journey can be. >> we make them take a trip of death >> it is heartbreaking when you see the families on top of the rail car borderland continues only on al jazeera america this is loodgesal jazeera america i'm thomas drayton in new york. let's get you caught up on the headlines. after a gunman kills four people including children before taking his own life. >> it is absolutely unacceptable every single days that dozens of civilians lost their lives. >> the president of ukraine urges action as leaders meeting at the munich security conference try to negotiate a peace plan for ukraine.

we examine germany's role in the crisis. and nigeria postpones the next year's elections because of growing security concerns as they get ready to take on boko haram. thanks for being with us. we begin tonight with a deadly shooting in georgia. several people were killed in douglasville just outside of atlanta. >> reporter: five people including small children are dead in an atlanta suburb west of the city. >> it's always art when you have children involved in this and it kind of touches your heart. >> a domestic situation according to officials in

douglasville, georgia. the shooter is deceased from a self inflicted gunshot wound. residents heard and saw the mania. >> i've been with the sheriff's office 38 years. and i've never seen this many victims in one shooting. >> reporter: the violence on a warm sunny day at approximately 3:00 p.m. local time according to police. >> well, as you can imagine we have neighbors that are in shock. we have neighbors who came to the aid of those victims. >> investigators are speaking with onlookers and family right now. the motive is unclear but the result is nothing short of unbearable. robert ray atlanta. world leaders divided on how to end the fighting in ukraine. in america, president obama

pressured by lawmakers to consider the option. also the antigovernment forces have intensified shelling along the ukrainian front lines. separatists have seized control of a strategic location in the east. chancellor merkel saying the stability of europe is at stake. >> translator: russia's actions showing disrespect for the territorial integrity of ukraine just as it shows disrespect for the sovereignty of the ukrainian state. international law has been violated. after the horrible balkan wars of the 1980s spees piece and stability cannot be ignored. >> we get more from hoda abdel

hamid. >> in the heart of behalf air yabavaria.ukraine's president took center stage where this dramatic display. >> the passport and military i.d. of russian soldiers. russian officers. this is the best evidence for the aggression and for presence of russian troops which lost his way. hundred kilometers from the border. with full tanks of ammunition. killing my soldiers, from killing ukrainian civilians. >> german chancellor angela merkel arrived here on the back side of her visit to moscow. calling for larger part in the east and bigger demill tried

zone. >> it is hard to find common ground with western allies. some talk of a growing rift between the east and europe, increasing military support to ukraine. the obama administration has so far provided nonlethal aid. it is now considering supplying kiev with such weapons like anti-tank missiles. >> we've decided to focus our efforts on a diplomatic solution. at the same time with our u.s. partners we've decided to add sanctions, in other words to hit russia with what is our strength and that is our economic divide. >> from the russian point of view the ukrainian conflict can only be sofd solved with direct negotiation. >> we are against combat and we would like to see withdrawal of

leaf weapons we would like to see negotiation between kiev and donetsk. >> talks are continuing on sunday. there is still hope for a deal. many here warn it could be the last chance. al jazeera munich. >> coming up in just a few moments a deeper look at what's at stake when chancellor merkel visits the white house next week. the backdrop of the munich conference. pro-russian separatists taking key areas near donetsk. charles stratford files the report from eastern ukraine. >> the ukrainian army used to be in control here. these fighters with the self proclaimed donetsk people's republic said they will never retreat. >> we need to keep this position because there's a large

contingent in debaltseve. there were ukrainian soldiers here but we devieted them. >> reporter: to where ukrainian soldiers are dug in. the separatists took control of this area a few days ago. they tell us now they're busy consolidating their position and removing bodies of soldiers and civilians. they say they will take this dead ukrainian soldier away later in the day. the separatists and the ukrainian military exchange their dead and prisoners increasingly regularly now. on the walls of this room hang pictures which children drew in support of the ukrainian army. artillery shells are stacked outside among the destruction. >> translator: we didn't capture this land or seize it. we liberated it.

