you know it's one when he speaks to cindy elderly loved ones to tyler to live out their debts on al-jazeera. a motorhome explodes in the u.s. city of nashville shattering a neighborhood after playing a recorded bomb warning. you're watching all just there on live from the headquarters and. also coming up ceasefire off fighting flares again in the central african republic head of sunday's election . millions flying around the u.s. to be with family for christmas despite warnings that travel will further inflame the corona virus outbreak. as around

the world christian scale back celebrations on one of the most important days in the calendar. follow an explosion has ripped through a neighborhood of the u.s. city of nashville a motorhome blew up earlier on christmas morning after playing a recorded bomb warning several buildings are damaged but only 3 people have minor injuries she had the chance the reports. the early morning blast in downtown nashville was felt under hood from kilometers away authorities say at least 20 buildings were damaged when the vertical exploded. police were already on their way having received a call for reporting gunshots in the area when they arrived they heard in the moments believed to be coming from the vehicle the. explosion was imminent they

called in the bomb squad and began evacuating the area as the bomb squad approached the explosion occurred we had one officer that was not too bright this was the testimony of a man who lived a block and a half away we just heard this blast and we felt the windows in our building shake and we were in a high rise development on that 26th floor and we just saw this unbelievable asked. the f.b.i. has taken control of the investigation authorities are also in the public for help these tell us what you know. we need to leads we need your help the the hour prevented more casualties the area is filled with shops restaurants bones i'm glad to poppins and an a.t.m. t. technical facility is adjacent to the site if you want to kill a lot of people and you'll do it during your shopping hours 730 at night or 2 in the afternoon 630 on a christmas morning there is

a bulk of time you would be the fewest people out possible so that could imply there's this it's a statement grabber act rather than seeking to cause mass casualties the president has been briefed as he spends the christmas holiday in florida she had her town see . police say they found traces of what could be human remains. we have found 2 shoe that we believe could be the remains that were just held there that you know examined and they will be able to let you know from that point darby was detonated so it was someone inside we have no idea it was such a large explosion but the investigation continuing the matter all over the area down there and so we'll continue to examine it to see if it is human remains 3 u.n. peacekeepers have been killed by unidentified attackers in the central african republic the u.n. secretary general has condemned the murders in dakota and has demanded an

investigation there has been fighting elsewhere between rebel groups and government forces after a cease fire collapsed reports in the capital bangui. was president for stina shines twice darragh arrives for his final election rally in bongi in full force he's been telling people to come out and forth on sunday without fear i recently formed group called the patriots correlation put change all c.p.c. has threatened to march to the city and launched attacks against government troops backed by un peacekeepers in some rural areas the c.p.c. reaches a coalition of several armed groups has called off a ceasefire it had declared them wednesday. no no they are trying to come to bangui usent are africans must open your eyes help our armed forces u n peacekeepers mean those from rwanda and russia the i given us a hand don't lead those and to fight has come into the city. 16 presidential

candidates have been cleared to run in the polls but join sizeable casa sound of the country's only south declared emperor has withdrawn citing security concerns former president francois was easing was disqualified by the constitutional court state officials and the u.n. accuse him of being be. the c.p.c. rebellion to disrupt the election and overthrew the government has backed and he said who's a marched as president would dare a strongest challenge. president is the founder of one of the strongest political parties with solid policies he himself is a very popular leader but he did not back my candidacy it's the party that endorsed me. most opposition candidates a while back and won the election postponed presidential candidates are each promising to finally bring it back to. the public revive the economy and provide

basic services but people i've been talking to here in bone he was saying that the hard problem is the people. knows all about pain caused by conflict his leg was blown off by hand grenade when the mostly muslim armed groups over on 2013 and overthrew. actually cannot understand what's happening to me and i'm scared of what's happening now they're only coming to kill i want to ask the government to help us to stop those who are coming. is now preparing to vote in an election clouded by fear and uncertainty he tells us who only go to the polling station if he feels absolutely safe a sentiment shared by many other voters catherine al-jazeera. let's bring in lois mud she's the central africa director at human rights watch she's

