we returned to see how the students in the scheme helping change the face of india . sympathy. announcing. that all for all prisoner swap in eastern ukraine gives the fragile hope for an end to the 5 year conflict. this is al jazeera live also coming up a missile attack in yemen is blamed on the rebels who are now threatening to target sensitive locations in saudi arabia and the u.a.e. . taiwan's leader wants china is the biggest threat to its well being pointing to the events in hong kong to bolster her reelection bid plus. it is massive violence

and i consider this an act of domestic terrorism new york governor speaks out after the latest attack against the jewish community. a prisoner swaps being made in eastern ukraine between government forces and pro russian separatists the 2nd exchange in 3 months of around $150.00 prisoners was brokered by the russian and ukrainian president so earlier this month it's being seen as a step towards ending 5 years of fighting around $14000.00 people have been killed since russian troops and next the crimean peninsula russia went on to an extraordinary and is accused of supporting the separatists in eastern ukraine at least 13000 people have been killed in the fighting the latest prisoner exchange is part of ukrainian president the lot of me is a lead force for peace but there is an anger in ukraine of the concessions by to

russia in order to secure a ceasefire kiev will release riot police suspected of murder during the 2014 uprising journalist alexandra is in moscow and says that for most part the prisoner swap is welcome but there is some criticism that ukrainians who died in the revolution have been betrayed. faced criticism in ukraine from the very start when he openly showed his willingness to talk with russian president vladimir putin and also willingness to compromise with him and critics say he might have compromised too much or did he is a bit too willing on the other hand there is effect that he did win the elections by promising to end this conflict and we could read on social networks and also in ukraine and media that this prisoner swap is welcome there were posts like a finally our people are heading back home some of them have been kept by the

russian separatists since 2015 at the same time what it calls the criticism mostly in this particular swap that happened today is that. the russian separatists were released 5 x. special police members who were charged with killing people in the square with a pen this in the center of kiev in 2014 so before the crimea was annexed by russia before a 1st gun was fired in east ukraine and critics say why are you handing over dispy people they have nothing to do with the fighting in east ukraine and they feel that people who died and the whole ukrainian revolution of 2014 has been in a way surrendered has been the way betrayed at least one person is being is strike carried out by forces loyal to libyan war lord for the for after

a number of others were injured in the attack to target. in the eastern suburbs of the capital tripoli. the yemeni government is blaming her 3 rebels for a missile attack on a military graduation parade which killed at least 7 people there's been no claim of responsibility for the strike in the town of dolly in southern yemen the apparent target was security build forces which are trained and equipped by the saudi u.a.e. coalition meanwhile the who have identified 9 targets in saudi arabia and the u.a.e. which they plan to hit next year as saying he is a pro who journalist based in sana he says disagreements between the saudi u.a.e. led coalition fighting in yemen mean they're at risk of splitting up. i think because if we see that the goal in the south is different saudi arabia is supporting the legitimacy of the other on the other side we see that united arab emirate is creating a militia and security forces which actually want yemen to be separated over they

call it the session of yemen that's why i think if they continue this way i don't think that this coalition can continue on as well we have seen today confidence for the 'd spokesperson of yemeni are the voters here in sanaa and he has one saudi arabia and i have a minute and he said that this year. 2020. name it if they are a victory in a difference because we know that in many other means and has been developed there any difference and if they can limit. the strength and the power of saudi a night out of air force i believe that they can conduct a major attack against saudi arabia united arab emirates and i just want to mention that 2 days ago yemeni a ballistic missile has targeted a military base in niger and i think that was a clear declination of the end of the unilateral truce that was announced in sanaa 3 months ago on the spokesperson today have said in sanaa that yemeni army would

respond to any attack against yemen either here in area under the control of some or any other attack or a major development in the south especially from the united arab emirates. well the u.n. has sent a rapid response team to the central african republic after violence between shop owners and fighters demanding money at least 40 people were killed in the capital bangui on thursday dozens of shops and homes were set on fire after traders refused to pay the un is warning against an escalation of fighting following years of unrest between muslim and christian militias well the central african republic has filed to become stable since its independence from france in 1960 violence and more worse in 6 and a half years ago when muslim rebels formed a group called select and seize power in the majority christian nation an alliance of my own the christian militias called anti bloc out formed to counter them a transitional government was handed power in 2014 but attempts to bring to any lasting peace have repeatedly broken down much of the conflict is over the

