more than ninety eight percent of these children up own health. the german aids foundation is supporting dream in mozambique you can do something to give a baby a future without a. make a donation safe a life. this is due to every news coming to a lawyer from berlin and russian opposition leader alexina valmai is calling for a boycott of a presidential vote next year after the country's election commission bored him from running against president putin and outspoken putin critic now vali is valen

to appeal the decision. also in moscow a bus crashes into a subway underpass killing at least four people several others have been injured police are now questioning the driver and investigating what caused this crash plus . pope francis delivers his christmas day blessing and his message he calls for israelis and palestinians to come together and resume talks aimed at a two state solution a part of called this the path to peace in the holy land. i'm sara harmon welcome to the show it's good to have you with us. kremlin critic alexina volney is urging russians to boycott next year's presidential vote this comes as the country's election commission board not only from running against

vladimir putin of all these presidential bid was unanimously rejected by a vote of twelve to zero the commission said his conviction in a fraud case a conviction that was widely seen as retribution for is anti corruption campaigning makes him eligible he's been considering excuse me he's been considered. the most serious challenger to putin's bid for a fourth term in office. just moments after the election commission's decision to reject his presidential bid vuln a release to message criticizing the decision take a listen when we announce a boycott of the election and. the way they want to carry out the vote is not a real election it will feature only putin and the candidates he has personally selected the ones who don't pose any threat to him they haven't campaigned and they will not campaign is better to move them all it's taken out of moscow where he wus and when sure one has been following the story for us emily quite

a setback here form of all me he's calling for this election to be boycotted now but what is he really going to do. well he's going to appeal the decision as you said sara and he also has said in that video that you just showed excerpts from that he wanted to turn his campaign headquarters all over the country into a so-called boycott centers he says he wants to campaign against the elections so we don't know whether that means perhaps protests as well we'll have to wait and see and he also called on his supporters not only to boycott but also to monitor turnout during the elections and that's interesting because there were media reports yesterday that the kremlin is hoping to achieve seventy percent turnout and that seventy that they hope that seventy percent of people will vote for putin that's their goal so obviously if you can undermine whatever numbers they provide

for turnout or even undermine that turnout by boycotting the election and by calling his supporters to boycott the election then i suppose he hopes that will undermine the legitimacy of the presidential elections as a whole all right of all men fall barred from running or there are any other opposition candidates. well there are even though putin is widely expected to win with a huge majority. has actually called on opposition candidates to pull out of the elections as well and one to mention here is the opposition candidate saying yes up chalk she's a former socialite and journalist and she has actually said that she would withdraw if. candidacy were not allowed which is now happened she is widely seen as a kremlin candidate

a kremlin project one that the kremlin has put forward to make these elections seem legitimate by putting a real opposition candidate forward she's said things like that the crimean annexation was against international law which of course here is very controversial so that's one to watch so far her campaign hasn't said anything on social media about this newest news about ok and what about russians what are they saying about the volney being barred from running to they support the decision. well of course opinions here differ i've heard from putin supporters that they think that the is an american candidate who's been placed in the elections to undermine russia but then you know of course you have to look at the

polling as well basically all of the candidates apart from putin looked looks set to poll in the low single digits anyway and when it comes to the actual. supporters though i'm sure they are very disappointed even though of course some of them may have been expecting this decision people were widely discussing whether he would be barred from running in the election or not and now it seems that the kremlin decided or that the election commission has decided certainly that he won't be able to run. a sure way in reporting for us in moscow thank you. all staying in moscow at least four people have been killed and more than a dozen others injured after a bus plowed into a busy pedestrian underpass moscow thora days have ruled out terrorism and have detained the driver of the bus for questioning. c.c.t.v. footage shows the bus leaving the side of

a busy multi-lane highway and plunging into a pedestrian underpass near a metro station several victims were crushed beneath the wheels as the vehicle careered down the steps emergency services rushed to the seeing to recover the bus there's no evidence so far of any terrorist involvement. no need to euro probably technical and human factors at play the state of the road cannot have been a factor the road was clear it's thought the bus driver may have lost control of the vehicle because of a problem with the handbrake police held him for questioning there was no choice we rescued seven people four of whom unfortunately did not make it we managed to prevent the bus catching fire the bus has now been towed out of the protests street an underground passage we have finished operation here. first your tip of the from . the incident happened on one of must because busiest roads monday is an ordinary

