thank you. al shabaab claims responsibility for a suicide attack in somalia and convas targeted. hello. i am darren jordan live with. morehead and political strike in yemen as houthis try to hold the country together. >> the battle continues. we are on the frontline with peshmerga forces still trying to drive isil fighters out of northern iraq. and looking to the future can russia return to the front ranks of science or or are its glory days over? ♪

>> welcome to the program. let's start with some news from somalia. a massive car bomb has hit the capitol mogadishu where african union peacekeepers are based. the armed group am shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack which targeted somalia's national intelligence agency. it's confirmed four civilians were killed. the bombing comes after an al shabaab attack in bydoa. that was believed to be in ret trib rettribution for a u.s. air strike that killed one of the group's leaders a few days before. over the past few months somali troops and african union forces have stepped up their offensive against al shabaab fight to go impose islamic law in somalia. attempts to hold yemen together as a country are in deep trouble. there has been a bombing at the presidential guest house in

damar city about 100 kilometers south of the capitol sanaa. several have been killed including a houthi t.v. reporter. on the political front, the leader of the yemen's shia movement has rejected the agreement to the divide the country six regions. they have taken over some areas the latest from the yemeni capitol, sanaa. >> reporter: it is the first time the houthi leader came out and announced the regression of his group to the idea of dividing yemen into six regions. he says this is a western scheme backed by regional powers to have a weak and divided yemeni. the irony is that the houthis are agreed to dividing yemen last year in something called the national conference and it was attended by all of the key political players in this country including the houthis. what changed, i think, is the very fact that the houthis now

feel emboldened after taking over most parts of the country, including the capitol sanaa in september and i think they have the will or power to impose their political will. moving on, an ngo, a research center based here in the capitol painted a grim picture for yemen in the last year. it says about 7,000 civilians or, rather, people died in the violence. it says the country's military is very weak. the army and military are divided and that the houthi rebels are now in control of 70% of the army's capabilities. >> reporter: >> in northern iraq peshmerga forces are trying to keep momentum as they retake territory from isil. one battle is where peshmerga forces were in full control a few days ago. it lies between mosul and erb ill. more from the front line. >> reporter: we are on one of

the front lines of the peshmerga forces close to the strategtic village of sultan abdullah from the capitol region in kurdistan. we cannot go to the village because the peshmerga fighters tell us that there are issim fighters still holed up in some sections of the village. it is where there was heavy fighting two days ago. the peshmerga and isil fighters. at one point, the peshmerga said there were surrounding the town they say now that there are pockets of resistance in the town and they have been getting incoming fire from the positions of isil here and this front line we are seeing unexploded ordinances particular where the peshmerga tell us they lost to some men. what we also know is that the village of sultan abdullah is

close to the strategic isil stronghold of mosul and it may be one of the reasons why the isil fighters don't want to lose the village is they are using it as a defensive position so that the peshmerga and other fighters will not move closer to mosul. and one of the other things the peshmerga fighters here are telling us is that the village is strategic because it is a source of water for the main town around this place, which is mac mood not far from here. it's also on the highway to mosul. they say getting control of this village will give them the possibility to cut isil supplies. >> israel is with holding $127 million of tax revenue from the palestinian authority in retaliation for their bid to join the international criminal court. a punitive measure will have an impact on those in the territories.

stefanie dekker reports. >> reporter: these men are at risk of losing salaries. israel says it won't transfer over a million dollars in response to the palestinians joining the international criminal court. the israeli prime minister had this to say. >> the palestinian authority has chosen to launch a confrontation with the state of israel and we are not sitting idly by. we will not allow the dragging of idf soldiers and commanders to the international criminal court at the hague. the ones who should face justice are the heads of the palestinian authority who entered an alliance with the hamas war criminals. >> he is referring to unity government that was formed last year between abbas's fatta party and hamas which israel considers a terrorist organization. ♪net has previously said the palestinians have more to fear in their decision to join the icc. but it's a statement dismissed by the 358 stenian leadership. >> it will be an amazing historical case where the victim

