Somalias president has been going out for a bombing in the capital thats killed at least 79 people and injured many more now most of the dead were University Students heading in for a new day of classes a truck exploded at a checkpoint although police say the intended target was a Tax Collection Center theres been no claim of responsibility yet saturdays bombing was one of the deadliest recent attacks in mogadishu in 2011100 people were killed in a suicide bombing by al shabaab outside the governments ministerial complex and 2 years ago nearly 600 people were killed in the double truck bombing that too was blamed on alshabaab. Reports from nairobi in neighboring kenya. Joining morning rush hour as many people going to work and University Students heating to campus. Bombs exploded at a security checkpoint by many coming into mogadishu. A truck loaded with explosives was detonated at a busy checkpoint the explosion led to many deaths and injuries most of those died here students who were going to the schools and universities. That the this explosion is like the one in the junction back in 2007 just a few steps away from where i am. Officials believe the target was a building next to the checkpoint being used by Government Troops the group was pushed out of mogadishu several years ago but is still targets high profile areas such as checkpoints and hotels. Also carried out attacks in neighboring kenya and uganda. Is trying to stop attacks like this from happening. Saturdays tragedy has become a Lesson Learned since the country is in a state of war we need to be vigilant against terror attacks since the primary goal of the terrorists is to cause maximum damage to everybody. Not only targeting those who work for the government but the entire population for those caught up in the blast and those who lost family members and loved ones thats a little comfort now. Algis there. Is an independent africa policy analyst and he says its time for the International Community to start tackling armed groups in africa seriously. This apart from the International Community has not been 0 let me let me say that but having said that in my opinion in my strong opinion it is insufficient it is less than was needs and is not just. About tab uganda then if you obarr to western and north africa there are terrorist groups all over africa has a real terrorist problem i live in washington and i dont get the sense that the western countries take terrorism in africa seriously this is a secondary problem they blame african governments this is a well the government is not perfect the government has corruption so until the there are the they have to deal with i think that is wrong we have to use the same yardstick when there are terrorist victims are whether in europe whether in the middle east or whether in north america we have to understand we need to bring this event groups into the politico circle to talk but if they pick up then the state must still pres them so that in those lands are not killed we need to protect african lives the same way we protect our lives while an attempt by armed men to impose attacks in Central African republic has left at least 40 dead there and fighting with trade is the violence began in the capital bangui on fast when traders began resisting attacks demanded by local fighters dozens of shops and houses in the p. K. 5 districts were banned down the un has warned of a new escalation of violence and a country thats already suffered he is under arrest while joshua massive he is a senior policy analyst for africa and the middle east at the Heritage Foundation in pennsylvania and he says violence has been simmering in donkeys pick a 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 yet another round of violence in the capital city and in this specific neighborhood car is a desperately complex environment there was a recent Peace Agreement signed in february there were 14 are groups that were signatories to that agreement and that doesnt represent all the armed groups in the country is that gives you some sense of again the complexity of this so this is a very difficult situation in a desperately poor country very corrupts its one of the least developed on earth now a man armed with a machete has attacked people celebrating the jewish festival of honey an upstate new york he best into a rabbi his home where the event was taking place and this was the same just a little over an hour ago in the town of monkey about 50 kilometers north of new york city 5 people are reported to have been taken to hospital in a critical contest and some people would taste it from the house and took refuge in one neighboring clinic on the attack a escapes and a car. Libyas u. N. Backed Government Forces are pushing back against war old Khalifa Haftar is offensive to capture tripoli theyve now launched a new attack near the airport area and are claiming to have captured 10 of have to soldiers the government has requested military support from turkey have some began a military operation to seize the capital back in april with. God willing we will not leave this land to the Libyan National army this is our land and our owner this is our country we will sacrifice the expensive the cheap long live libya well have to us troops are also threatening some operations of libyas state oil for the n. R. C. Is now considering shutting them down and may also close down its portions of weir its planning to evacuate the refinery stuff in the area after as many targeted and Engineering Institute in a residential neighborhood its the 4th such attack in zawiya and as many days now protesters in iraq have stormed the southern us and real oil fields and cut off its power supply thats according to the Reuters News Agency that oil field produces 90000. 