working day in russia where the orthodox christmas is celebrated on january the seventh. and police say they believe a man who crashed his car into the headquarters of the social democratic party on christmas eve was trying to commit suicide while unwilling to rule out a political motive authorities said there is no immediate indications that this man was an extremist. the driver of this car rammed the entrance of the social democratic party headquarters in berlin his vehicle immediately caught fire but the building sprinkler system prevented the blaze from spreading. the driver was treated for minor injuries in the hospital during questioning he said he was attempting to commit suicide police found gasoline canisters and gas cartridges in the vehicle as well as in other locations an hour earlier the man had dropped off a bag full of flammable material in front of the christian democratic party

headquarters the doormen immediately saw the activity and reported it. but will no money it is about it's not clear why this ban chose to leave his suspicious bags that one party headquarters and drive his car into the other we're hoping to get an answer from him and us it would start with what's going to get a political motive has not yet been ruled out state security has taken over the investigation. next return to christmas celebrations christians around the world across continents and cultures are celebrating christmas hope francis has given the traditional irby at or be a blessing from the balcony of the basilica overlooking st peter's square it's one of the most sacred addresses in the catholic calendar. and if they only put in these. days. it's really. hate speech week. some ten thousand

catholics sent to risk that outside st peter's to hear the pope's traditional blessing be at or be means to the city and the world and the pope also had a will be matter on his mind in his address francis repeated calls for a solution to the only during conflict in the middle east which was recently stoked by u.s. president donald trump's recognition of jerusalem as israel's capital. on this festive day let us ask the lord for peace for jerusalem and for all the holy land let us pray that the will to resume dialogue may prevail between the parties and that a negotiated solution can finally be reached one that would allow the peaceful coexistence of two states within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders. the pope's christmas eve mass was no less political francis drew

attention to the plight of refugees he told catholics to be welcoming towards people who have been driven from their homelands by conflict comparing marian josephs journey to bethlehem with the mass migration seen today the holy couple had arrived he said at a place where there was no room for them to stay. so many other footsteps are hidden in the steps of joseph and mary we see the tracks of entire families forced to set out in our own day we see the tracks of millions who do not choose to go away but driven from their land leave behind their dear ones. like you. so much. for. the pope's support for refugees

has put him at odds with some politicians but already it's become a key feature of his tenure. well here in germany president. has urged call despite political uncertainty in the country chancellor angela merkel has been trying to form a new coalition government since federal elections in september and his first christmas address steinmeyer encouraged germans to draw lessons past. but thirty years ago the christmas season was characterized by incredible all and enthusiasm thanks to the fall of the wall. although it was an unforgettable moment for all of us it also marked the beginning of uncertainty for many. looking back don't we see how much it paid off to celebrate that unique moment without fear. because in doing for her to help the situation so our futures not sit in stone if

we take action as a community if we stop calling on others to be responsible and start to realize that responsibility begins with us. here's a look nasri other stories that are making news around the world at least six people have been killed in a suicide bombing in the afghan capital kabul the blast occurred near an office belonging to the country's national intelligence agency during the morning rush hour so-called islamic state has claimed responsibility. the united arab emirates says intelligence about a possible terrorist threat was behind its decision not to let several tunisian women board a flight to the u.a.e. on friday and mark's airlines prevented the tunisian women from flying without giving an explanation in response to the suspended emirates airlines flights to the north african country. meghan markle was join the royal family for their traditional christmas day service of the queen's sandringham estate it's

a break with tradition unmarried partners of loyals have not previously been invited to sandringham prince harry and morkel are set to marry in may. well it's christmas day across the globe so merry christmas to everyone celebrating santa and rudolph are still quite busy at the moment as they enter the final stretch of their world tour for those that offer on their travels on christmas eve they made a stop in alexandria virginia the duo entertained families on the banks of the potomac river at the annual christmas show before they set off on the worldwide president elect for a run make and model for joined by the grinch on a jet ski areas overcoming his grumpy anti holiday spirit to douse the list takers. and in london brave swimmers plunged into the serpentina lake for a traditional christmas day race not despite the freezing temperatures dozens competed in the anglo peter pan cup members of the scots guard british army unit based

nearby also took part in the festivities in the middle of high park no wetsuits in sight just said the suits a couple of some of our christmas is also having a dip. in they go. with the. news coming to y. from berlin up to it's coming for you at the top of the hour see that by for now. what does a football loving country to which it's going yes. we'll tell you how german soccer made it to the top. you know what special.