Saudi arabia and the u. A. E. And with strikes taking center stage and fred see how paris the struggling to fill those seats. And im here to simplify all your sports the College Playoffs reached the finals and we report on measures to protect younger players from head injuries. Theres been a prisoner swap in Eastern Ukraine between Government Forces and pro russia separatists and the 2nd major release in 3 months follows ukraine and russia agreeing to a tension between them ties between ukraine and russia broke down after the 2014 uprising that ousted the kremlin backed president in kiev russia went on to annex crimea and is accused of supporting separatists in Eastern Ukraine at least 13000 people have been killed in the fighting the latest Prisoner Exchange is part of ukrainian president the law to me is a lenski push for peace but there is anger and you crying over concessions made to russia in order to secure a ceasefire kiev will release riot Police Suspected of murder during the 24th saying uprising journalist alexandra is in moscow and joins us now how is this move being viewed particularly for the potential of a longer term deal here. Well as you said. Ellen skiff 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 affected that he did to win the elections by promising to end this conflict and we could read on social networks and also in ukraine in media that this prisoner swap is welcomed there were posts like are finally our people are heading back home some of them have been kept by the russian separatists since 2015 at the same time what caused 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 when the benders in the center of kiev in 2014 so before the crimea was annexed by russia before a 1st gun was fired in the east ukraine and critics say why are you handing all were people d 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. Drew the prisoner swap is one thing to be viewed as a concession which may lead to some goodwill for future negotiations but isnt the bottom line year. Not recognize the sovereignty of ukraine to decide their own fate their own future. Well what i was i had this is actually very very complicated and its going to be quite challenging before the thing is settled in these 2 grain and maybe were not going to see it soon because there is minsk to agreement which is a set of measures signed in 2015 in order to help end the war in ukraine and that there its not only a swap of prisoners all for all its not only a cease fire which by the way didnt happen but its also elections that have to be held in this eastern rebel part of these 2 grain and these elections should be under the ukrainian law and that there should be a law and special status which does exist its only in a sleeping mode it will be activated once to elections happen but there is also a fact that ukraine does not control its border with russia since 2014 and this is exactly a point where there is a disagreement that we could hear on the normandy form of the summit earlier this month because ukraine says we want to the control of our border 1st and then the elections and then the special status for this separatist parts and russia is saying but this is not what you signed in 2015 in 2015 agreement that says that 1st elections and they offer the elections happen you can start the process of taken over a border so this is this is still very far away from over the ocean to thank you so much for that lets discuss this further there. Is professor of comparative politics in kiev. Joins us now from give via skype its good to have you with us give us the view from inside ukraine the view inc year to this prisoner swap is it being seen as something that potentially could be an optimistic side. Well definitely this is good sat some of ukrainian prisoners arent owning homes and im suggesting some of you korean prisoners because many many prisons many many korean prisoners are still held in the russia theyre held in the russia by crane media. But its important that what we have we have civil war in c. East of ukraine but this is nords in would between the ukraine and the socalled separatists we can see the ied as a war between the ukraine and russia because russia buys the standard there is and russia has come through all of the Russian Forces are there are some military russian generals and the russia is controlling 400 kilometers of but im sure youve created and bought this so unfortunately its a russian position which prevents us. From seoul with conflict and if i could just come in that youve correctly outlined that what the obstacles here i want to ask you what the motivation would be for Vladimir Putin to relate or to compromise in any way given what his attitude has already been and given how we know that ukraine is culturally politically socially significant to russia. Well what we see here now is that what it is under pressure is under sanctions from zip vest so what putin is going to do hes trying to show some elements or of d hes rather the socalled red in this for compromises and release of reason this is just one of these. Of these steps one step insists that its a given this is not above all reasons so were basically putin would like to have he would like to say formally ok i was doing from done by us formally but in fact hes going to continue his control all this or saddam bus so this isnt their picks and what hes