00 barrels a day and the government demonstrations are continuing across the country including in the capital baghdad where people are demanding the release of abducted protesters a protester was shot dead and others were injured by tear gas well thousands of students have also been rallying on the streets of basra people are demanding an overhaul of the entire political system and have been since october theres still a deadlock over who will be appointed interim Prime Minister. Well iraq is no stranger to unrest decades of war with its neighbors u. N. Sanctions and u. S. Led invasion sectarian civil war i still and now these protests some of the faults and reports from baghdad are what 2020 holds 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 whats 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 sucked in 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 those the. Specht 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 really fighting for their political survival right now and theyre really looking to find a way out of this current crisis. 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 either of them at the 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 years to come. Ill just about. Well on monday were continuing our 2020 look ahead with a report from venezuela will the new year bring any hope for an end to that countrys political and economic crisis. Now a u. S. Navy seal whose conviction for war crimes was overturned by president i will trump has been described by members of his own unit as a quote freaking evil the New York Times has published video of confidential military interviews with witnesses who served in iraq with retired special operations chief edward gallica 3 navy seals have described how he stabbed to death a teenage eisel fighter and then held the socalled trophy kill ceremony over his body gallagher said the interviews were quote rife with in consistencies and falsehoods. Well david b. Does right shows as a an associate professor at the Near East South Asia Center for strategic studies and he previously also worked in special operations he says those who testified against gala did so at great risk it is very unusual to have an incident of this sort with a senior noncommissioned officer accused of these things and its important to know that when you look at these. All of the people in the videos are extremely highly trained extremely valuable to the United States as a military assets they are putting themselves at extreme risk by going forth with these allegations you know gallagher was a Senior Leader in their seal team had the ability to issue administrative punishments which could have included expulsion from the team so this is this is unusual this is very unusual the allegations are unusual and the fact that people came forward voluntarily to do this at some risk to themselves is also unusual on the plus side it shows that there is a commitment to the value of the institution of special warfare and the navy that i think is encouraging. Women in the spotlight in india and protest against a controversial citizenship pill. Or and i like to hit people. And plans to make one of americas favorite pastime safe at the children but not everyones a fan. Hello again its good to have you back well still very wet weather here across parts of the Eastern Mediterranean and that is going to continue unfortunately as we begin the week as well of course we have been talking about the flooding situation that has been going on in turkey syria as well as into lebanon and 44 beirut expect to see more rain as we go from sunday as well as into monday temperatures lingering into the mid teens there for turkey though youre snow is still going to be an issue and the rain across that Southern Coast is going to be a problem so for donna do expect to see some more rain possibly more flooding as we go towards monday and into tuesday well here across the gulf things looking quite nice for us here in doha attempt of 25 a little bit warmer than what we have seen of the last few days but we are watching the coast of oman we did have a tropical disturbance pushing through that is going to bring some rain in terms of their 29. 00 the rain continuing as we go towards monday as well but from a scott youre going to stay out of the rain a nice day for you with the tempter of 24. 00 and very heavy rain across parts of Southern Africa over the next few days were talking anywhere from johannesburg all the way down here towards durban even over here towards cape town tempter though for cape town it is going to be quite warm but we do expect by the time we get towards monday a break in the rain more sun in the forecast in durban at 28. 00. Legally prescribe for the pain relief of the sick but taken in life threatening doses by millions in search of a fix. Huge illegal shipments of the opioid tramadol are flooding west africa. People in power goes to nigeria to investigate the devastating addiction epidemic that is even fueling people around and search. West africas Opioid Crisis on a just 0. Hello again im just as a reminder of our top stories this hour. Somalias president is blaming al shabaab for truck bombing in the capital that killed at least 79. 