this is our land. >> reporter: there are very few people living hee here now. it is unknown how many civilians are killed in the fighting. as frequently, it is the old who are most reluctant to leave. >> i prefer to stay here because i don't want to be a burden for anyone. i want to live and die here. >> reporter: there are very few buildings unscathed by the conflict. burned out shells, heavy weaponry stray dogs troam roam the streets. it is estimated the separatist fighters have captured hundreds square kilometers of land since the failed september peace deal. no matter what the next attempt at a truce may offer, there is no sign they will withdraw. charles stratford, al jazeera eastern ukraine.

>> turning our attention to nigeria, where officials decided to postpone elections next week because of security concerns. civil rights groups were in the capital today to voice the concern over the postponement. officials decided to put off the vote for six weeks to allow the time for an international military force to secure areas where boko haram has claimed territory. many fear recent attacks will keep voters away. boko haram is fighting for an islamic in northern nigeria and have set up in areas in the north of nigeria. yvonne ndege has more. >> security chiefs said they could not guarantee the safety of voters in particular in areas affected by boko haram. >> if the security of personnel voters election observers and

election materials cannot be guaranteed the life of innocent young men and women as well as prospects for free, fair, credible and peaceful elections will be greatly jepped. jeopardized. consequently the council has decided to reschedule the national elections, national elections presidential and assembly has been postponed. >> outside the headquarters in abuja for days. millions are voters are eager for elections to take place. president gmc is goodluck jonathan is facing a opponent, plan to bring

security to the region a plan that may allow the elections to go ahead. but nigeria security services have failed to defeat boko haram in five years. some are asking how will they do it in six weeks and whether there is another motive behind the delay. >> losing confidence in the process because definitely they will believe that achieved a result a party that is scared of defeat, at the elections and so if that party has its way to achieve the goal post towards the end of the match then party will have its way in manipulating the result. >> elections must take place by the end of april so there is a chance they could be moved again. some civil society organizations

are calling for resignation of the election boss and the security chief over the postponement of the election but that's unlikely to happen. yvonne ndege, al jazeera nigeria. arrested for alleged ties to the group they are accused of supporting i.s.i.l. and sending equipment to the group. she'll be back in court on monday for a bond layering. >> keep an open mind and remember that people are innocent until they are proven guilty. >> officials say they do not suspect the accused of try to plot attacks in the u.s. >> the family of the american hostage held by i.s.i.l. say they are holding out hope she is still alive. i.s.i.l. said kayla mueller was killed in an air strike in

syria. the u.s. says there is no evidence that proves i.s.i.l.'s claim mueller was killed was true. in jordan they are calling it criminal propaganda. united arab emirates is sending a force of fighter jets to jordan. jordan recently increased its air strikes against the group after i.s.i.l. released a video showing a jordanian hostage being burned to death. in iraq's capital multiple bombings killed multiple people. witnesses say women and children died in the attack. other attacks happened at markets in the city. officials are still investigating who was behind the bombings. in mexico at least 12 people are reported kidnapped in kukula, that is the same place where police officers were charged in connection with the disappearance of dozens of

students last year. now there is conflicting information on this latest incident. the exact number of missing is unclear and some may have worked for canadian owned gold mining mining project in the city. also new information tonight has an independent team of forensic experts questioning that missing student investigation, does not support the mexican government's conclusion that the students were killed and their bodies burned to ashes. the first nationwide oil refiners strike is spreading tonight. united steel workers employees walked out of plants, workers from indiana and iowa are expected to join the flight. the company spokesperson says they are negotiating in good faith and no production shortage is expected.

angela merkel is heading to the white house next week. coming up bilateral talks with president obama. and a look at germany's growing presence on the world stage. details on where the storm on the west coast is heading. heading.