country's vast wealth in diamonds gold oil and you rania just the is a senior policy analyst for africa in the middle east at the heritage foundation in harrisburg pennsylvania he says violence has been building in boundaries peak 5 district for some time. p.-k 5 has been a flashpoint in the capital bangui that has seen various levels of violence for years now it was the bastion of safety for muslims who fled to peek a 5 during the sectarian violence that broke out in the country between christians and muslims so very restive very volatile and again this is just yeah i'm out there round of violence in the capital city and in this neighborhood car is desperately complex environment there was

a recent peace agreement signed in february there were 14 armed groups that were signatories to that agreement and that doesn't represent all the armed groups in the countries that gives you some sense of again the complexity of this so this is a very difficult situation in a desperately poor country very corrupt it's one of the least developed on earth a man suspected of attacking 5 orthodox jews with a machete in upstate new york he's facing 5 charges of attempted murder the attack happened while the group was celebrating the festival hanukkah at a rabbi's home on saturday night some people would chased from the house and took refuge in a neighboring synagogue 2 people remain in hospital with critical injuries but the new york governor andrew cuomo described the ongoing attacks against the jewish community as domestic terrorist this is about the 13 into that incident of anti-semitism in just the past few weeks. comes during

a period of high holidays for the jewish people. it is intolerant that is ignorant but it is also illegal. and at the end of the day it's not just about words it's about action and we have seen or not in new york this is violence spurred by hate it is mass violence and i consider this an act of domestic terrorism let's call it what it is these people are domestic terrorists. jordan is covering the story about washington bureau of rolls and there has been a real increase in these top of attack what more are we learning about this one. well paul the person in question a man identified by the associated press as 37 year old grafton thomas did not allegedly saying anything that could be construed as anti-semitic the location as you noted a rabbi's home on the 6th night of hanukkah

a big party underway and then after he was chased out of the house he then tried to break into the senate dog next door but congregants there heard the commotion and locked the door so thomas allegedly could not get in so he's not actually facing any hate crime charges at this point. but it is conceivable that he could be charged with a hate crime given the location and given the people who were at those locations at the time of the attack as you heard there andrew cuomo the new york state governor is suggesting that there should be tougher legal penalties for people involved in anti semitic crimes and that he is going to put forth legislation before the legislators in albany to try to have the anti-semitic attacks and perhaps and probably other kinds of attacks as well classified as domestic terrorism that's going to take a while what's more important right now is that there will be an arraignment on

sunday and grafton thomas is expected to appear before a judge we don't know yet whether or not he will enter a plea of guilty or not guilty of the presumption under u.s. law is that he is innocent a lesson until prosecutors can prove this before a jury rosen thank you india's opposition congress party's describing the new citizenship law as an attack on indian traditions culture and history the legislation much easier for religious minorities from 3 night bring countries to be tell me indian citizens protesters cite the little violates the secular constitution by excluding the refute genes arguments and so forth it is in new delhi and she says protesters there are not willing to give up. jummy amelia. in new delhi has become the epicenter of protests against the citizenship law recently passed by the indian government today some of the students some of the scenes from

the days when police and some of these students are this is that they want an inquiry against these police officials 26 people have been killed but only one of these people has managed to file a complaint with the police investigations are expected to start soon the others will be. found those who've been beaten up we've also seen visuals on social media of police smashing private cars so these students are essentially saying that they've been on safe and they feel that they may be attacked by their own now he did start as a student movement but it's also quickly turning into a political long as different political parties. which is that you nationalists say that they are not going to implement this law in their states that's at least 10 states. that is. on the ground these political parties in this states can make them. difficult these students. of the g.