joining us from burlington that's in the u.s. state of vermont thanks for speaking to us what impact will the collapse of the cease fire have on an already tense situation in the central african republic. well thanks for having me i mean i think this this this temporary cease fire i think a bit too much stock was put into it and i say that because of the groups that make up this rebel coalition the 6 groups that make up the c.p.c. this coalition this new coalition are some of the groups that have perpetrated the most gruesome crimes in the central african republic since 2013 named wantonly killed civilians they've used rape as a weapon of war they've caused widespread displacement and pillage so the fact that they've broken this temporary ceasefire is not in of itself surprising i think what's much more worrying is how much territory they seem to be able to take in how quickly they seem to be able to take it and how close they actually are to the capital bunky all reports are indicating that within

a 100 kilometer or so it's very very tense in the city right now and we're also hearing that 3 u.n. peacekeepers have been killed by an identified attackers in the country this news just breaking just a short while ago what's your reaction to that i mean how worried are you at the situation. i think this is the most tense the central african republic has been since early 2013 when we saw the last iteration of the cycle of coups which indicates a change of power in that country it's worth noting that the killing of blue helmets the killing of international peacekeepers is in of itself a war crime but the fact that peacekeepers have been killed in these sadly these peacekeepers that you mentioned this is just the latest batch of peacekeepers that have been targeting the c.a.r. the fact that they have been targeted i think it's demonstrative of the impunity that these armed groups continue to operate with within the country the central african republic is operating after a peace deal in 2019 that peace deal ceded

a lot of impunity to these armed groups and instead of stopping attacks on civilians and peacekeepers they simply round them up in the last few weeks and months and really it does not bode well for a country that's supposed to be going through general elections in 48 hours what does this mean then for the elections do you expect them to still go ahead. i don't see how you can expect. elections that are going to represent the entire letter it when you have rebel groups controlling what could be potentially 80 percent of the entire country reports indicate the people we're talking to in our team on the ground indicate that bongi despite tensions is secure but how do you have a legitimate and credible election when there's this much tension this much rumors when that when the opposition themselves the political opposition themselves are also calling for a delay it's very difficult to to say that this is kind of your smooth election

they were always going to be challenging but but the situation no is beginning to make them look like they might not be tenable and as you were saying just a moment ago i mean some of these groups and the coalition have been accused of committing crimes previously at there hasn't really been any accountability why do you think that is. i think that that is the crux of the problem what you've just alluded to these groups that make up the c.b.c. and i want to be as clear as possible to anyone who might be watching these groups or or the leaders of these groups of war criminals in our opinion we have documented vast war crimes and crimes against humanity is perpetrated by these groups as recently as 2019. and so the fact is that they are able to have committed these acts in 2030 on and what they do is they use the force that they have just skirt any attempt at justice no it is worth pointing out that to and to block the

leaders currently are in the international criminal court awaiting trial in february and 1 of those leaders patrice edwardian guy sona is the leader of one of the anti below groups that's within this rebel coalition so there is a degree of justice there's also a new court on the ground a mixed international and national hybrid court on the ground in bowie so initiatives have been taken but the overall point is these these war criminals these these warlords they do commit these acts because they can get away with it and because it does give them a leverage of power and right now it's up to the international forces to demonstrate to them that they won't take bunky the capital and that if this vote is to continue if it's going to happen that the international forces are going to at least try with the best of their abilities to make it free and fair for the folks who actually want to try to vote last month we thank you very much for speaking to us from vermont thank you thank you.