>> welcome back. german chancellor angela merkel is playing host to the annual munich security conference. tonight we take a deeper look at germany its position in europe and its growing role in european affairs. we begin with mike viqueria, previewing next week's talks.

>> thomas, with all these issues on the table whenever the two meet the issue is ukraine now it's taken on a new urgency. angela merkel meets with president obama fresh off her high profile trip to moscow where she and french president francois hollande met with vladimir putin in an effort to defuse the escalating conflict in ukraine. after dismissing a strategy of providing ukraine with lethal military aid mr. obama is now considering reversing course but merkel and other european allies are against it. they fear a situation out of control in ukraine and a proxy war with russia. over the years president obama and angela merkel struggling to stay on the same page. ultimately the europeans went

along, but it hasn't stopped vladimir putin from backing the rebels in ukraine. who are making ground. ukraine isn't the only topic on the agenda. the fight against i.s.i.l. and how to stop the flow of foreign fighters including an estimated 500 to 600 from germany who have joined the fight on the side of i.s.i.l. and of course eavesdropping by american intelligence service a sore point sings the bugging of merkel's phones was revealed last year. mr. obama has put an end to bugging ever foreign officials phones. but another proposal for reform put forward by the american intelligence community just last week has been called too weak to make a difference. thomas. >> mike viqueria at the white house. germany's chancellor angela merkel last been in power now for nine years emerging as

arguably the most powerful political figure in her country since the end of world war ii. maria ines ferre has the story. >> germany's chancellor angela merkel follow the money. 17.5 trillion economy is the largest in the 28 member european union. that's put merkel in the position of being the de facto leader of the entire eu. ones that other countries turn to like greece whether they get in distress. when she speaks to leaders about changing their behavior. >> translator: europe experienced the hard way what it means when the basics of our european peace framework are challenged especially the free self determination of the nation. exactly, that is, what russia is doing to the ukraine.

>> reporter: in her third term as chancellor, merkel is now the eu's longest serving head of government. often referring to her as mutti mommy. her dedication to thrift. her staunch refusal to rack up debt, even if it would bolster germany's economy even many of those over 15 have a credit card compared to 62% in the u.s. so debtor nations like greece made her unpopular there 69% of germans approve how she has handled the many cries i. der speigel said, she heads a right leaning party merkel has

also made a point of supporting some policies advocated by her left leaning opponents. merkel's did will appears to give her license to occasionally go after the will of people mostly in international affairs like the rise of i.s.i.l. >> given themselves and other fanatics aa base for terror then the danger rises for us. >> for the first time since world war ii acknowledge germany has sent weapons to a foreign country acknowledge the kurdish region of iraq. her political position at home appears strong. merkel has not indicated whether she will strand for election for her fourth term. her legacy others will reckon with for years to come. maria ines ferre, al jazeera

new york. >> stephen zabo, author. and great to have you both with us. mr. zabo i'll start with you angela merkel, a safe politician middle of the road, i'm wondering does that make her a stronger political player on the world stage? >> yes i think the point to make is that she is part of a coalition government and germany because of the hitler experience has not wanted to have very strong leaders so they put a lot of checks and balances on the possibility for strong leadership. so her foreign minister is the head of the coalition party so she has to bargain and negotiate with the opposition -- with the coalition pattern partner as well. she is also a sort of caution

politician who doesn't want to take bold steps. for all of those reasons shea is secure but cautious. >> ms. raymond how would you define her leadership? >> she is known as a consensus speaker. that's why she's popular with the german people. the germ answer want a grand coalition, steady leadership, not to the right to the left decision making process and she provides that. >> what sort of a central role does germany have in global politics? >> germany is at the center of european politics and gernlg e-angela merkelangelamerkel as you mentioned before is at the center of this. this is not a role she relishes but you have to reconcile that coming down the road. >> you bring up a good point. it is certainly a good weekend