doing was present at certain point for example he refuses to have. Peace of prisoners a sense he has a step and then hes moving better you need to understand that while we have 0 release of of prisoners right now there is still no cease fire no yes fine and it is a very unjust war and the shell is the shelling of ukrainian territory is continued by russian and just on that now from what your outlining the you sound pessimistic that this conflict is going to continue and where does this leave president selenski made a part of his Campaign Pitch his platform to bring this to an end. Yes. But the problem is not at any cost so not as a concessions ukrainians are making in favor or so what i suggest is there would be continuation of talks there would be continuation of some security measures owns the ground like decent gear agent of troops 0 respect then show some potential in continued swarf of pretties unless but then would be is a problem where there are real disagreements between russia and ukraine and as it was pointed out by your call across sco is it is a question is who is control in exhibit 400 kilometers of brushing and creating your own board and ukrainian side insists that if not ukrainians there is a should be an International Main Mission International peacekeepers that could control this part of support that i am not sure frankly i dont believe that exists for you and well agree to that so basically it means the sentients should guarantee alexa has been good to have you on the program thank you again thank you the Yemeni Government is blaming hooty rebels for a missile attack on the military Graduation Parade which killed at least 7 people theres been no claim of responsibility for the strike in the town of daraa in southern yemen the apparent target was security built forces which are trained and equipped by the saudi u. I. Coalition who 3 say they have identified on targets in saudi arabia and the u. A. E. Which they plan to hit next year the saying is a prohibited journalist based in sana he says disagreements between the saudi u. A. E. That Coalition Fighting in yemen made their 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 un 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 thats why i think if they continue this way i dont think that this coalition can continue on as well we have seen today press conference for the d spokesperson of yemeni out of voters here in sanaa and he has warned saudi arabia and he said that this year. 2020. Nemeth if they are. Very. Different because we know that in many other means and it has been develop their air defense and if they can limit. The power of saudi and i doubt 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. 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. But this is not the 1st time the target with the security bill for. About this latest attack. Yes and more than one occasion how these have carried out attacks missile and drone attacks on. On the gathering of military personnel in the south. Could be mentioned in the what has targeted the in aden and also in the. Base but this time the whole of these have not taken responsibility for such acts they be a source that i have talked to they told me that the they wouldnt. Wouldnt keep it secret because the would declare it that the have already care carried out of this such attack but according to sources that ive talked to in daraa these are. The bomb was planted overnight before the paraded to take place or proceed. While the. Bill security of the backed by the United Arab Emirates blamed for the whole fees that the the in the year 28 said that the whole of these have carried out a messiah attack. Here also we have we have the Spokes Person on the. Army mentioned during his press that the. 2020. More painful attacks against saudi arabia in the United Arab Emirates he mentioned 99. 00 targets will be carried out and that they have already given the oldest of the to the militants all the to the forces on the ground to carry on 9 targets against saudi arabia in the United Arab Emirates. 6 to be carried out against saudi arabia and 3 against the United Arab Emirates and the believe that the operations could be carried out before the age of 2020 baba thank you for that. And we have much more ahead for you. It is Mass Violence and i consider this. Domestic terrorism new yorks mayor speaks out after the latest attack against the Jewish Community. Living in the sacrifice zone we meet the people being poisoned by coal. With the leaders at the top of the standings in the n. B. A. People have school. 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 play the u. N. News warning against an escalation of fighting following years of andras between muslim and christian militias one shop owner who did not want to be identified said hes fed up. With had enough every time theyre asking for money sometimes they take things by force we cant continue like this when will it end. Well the Central African republic has filed to become stable since its independence from france in 160 violence and turmoil worse than 6 and a half years ago where muslim rebels formed a group called select out and seize power in the majority christian nation an alliance of mine the christian militias called block a formed to counter the a Transitional Government was handed power in 2014 but attempts to broker any lasting peace have repeated the broken down much of the conflict is over the countrys vast wealth in diamonds gold oil and youre right here joshua most if he is a senior policy analyst for africa in the middle east at the Heritage Foundation in harrisburg pennsylvania he says violence has been building a bank way p. K. 