surfers fighting against. starting january seventh. this is due to be news coming to you live from berlin russian opposition leader alexina volney is calling for a boycott of the presidential vote next year this after the country's election commission barred him from running against president putin and el spoken putin critics have only is vowing 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 the last thing and his message he called for israelis and palestinians to come together and resume talks aimed at a two state solution the pontiff called this the path to peace and love holy land. welcome to the show it's good to have you with us. one critic alexina vali is urging russians to boycott next year's presidential vote this comes as the country's election commission board nepali from running against vladimir putin the vollies presidential bid was unanimously reject. by

a vote of twelve to zero the commission says his conviction in a fraud case widely seen as retribution for his anti corruption campaigning makes him eligible to run he had been considered the most serious challenger to putin's bid for a fourth term in office. well just after the election commission's announcement that his bid was being rejected the voll they released a message criticizing the decision we announce a boycott of the election but 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 up on your taking 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 a excerpt from that he wanted to turn his campaign headquarters all over the country into a so-called boycott center 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 my majority. and the 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 upchuck she's a former socialite and journalist and she has actually said that she would withdraw if viney divine is candidacy were not allowed which has 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 inviting us analyst suring reporting for us in moscow thank you. well staying in moscow least four people have been killed and more than a dozen others injured after a bus plowed into a busy press road underpass moscow authorities have ruled out terrorism and have detained the bus driver 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 career down the steps emergency services rushed to the seeing to recover the bus there's no evidence so far of any terrorist involvement. there probably

technical and human factors of 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 we rescued seven people for a film unfortunately did not make it we managed to prevent the bus catching fire the bus is now been towed out of the pedestrian underground passage we've finished our operation near. to where the it and thirty or both of those from. the incident happened on one of moscow's busiest roads mondays an ordinary working day in russia where the orthodox christmas is celebrated on january the seventh. now to something else or stories that are making news around the world at least six people have been killed in a suicide bombing in the afghan capital kabul a blast occurred near an office that belong to the country's national intelligence

agency and took place during the morning rush hour so-called islamic state has claimed responsibility. for when 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 fifty eight year olds but hostile. from minor head injuries police found several canisters of petrol in the vehicle. a walk slide in austria's the vols valley has cut off an entire village from the outside world rocks oil entries fell across the communities main service road just ten minutes before the rocks came down a number of locals who travelled out world to get to christmas mass no injuries happened reported. turning out to christmas celebrations christians around the world across continents and cultures are celebrating christmas pope francis has

given the traditional be at or be a blessing from a balcony overlooking st peter's square as one of the most sacred addresses in the catholic calendar. they put in these. days. it's the week. some ten thousand catholics and to risk gathered outside st peter's to hear the pope's traditional blessing be at all 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 going 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 teams 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 marion jones its journey to bethlehem with the mass migration scene today the holy couple had arrived he said at a place where there was no room for them to stay. or . 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. so nice. am the pope support for refugees has put him at odds with some politicians but already it's become a key feature of his tenure. this. but here in germany president frank. kong 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 sime are encouraged to draw lessons from the past for fast devised. by the summer thirty years ago the christmas season was characterized by

incredible or an 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. german president frank held his first christmas greeting as president from his residence last bellevue he called on people to seize initiative in uncertain times. because in to him for help in this we're not going to help the situation so our future is not sitting stone we can overcome the sense of powerlessness and alienation on both a large and small scale 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 can. steinmeyer also addressed the delay in forming a new german government now the longest in post-war history. not all things that

are unexpected should inspire shia this also applies when the formation of a new government takes longer than foreseen. of the thought in the us but the german president gave his assurance that the country remained stable. in german soccer the bundesliga is enjoying a well earned winter break after one of the most compelling first halves of the season in years high profile sacking some spectacular goals and a huge controversy over the new video referee system means there's hardly been a dull moment in the bundesliga here's a look back at the season so far. the comeback of the year so your pint gets replace the sacked catalogue returned for a fourth stint as coach of byron munich in october seventy two year old trying to steady the ship and buyer now have an eleven point lead at the top of the bundesliga. brasier dortmund also changed coaches after

a flying start to underpay top bush dortmund season fell apart as they went eight league games without a win the dutchman was fired in early december and replaced with x cologne boss. and tossing them if to go back alone in a few days later i'm dortmund coach no would have believed such a story if it happens have happened when the mother used to live in sin it came through the ritz it was a kind of. show that had departed cologne with the side rooted to the bottom of the bundesliga having finished an impressive fifth and reached europe last season after top score anthony left for china and wasn't replaced their campaign nosedived with injuries also not helping. the sporting director and coach paid the price and relegation now back. in contrast second place child i'll be one of the positive surprises in the first half of the season thirty two year old coach to many go to

tesco has found the perfect mix there's been no magical football just hard work and a huge team spirit as shown by their incredible four all draw at darby rivals dortmund having been down for now. the big talking point this term has been the video review trial rather than limit controversy the system has caused more confusion with the rules over its use unclear referees are in the spotlight more than ever. using video evidence is correct in their view but the way we have implemented it has been a catastrophe both internally and externally and that's what will surely hit the buffers if you want to feel like everything and for. ball it's important to keep your eye on the ball. mine's keeper robin said no won't be making that mistake again in this league clubs will hope to have a bit more focus for the second half of the season starting on january twelfth. russia's deputy prime minister of italian much stepped down as head of the

country's football federation for a period of six months this comes just three weeks after look cole was handed a life long ban by the i.o.c. for his alleged involvement in the state sponsored doping of russian athletes out of spite the interim resignation who will remain the chief of russia's world cup committee that tournaments takes place in july. and that's your date of the news at this hour you're up to date i'm sara harmon from the whole team here in berlin thanks for watching we'll see you at the top of the hour for more. images from an isolated country images from the fourth korea. newtonians a target for captured fascinating shots of everyday life in the regimented society . in north korea.