for merkel, the chancellor was in moscow. how important is it to find a diplomatic solution in ukraine. >> well a lot. he has relied on angela merkel to take the lead, and we are facing a dangerous moment when she comes to washington on monday. we are possibly seeing a split between germany and u.s. over the russian policy, giving arms to ukraine. she made very clear she's opposed to that. biden is thinking of supporting that. so i do think that what the strength of the western position to this point on russia has been keeping together and that is because berlin and washington have been together. i'm worried that this will begin splitting next week. >> you think if this continues

that angela merkel will give in to increased sanctions with russia. >> she may increase sanctions a little bit but don't forget the economic relationship between germany and russia is at least six or seven times greater than that between the united states and russia so the germans have a bigger economic state and their ability to go very much further in sanctions is very limited and very dangerous with her quite frankly. >> you're spot on i think. a lot of russian investment in germany. you have to wonder can germany afford to rock the boat if you will? >> they can afford to rock the boat but the polls do not support an armed conflict. the ukrainian situation requires a diplomatic solution, there is no armed solution here. what the u.s. is proposing is to provide arms to the ukrainians

to defend themselves. this is not a war against russia. that is an improbability. the europeans recognize that the only solution is a diplomatic solution and her constituents will probably not allow her to do more other than that. >> we'll talk about the meeting between merkel and president obama in joe smith. ms. raymond, one of the world's largest ddps, how does germany balance the economic with strategic challenges? >> well, you know germany's had the discipline when the economics were going extremely well and europe was doing well they did their major restructuring then we came into a pretty large crisis in 2008. german structural integrity is intact but the southern countries are in crisis and trying to do austerity measures

if the midst of a crisis has proven to be somewhat problematicproblematic as of now. >> merkel has been relatively quiet, why do you think? >> years ago she was very clear that was a situation they would not tolerate. now they are quiet about it because if the situation gets worse in greece and they do not uphold the austerity measures, there is an exit strategy now. they are much more willing to allow that to occur than five years ago and the new greek leadership is misreading the situation thinking that that won't be allowed. >> there's no way they would survive outside the euro zone, greece? >> absolutely not. >> mr. zabo, where does germany fall with regard to i.s.i.l? are they secondary players? >> i think they are. though they are more concerned about it after the paris tacks

but we have to keeps in mind that so far knock on wood, the germans have not suffered a paris like or 9/11 like attack. the numbers are small compared to those going back to the u.k. or to france. given the fact they don't want to play a military role they really are secondary players in terms of the i.s.i.l. issue. >> but there's an antiislamic antii.s.i.l. movement, how is the german dealing with this? >> it is primary in eastern germany her home territory where she grew up but it's been limited. we have seen in the past couple of weeks the leadership breaking down. merkel has taken a very strong stand against movement, coming out and saying it is completely

unacceptable, she may have taken it a bit too far saying they are filled with hate. it is basically an antiimmigrant movement and the one linked to i.s.i.l. has to do with the large number of syrian asylum seekers who have come out and sought asylum in germany. >> your idea on the growing tension? >> this has spread all over europe any time europe is suffering a long crisis, 50% is the youth very easily the europeans tend to blah imtwo areas and they tend to be the immigrants and the eu institutions. this is not just a german problem. this is really a euro zone europe problem after depression in their economies. >> i want to go back to the meeting. the white house has touted for years that germany is a close friend to the united states. in fact they released the

statement this week. is america a close ally to germany osh or has united states been lost to germany? >> i think putin has trumped had a card and that's in the background at this point. >> so you think we've moved past that. mr. zabo what do you think the take away for the meeting next week what's at stake here? >> i think it's been overshadowed almost entirely by ukraine so i think what we'll have to look for on monday is will they find some sort of agreement on this strategy towards moving forward on russia and the whole idea of arming the ukrainians. we'll see a lot of discussion about ukraine. she has met with putin more than anybody else so i'm sure the president will want to get her views on her recent meeting and where she sees putin going and how much leverage there will be

