now his health. police in india -- sorry rather protests have broken out in india with a brutal rape after 16-year-old girl. police say she was gang raped twice and burned by her attackers. they had originally said she committed suicide after the attack. jamil has more from new dehli. >> they was the latest victim of a horrific crime. the 16-year-old was allegedly gang raped twice, over two days

in acth. the family says the torment didn't end there. they alleged that family and friends of the accused continuously harassed and threatened them to withdraw the case. >> they said they would kill us. policemen watched silently. what is the use of policemen who can not protect us? >> reporter: on december 23rd she was set on fire, dying in hospital a week later. until thursday, police were treating the girl's death as a suicide. but now, they sare treating it s a murder as disclosing they recorded a deathbed statement by the victim. this crime is the latest since the december 2012 gang rape case in new dehli that led to tougher punt issuements for crimes against women. while the laws have strengthened police are weak in enforcing them. >> maybe they are behind bars. then how could this family have been regularly threatened for over one month and then, again,

she was put on fire? how could they manage it? there must have been some kind of a huge support for that. >> the victims' parents have met the parents, asking for protection because they feel their pursuit of justice for their daughter is putting their lives in danger. >> we are highly disappointed by the law and order situation in west bengal, and i don't trust anyone. >> the december 2012 gang rape in new dehli led to a huge outcry that forced the government to pass stronger laws against rape and other crimes against women. since then, there has been a sharp increase in the reporting of rape cases to police. so far, there is no indication where that's translated and to decrease the number of crimes committed against women. jamil, al jazeera, new dehli. bangladesh's prime minister has ruled out a last-minute

cancellation. addressed for the last time before sunday's vote. they accused opposition of rejecting talks. more than 150 people have been killed in the last two months since hasina refused to step aside. now security concerns are dominating the upcoming sochi winter olympics after two suicide bombs at the weekend in russia. for more on that, let's join barbara in our center. barbara, over to you >> reporter: >> vladimir putin called the attacks an abomination and he promise did the total destruction of those responsible. he says he will beef up security, and that's despite some world leaders saying they will not be attending the ernest. meanwhile, preparations for the games, themselves continue with the russian squad unveiling their olympic kit as peter shaw reports now from moscow >> reporter: there is a fierce streak of patriotism that runs through these people. the russian olympic people carries the hopes of the nation launching the new sports

clothing for the games which begin next month, just a few of the 60-strong squad that will soon move to the black sea of sochi before the opening ceremony in february. all of this comexcitement not shared by world leaders. some won't be making an appearance at president putin's games. that doesn't matter says russia's olympic chief. >> the olympic games is a sporting event for athletes. it's not a summit for the heads of state. >> there is much resting on the russian team to perform well. they will be on home ground. there will be no excuses. and this is where russia's winter olympic hopes lie out on the ice. the national hockey squad and the ice skaters are the bright lights in these winter olympics, going for gold in sochi. >> also, salvaging russia's olympic reputation. it's the night of february 25th, 2010. russia hotly tipped, facing canada for a place in the

quarterfinals. the olympics nightmare was about to begin. russia was thrashed 7-3 by canada. the russian coach talked about erecting scaffolds in red square for the team on their return. it was a national humiliation. >> the figure skaters fared little better. for the first time since 1964, the skaterred failed to win gold. the cold war years when the soviet state ruled all are long gone. there is lots riding on mr. president putin who has taken overship of the games. he wants to make this a show education for russia. this is putting $50,000,000,000 into the winter olympic games. >> the events over the weekend in the city of volgegrad have blighted the buildup to the start of the games. the islamic militants have pledged to disrupt these olympics. >> so i asked our followers to do their best with the help of

allah to stop this satan dance on the bones of our ancestors. >> it's security and not is that right? obsesses the kremlin. putin promise did to make the games the safest ever. there is much at steake for the russian president and the winter olympics in the following four weeks. peter sharp, al jazeera, moscow. an expert in security threats earlier, i asked her about president putin's vow to keep the games safe. >> he is making that promise on the basis that they understand the threat. they will have been preparing for many years for it. and it's quite predictable that these types of attacks will happen. they will be very annoyed that their intelligence hasn't identified them ahead of time. if we think about it, chechyn terrorists are universal donors to terrorism around the world. trouble can come at russia now. >> i guess they always knew the sochi games would be a threat but do you think there is

anything they are doing in these four weeks after the volgegrad? >> we are seeing a good response, and exactly as britain ran before the 2012 olympics, we see you high visibility soldiers in the streets of volgegrad although that may not be the city that has the next problem. obviously, if there has been a cell there, there may be other cells in other cities and potentially, obviously, moscow will be very concerned, very much. >> do you think sochi, it could be other softer target cities? >> the russians are good. they will expect everything. >> okay. >> sochi, although it will be a ring of steel, they might widen it out. they might do much more concerted attention, much further out than they have expected in the past. >> obviously, these kinds of attacks parthing civilians, it's about sowing fear and especially fear from people who would go as the spectators. how do you think putin has