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 a bastion of safety for muslims who fled to p. K. 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 im out there are round of violence in the capital city and in this neighborhood car is desperately complex environment there was a recent Peace Agreement signed in in february there were 14 armed groups that were signatories to that agreement and that doesnt 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 its one of the least developed on earth. Indias Opposition Congress party is describing the new citizenship law as an attack on indian traditions culture and history the legislation makes it easier for religious minorities from 3 neighboring countries to become indian citizens protesters say the move violates the secular constitution by excluding muslim refugees and migrants and is a Jamia Millia Islamia university in new delhi she says protesters there arent willing to give up jummy a 1000000 samir university in new delhi has become the epicenter of protests against the citizenship law recently passed by the Indian Government today some of the students reenacted some of the scenes from the days when police boasted and beat some of the students up this is that they want an inquiry against these Police Officials 26 people have been killed but only the relative of one of these people still has managed to file a complaint with the Police Investigations are expected to start soon for one of the others who he is and what about those who have been beaten up we will also see visuals on social media of police smashing private cars so these students are essentially saying that theyve been on the scene and they feel that they may be attacked by their own police now he did start as a Student Movement but its also quickly turning into a political one as different Political Parties all of the ruling. Party which is a nationalist party says that they are not going to implement this law in this state thats at least 10 states in india that is legally. On the ground these Political Parties in the states can make the implementation of this law difficult these students say therefore to some peace will be with the team but very few of them are actually the government. And demonstrators in hong kong or vowed to continue this 6 month revolving to the new year theyre demanding less influence from beijing and the resignation of leader kerry land Francis Louis of florence and he says sundays events were much more peaceful than what weve seen in these protests. 300. Dressed mostly in very small so theyre not immediately recognizable by police thats become the usual uniform of people attending such rallies police have. No objection to this gathering which means they deemed to be a legal a. Police presence but we know they are in the area. Been listening to speeches various people have gone up to speak. Have been talking about their experiences in the protests and the. Encouraging people to continue with the protest movement. Been shown. On the movement. On the ground. And support the protest of people signing. Up supporting. Including. Hong kong. And i think quite frankly. Its been raining all day. Going on. In the. Watching developments in hong kong is taiwan where president ial candidates have faced off in a t. V. Debate ahead of an election next month this year board ations cut ties with taiwan and switch to beijing leaving the selfgoverning island with just 15 diplomatic allies present sighing when favors independence from beijing the main rival hard core you from the chinese Nationals Party wants closer ties which i think the se how on the day of the election i believe media from all over the world will observe and report on how taiwan People Choose to react to chinas increasing suppression on taiwan my rival hong 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. Sort of sitting all you do is lie youre lying to those who support Taiwan Independence the Chinese Communist Party Hong Kong people and taiwan turns out the Democratic Progressive Party is not the only biggest scam of taiwan its also a sellout saying is director of the china instituted so as university of london he explains whats behind the rival contenders positions her position has always been that taiwan has always existed independently all the peoples republic of china and her policy i want that way a National Problem to me and in turn one change so she is enjoying no is strong. In that pursuit and walls all the way and she also in general terms not far im not very far behind that decision mr han has been slightly more extreme in terms of being more willing to accommodate. Beijing and i think his calling mostly would have been even within a few empty. Fijians repairing damage the behind by tropical cycle and surat at least 2 islanders were killed and thousands forced into emergency shelters before the story passed it could take weeks to fully restore electricity supplies residents and holiday makers in parts of the destroyed in state of victoria have been told to leave now ahead of whats forecast to be another day of extreme