for an agreement. i think that will be the main issue they'll be discussing. the nsa issue and i.s.i.l. will be ton agenda and the transatlantic talks ttip trawks which the germans support very heartily. >> i think it will be mutually agreed upon that the u.s. will provide arms and the germans will continue to take the diplomatic track representing the eu. be. >> we'll have to leave it there. miss raymond mr. zabo good to have you with us. headlines and drew criticism in several states. up next how lawmakers are pushing to make information on future executions confidential. and florida is faceing residents

out of their condos and compensating them only pennys on the dollar for theirment investment.

>> network news anchor ryan williams is taking himself off the air williams says he's quote, too much a part of the news. williams was falsely claiming he was in a helicopter hit by a rocket in 2003. he apologized on the air. nbc says it is investigating into williams statements. how executions are conducted. several states have been criticized for botched executions. states are once again coming under fire. this time for keeping details secret. courtney kealy reports. >> the execution lasted nearly

half an hour. father lawrence hummer witnessed the execution. >> he after two minutes began to gag audibly. and literally easy literally gag. this was simply monstrous. >> reporter: in oklahoma, clayton locket's execution. >> he lifted his head off the gurney and appeared to be in distress. >> after being is he sedated. death by lethal injection should take at the longest 15 minutes. because of a shortage of traditional drugs states are using alternative drug cocktails

and in some cases they have not worked as planned. the new drugs have not been proper reply tested and that's raising suspicions about quality in regulation. >> this gets to a basic philosophical question about what's happening. we are now in an era and last year was part of it where they are trying drugs that have never been used before in executions or combinations and dosages and they are doing that on human beings. >> the type of type of medicine was not the question. the execution teams failed to properly insert needle. they failed to properly monitor the iv drip and they had no contingency plan if something went wrong. ohio's law would even bar courts from knowing what happens inside

the execution chamber. >> we think when you're talking about something that is essentially the ultimate punishment it's deserving of the most transparency, not the least. >> reporter: but politicians in law enforcement vai these laws are necessary to get the drugs and medical staff needed to end the lives of the most dangerous criminals. father hummer says he knows why politicians have been so elusive. >> they're trying to make it easy to execute people in the state of ohio by hiding information from necessary parties. they're afraid somebody might know of what they're doing? that reeks to me reeks of a secret society i don't want to be part of. >> a gallup poll put the figure at 63% so whatever happens with the latest legal challenges, no sign that executions will end

any time soon. courtney kealy, al jazeera. >> earlier today my colleague richelle carey spoke to an official regarding executions. >> i think there's broad based belief that transparency means open government. so in the most extreme criminal sanction that holds true, transparency is still good government. i really think it's as simple as that. in addition to the problems related to the executions themselves the way these secrecy statutes function is that they restrict speech. they restrict the public's access and speech about a controversial and sometimes unpopular topic so it's really a restriction on speech in addition to issues related to

how executions themselves are actually carried out. >> mccracken also said that while the majority of americans support the death penalty she does see the tide of public opinion changing. now to florida and the battle over real estate law with unintended consequences. condo owners mostly elderly saying investors have the power to drive them out. sheila macvicar has the story from florida. >> i thought we lived in a country where your property couldn't be seized for private gain and this blows me away. >> reporter: in 2006 amanda gonzalez bought what she thought was her share of the american dream. a two bedroom condominium near orlando. >> this was unreal.