00 people it exploded during the morning rush hour and most of the dead are University Students theres been no claim of responsibility. In Central African republic at least 40 people have been killed in fighting between traders and. Violence began in the capital bangui on thursday when traders began resisting attacks imposed on them by local fighters dozens of shops and homes in the p. K. 5 district with. Libyas un backed Government Forces are pushing back against world cliff a half dozen offensive to capture tripoli theyve launched a new attack near the airport area and are claiming to have captured 10 of have to soldier and. Now russias intensified Bombing Campaign on the syrian province of has for protesters out in istanbul hundreds of turks and syrians rallied outside the russian consulate there angry at the new wave of attacks similar demonstrations were also held in london and paris russia is supporting the syrian governments efforts to recapture the last opposition stronghold troops have already seized towns and villages forcing a mass exodus of nearly a quarter of a 1000000 people mostly women and children. Staying in turkey and for months people there have been calling for the return of their children and relatives from the Kurdistan Workers Party or p. K. K. They claim the group has been forcibly recruiting them to fight mamata di reports from. Security is tight outside the Pro Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party or which the peace headquarters in the advocate Southern Turkey these policemen are getting a peaceful protest by men and women demanding that it tunneled their children who they say have been kidnapped or recruited by the kurdish Workers Party p k k holding the pictures of their missing children they call for their quick return because this is their lives they took my daughter away and we havent heard from her for the past 5 years we dont know if she is still alive this protest was thought that in september by 1 mother but now others and metal family members of those they say im now in that arms of the p. K. K. Have joined a common claim among the protesters is that their children one last seen me here at the offices of the head to b. P. And they say thats why theyve continued the sit in outside the 2 offices but youll visuals however deny any links to the p. K. K. And say theyve also never actively recruited for the United Nations some form of p. K. K. Fighters of the time to their families since the protests began and that is giving hope to people here who sneer mickey percent live a time from iraq where she fought under the p. K. K. She is telling custody awaiting trial for being a member of the group thats outlawed in tikki but time of us a stick got less of the shoes that live to xbox live on or just another my daughter was 14 when she was kidnapped and i thank god that after 5 long years she surrendered 3 days ago im so happy my daughter is out of the hands of those tyrants 2 weeks ago jaffer to jail and also to tom to his family he says he deserted the b. K. Cain companys city after seeing his mother the protests in media reports are not in. Life is difficult you will constantly fighting and have little time to miss home or family life finally thorough you get disgusted by all the death and destruction and you start missing your loved one isnt. The p. K. K. Has been designated a terrorist organization by turkey the e. U. And the United States it launched a separate this is such a sea salt is turkey in 1804 says that more than 40000 people mostly kids have been killed in fighting with Turkish Forces cads account for roughly 20 percent of turkeys population of about 80000000 people. Of the decades of marginalization by the turkish state have been demanding creator rights and more autonomy but for many here the hatch d p n p k k have drug their relatives into fighting thats more to do with the groups interests that it is with the plight of the Kurdish People mohammad that the walshes eda. Southern turkey hundreds of protesters have gathered outside the home of lebanons Prime Minister designate how sunday and demanding that he does not take Office Protesters say they will continue the demonstrations until they are confirms he will not become Prime Minister the previous latest saad hariri was forced from office in october following antigovernment protests but he remains caretaker Prime Minister. Indias Opposition Congress party has called the new citizenship low an attack on the countrys traditions culture and history the new legislation eases citizenship from religious minorities from neighboring muslim majority countries but protesters say the law goes against india a secular constitution by not including muslims and women are on the front line of those protests and met some of them in new delhi. 16 days into the nationwide protest against the contentious citizenship law and the women of new delhi are undeterred by the 26 dead arrests of a 1000 and the biting called. The police see they are only maintaining law and order and deny 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. 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 gone these are called with their infants. Protests against the controversial citizenship they say the violence used by the police to suppress the protests including beating up students in a nearby university let them go and since theyre out on seeing the. Course of vividly remembers the events of 13th december the day she says policeman 1st trashed the students of John Muir University with stakes for the children of many of the women protesters study there. She says shes never seen them so angry and scared as they rushed to help side the hamid is a womens rights activist. 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 d by muslim women they are afraid for the next generation for their children their afraid that they may become either a few jews in their own land or they may be torn 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 ne state 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. Now criminal gangs in mexico are notorious for cocaine trafficking and searching their attention to something much healthier a cutters and from a say kidnapping and extortion by the groups as wrecking their business John Heilemann has. The western world and in particular the United States is go mad for avocados within the last 20 years the average consumption there has more than tripled but if you are an american 80 minutes can have a car those on toast or in your guacamole dip its possible not over the profits a heading to the right hands. Michu a can make the