but very few. for the government. well still ahead on al-jazeera which strikes taking center stage of france to say help powers theaters to struggling to heal they say it's also just a really fun score and i like to hit people who didn't. have a bird despite repast on sight for the children but not everyone's a fan. hello there plenty of cold air in place across much of iran and that east across into afghanistan is a little bit of cloud there but really the main activity is still out towards the west or the eastern end of the med particularly impacting turkey for the next couple of days as sunday and monday we have got this system just sitting in the

eastern end of the mediterranean some strong gusty winds again some coastal plenty of snow working its way across into turkey now by choose day it does really begin to fall apart still want to showers and still some gusty winds at times but a much better picture certainly than we will see on monday meanwhile to the east we have got clavicles and snow and some rain in the mix but mostly dry into that's the south of that town which is how being very nice that mean the mid to 20 celsius as some light winds a little bit cool in the evening hours we're seeing if you shazam coastal areas of amman we could just see the same as we go through monday and tuesday a sudden cheese day that is more cloud developing but really it will stay mostly dry and sunny feeling pretty warm as well on the touch as of sunday on the high side across into much of south africa we've got 29 in johannesburg 25 end both days of house and scott at thunderstorms at the same way the on tuesday and still plenty of rain in north america aska.

they wanted 43000000000 pounds with a weapon that was 6000000000 pounds in term if. there is no anymore because there's always a small cobbles people. really really good business. in essence we in the united states have privatized the ultimate public function your shadow on al-jazeera.

this is al jazeera and these are our top stories a prisoner swaps being made in eastern ukraine between government forces and pro russian separatists the 2nd exchange in 3 months of around 150 prisoners is being seen as a step towards ending 5 years of fighting. the yemeni government is bloody hooty rebels for a missile attack on a military graduation parade which killed at least 7 people there's been no claim of responsibility for the strike in the town of dolly in southern yemen india's opposition congress party is describing the new citizenship law as an attack on the indian traditions culture and history aboard makes it easier for religious minorities from 3 night bring town trees to be indian citizens. demonstrators in hong kong or vowed to continue their 6 months revolving into the new year they're demanding less influence from beijing and the resignation of later carry let florence louis says sunday's events were much more peaceful than what we've often seen in those. it's about $300.00 protesters or supporters of the protest movement

there dressed mostly in black with a small so they're not immediately recognizable by police that's become the usual uniform of people attending such rallies police have issued a letter of no objection to this gathering which means they deemed as to be a legal offending so we're not seeing a heavy police presence but we know they are in the area. there's been a stage set up people have been listening to speeches various people have gone up to speak. talking about their experiences in the protests and the thing talking about why why why they're fighting for what they're fighting for. encouraging people to continue with the protest movement is there more to the been shown documentaries on this movement as well there's also a bad guy laid out on the ground where people can write and sign messages of support to the protest is the same people signing messages of support including be

used as a slogan for these rallies including we stand with hong kong as well as 5 demands not one less. huge and i think quite frankly that might be due to the weather it's been raining all day. but the fact that this protest is still going on really is a reminder that still a lot of undercurrent of anti government sentiment in hong kong. we're also watching developments in taiwan where presidential candidates. head of. china is the biggest threat to the. broader. relations with china dominated the heated t.v. debates between the 3 candidates vying for taiwan's top job as she bids to secure a 2nd 4 year term president sighing when says beijing is the biggest threat to taiwan's free and democratic way of life. when my rival

hesitates when asked which country he thinks would harm the well being of taiwan the most let me tell you now that country is china. from the chinese nationalist party or k. m. ting is widely seen as size main challenger he favors kosar ties with beijing and accuses sigh of exploiting the protests in hong kong to bolster her case. hong kong people are bleeding from fighting against china president what have you done to help hong kong people are bleeding while you are enjoying electoral gains your campaign is based on the blood of hong kong people so the. pro-democracy demonstrations in hong kong over china's perceived efforts to curb the territory's freedoms have ignited concerns in taiwan some say the 6 months of protest in hong kong is given a timely boost to its size reelection campaign. a steady and. responding

to events in hong kong and china benefited from the end of the chinese government. for example many and i and. president xi jinping is emphasise that taiwan is a renegade province that needs to be reunified by force if necessary china is pressured countries to cut diplomatic ties with taiwan the number of nations retaining relations with the island has shrunk to 15 and china is seeking to win favor with voters in taiwan by making it easier for taiwanese companies to invest in the mainland part of the opinion polls are correct and psi is reelected china's efforts are expected to face a further backlash on china's island neighbor brian al-jazeera. protestors of