huge numbers of americans have boarded flights to be with family for christmas despite warnings that travel will only worsen already alarming coronavirus deaths and infection rates more than 7000000 pass through u.s. airports over the past week there was a similar rush during november's thanksgiving holiday which is blamed for a fueling the current spike more than 193000 new cases were recorded on thursday along with nearly 3000 deaths and it's been a quiet christmas across europe where several governments ordered people to stay home dominic came reports from berlin. christmas in rome during code where good will to others mean socially distance events providing presence of the poor and homeless as welcome as these gifts may seem what many people want this winter is the coded vaccine and now the 1st consignment of it have arrived in rome ready for distribution on sunday to people who the pope says should be 1st on the list. i

pray for all those in charge of nations companies international organizations to promote cooperation and not competition and look for a solution for everybody vaccines for everybody especially for the most vulnerable and needy ones in every region of the planet as in many other e.u. countries the vaccine will also start being distributed in germany on sunday it's a development many hope will transform the situation. in the long. end of this tunnel we see the long awaited light at the end of the tunnel become brighter we will come closer to the exit from this crisis step by step how long the road will be depends on us if we remain reasonable and patient then we will gradually be able to do many things again that we had to do without for a long time. the strategy many european governments are adopting is to follow a return to hard lock downs and the start of mass vaccination so their hope is to

reduce the numbers of new infections and eventually lower mortality rates that has been claiming the lives of thousands of people every day for some time dominic kane al-jazeera berlin. in the news ahead the devastating fact of the pandemic on children's mental health we hear one family story. campaigning and presidential elections where 30 candidates are competing for the top job. we got more snow in the forecast for japan over the next couple of days but things will garaged a tiny little milder as you move into the early part of next week so the winds still coming in from all over the northwesterly direction there will be further snow flurries then across that western side of honshu across

a good part of the dry weather clear weather to the south for a time but this little area cloud and rain just spinning out of shanghai out of that eastern side of china that will make its way through the years china say grassy pushing across south korea edging its way into a q.c. 20 increase and settle here then as we go on through sunday and monday further south plenty of showers across southeast asia more big downpours coming into the philippines usual rashness showers across malaysia and some heavier rain there coming across indonesia as we go on through the next day or the same as we make our way into sunday for southern parts of india dry at the moment but that will change as well little more cloud there across southern areas of the by of bengal and this cloud is now gathering it's pushing its way towards strong lanka we will see some heavy rain coming in here for a time say turning particularly wet with the possibility of some landslides possibility of flooding we'll see some wet weather it's time not to.

the new perspective can change a wild. you know one chin is ian what began as a hobby has grown into a caution a way of life. teaching the next generation to strive for a higher level. and n.c.o. installing in his country a sense of freedom and strength. new heights my chin is here on al-jazeera. wall.

hello again the headlines on al-jazeera. 3 u.n. peacekeepers have been killed by an identified attackers in the central african republic u.n. secretary general antonio to terrorists has condemned the killings and a koan has demanded an investigation. police in the u.s. city of nashville say they found what could be human remains near the site of an explosion that happened early on christmas morning when a mobile home 3 people have minor injuries americans have ignored advice to stay at home for the holidays is corona virus infections they are sore more than 7000000 have passed through airports in the past week. 30 candidates have made their final pitches to voters ahead of elections in the air the polls are historic representing the 1st peaceful transition of power. reports from me i may on how africa 2nd coronavirus wave is having an impact. it's been

a busy 3 weeks of campaigning for his u.s. presidential candidate. any wave of korra virus infections forced the government to impose a limit on carbon but in the last day. but the leading candidate a confident but the right message is up and passed through the protests former fording and interior minister mohammad. is the governing party's candidate they don't then look at our candidate has visited all parts of the country even before the start of the campaign selling practical ideas to the people and to see how people live to understand their problems that helped us design a program to better people's lives were confident of winning in the 1st round. one of bazooms main rivals 3 time presidential candidate and former prime minister senor morrow says that one tavern. in my political experience it's impossible for anyone to win an election outright in the 1st round

