this is bbc world news today. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: at least 76 people are killed by a car bomb during morning rush hour in somalia's capital mogadishu. hong kong police break up a demonstration at a shopping mall — arresting protesters near the border with mainland china. the british government apologises to sir eltonjohn and other people given new year's honours for inadvertently posting their addresses online. meet nasa's new mars rover — the latest vehicle built to sniff around the red planet. hello and welcome

to world news today. a massive vehicle bomb has exploded in the somali capital, killing more than 70 people and injuring at least 90 more. the explosion took place at a security checkpoint at the busy ex—control afgoye intersection in the south—west of the city. it's believed a tax collection centre was targeted, but many of the victims were passing by in the street. it's being reported that at least 16 of those killed were university students and turkey says two of its nationals died. no one has yet claimed responsibility. our africa correspondent andrew harding reports. moments after the blast, an eyewitness films the scene. smoke still billowing from a vehicle, the remains of what is thought to have been a massive car bomb. shocked civilians move in to look for survivors. the attack was timed to catch

the morning rush—hour in mogadishu. many students had been heading to classes. dozens were killed when the bomb exploded at a busy intersection in the somali capital. attacks like this are not unusual here, but they are seldom so deadly. this man said the blast caught him as he was getting out of a minibus heading to work, his leg injured. within minutes, emergency workers were at the scene. somalia, plagued by violence for decades, is still wrestling with extremism. the country's president quickly blamed the islamist militant group al—shabaab. he said their aim was to instill terror and to prevent the country from rebuilding. they will never succeed, he said. but this devastating attack is a reminder that somalia's long journey from failed state to stable democracy is still a troubled work in progress. andrew harding, bbc news.

for more on this let's speak to somalia security expert abdullahi kalakhe who's in washington. so an awful attack today, if this does turn out to be al—shabab, just how depressing and frustrating will that be for authorities there? thank you, it is really devastating. this is the third deadliest attack by the group after the 2017, where over 500 people were killed and we are still not sure about the death as the numbers keep on coming in. but it is really a n numbers keep on coming in. but it is really an opportunity also to ask the hard questions — notjust of the authorities in somalia, of the federal government, but all the countries that have sent in troops since 2011. given that, the number

of troops and the efforts that have been made, how is the group able to carry out such a deadly attack like this? i think it is one thing that we have to bear in mind that despite being pushed out of some of the territories it used to control and tax and get money, the group is still capable of carrying out of this kind of attack, because of the lax security in the country. when this attack was going on, the government passed the bill, the electoral law that has not been debated. to demonstrate that, the political elite in somalia are not really at the cynical level at which they would be able to exploit these things and al—shabab is aware of this and exploits this. the troop draw down is next year, the election is next year, with this kind of security situation, it will be

incredibly difficult to conduct a one man one vote inside somalia. so what needs to happen to prevent more attacks like this? i think one of the things that might not be very popularfor the things that might not be very popular for a the things that might not be very popularfor a lot of the things that might not be very popular for a lot of people to hear, particularly at this you know delicate time, is we are past... you know agreeing that al—shabab can be defeated by the use of force. it is a question now of you know the authorities not just a question now of you know the authorities notjust inside somalia, but the neighbouring countries of kenya and ethiopia and including the regional authorities that is inter—governmental authority as well as african union and eastern african community, so figure out a political solution, because al—sha bab community, so figure out a political solution, because al—shabab will not be completed defeated by force. solution, because al—shabab will not be completed defeated by forcem needs that political solution and

certainly getting other groups together. i'm afraid we have to leave it there. thank you very much. riot police have clashed with protesters inside a major shopping centre near hong kong's border with mainland china. the retail outlet near the chinese city of shenzhen is popular with shoppers from the mainland. 0ur asia pacific regional editor michael bristow reports. in a few days, it will be a new year, but in hong kong it's now an old story — violent clashes between police and protesters. plain clothes officers arrested just over a dozen activists at a shopping centre near hong kong's border with china. the protesters have been trying to disrupt trade that takes place with the mainland. chinese shoppers travel to hong kong, buy cheaper products in bulk and then go back across the border to sell. shops had to close their doors,

trapping some customers inside. the police said they had been forced to act, but these pictures will do little to dispel the criticism that on occasions they use too much force. the man in the red shirt gets a full burst of pepper spray. demonstrations, violence, arrests and injuries, it's been the story of the last six months. there have been few concessions from the authorities, either in hong kong or beijing. it is difficult to imagine the pattern of this year not being repeated in the next. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. algeria has a new prime minister, after months of policial upheaval. academic and former diplomat abdelaziz djerad — on the left here — was named by algeria's recently—elected president, abdelmadjid tebboune. jerad previously served in an administration in the nineties, before apparently falling out of favour.