stormed an oil field in southern iraq and cut off its power supply but the oil ministry don't expect exposed to be affected because of extra output from other oral fields meanwhile hundreds of iraqis of marched in baghdad in the nearby city of najaf to protest against the iran backed nominee for prime minister iraq's president baron selig has refused to accept the nomination he says he doesn't want to appoint someone who will be rejected by demonstrators. iraq is no stranger to one wrist decades of war u.n. sanctions sectarian conflict and now these protests some reports from baghdad are more 2020 by have in store for iraq. hundreds dead tens of thousands injured dozens of activists assassinated or abducted and only one resignation that is the result of 3 months of anti-government protests in iraq as unrest spills into 2020 the rift between iraq he's and ruling elites only appears to be growing in but that's the here square the epicenter of protests some people

call this a revolution they want the end tired political class to leave across the bridge into fortified green zone politicians offer token concessions as they cling on to power all of the candidates put forward by major political parties to replace prime minister i love the mahdi have been firmly rejected seen as the product of a political system that has failed the people can only watch what's the demonstrators say about the candidates cannot be disregarded we put down all conditions and do something to the politicians and all the world the protests have galvanized iraqis from all walks of life muslims christians the elderly women and the youth all united by demands for a just and sovereign government that serves its people regardless of religion sacked and status i demand my rights i'm a student and i want to get a future for myself i hope there will be change for the better in the country and the skills will improve the majority of demonstrators came of age in the post

saddam era but after promises of democracy they feel that down iraq are turning the reality of education is that 1st of all we're in 2019 and there are schools built of mud in 2019 there are over 100 students and one class a student can learn an environment like this but as the weeks passed and crowds growth and so it seems there is the prospect of sweeping change. is. a system whereby there are multiple political actors who are very well entrenched within the state they are we fighting for their political survival right now and they're really looking to find a way out of this current crisis through consensus i believe through finding some sort of an agreement between them that can push forward a new government that can pops in the future address some of the demands of protesters for now prime minister i love the matter remains in a caretaker role and you election law was passed earlier this month and while it

allows voters to elect independent legislators rather than choosing from party lists it doesn't give the people the right to direct the elect the head of state 3 months all the chances that this protest movement will usher in the new political order appear less and less likely that people are discouraged by the lack of progress and intimidated by the state's violent response but unless the root causes of this crisis are addressed it seems iraq streets will bear witness to more turmoil in the year. i'll just erupt. over as it into the hole that i might as in parts of the australian studies of victoria have been told to leave now ahead of what's forecast to be another diver extreme fire danger on monday but further north of the ravaged state of new south wales is also facing more strong winds and temperatures of 40 degrees celsius and above at least have been linked to the 5. the 3 week walkout by workers in france is causing the entertainment industry to

suffer and is traditionally busiest time of the year the show has gone in theaters during the christmas holidays but without sellout audiences bonus miss reports from paris. of paris is the cast expects to perform in front of full houses at this time of year. but amid the rows of excited children there are empty seats a drop of 20 percent in ticket sales means the public transport strike is no laughing matter. for the only family that owned the circus for almost 90 years it's one of the toughest seasons they've had we we doing the show until 16 of march so if we lose 20 percent every show is a lot of money is a lot of lost but we can stop we have contract with an artist and our public already more ticket until the 16th of march so we can say we stop it's impossible. sometimes it's the performers who are on strike dances or against government plans

to reform pensions because for now they get to retire at $42.00 after a short career the puts enormous strains on their bodies. were against the pension reform the government wants to implement but it's also a gesture toward spectators because we as artists are very sorry for what's happening to deprive 100 spectators from christmas shows. the opera house says it's lost $9000000.00 since the start of the strike on december the 5th ticket sales in many paris theaters have dropped by as much as a 40 percent and december is their most important time of the year it's money they'll not be able to make back just $250.00 tickets have been sold for tonight's performance at the $650.00 seat today after the montana us when people have spent an hour and a half on foot to get to work it's too much to expect them. to go out again here