becomes the murderer. >> to claim that we are the ones who are actually the criminals and that we should be... i don't think anybody will ever take this seriously and everybody knows that the sort of acts of aggression which has been committed are done by the israelis against our people. >> mohammed resigned during the last round of talks with israel. he says after the failure of multiple peace talks and the recent regression at the u.n. where they tried to set a time frame to end israel's occupation, taking the legal option at the icc is the next to step. for all of the political back and forth many palestinians say they have lost confidence any lasting solution will be found. for them there seems to be no end to israel's obviousccupation. people belief going to the international criminal courts is the only way to put pressure on israel >> translator: this is a step we should have taken before. we are weak and and we have no other option. president barbaras tried to do

this to protect his people and his country. israel is trying to pressure us and the americans to too, to not join the icc. >> joining the icc was a move made by the palestinians for maximum impact. it's been a major concern for israel. it's not clear where it leaves any political solution on the ground. al jazeera in the occupied west bank. >> in syria, at least five hezbollah members have been killed in the town of flatla near the lebanese border. in august, around 20s troops were killed and 35 soldiers were certain hostage in the same area by the al-qaeda affiliated he will nusra front. >> the united states and allies conducted seven airstrikes over the last 36 hours. six of the attacks hit isil positions near kobane in syria. there has been a 7th successive day of protests in bay rain bahrain

in the capitol. demonstrators are demanding the release of ali salman the leader of the shia opposition party. the family of a libyan al-qaeda suspect who died in the u.s. days before going on trial is accusing washington of neglecting his health. he was accused of being involved in the 1998 bombings of u.s. embassies in east africa. captured by u.s. troops in tripoli in 2013. >> translator: they deprived him of his rights and are responsible for his death. they abandoned treating him when he woke up from the coma and sent him back to prison. he never got any medical treatment. >> al jazeera continues to demand the immediate release of our three journalists who have been imprisoned in egypt for more than a year. they were wrongly convicted of broadcasting false news and helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood which they and al jazeera deny t on thursday an appeals court in cairo ordered a retrial that could begin within a month.

police and mourners are gather in new york for the wake of police officer wen lui, one of the two police officers shot to death in their patrol car. the gunmen posted social media he at in register for the recent shootings of unarmed black men. the mayor called for unity. >> as we start a new year a year we are entering with hearts that are doubly heavy from the loss of detective lui and detective ramos, let us rededicate ourselves to those great new york traditions of mutual understanding and living in harmony. >> courtney keely is in the wake in new york. >> it's another somber day here in new york city. the second funeral in a week for two slain police officers in what police commissioner william braton has called an

assassination. officer wen lui was shot and killed sitting in his patrol car with his partner ramos. it was conducted as a buddtist ceremony, the first chinese american to be killed here in new york in the line of duty. president obama has sent the head of the f.b.i. to represent him. after the buddhist ceremony there will be a police sarceremony overseen by a police chaplain and eulogies. one would be delivered by mayor bill di blasio. he will be buried. the spot was chosen according to al feng shei expert. there have been tensions between police unions and the mayor. the head of the largest police union said mayor bill di blasio had blood on his hands because many officers felt he had chosen

the side of protesters against the police department here and across the country as several cases were not indicted unarmed black men being killed by police officers and grand juries choosing not to indictment. >> a new citing in the search for the wreckage of the airasia flight. authorities say the plane shouldn't have been on the air -- in the air on the day it crashed. more on that. stay with us.

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lines here on al jazeera. suicide car bomb hit the somali capitol mogadishu. had happened close to the airport when are african union peacekeepers are based. the armed group has claimed responsibilities confirmed four civilians were killed. palestinian leaders are accusing israel of trying to starve their people by with holding $127 million of tax revenue: israel is refusing to pay after the palestinian group applied to join the international criminal court. efforts to hold yemen together are in trouble. there has been a bombing in the courtyard of the presidential guest house in damar city. >> now a mayor in france is being accused of racism for refusing to lou the burial of a baby from the roma community in his town's ceremony. it is a funeral has been arranged for the baby after the mayor of a