fire danger on monday for the north the fire ravaged state of New South Wales is also facing more strong winds and temperatures of 40 degrees celsius and above bushfires in 5 states have burnt an area about the size of sports illand since september at least 8 deaths have been linked to the 5. Battered by economic and social unrest government is standing by its ambitious promise to go taba neutral by the year 2050 the commitment has earned that prize from environmental advocates but in cities like are no its far too early to celebrate this in human explains why. This is what remains of the once impressive coal company in the city of quarter. But while today the mines are closed 28 thermal electric plants powered by coal continue to supply more than 40 percent of chiles energy and 3 of them are located within a 3 kilometer radius here in. America shows us the giant coal ash dump of one of the largest plants he says that since 2003 high levels of arsenic and other heavy metals have been contaminating the air and filtering into the water supply from. Cornell is the only city in the world that has a coal ash dump inside a residential area 100 meters from a school 150. 00 from a Nursery School 30 from homeless the ash is a health hazard. And thats why glitter nell is known as a sacrifice own more than 70 residents especially children have tested positive for heavy metals including planet 9 this who has dangerously high levels in her blood stream she and her 2 children suffer from headaches exhaustion muscle and body pains lack of concentration and other symptoms. And no one has taken responsibility they havent said what will be the long term consequences what will happen to our children we have been totally abandoned by the state what will happen to my children if i die. The good news is that chiles government has vowed to close down all coal plants by 2040 and replace them with Clean Energy Sources like solar and wind them. These measures aim to confront Climate Change and contribute to reducing Greenhouse Gases but they also are intended to create a positive impact in the cities where there is contamination from coal plants chilies pledge to each Carbon Neutrality by 2050 it will require one of the fastest coal shutdowns yet for a coal dependent economy but the governments plan to begin by shutting down 8 of chiles oldest electric plants is regarded as an ambitious by environmentalists and much of the communities that live next to them. Put in as plants are unlikely to be shut down for another decade the government argues transitioning to alternative energy takes time and technology. Unfortunately for residents like one i had 9 days to dream of no longer living with her children in a socalled sacrifice stone will have to wait to see in human ill just put an end. Coming up. How women in india because im a symbol of the protest. After months of political unrest in iraq we look at whats ahead in 2020. And the queen of the slopes adds to her world cup tell the in austria piece of this was more about that in school. Hello there plenty of cold air in place across much of iran and further to the east across into afghanistan its 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 showers and 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 now is the south of that which is have been very nice that in the mid twentys as some light winds a little bit cool in the evening hours were seeing a few showers long coastal areas of amman we could just see the same as we go through monday and choose a sudden choose day that is 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 weve 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 3000000000 pounds with a weapon that was 6000000000 pounds in. There is no fun anymore because theres always a small cobbles. Really really good business. In assonance we in the United States have privatized the ultimate Public Function more shadow on aljazeera. In a world where journalism as an industry is changing we have aljazeera are fortunate to be able to continue to expand to continue to have that passenger drive and present the stories in a way that is important to our viewers. Everyone has a story worth hearing. And cover those that are often ignored we dont weigh our coverage towards one particular region or continent thats why i joined aljazeera. Youre watching aljazeera heres a reminder of our top stories this hour theres been a prisoner swap in Eastern Ukraine between Government Forces and progress the separatists was sickened by to release free bonds follows ukraine and russia agreeing to ease tensions between the. The Yemeni Government is blaming her the rebels for a missile attack on a military Graduation Parade which killed at least 7 people theres been no cloud of responsibility for the strike at the top of dolly in southern yemen. Indias Opposition Congress party is describing the new citizenship law as an attack on indian traditions culture and history of all might it easier for religious minorities from 3 neighboring countries to become indian citizens. We heard from our border and job or earlier in new delhi shes also been speaking to women who put themselves on the front lines of these protests for the 16 days into the nationwide protests against the contentious citizenship law and the women of new delhi are undeterred by the 26 dead arrests of a 1000 and the biting cold hearted