handled the psychological side of this? >> he has handled it extremely well because this attack is primarily a psychological operation. it happened four weeks out, and it's to convince people not to travel and to show power and to destroy the olympics. it is an attack on the sport as well as on the russian state. so, it's an international attack. and that's why president putin at this point of time will need the international cooperation, particularly for aviation coming from all of our countries, remembering that chechyn terrorists can start anywhere to go into russia as well as emerging from russia. >> i will have more news from europe a little later in the news hour. now, it's back to doha and barry. >> we will see you then then. ahead, u.s. secretary of state, john kerry cordis his shuffle diplomacy. old rivals, serena williams we will hear all of the details after this.

at fukushima daiich >> three years after the nucular disaster, the hidden truth about the ongoing cleanup efforts and how the fallout could effect the safety of americans >> are dangerous amounts of radioactive water, leaking into the pacific eververyday? >> join america tonight's michael okwu for an exclusive four part series, as we return to fukushima only on al jazeera america

>> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story

weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america ... >> welcome back.

a quick reminder top stories here here on al jazeera. four people have been killed in a bomb attack in lebanon's capitol. it happened in a stronghold in southern beirut. 7,000 civilians were killed in attacks in iraq in 2013. the number is the highest in five years. the u.n. said the division between iraq, sunni and shiia muslims is at the root of the violence. >> in south sudan, talks. thousands of government troops have arrived. >> he would found in an upscale

hotel in johannesburg. authorities said his body was found on the bed. there were signs he was strangled. >> that investigation revealed he might have been strangled as he displayed -- his neck was swollen and police found on the scene a bloodied towel as well as rope in the hotel safe. >> he was stripped of his colonel rank in 2006. he fled into exile in south africa. the former army chief followed him. both men played a part in fighting to free rawandan from genocide. they have since fallen out of favor with the president. in 2010, he survived two attacks including a shooting that left him critically ill. he spoke from outside the hospital at the time. >> some really high-level violence to think you walk into somebody's country in the middle of the world cup. everyone is focusing on the world cup and shoot some

dissident general. of course, you guys in the press will turn from the world cup and talk about a crime that has been committed. so, i don't know. >> in 2002, niamwasadi testified against three accuse did of attacking him. they are founding members of the exile opposition group, the rwandan national congress. in a statement release did on wednesday, the group said, by killing its opponents, they seek to intimidate and silence people into submission. the regime is hugely mistaken. such criminal activities make rwandan people more embolden to remove dictatorship. they tried them in absentia for threatening state security and sentenced them to 20 years in jail. one of them will now never serve time in rwandaa threat to the state no more. caroline malone, al jazeera.

let's talk to niamwasa, the former chief of staff of the rwandan army who joins us on the phone from johannesburg. keraga was a key figure, a political colleague of yours. what more have you been hearing about the circumstances of his death? because you have been telling other international media that he was murdered. >> yeah. it's a fact that he was murdered because he did not commit suicide. but i also know, as a matter of fact, that has information that he has made good on his promise. i remind you, the president said

he would heed and wait for him. if he can, the matter being -- >> you, yourself, you, yourself, mr. niamwasa survived two assassination attempts since flee to go south africa in 2010. who do you think would have been behind attempts to kill you? >> the same guy, the same person because in the same day, in the same place, parliament, not anywhere else but openly, he said he would kill us. now, he ordered for shooting. they didn't die unfortunatefort now, my colleague has been killed.

they had no argument with anybody. >> okay. so -- >> the openness. >> so you blame the president of rwanda for killing patrick kiragana. both you and he are founding members of the opposition rwanda national congress formed in 2010. how much of a threat do you think your party is to kagami's political base in rwanda? >> in our party is a big split

>> thank you for talking to al jazeera. now, explosions in somalia's capitol have killed eleven people. if happened close to the airport. the hotel is popular with somali politicians. witnesses say the explosions were followed by gunfire. there has been a grenade attack on a restaurant popular with tourists, the tandori bar south of mambasa. at least 10 people have been injured. it's not known who is responsible. benjamin netanyahu says there is growing doubts that palestinians are come mode to peace. >> johnkerry's 10th visit to israel and the occupied west bank in the last 12 months. he is hoping to make this the year israel and the palestinians seal a deal.