>> converted into rental apartments forcing gonzalez to sell her condo for far less than she'd paid for it. lawyers in miami the very same people who sold it to her. >> i paid them the money up front now they're buying it back for pennies on the dollar, i'd love a deal like that. >> a law designed for developers to buy up and rebuild condominiums and town houses. now being used by wealthy companies. snapping them up at fair market value no matter how much. 217 condo complexes have been terminated. affecting close to 20,000 condo units. >> the amendment to change the

declaration of condominium. >> stephanie has hired a lawyer and is fieding her condo termination. she's trying to rally other condo owners to fight state law. >> there are no agencies in the state, literally coming in here doing whatever they feel they can do and getting away with it. >> we wanted to meet up with the miami lawyers that terminated the complex where amanda gonzalez lived. initially they declined to speak with me then, they told me what they had done was 100% legal. all the risks spelled out in the closing documents. >> this may be legal my question to you is it moral? his response? there is no question of morality in business and they have

terminated the condominium complex because they have the legal right to do so. >> what would you say to those two miami lawyers who sold you this condominium? >> i wonder how they sleep at night. >> sheila macvicar, al jazeera, winter springs florida. >> coming up, several states are already suing the country's largest health insurer after a massive hack. and cambodia deals with an unprecedented outbreak of hiv. hiv.

>> al jazeera america presents a breakthrough television event. >> borderland long held beliefs... >> im really pissed off at the mexican government... >> give way to compassion... >> if you feel tired, would you turn around and come back? >> our teams find out first hand how treacherous the migrants journey can be. >> we make them take a trip of death >> it is heartbreaking when you see the families on top of the rail car borderland continues only on al jazeera america >> at least four lawsuits have been filed against the nation's largest health insurance provider just days after the company was hacked. putting 80 million people at risk. anthem says hackers may have stolen birthdates and social security numbers but health

records were not taken. life insurance companies share massive bits of information. that can make them targets for hackers. but one company is fighting back. diane eastabrook shows us how. >> a battle is undergoing against unknown enemies. >> this is the network information center. >> this is where robert turner the school raps top guru. >> the latest threat in the last 36 hours a phishing scam, directing to a fake log in page to get confidential information. the home pages look identical. the only difference, they call these hackers creative and elusive. >> they can do all kinds of fun

stuff with the internet and marveg them or totally change the -- mask themselves or totally change the ip of where they are operating from. >> hackers often aim for research. >> they can look at these arrays they're kind of neat. >> dr. william murphy and a group of stem cell researchers. murphy says he's logged hundreds of hours of work online. cyber theft is always in the back of his mind. >> if we lose that, that's a whole lot of time, effort and money, oftentimes taxpayer money that's gone into funding this are researchresearch. >> they have to make sure that

information doesn't fall into the wrong hand. cyber cop turner says he scarchltconstantly keeps people up to date on how to protect against attacks still he worries constantly. >> does this keep you up at night? >> yes. do i have the adequate defenses in place? do i have the team educated enough? >> turner says polanco planning and vigilance prevention attacking from any time anywhere. >> pictures of kim jong-un observeing military equipment.

north korea has increased military drill ahead of the exercises in the spring. raiding fears or over the safety of medical services. the country is at the front lines of the battle. >> reporter: in the village of roka the people are scared. the chief was one of the first to test positive for hiv along with his wife and two children. >> after it was confirmed we had hiv the rest of the villagers were afraid, more and more cases were confirmed. >> reporter: the local medical center now finds itself treating more than 200 you sufferers with still more being diagnosed.

>> we got really worried when more and more people began testing positive. >> investigators identified dirty needles from a doctor who has been arrested and awaiting trial. >> held up as a model in disease prevention cutting its 2% infection rate by more than half in the past 15 years well on its way to achieving the ultimate goal of stopping the spread of the vieshes completely by 2020. it has -- virus completely by 2020. >> as of now we do not have any evidence of such a thing in other parts of the country. and the government in the meantime is considering conducting other cities.

>> telling us the name of uncles aunts and cousins who have been diagnosed, 16 in total out of a full number of 50. >> we fear the ings descrmg if they test positive. >> those who have the virus like the swan family have expressed need for antiretrovirus disease. >> it's okay for me but real pain is for my children, how can they have a family, how can they face a life secure. >> as cam cambodia deals with the larger implications, however long that can be. robert mcbryde al jazeera.