neighboring town intervened. ha halle smith. >> a baby girl will be buried here in the paris suburb. she died of sudden infant death syndrome at the age of just two and a half months. her family wanted to lay her to rest in the nearby town of shampop where she was born and lived with her parents and two siblings who go to school in the town. but the local mayer refused permission because he said there were few plots available. he also told the parish newspaper that priority in the cemetery is given to those who pay their local taxes. the i ammplication being that the dead baby's family do not because they are roma. campaigners for the roma community in france say the decision is racism. >> it's very clear that they don't want any roma dead or alive. they don't want them. >> that's all there is to it. >> the family is suffering just as much pain as any french family who lose a baby.

it's exactly the same thing. how can they refuse this? it's disgusting. it's unjust. it's inhuman. >> reporter: the mayor is a doctor who has treated the family, but he says that even if he had never met them he would still have offered them a burial place. >> you just have to put yourself in the place of this mother of these parents, to understand that they have just lost a piece of their world, not being allowed to have their child rest in peace. it's not acceptable. it's not human. when i heard about the refusal. i am not trying to judge, express any point of view. my reaction was immediate. we will accept her in our village. >> the mayor later apologized saying his remarks had been misinterpreted and offered his condolences to the family who haven't been named. the case has raised once again the treatment of it france's 20,000 roma who have suffered discrimination and unequal access to public services. al jazeera. >> at the vatican, pope francis

has picked 15 new cardinals from 15 different countries to join the high ranks of the catholic church. they include cardinals from cape verde. pope francis says the clerics tie the church of rome to the churches of the world. the crew of a ship is missing after it capsized off the north coast of scotland. four livbosis have been at the scene since the partially submerged hull on saturday. no distress call was received from the ship encountering heavy seize. myanmar has marked 67 years since it gained independence from britain. ♪ >> pair aides were watched by government officials and the public. it's the first time independence day has been celebrated since the military took power in a coup in 1962. in separate events opposition leader said much more needs to be done to reform the

government. more bodies are being identified from the air asia plane which crashed into the java sea last sunday. divers are still battling difficult weather as they attempt to reach the plane's wreckage. so far 31 bodies have been recovered and search teams say they found another large object to the sea floor. indian easy i can't's weather agency said bad weather is likely to have been a major factor in the class. the transport minister has threatened to ground the airline because the plane shouldn't have been flying that route on the day it crashed. >> reporter: before the cause of the crash on december 28th is known, airasia has been barred from flying between surbaya and singapore because the airline has been found to have been operating the flight that went down without a proper license. the minister of transport does not rule out more sanctions. he says he is investigating everyone involved. >> air traffic control, the

airport and the airasia and, also the other airlines and, also, the whole plane in this air transport, schedule air transport including our own people if any airlines does the same thing, we will cancel the license of the route, the specific route. if everybody is doing it, we will cancel everything. >> reporter: aviation analysts say it's not only airasia which has been breaching regulations. indonesia's airline industry has a poor safety record. nearly all of its airlines are banned from flying to europe after the international civil aviation organization downgraded

it's aviation safety rating in 2007. many say things have not improved since then. >> translator: there was some improvements but i have to say nothing specific or consistent. we wasted a lot of time. >> airports here are not equipped to deal with the rapidly growing airline industry. the country's main airport in jakarta has a capacity to deal with only one third of the current load of passengers leading to statistics with heavy traffic conditions. >> mean indonesians can now afford to fly. an avenue of 164,000 passengers board planes here in indonesia every day, a booming industry struggling to keep up with demand. >> instead of banning indonesian airlines a former transport minister says international organizations like the european union should help. >> please come here. please help indonesia.