of all the police say they are only maintaining law and order and denying trying to quell the protests. Some of them violent. These women say they feel threatened by the police and accuse some officers of committing what they call atrocities. Shahin courser is leading the female protesters have been is not ethically the women are protesting for their safety and to protect their children fear has taken hold of them since the clashes so they want the government to come here and assuage their concerns. But no one from the government has come these women are braving the cold with their infants. To protest against the controversial citizenship law they say the violence abuse by the police to suppress the protests including beating up students in a nearby university let them go and since theyre out on seeing. Shaheen crosser vividly remembers the events of 13th december the day she says policeman 1st trash the students of johnny a 1000000 new university with stakes like the 1st for the children of many of the women protest a study that. She says shes never seen them so angry and scared as they rushed to help side the hamid is a womens rights act. This who has long experience of working with muslim women she says the Police Brutality and the unjust citizenship law have forced women even from relatively conservative backgrounds to step out and protest never never have i seen this kind of spontaneous outpouring of education and protest by muslim women they are afraid for the next generation for their children theyre afraid that they may become either if you do it in their own lands or they may be thrown out the mother of 6 says police have pressured her husband to stop her protesting she is equally concerned by divisions within the protest movement and says the lack of leadership may be just the win for indias government is looking for. The leader of the Congress Party support the protests along with other parties opposed to the ruling hindu nationalist b. G. P. On saturday rabble gandhi visited the northeast 8 of us where the protests 1st began over 2 weeks ago. Back in the capital the female protesters say theyre not against one Political Party in favor of another they just want the basic right to be able to live safely and with dignity in their homeland. Aljazeera new delhi. A man armed with a machete has attacked 5 Orthodox Jews celebrating the 1st rule of hanukkah in upstate new york he burst into a rabbis home where the event is taking place in the town of muncie 5 victims are reported to be in Critical Condition some people were chased from the house and took refuge in a neighboring synagogue the suspect is now in custody york state Governor Andrew Cuomo has described it as domestic terrorist. This is about the 13th into that incident of antisemitism 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 its not just about words its 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 lets call it what it is these people are domestic terrorists roselyn jordan is covering the story from our Washington Bureau what will can you tell us about this. Well the suspect is going to be charged with 5 counts of attempted murder as well as with a burglary charge that man is supposed to be in a new york state courtroom later on sunday its also been reported that perhaps only 2 of the 5 people who were injured in saturday nights attack at a rabbis home in montse new york have been released from the hospital but 2 others are still badly injured enough where theyre still being hospitalized we dont know the suspects name obviously we dont know the motive that is something which prosecutors would be expected to unveil during sundays arraignment but certainly this is coming at a time of great anxiety for the countrys a Jewish Community and we heard from the Governor Andrew Cuomo there have been a number of attacks on Jewish Americans in recent weeks we should note that there have been 213 antisemitic hate crimes registered with the new York City Police department as of december 15th thats 36 more than in 2018 and certainly we just saw the fatal attack in a kosher supermarket in nearby jersey city new jersey where 3 people were murdered by 2 people who said were to be motivated by anti semitism so theres a real great concern here in the United States about the rising number of attacks on Jewish Americans simply because of their ethnicity and because of their faith. Was describing this is domestic terrorism given this increase in these attacks the way its being described what more is going to be done here. Well Governor Cuomo told reporters out of 2nd press conference in the past hour that he is going to draft legislation for the new York State Legislature to consider to basically make these sorts of attacks acts of terrorism and to increase the penalties for these attacks because certainly its no simple matter to be accused of attempted murder but in practice here in the United States when you add hate crimes when you add domestic terrorism or terrorism of any kind to a legal charge it does increase the amount of the pedals things of course one thing that were also hearing is from the chair. In israel who is saying that more than ever now does there need to be a need for protection to prevent antisemitic attacks but there needs to be increased education about the legacy of the whole cost and about the damage to any some or to some causes to all