>> a warning from a popular chojt maker less than two weeks from valentine's day. sledding fans, a warning for those of you in canada. we'll be right back. back.

>> well, they look good bud see's candy has a warning for people with nut allergy. some of their candies may be mislabeled eight ounce boxes of classic red hearts with assorted chocolates. >> jaguar land rover north america is recalling 104,000 vehicles because of problems with brakes and lights. most of the problems is with front brake hoses on 75,000 range rovers, from 2006 too 2012. about 5,000 jaguar xk models are being recalled because of problems with side parking lights. all of the problems will be dealt with by next month. across northern california heavy rain and wind. knocking out power to thousands

of homes. the storm brought in big waves in the san francisco bay. rebecca stevenson tracking the latest on this one. what can we expect? >> more rain right now and intense heavy rain over northern oregon is pushing into south washington. 24 hour rain totals add up to three to four inches along parts of the washington and oregon coast. northern california had some of the coastal mountains report up to four inches in this last storm. but this is just the second in a series of three. the next system is gearing up to move in as we get into sunday and it's going to bring a lot of rainfall on top of where we already had plenty. coastal areas to the left, astoria, oregon over an inch and a half of rainfall. what our concern here is because all the rain has gotten into the ground and it's saturated. it is not frozen, this area the west coast has been 5'8°" above

normal. for a long period of time. but 90 days we're looking at lows and highs and they continue to run on the warm side. so that problem brings the fact that there's just no mountain snow accumulating here, certainly not for any water issues for summertime. we could really use the snow pack but it's just too warm. that water's going right down into the rivers and that's why we have flood concerns. tonight we're seeing them anywhere from around the olympics kitsap peninsula in western washington, only going to cause more issues. temperatures in the low 50s across the west. still mild outside. cold air is bottled on the east coast and it looks like a three month pattern is starting up, to stay colder on the east coast warmer and wetter on the west

coast. third system coming in tomorrow and dumping an additional five to eight inches of rainfall. first it's going to hilt northern california and as we get into the day sunday we will see the rainfall totals go up along with powerful wind gusts 50 60 miles an hour, and then plenty more rainfall into central oregon. we've got a big concern for landslides too. >> rebecca thank you i know you'll be following had one. don't have to tell you winter in canada can be long cold and difficult. so many get out to enjoy the snowy weather. toe bogtotobogganinng. >> all you need is a toboggan and you're off. it's a family affair.

>> spending time with the kids having a good time. going fast. you guys ready? 1-2-3! >> maybe so but here in hamilton sliding down a hill like this is illegal. several years ago the city lost a lawsuit brought by a man who broke his back by tobogganing. the law is attempting to prevent that from happening again. >> some of which they provide an optimum environment for tobogganing. it's an unsecure position for us. >> backlash led by laura cole, who led the protest song, "you can't toboggan in the hammer

anymore. you aren't supposed to run and play. >> she says it's about much more than restricting winter fun. >> i think it's a bigger issue than that. i think it's something a culture that we have to stand for and we have to stand for our rights and you know, we choose to slide downhill as the song said. >> there is no denying tobogganing is risky. head injuries are a particular problem. >> you can imagine the skull the hard part as the bathtub that the brain kind of sits in. >> this physician says helmets should be mandatory. >> there's no time to waste. if you are a parent and have kids that are itching to go tobogganing. yes, iforts it's the only thing you can do to keep safe. >> there's only one thing you can do.

daniel lack, al jazeera hamilton. >> i'm thomas drayton. thanks for watching. anks for watching. >> vote delayed - nigeria's presidential election postponed because of security concern welcome to al jazeera, live from our headquarters in doha. also ahead - controversy surrounding an alleged recording of egypt's president planning to demand money from gulf countries. iraq lifts a long-time curfew hours before a series of deadly bombings canadians fight a downhill battle for the right to go