doctors in the syrian province of idlib say their hospitals are full and they lack the resources they need to cope with close to a quarter—of—a—million people who've been displaced by the lastest fighting. syrian government forces, supported by russian warplanes, have been advancing on rebel—held positions in the south of the province. kazakhstan is holding a day of mourning for the 12 victims of friday's plane crash. 47 others remain in hospital. flags are flying at half mast and many events have been cancelled. the plane was carrying more than 90 passengers and crew when it crashed shortly after take—off. parts of east africa are struggling to cope with the effects of more than two months heavy rain that has caused widespread flooding and landslides. it's thought that at least 265 people have died in the region since october and tens of thousands more have been displaced. kathryn armstrong has more.

scenes like this are an all—too common sight in kenya at the moment. residents searching through their flooding homes for anything they can salvage. translation: there's no place to sleep, we don't even have tents, no water to drink and i have to take care of my children. all our food went with the water, school shoes and the books for the kids too. my belongings are outside here and i don't know where i will go. for more than two months, heavy rain fall has plagued east africa, due to warmer water on the western side of the indian ocean. part of a climate system, known as a dipole. scientists say it is of a magnitude not seen in years, maybe even decades. many other countries in the region have been affected, including somalia, tanzania and south sudan, where the rain has pushed a country devastated by drought to the brink of famine. with further rain forecast,

there are now growing fears that water—borne diseases could make the situation much worse. a german mother and dauther have been killed in an avalanche in the italian alps near the austrian border. another seven—year—old girl was dug out in a critical condition, but she died on her way to hospital. two other people from the same skiing party were also injured. the incident happened around two and a half thousand metres up on the val senales glacier. embarrassment for the british government — which has inadvertently published a list of more than a thousand home addresses of people who feature in the uk new years honours awards. the department responsible has apologised and removed the information — which would have been available to download to anyone who logged on to its site. katy austin reports. among more than a thousand people to receive an award in the new year honours list this year are celebrities and sports

people, but also senior politicians, police and security personnel. at some point last night a list containing recipients' addresses was published, meaning some people were able to download the information. many appeared to be personal addresses although no contact information appears for six ministry of defence staff. the document was discovered by a member of the public. i saw the new year's honours list was coming out, wondered who was on it, went to the gov.co.uk website and downloaded a csv file of all of the recipients, opened it up and it had full names and addresses of all the recipients including street numbers, names and postcodes, everything, which was quite remarkable. a cabinet office spokesperson said: it is believed the document

was online forjust under an hour before being removed, but there are questions to answer about how it got there in the first place. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: a tropical cyclone batters fiji — raging rivers and high winds lead to the evacuation of hundreds of homes. the most ambitious change has got under way with the introduction of the euro. we will use money in belgium and then we will be in france and use the same money. it has got to be the way to go. george harrison is recovering in hospital after being stabbed at his

0xfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. i think it was good. just good? no, fantastic. that's better. this is bbc world news today. the latest headlines: at least 76 people are reported to have been killed by a car bomb during morning rush hour in somalia's capital. hong kong police make arrests and use pepper spray to break up a demonstration at a shopping mall near mainland china.

nearly 2,000 people have taken shelter in evacuation centres as tropical cyclone sarai batters fiji. the cyclone has brought high winds and rain, causing flooding to rivers and coastal areas on the pacific island nation. one man is believed to have drowned and another man is reported missing. james ra nsley reports. tropical cyclone sarai wreaking havoc in fiji. this vehicle carrying six people and a cow washed into a raging river. it's thought they all made it to safety. winds of up to 90mph and swells up to 5m have battered the small island nation, causing flooding and widespread damage. authorities are urging people to remain vigilant. an 18—year—old student is believed to be the country's latest drowning victim. the man is believed to have been swept away by strong currents while he was swimming