when the crowd the plow the actors the act of clout that the crowd back because they are the real heroes who've managed to make it here it is says bertrand the biggest slump in theatre going he's experienced in recent memory. for the performers the show must go on of course but it's getting harder to live up to the principal. al-jazeera paris. we're bringing some breaking news now out of iraq where u.s. is strikes have targeted the popular mobilization forces militia in the west of the country close to syria's border it's mainly made up of shia groups that helped iraq's government in its fight against eisel some of the 14 joins us now on the line from baghdad what more can you tell us about these strikes. well the u.s. has just released a statement confirming that it strikes 5 different targets in iraq and syria targeting the popular mobilization for students pacifically the type hezbollah 6

which it has accused 4 of being behind some of the recent rocket attacks targeting military bases where u.s. personnel are based we have seen around 9 a dozen of these attacks over the past month or so and most recent attack targeting the base in chad kroeger it actually killed one u.s. contractor and injured several. 9 which was the first 'd 9 time that we saw u.s. 1st now being have been killed or wounded in because paxson of course the secretary of state my compel earlier in december he had warned iran 0 and its allies in iraq that any attacks on bases where u.s. and iraqi personnel are based resulting in any harm of those personnel would be met would be 5 to sloan's and based 9 the then indeed the reaction of the u.s. to the latest attack we're hearing reports of some casualties we have not been able

to cope confirm exact numbers 5 or who exactly they are but certain does this strike is a response to that acts we have seen on bases where u.s. personnel are 5 based and of course there is very much fear here in iraq that there could be an escalation of tensions between the u.s. and iran and that that could even be a proxy war between iraq and iran on iraqi soil but it's like you that will continue to monitor that story as more special comes to add. now to the united states there's a movement to change the way kids play american football to make it so i thought the state of new york is the latest to consider amending rules in an attempt to reduce head injuries but even with a new study highlighting the risks of the guy is resistance al-jazeera is christensen libby has been. there saturday night on the gridiron for many families playing american football is a tradition. one that starts at an early age. the

. it's really fun competitive. 11 year old ryan for ranch act loves playing the game even after suffering a mild concussion and it's just a really fun sport and i like to hit people. but those hits even the ones that don't cause concussions could increase his chances of a degenerative brain disease was a recent study by the boston university school of medicine found a player's risk of developing c.t.e. or chronic traumatic encephalopathy increases 30 percent each year they play the sport it isn't so much concussions although of course concussions are a problem but it's also a cumulative effect of even sub concussive injuries the study is fueling efforts to ban tackling under the age of 12 in some states talking about a modification to the game not banning it that's number one number 2 we're talking about addressing children we're not talking about adults that can essentially

consent to engage in whatever activity regardless of the risks. hitting is part of the game in football not an accident opponents say the studies don't take into account new training techniques and time limits on drills that involve contact which many youth leagues have recently imposed. we take the head out of the game we were using more upper body strength hip strength leg strength and the head is out of it the best answer for me as a commissioner is training. all is the most watched sport in the united states but the number of kids who play on school teams has been declining for the last 10 years in part due to concerns about head injuries still for many parents a tackle ban is a step too far i think that the venture comes with teaching the proper techniques and the proper way to play the game i don't know that a law is going to ever you know solve that problem i do worry about it but i you know every bit football's been going on for a long time and a lot of people play and not everyone gets hurt. the research maybe raising

awareness of the issues. but these hardcore fans don't yet see a ban as the way to tackle this problem kristen salumi al-jazeera bridgewater new jersey. just want to bring you up to date on this breaking news out of iraq u.s. is trucks have targeted the popular mobilisation forces militia in the west of the country close to syria's border it's mind the made up of shia groups that helped iraq's government in its fight against our reporter told us that there's been up to 5 attacks launched by within iraq at all sides syria targeting the poppy the mobilization forces and also his bill of forces inside syria dire of course linked to iran well these are the headlines now the new use continues.

mogadishu suffers its worst attack in the years raising a question mark over transition plans all wrong groups making a comeback will national institutions be able to take on more responsibility in 2020 this is inside story. hello welcome to the show i am sam he's a than nearly 80 people were killed on saturday in the worst bomb attack in the somali capital in 2 years president muhammad of the law he has condemned it as he'll.