european union, please come here. please help indonesia. are you happy that we have these accidents so you can punish us? you are a developed region. your airline industry is developed. and we buy many airbuses from you. >> while the minister of transport says he wants to take bold measures to improve indonesia's safety record investigations are underway to find out why air asia's flight crashed into the java sea killing 162 people. rescuers have detected large parts of the plane at the bottom of the sea increasing the chances of finding the black box flight recorder soon. ays, jakarta. >> north korea has condemned the hacking of sony pictures. sony's production of the film "the interview," a comedy about an assassination plot against

kim jong un. >> aseveral civilians and soldiers have died since new year's eve. al jazeera's natasha good name reports cease-fires are making problems for many. >> life has been divided into periods of violence and periods of peace. for the people who live in the disputed border region of kashmir. during the area's most recent bout of fighting four people were killed and hundreds were forced to leave their homes. as people returned to see bullet holes, there was plenty of bitterness. on the indian administered side. >> translator: people have to run with it, from here to there. if it has been decided that there will be firing it should continue for a month at least. pakistan should learn a lesson. >> india and pakistan have

accused the other of violating a cease-fire agreement. this has become a constant since both countries gained index in 1947, leaving the region of kashmir in dispute despite the presence of u.n. military observers, the pension between the two sides periodically gets worse. when it does it puts the more than 15 million people living in the region in danger. >> though there is peace today, we still live in fear. this kind of peace should continue. >> there was a period of calm here after india's new prime minister modi was elected last year. with the violence increasing in the last several months. people say their hope for sustained peace is gone. at least for now. natasha gname, al jazeera. >> last month's school attack in peshwara has been followed by the government of help. the region has been struggling

for years. a report from peshwara. many are hoping for a better future. >> reporter: it hasn't rained so far this winter in most of pakistan. a harsh season is felt here in the north. he specially among the poor of peshwara. as a new year arrives, their hopes are mixed with concerns. >> i really hope 2015 will be a peaceful year and my business will prosper as everything here is linked with peace. if there are bomb blasts and killings every day, there will be no economic activity and no business which will affect our livelihood. >> reporter: production is in high manned. he sells a homemade cake from raw sugar but he makes only a modest income. the price for his cakes is less than a dollar. this whole area for years, he suffered severe shortages of electricity and natural gas.

>> definitely until 2015, we will achieve all of our targets because if we go the last we are fixing the problems of the security. the second is the electricity and then the gas. if we make all of these good for the atmosphere of this industrial and business community, the economy will be increased within six months. >> the recent killing of dozens of children in a school attack drew the attention of the world to the area. >> over the last year and a half alone, pakistan has received $32,000,000,000 from the imf. but critics say the bulk of that money will go to defense and security because for the government, that's a top priority for the moment. >> security is crucial say the critics but too much prioritize prioritizing of it it

diverts funds. >> hundreds 6 local businesses deal with insecurity. the most these people apire to at the moment is to be able to keep their heads above water. peshwara. >> it might be famed for putting the first man in space but russia's reputation for scientific excellence hand collapsed in recent decades. efforts are being made to restore former glories. as rory challands reports, the country faces many challenges. >> reporter: the opening roof let's in early winter chill into the observatory.

baris is used to this. he is young, a potential future store, but the astronmer is well someway of the challenges faced by russian scientists challenges that go beyond having the area warm. >> it's the gap between us and developed countries. this will requires a lot of resources in the budget located for science. so, i think the main policy is that science is not very important. >> this observatory here was built in the 1950s, which was a golden period for soviet science lasting through until at least the 1970s, but the collapse of the soviet union dealt a crimming blow to research here all of that money and prestige that had been lavished on scientists just disappeared. it drove many of the scientists to leave for the west. but ho are the ones who stayed and their protocol protoges doing

now? >> a spanish firm puts the dominance of academy of sciences in the top 100 scientific institutions and last year ranked the country 15th for scientific research. the problem, say some are not just about money. they are cultural and structural too. >> i would say kind of the state programs but it's very unclear actually what they want at the very end. so money invested but this it disappears and we come back. so they are not approaching, in my opinion, some good goal. >> putin shook up saying they should compete for it and stop assuming they would be handed cash another policy sea change for russian scientists to cope with when they just want to reach for the stars. rory challands, al jazeera,

moscow. >> a quick reminder: you can keep up-to-date with all of the news at our website. there it is your screen new and improved aljazeera.com. that's aljazeera.com. ♪ ♪