heartland gangs a hijacking the industry extorting and kidnapping produces stealing trucks with their crop. Its widespread in lucrative theres a reason they call this green gold. But most grows it too scared to speak out it took weeks for us to persuade this man before they started by asking me for more money perfect hair they came to the farm and said whos the boss we want you to contribute that was 8 months ago he stories coleman eventually different groups were all asking him for protection money and paying them couldnt keep him safe the political moral rules some guys grabbed me and kidnapped me in their truck they beat me and broke my head open i told them to stop hitting me that i would get more money together the state Anti Kidnapping unit rescued him but off the more than 40 years of growing of those now everything has changed over routes through world war 2. My workers my children my family we dont have any protection now i cant go to the orchard because there are many more people that beat me. To a kind has increasingly become the battleground of a collection of criminal groups. As in other parts of the country they branched out from complicated transnational Drug Trafficking to something is simply preying on the local economy. Its affected mining lines local businesses i mean talk comes this if it is a mutation of what was once trucks trafficking im def mutated into a model where the control territory within the territory you get to. Out any type of commodity thats locally available so it still includes drugs but its also about extortion kidnapping its useless it seems for the victims to turn to authorities you cannot be sure if you talk to confession or if you talk to the mexican states that you doing so will not be leaked to the criminal forces because the many times the criminals are in accord with the state forces. Its a Bleak Outlook for an avocado industry that should be enjoying the current boob. Job homan now does it a mexico city. Some lawmakers in the United States want to change the way that kids play american football to make it safe the state of new york is the latest to consider amending rules but even with a new study highlighting the risks of the game there still resistance how does theres christensen and me has more. Saturday night on the gridiron for many families playing american football is a tradition. One that starts at an early age. Its really fun competitive. 11 year old brian french 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 the cautions 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 legs shrink and the head is out of the best answer for me as a commissioner. 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 al jazeera bridgewater new jersey. Hello again this is al jazeera and these are the headlines a truck bomb in somalias capital has killed at least 79 people and injured many more most of the dead are University Students although theres been no claim of responsibility somalias president is blaming al shabaab. The motive behind such an attack is to terrorize and demoralize the Somali People and its government the people its government will never be demoralized from achieving our Development Goals and rebuilding our country this terrorist group of all it seems has been contracted to kill and massacre innocent people and destroy all the infrastructure. And Central African republic at least 40 people have been killed and fighting between trade as an armed man violence began in the capital bangui on thursday when traders rejected attacks imposed on them by local fighters dozens of shops and homes in the p. K. 5 district ive been burned down. A man armed with a machete has attacked people celebrating the jewish festival of hanukkah and upstate new york he burst into a rabbis home where the event was taking place in the town of muncie 5 people are reported to have been taken to hospital in Critical Condition the attacker escaped in a car. Libyas u. N. Backed Government Forces are resisting walled Khalifa Haftar as offensive to capture tripoli tripoli they have launched a new attack near the airport and came to have captured a 10 of have to soldiers hundreds of protesters have gathered outside the home of lebanons Prime Minister designate protesters say theyll continue demonstrating until her son refuses to take office indias Opposition Congress party has called a new citizenship law an attack on the countrys traditions culture and history thousands of people attended former party leader role gandhis rally in the Northeastern State of some the new legislation eases citizenship for religious minorities from neighboring muslim majority countries but excludes muslims in paris the fighting has broken out with police after yellow vests protesters joined striking workers the demonstrators are angry over president emanuel marklands plans to reform Public Sector pensions. While those are the headlines the news continues here on people in power west africas Opioid Crisis stay with us. A city defined by military occupation has never been an arab state he with the capital of jerusalem everyone is welcome but this depot structure that maintains the can only project thats what we diffuse it was one of the sound there are still for a settlement with this and its the story of jerusalem through the eyes of its own people segregation occupation discrimination injustice this is apartheid in the 21st century jerusalem a rock and a hard place on aljazeera. West africa is battling an opioid abuse trust medicine such as tramadol legally prescribed by doctors for pain relief but taken in life threatening to text by millions in search for the fix already struck off a tree and a lot of. People in power has been to nigeria to investigate of the drug smuggling trade and abuse widespread corruption that follows a solution for africa and the appalling Health Consequences for those