members of society both in jordan live from washington d. C. Or turkey has sent doctors and medical supplies to somalia to treat the Dozens Injured in saturdays truck bombing at least 80 people were killed in Mogadishu Somalia as president is blimey the group that is vowing the country wont be demoralized or the worst attack for to use a rheumatologist is covering developments from the road we indict bring ken. Well right now were told that the security has been slightly increased in mogadishu more Police Offices and soldiers particularly at security checkpoints in terms of other things the focus right now really seems to be on teaching the engine that a lot of hospitals unable to cope with the number of people who have been injured and the seriousness of the injuries arctic you have a medical equipment and also a medical team of that team is on the ground trying to treat people whove been injured those who are critical have been evacuated he told 15 people has. Sent to turkey so that is the main focus for most people right now especially those with family members who are lying in hospitals waiting to be treated the general sentiment on the ground from people that they are angry they keep asking why did it take so long or why is it always these attacks keep happening and nothing really seems to be done by their growing impatient theyre tired of seeing their loved ones die and the government is under a lot of pressure a lot of pressure to improve the security situation in somalia but right now everyone seems to be focused on trying to treat as many people as possible and for now we know the latest as 15 people have been evacuated to taking. An independent africa policy analyst he says its time for the world to make a serious effort to tackle groups in africa. Their support from their International Community has not been 0 let me let me say that but having said that in my opinion my strong opinion it is in selfish and it is less down was so my needs and is not yet so malia. Obama has had time king and they have a tab uganda then if you will swing over by 2 western and north africa there are terrorist groups all over africa has a read out terrorist problem i live in washington and i dont get the sense that western countries take terrorism in africa seriously they think its a secondary problem they blame african governments they say well the government is not perfect the government has corruption so until they clean up their are they they have to deal with i think that is wrong we have to use the same yardstick when that terror is victims whether europe whether in the middle east or whether in north america we have to understand that we need to bring dissident groups to the politico circle to talk but if they pick up then the state maestro pres them so that in that sense i dont killed we need to protect african lives the same way we protect our rights people are telling their votes in guineabissau president ial election runoff in the hopes of ending months of political turmoil in one of the worlds poorest nations to form but Prime Minister is competing to probably replace president chose a mario vos who was eliminated in the 1st round last month hes vowing to respect the result and hes the 1st president there in 25 years not to be ousted 5 directly through the west african nation has long been by poverty corruption and drug taking. Is a visiting fellow at the for all his lousy center for africa at the London School of economics he says it will be a close rice. One of them seems to be a general and also an academic at the same time and the other is actually. The head of the main party going to be sell now what seems to be the essential difference actually is that the incoming Domingos Pereira of the main party is actually counting on support for for the main party where i still position seems to be wanted to gang up with the un to talk to see whether they can actually remove the main party out of their seats for once there is a clear possibility that the underdog may win. Because the said the opposition parties in the round of most of them have actually decided to pitch the tent with the underdog with ballo and see if they can actually use him are invalid to to unseat the main part of the has been ruling the country since independence so 3 theres a very high possibility that the table is my 10 bucks but we dont know yet more than 6000 families in the town of kisumu kenya have been affected by severe flooding heavy rains the began on Christmas Eve inundated the area east africa has seen unusually heavy rain this year due to warming of the indian ocean. Protesters have stormed an oil field in southern iraq and cut off its power supply that the oil ministry does not expect experts exports to be affected because of extra output from other fuel oil fields meanwhile hundreds of iraqis of marched in baghdad and the nearby city of their jobs to protest against the iran backed nominee for Prime Minister iraqs president has refused to accept the nomination he says he doesnt want to appoint someone who would be rejected by demonstrators. Not protesting against the Prime Minister if we were then we would have ended our demonstration from the very beginning weve been protesting against the Political Parties we want services we want the government to help. Well iraq is no stranger to one wrist decades of war u. N. Sanctions sectarian conflict