with his friends. more than 2,000 people are in evacuation centres across the country, and aid agencies have been out in force. volunteers have been going out into some of the worst—affected areas to assess what people need and have been delivering things such as extra shelter items or torches. there have been some power outages in both the west and central divisions and trees down on the roads and flooding in low—lying areas. as the clean—up begins in fiji, the category two storm is expected to reach tonga next. australia remains in the grip of a heatwave and as well as fanning bushfires which are burning across several states, it's also creating problems for wildlife. just take a look at this koala, desperately taking water from cyclists near adelaide. the creature had been in difficulties beside the road when a group of riders went past. they offered him water

and he apparently drank seven bottle's worth. he then made his way back into the bush. one of the world s rarest birds — the spoon—billed sandpiper — has been successfully reared in captivity for the first time, raising hopes the species can be saved from extinction. it's taken almost a decade, from rescuing eggs in russia s far east wetlands to breeding two of the birds, at the wildfowl and wetlands trust here in the uk. victoria gill reports. the first sign of a conservation breakthrough. these spoon—billed sandpiper chicks, hatched from eggs collected in the far east of russia and brought into captivity in the uk. that rescue mission was eight years ago. now, at last, those critically endangered birds have reared their own chicks — the first ca ptive—bred spoon—billed sandpipers. we have to cover up our outdoor clothes, so everything from rubber boots that we can wash on the way in, to overalls,

to this very attractive hairnet, because we do not want to be taking anything in there, into the aviary, where these very precious birds are, that might hurt them or make them sick. this is their breeding aviary that they now live in. i guess they're kind of still babies, or are theyjust a few months old? they're classed as juveniles now. they would've been on their migration now, really. they would? yeah, yeah, so... but we still see them as babies. your babies. yeah. this long mission, though, has been punctuated by highs and heartbreaking lows. chicks first hatched here back in 2016, but they survived only a few days. it's taken just under ten years, and what feels like a lifetime of no sleep, to find the recipe, or close to the recipe, for breeding spoon—billed sandpipers in an arc, in a captive situation. there are about 50 million other water birds that use the same places

as the spoonies, so if we could save it — and we're starting to do so — we can save a lot of other birds and plants and people who depend on the wetland sites where those animals survive. 2019 was the year that scientists put a very big number on the extinction crisis. a global report published this year estimated that around a million species of animals and plants are at risk of extinction. the loss of natural habitats in our human—engineered environment is an increasing threat, so conservationists hope this will go much further than one charismatic little bird and that protecting the spoon—billed sandpiper and the wetlands it depends on will prevent many other species from being lost. nasa has unveiled its latest martian rover ahead of a seven—month

voyage to the red planet, scheduled forjuly. fuelled by a mini nuclear reactor, the car—sized rover will search for traces of past life in an area thought to have contained rivers and a lake some three and half billion years ago. briony sowden reports. meet nasa's latest rover, set to back mars' latest resident in 2021. unveiled in pasadena, this robotic vehicle, which doesn't have an official name yet, will sniff around the red planet and perhaps more ambitiously lie the groundwork to send humans into deep space. this is a mission that's going to launch injuly of this year and get to mars in february of 2021. it's designed to seek the signs of life. so we are carrying a number of different instruments that will help us understand the geological and chemical context on the surface of mars. the rover will spend two years collecting samples that will eventually be brought back to earth in later missions. on board are more than 20

cameras and equipment that turns carbon dioxide, which makes up more than 95% of martian atmosphere, into oxygen, which would be crucial to future human missions. its final destination on mars is a large crater which scientist believe could hold signs of past life forms. and with such big ambition, extra precautions had to be taken, including a thorough decontamination for all the journalists invited. we're trying to find past signs of life and we don't want to find something we bring, so we need to make sure that we are not bringing bacteria and stuff that could survive the flight to mars and thrive in that atmosphere. we don't want to find that. if successful, the mars 2020 rover will become nasa's fifth probe to land on mars and it does already have a companion — it willjoin the agency's curiosity rover, which has been roaming the landscape since 2012. nasa will ship the rover to its kennedy space center in

february, where it's sections will be assembled for take off, scheduled forjuly. it is a toy, it is a puzzle and, according to its creator, it is also a piece of art. in 1974, hungarian architect erno rubik created his eponymous cube as a teaching tool for his students. the cube is... a very special