each of us would want to but it's impractical no one will it's very very difficult . a total of 30 candidates are running for president while some have complained hard most have been on the sidelines seeking to form alliances with stronger parties although much of the campaign focused on who becomes president voters will also choose 171 representatives to feel the seats in this parliament some one later form the country's next cabinet as in previous elections analysts say end up with a coalition of one of the parties and other smaller ones. the decision on who gets to form the coalition depends on what $7500000.00 voters decide on sunday a presidential candidate request 50 percent plus one of valid votes cast to win outright that has never happened in an election here if no candidate gets that voters will be called once again to choose among the 2 candidates with the highest

number of votes. i'll just see that you have a. lilias main opposition leader. has died after contract inc over the 19 the 71 year old was being treated in france since i was kidnapped a march by an armed group in northern mali while campaigning for elections he was freed after 6 months time a 2nd mars served as molly's minister for foreign affairs she says says death as a shock to the people and molly's political system. so made as if it was a very respected figure in mali his demise really leaves a void in the valley and lead to go in a very positive track record it was minister of finance multiple times secretary general to the presidency among other christie just positions that he can out internationally he represented his country by the president of the commission economic and military you know west african states and when he was released from

the jihadists back in you know talker he was seen as the main front runner for the coming 2022 presidential elections both here and former president where the 2 pillar is iran which mali and politics have been evolving over the past 10 years we've the removal of argus and now the death of as you see it is expected that there will be a complete reshuffle in money and politics that departure as he say is really the end and the beginning of a new era in the chief or the leader of your position is a formal and an official position in maui so they will have to regroup so that they can find somebody who can. who can we can hold and replace as. at least 33 people have died after their boat capsized on lake albert between uganda and the democratic republic of congo uganda says the boat was carrying as

many as 50 people when it ran into strong winds a local civil society groups says they were trying to enter the illegally to avoid coronavirus restrictions 2 palestinians including a 6 year old child have minor injuries after israeli air strikes in the gaza strip a number of empty sites belonging to hamas and islamic jihad were targeted and a hospital was damaged hours earlier how mass was accused of firing 2 rockets towards southern israel but their air defenses intercepted there have been no reports of casualties former japanese prime minister shinzo has apologized for mistakes over a political funding scandal which has cast a shadow over his successor it involves almost $300000.00 for events attended by supporters between 2016 and 2019 dinners at an upscale tokio hotel were subsidized by his center right party but not properly declared it threatens to damage the new

prime minister yoshihiko long served as a right hand man. even though the accounting was done without my knowledge i'm keenly aware of my moral obligations i would like to deeply and sincerely apologize to the people. i was devoted to mind you he says prime minister so regarding the operation and sitting at the dinner party i was not involved for many years there were no mistakes in my offices in the operation or in the elections so i left it to the person in charge another $800.00 british military personnel have been deployed to help clear the thousands of truck drivers waiting to get into france more than a 1000 troops are now involved in the operation of the port of dover testing drivers for corona virus and distributing food and water travel restrictions were imposed by france last sunday and responds to a new variance of coronavirus in the u.k. drivers are now allowed to cross the border if there are negative for cope with 19

and at least 15 people are said to have died in recent weeks at one of the main border crossings between south africa and zimbabwe local media have reported the deaths attributing them to exhaustion and ill health already led to queues are being made worse by coronavirus screenings it's in the grip of a 2nd wave of covert 19 several studies have looked into the depression and anxiety that the pandemic has caused among children they've also found increases in obsessive compulsive disorder or o.c.d. that's also going to be reports from miami beach. i want to find a way to make your nighttime routine calmer the call from the mental health hospital halfway across the country was greatly anticipated but now the anguish is long distance less than a week before this florida family admitted their 12 year old son we'll call jackson to inpatient treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder or o.c.d.