and now these protests about a 14 reports from baghdad on war 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 antigovernment protests in iraq as unrest spills into 2020 the rift between iraq hes and ruling elites only appears to be growing in but thats 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 in the 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 cannot mean what does once 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 im 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 up the reality of education is that 1st of all were 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 does the prospect of sweeping change. What we have is. A system whereby there are multiple political activists who are very well entrenched within the state they are we fighting for their political survival right now and theyre 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 of the of the matter remains in a caretaker role a new election law was passed earlier this month and while it allows voters to elect independent legislators rather than choosing from party lists it doesnt 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 states violent response but unless the root causes of this crisis are addressed it seems iraqs streets will bear witness to more turmoil in the. Aljazeera. 3 weeks of strikes in france hurting the Entertainment Industry at whats usually its busiest time of the year the show has gone on in theaters during the Christmas Holidays but not in front of so loud audiences Bernard Smith has more from powers. Of paris is the cast expects to perform in front of full houses at this time of the 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 its one of the toughest seasons theyve had we we doing the show until 16 of march so if we lose 20 percent every show is a lot of money its a lot of lost but we can stop we have contract with. The. Public already more ticket until the 16th of march so we can say we stop its impossible. Sometimes its the performers who are on strike dances are against government plans to reform pensions because of an hour they get to retire at 42. 00 after a short career the puts enormous strains on their bodies. To some of. The pension reform the government wants to implement but its also a gesture toward spectators because we as artists are very sorry for whats happening to deprive hundreds of spectators from christmas shows. The opera house says its lost 9000000. 00 since the start of the strike on december the 5th ticket sales in many paris the it is a drop by as much as a 40 percent and december is the most important time of the year its money will not be able to make back just 250 tickets have been sold for tonights performance at the 650 seat theatre to montana us when people have spent an hour and a half on foot to get to work its 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 whove managed to make it here it is says bertrand the biggest slump in theatre going hes experienced in recent memory. For the performers the show must go on of course but its getting harder to live up to the principle. Going to make aljazeera paris. Sport is next its just a really fun story and i like to hit people. They will tell us about plans to make football safer for children the u. S. And now but everyones effect. Capturing a moment in time a. Snapshot. Its about the lives. Of the stories. Provided clips into someone elses what. Do they call. Inspiring documentaries from impassioned filmmakers. Witness on aljazeera. The latest news as it breaks boeing is the largest manufacturing exporter in the u. S. With detailed coverage critics say secular protections and great in the field constitution and now the press. And fearless generalism from around the world recycling centers like this one play a crucial role in argentinas waste management. That is top of sport now hes paid them thank you very much in the English Premier League david moyes looks set to return as west hams manager 2 years ago he was brought in to save them from relegation but only stayed until the end of that season despite keeping them up where sam cech to man well pellegrini of to saturdays defeat to leicester it left them one place above the drop zone after losing 8 of their last 9 matches 3 games in the premier league on sunday its almost over between austin ill and chelsea the visitors coming from behind to lead to one late leaders liverpool or later leaders liverpool take on wolves and Manchester City meet sheffield united. Its taken rangers the whole of this decade but theyll head into the new year in boyhood after their 1st win their glasgow rival celtics and 29. 