object. it's a toy, it's a puzzle. i prefer object. it's a toy, it's a puzzle. i p refer to object. it's a toy, it's a puzzle. i prefer to call it a piece of art. it's a construction. it's educational tool. so it is many things. i was lecturing architecture and construction and for the stu d e nts and construction and for the students the best way to teach them is to show them what to do. so i was interested about to create something what is mobile, simple and contains some kind of task. and finally, i was following the cube as a form, because it has very special qualities. after i did it and it was working nicely, my prototype, i think if i like something, somebody else will like it as well. i

thought, if we can produce it, it is possible that something will happen. i was not dreaming about success. i was not dreaming about numbers or figures. i had a feeling i can share what i had done and it will be good. at first, we started to sell in hungary, the big boom or change started in the 80s when we stepped into the world market at first in new york, but all of the other toy shows around the world and in three yea rs, shows around the world and in three years, it was the golden days of the cube, the first big boom and in that time original cubes sold more than

100 million. it generated some income for me, but i was not expecting such figures. i felt it's like some kind of, when you read a lottery, you find money on the street. competitions, i can say it is some kind of side effect, it is not something that i was tar getting. my average time was one minute. i was over 30 already and the best age to do it successfully it's under 20. it helps to understand the three—dimensional movements, to exercise our mind, to imagine something, to understand that if i change the elements of the movement, the result will be not the same. the progress is not a

continuous line, but we go forward and a little bit back and go again, so and a little bit back and go again, so you need many times to destroy something to achieve progress. hgppy happy cubing! a tv news crew had a close call after they were nearly hit by a truck while covering a road accident in the us. the road in lubbock county, west texas, was covered by a dense fog when the vehicle lost control, prompting state troopers and other bystanders to leap out of the way. two people were injured but they're expected to make a full recovery.

you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones. this is bbc news. hello, good evening. saturday sunshine was in short supply. a lot of us got stuck with cloud today. grey and murky scenes for this weather watcher in 0xfordshire. the favoured few got to see a little bit of brightness, this was the end of the day in leeds, at least a glimpse of the sunset. into tomorrow, we are going to see some mild weather continuing. in fact, milder than today across the northern half of the uk, at the same time i'm hopeful we will tap into some slightly drier air from the near continent which should break up some of the cloud and give us a little bit more in the way of brightness, but still a lot of cloud out there through tonight, still some outbreaks of rain across the north and west of scotland where it will be breezy. skies tending to clear

for northern ireland northeast scotland, there may be some breaks into the southeast as well, a fairly cool night across eastern england. for the vast majority it is mild and a mild start to tomorrow, a pretty cloudy start again. could be the odd spot of drizzle for the hills and moors of the southwest, the hills of wales, up into parts of northwest england but towards the midlands and east anglia and the southeast, it should brighten up into the afternoon, a similar story for northeast england, some brightness for northern ireland and eastern scotland, still some rain in the northwest of scotland. it's a mild day for all, but particularly in the north, and with the southwesterly winds running over high ground and down the other side, the north coast of northern ireland and northeast coast of scotland could see temperatures of up to 1a or 15 celsius, pretty exceptional for this time of year. as you move out of sunday into monday, this frontal system still wriggling around across the northwest, that will bring outbreaks of rain. that rain edging southwards across scotland and northern ireland as the day wears on. for england and wales, predominantly dry with a decent amount of sunshine at this stage, and the mildest weather at this point will be squashed down towards the south,

12 or 13 celsius. cooler across northern areas and for tuesday, as the frontal system slides southwards, all of us get into some slightly cooler air. we'll keep a lot of cloud, the odd spot of drizzle for the southwest of england. otherwise it's mainly fine, but for the majority, temperatures back into single digits and then we get into the evening, the end of 2019. if you are out celebrating it's going to be largely dry but as you can see, some fog patches are likely to form through the night, and it will also be rather chilly but it should at least be mostly fine out there for new year's eve.

this is bbc news. this is bbc world news, the headlines... dozens of people have been killed in the somali capital, mogadishu, in a massive explosion in the southwest of the city. ambulance staff say more than seventy people died. the dead included university students on their way to classes. riot police made arrests and fired pepper spray in a hong kong border town after about 100 masked demonstrators gathered in a shopping mall. they were protesting against shoppers from mainland china. a list of more than 1,000 addresses of new years honours recipients, including those of grease star, 0livia newtonjohn, has been accidentally published by the uk government. the file was uploaded to the official website, but has since been removed.