>> nick sheeveren sends us this update >> reporter: they have been meeting for the last six months, 20 rounds of negotiations and they are nowhere closer than they were six months ago to any kind of peace deal. so, secretary of state john kerry arrived here today with a direct and simple message: now is the time to decide whether you are going to make any concessions for peace. >> the time is soon arriving where leaders are going to have to make difficultdecision decisions. we are close to that time if not at it. and i think we understand the circumstances within which we are working. >> the israeli side, netanyahu is expected to have to agree to start these negotiations based upon the bordersis had before the 1967 war. >> that's not something that he has ever agreed to personally or any of his allies have ever said that they would ever support him on. >> that's going to be a very difficult concession that he is

going to have to make. when the palestin -- on the palestinian side, president mac mulled abbas will have to accept it. they have accepted israeli right to exist. now he is saying the palestinians have to go a step further and accept israel as a jewish state. palestinians say that's not accepting the right to exist but the narrative for this region and we are not willing to give up the right to return for all of those arabs who in what is now israel before 1948. they say israel is 20% arab so how can we accept it as a jewish state? those are some of the concessions john kerry is talking about over the next few days. he is not going to demand any answers yet according to u.s. officials. but they say both sides are expected to make those hard choices, make some of those concessions if they are going to go toward any kind of peace agreement and what kerry and his aides say is that by the end of the month, they hope there will be a document that both sides agree on, both sides sign that

will launch the peace talks for the next six months and perhaps longer than that. nick sheeveren, al jazeera, jerusalem. aerial is he sherron is said to be in critical condition. officials say the 85-year-old is suffer from kipped kidney failure. he is considered the arkansas test defendant west bank. >> in this situation, in his age and his condition, this critical malfunction of some of his internal organs are threatening his life. the new year is barely with us. the first migrants risking is it all are being plucked in the sea. barbara? >> reporter: yes, in this latest incident more than 230 migrants were rescued by the coast guard off of lampaduza. this is an ongoing crisis with the latest figures from the interior ministry showing 25,000

migrants arrived by boat in 2013 of these, nearly 10,000 were fleeing the conflict in syria. over 13,000 came from africa, mainly somalia and mali. over 900 were from afghanistan. hear are more details >> reporter: barely into the new year, the first migrand boat has arrived from north africa, a treacherous voyage that mostly takes place when the weather is better. the threat of rough seize did not deter the latest rifles. they came mostly from sub is a h subsaharan africa. it is closer to north africa than the mainland, the site of frequent boat landings, sometimes with tragic consequences. in 2013, hundreds of people died attempting to reach the island. the worst incident occurred in october, when more than 360

migrants drowned after their boat caught fire and capsized. then 304 people died in a ship wreck. it seems the troubled deniid no end at sea. there w shocking footage emerged of naked migrants being showered down. it prompted debate about europe-bound migration. it has led to criticism of the european union's way of dealing with the issue. mistaken hoped the boat disasters would prompt the eu to improve strategy but with war and unrest looming over certain kuntz trees, it seems likely the boats will keep coming to lampadusa. the perilous journal is for some a risk worth taking. al jazeera. torrential rain and strong winds have left parts of france flooded. residents in kimbal in the northwest of the country woke to find some of the main streets

under water. others faced flood waters in their own homes. winds of up to 50 kilometers an hour have been forecast for thursday night as well as over the weekend. ukraine became an independent country 22 years ago, but only now is its agriculture back to soviet era production levels. farming is the most significant growth sector. jennifer glass reports >> reporter: in some ways, ag culture hasn't changed much here in the past 100 years. many work the fields by hands and most are still poor. the soviet union's forced collectivization program was supposed to modernize farming. but it killed millions of farmers. when the soviet union collapsed in 1991, the transition to private farming meant productivity plummeted at first. now, it's booming

>> reporte. >> this was an jolted old collective farm in soviet times. now, it's one of the most modern agricultural complexes >> reporter: a farm like this has allotted of catching up to do. the average cow produces 25 liters a day. it would be about 60 in europe. >> the sanitary conditions also leave much to be desired. so milk can't be used to make soft cheese or yogurt. still, the country has a lot of potential. >> ukraine has some of the richest soil in the world. and many here believe with better integration and closer ties to europe, ukraine could become a regional bread basket >> reporter: who ounwns that so is a big obvious stackel? >> land is a problem here because there is no clear ownership. there is no clear right to buy or sell land which makes it difficult for people to invest. >> that makes modernization projects like this new seed plant expensive.

ukraine's banking sectors charges 25% interest. farming companies would like government reforms and some outside help. >> europe is more preferable for us in financial sense because we may for development, for organization, for innovation, because in agriculture, we need financial resources. in gangs, resources are very expensive. >> europe is ukraine's biggest customer. ukraine could sell more. >> the u.s. is the largest grain exporter. ukraine will be number 2 this year. >> that's producing about 50% of its capacity. so, ukraine actually has the capacity to equal or almost equal u.s. exports. >> but it will take a lot of change to make ukraine's farm competitive in the 21st century. jennifer glass, al jazeera, ukraine. >> that's is it for me and the rest of the team here in london. now back to darren in doha.