00 at mikel are cattish grabbing the decisive goal as rangers beat the champions 21 at celtic. Australias cricketers have wrapped up a series victory over new zealand they won the 2nd test in melbourne by 247 runs with a day to spare and south africa lead the 4 match series with england after winning the 1st test match at centurion. Taking 4 wickets as the tourists were beaten by 107 runs the 2nd test begins at newlands in capetown on friday. Mckayla shifrin secured a slice of slalom history on sunday with another world cup when they had leans in austria she equalled the record of fellow american lindsey vonn for the most womens victories in a single discipline it was shot from the 64th world cup title and 43rd in slalom events leaving her 3 short of the record for most wins in one discipline held by swedish great ingomar stan mark. Down the mains of world cup combined events bormio in italy saw a number of delays due to crashes at austrias christopher annoy my er he was airlifted to hospital after that incident and it was defending World Champion alexis pinto who won the title the frenchman came from 12th in the rankings after the super g. Section to win the slalom and with it the overall victory. The u. S. College football semifinal in atlanta went ahead on saturday despite a plane crash before kick off 5 people were killed including the daughter in law of one of the teams coaches the n. C. Double a playoffs are one of the biggest occasions in the american sporting calendar and they sued tigers ahead for the National Championship game against clemson to be seen oklahoma city. Some politicians in the us want to change the way kids play american football to make it safer for 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 game there is resistance as aljazeera kristen salumi reports. Saturday night on the gridiron for many families playing american football is a tradition. One that starts at an early age. I am. Its really fun competitive. 11 year old ryan for ranch act loves playing the game even after suffering a mild concussion and its just a really fun sport and i like to hit people. But those hits even the ones that dont cause concussions could increase his chances of a degenerative brain disease. A recent study by the Boston University school of medicine found a players risk of developing c. T. E. Or chronic traumatic encephalopathy increases 30 percent each year they play the sport it isnt so much concussions although of course concussions are a problem but its also a cumulative effect of even sub concussive injuries the study is fueling efforts to ban tackling under the age of 12 some states are talking about a modification to the game not banning it thats number one number 2 were talking about addressing children were 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 dont 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 hips strength leg strength and the head is out of it the best answer for me as a commissioner is straining football 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 prevention comes with teaching the proper techniques and the proper way to play the game i dont know that a law is going to ever you know solve that problem i do worry about it but i you know every bit footballs 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 dont yet see a ban as the way to tackle this problem kristen salumi aljazeera bridgewater new jersey. Le bron james and the Los Angeles Lakers ended their run of 4 straight defeats as they beat the portland trailblazers on saturday meanwhile james harden gave the shooting moss the gloss as they used and rockets down the brooklyn hard unschooling 44. 00 points and seemed to be able to school from anywhere he chose east and lead a division and 2 places behind the naked in the with. Former world number one andy murray has had to cancel his return to grand slam tennis the scot will settle to the Australian Open in january because of a powerless injury its not all bad news though 12 months ago mary thought his career was over but he has been rising back up the rankings since having surgery to resurface hes hip. Thats where well leave it for now ill have another sports bulletin a little bit later on i will say that thanks peter and thats it for this news hour be back in just a moment thought it more about top stories from around. Yeah hi. Talked to al jazeera we were told to go to the ministry of all the ration has this been addressed by took a listen what these the proposal. For a couple on you know we meet with global news makers and talk about the stories that matter how does iran. Counter the cost 29. 00 t. V. Water year its been a world sport bill to put aside short Term Economic game to save the planet for last of america the middle east people took to the street protests you know the spread of wealth out of trade war reshapes globalization counting the cost on aljazeera. I thought this conviction that everyone has a deep reservoir of tonic billeted and if you can give them the opportunity wonderful things start to happen sometimes the simplest situations optimist and pat from. The main things that sets out 0 apart from other news organizations is that a lot of our reporting is about real people not about ideas or politicians and what they may want to do but how policy and how events affect real people its ok its ok its ok but a little long complicated operations probably if this is not an act of creation im going i dont know if the office of the work youre doing here is amazing but there i its so many fossils and it feels like this is just a dent what was your relationship with joe not normal or ok just really become just in this job isnt just about whats on a script or a piece of paper its about whats happening right now. That all fall prisoner swap in Eastern Ukraine gives you but fred job for an end to the 5 year. This is al jazeera live from doha also. Miss all the tech in yemen these blind dont hooty rebels who are now threatening to target sensitive locations in saudi arabia and the u. A. E. Taiwans lito warns china is the biggest threat to its wellbeing pointing to events in hong kong to balls