and an eating disorder he is the most amazing so we outgoing athletic smart friendly kind through the course of this quarantine he became on edge anxious i'm anxious and today i would describe him as a rat in an electrified cage studies have shown that the fear and stressors of the coded 1900 pandemic have been triggering for children with o.c.d. and anxiety jackson tortured himself by spending his waking hours only standing or exercising insisting that he needed to lose weight the deterioration happened in a matter of months honestly i would rather die of corona by now because to go through this to watch your kid suffer like this is worse i would rather take the pain from him and not have to see him suffering like this the international foundation says 2 to 4 percent of all children will develop. an estimated

3000000 children in the united states alone there is a genetic component to o.c.d. and anxiety jackson's father also has o.c.d. his struggle to find affordable treatment has been replicated with his son due to a lack of specialized pediatric facilities and the fact that many won't accept health insurance the family waited 6 weeks to find an empty bed states away it breaks my heart to see that you know that my son is struggling with this and that you know we just you know we're smart people educated resort. and we just haven't up until this point been able to find him the right care that he needs today i'm going to talk to you about anxious top the top should daniels is a child there are a post she says there has been an influx of desperate families across the globe seeking assistance through her online workshops and community forums although many

countries don't have adequately trained clinicians who can treat o.c.d. she says there is a type of therapy parents can teach children that helps rewire their brains and stop the compulsive behavior it's never too late to give your child those skills to have it and approach your child's behavior and it and it can make a huge difference long term there's always hope jackson's family is clinging to that hope the family's life has been turned upside down pretty much nothing has been the same the family doesn't know when they'll see jackson again coburg $1000.00 restrictions prevent visits they can only have faith that the treatment he's undergoing revives the son and brother they know that asha going to ayman al jazeera miami beach. thousands of refugees and migrants are spending christmas in shelters along mexico's border with the u.s. many have been waiting for months for their asylum cases to be processed delayed further by the pandemic and they hope

a new president may bring some good news in the new year john holdren. he's the line separating the u.s. from mexico it's been a slow train coming for those who want to cross it legally and the pandemic has made things worse with u.s. immigration courts closed for months. there are thousands of migrants stuck in mexico to meet them open to process their asylum requests the u.s. has put them in a plan called m.p.p. which means they have to weigh in mexico while they were silent process plays out even though they're from other countries. get out don't flip brazil he says because of the threat of violence erupt in border city what is 10 months ago this still waiting for his 1st court date. made a thematic it was for march 14th of this year but that was changed because of the pandemic to the simper 15 now it's for the 10th i'm a of next year. you're geraldo his son and his wife is spending christmas in

a shelter many of the 10s of thousands of people that been ordered to wait in mexico in the n.p.p. program will be doing the same. some migration lawyers are worried that they could miss the one the deadline to start the asylum process all together new stories hopes that's not the case but she's concerned about the well being of those she's trying to help there's a school mall or knesset bus you know it's a complicated situation for the hay from basic needs it's really unsafe saying what's going to happen to them and that generics and sightsee just being here waiting not knowing how to follow up with the proceeds. to go to a host church is one of many along the border which have been turned into shelters he's seen hope among those now under his care that the new u.s. administration. could help the north 2nd suppose almost contented i don't know who is happier about biden's victory the americans or those stuck here in the asylum process because it means for them and then to their stay in mexico so that they can

follow their dreams the president elect joe biden had promised to end the m.p.p. program on his 1st day in office now his incoming administration has signaled it will take more time and there are questions about what will then happen to those spending this christmas in shelters john hold with al-jazeera. hello again the headlines on al-jazeera 3 u.n. peacekeepers have been killed by unknown attackers in the central african republic u.n. secretary general answer but terrorist has condemned the killings and the cohen is demanding an investigation police in the u.s. city of nashville say they found what could be human remains near the site of an explosion that happened early on christmas morning when a mobile home the vehicle had been playing a bomb warning beforehand 3 people have minor injuries. this morning's attack on our community was intended to create chaos.