more details on the crisis in south sudan. more than a thousand people have been killed in almost three weeks of fighting. the army's chief of staff, james ho f.m. 4 a has called for peace. >> what we need is unity, unity and development. now, we kill ourselves, there is no incentive to build at all. you kill your brother, your sister, you have nothing to gain. >> let's talk to ed ward thomas, a historian and analyst and joins us from glass go in scotland. fighting is raging over large swaths of south sudan. let me ask you: is this a political clash between two add versaries or has it evolved into a more deadly ethnic conflict? ? >> i think it started off as a political clash between factions of the governing elite, the

people who have big jobs and money in juba. now, every state in south sudan's history has organized its relationship with the rural population through ethnic structures, through ethnicity. and when they seek to build constitwains uencies, they dpor go urban acog stituencies and go for theethnic ones. that means at least on the surface of things, it looks like there is an ethnic clash going on. i think that's a very superficial view, though. i think what's happening is that big politicians are using whatever resources they have, whatever political resources they have to mobilize the rural position in a crisis. and the beginning and probably the end of this crisis will be within the factions of the elite. >> you talk about a possible end

to the crisis. there have been some delays for peace talks. are you optimistic that they will reach any kind of settlement or a peace deal in ethiopia? >> well, i sincerely hope that they will. but the situation is equally confusing for people like myself who are observing from far away, and it's also extremely

despite bad press, ford refused to step down, even if it mentoronto city councillors taking away all but the most symbolic of the powers? >> counselor the reason i did

drink or drugs was not stress. it was shear stupidity

this this cap . >> 4-nil in the series. the captain insists he is the man to lead the current tree. >> i want to continue. i love the challenges it presents me. it's a test of who you are as a person. we have had a hell of a lot of success. i can't say how many series i have played of being part of this is my first series. so, it's not all doom and gloom. >> from cricket, the qatar is underway. rafael nadal is in action with

the spaniard. the winner will play djack of germany. another german in action is up again daniel brantz. >> the women's plans are into the semifinals at the world number 1 beating saracovat the reigning champion but to get to the finals, she will need to get past an old friend. that rival, old friend subpoena maria scharapova, beating 46-she will look to end a 13-match losing strength against williams. the two meet in the series. the other semifinal will sea world number 1, former world number 1 and australian, and she

struggled past stephanie bugula. in her quarter sfienl. she beat germany's anjolee karava in three sets. the annual winter classic has a record crowd of 105,000 fans turned up for the game between the toronto maple leafs. the previous record set in the same stadium in 2010, just over 104,000. the crowd had to brave minus 10 degrees celsius temperatures. jane vanjenzik before the second intermission to level at a time goals. they carried on to the shootout where tyler bozer clenched the 3-2 win. in the nba there has been a surprise. the indiana pacers were beaten

95-82 by the raptors. the dallas mavericks beat the washington wizards who actually had the lead going into the final quarter. thanks ton john who had 22 points in total. it was out scored by dallas's monte allys. the mavericks winning 87-78. that's sport. >> robb and, thank you. police in mexico are hunting down some of the country's most respected graphity artists. they don't want to stop them from painting. a special squad is inviting artists to work on some of the public spaces. rachel reports >> reporter: graffiti artists at work in mexico city. murals like these are increasingly common and the c y creators are following in the footsteps of mexican giant. diego rivera.

not only is this wall painting on an inner city sanctioned. it's the local government behind it. a dedicated unit from the local police is creating free spaces for graffiteros to do their their thing. tranché >> translator: to give people fair and free spaces to paint legally accompanied by a patrol car instead of chasing after them to stop them from painting. >> the aim is to get rid of graffiti like this, common throughout mexico city. the idea is that by opening up spaces, it will encourage graffiti artists to paint more pleasing images like many works by dieiago rivera, this designs carry images and messages backed by the state. but here, this specialist says there is a new generation of artists who are even more

rebelorebel ious. >> the new artists go over the past but use more recent history such as drug violence and recent social problems. there is a much more rebelliouus tone because they are in free spaces, the street. >> not all of mexico's neo muralists are government backed. some combine the adrenaline with independent designs that adorn the streets as well as gallery walls. >> translator: i don't work on political campaigns because i don't want my work to be tied to any political parties. i prefer to express my own opinions. >> mexico city. that's it for me, fell is it barr is here at the top of the hour with more news. stay with al jazeera. thanks for watching.

welcome to "al jazeera america." i'm del walters. here are the stories we're foming for you. there's growing doubt in israel that the palestinians are committed to peace. >> a renewed effort to bring peace to the middle east. john kerry heading back to israel. plus an explosion in lebanon. at least six people dead in a hezbollah stronghold. the northeast is bracing getting ready for another major snowstorm. secretary of state john