polls have closed in iraq, after millions cast ballots since the first parliamentary election since the withdraw of u.s. troops. glad you could join us. i'm shiulie ghosh live from doha. also at least 30 people many children are killed in an air strike in the city of aleppo. ukraine's president admits the government is losing control. and the final moments before a

south korean ferry sinks. teenagers were ordered to stay in their cabins by the crew. ♪ millions of iraqis have braved the threat of attacks to vote in the country's first parliamentary elections since u.s. troops left three years ago. the prime minister is hoping for a third term in office, but with more than 300 political parties no block is expected to win the majority. >> reporter: major parts of iraq look like this. empty streets and vigilant security men at check point bs. it's to secure iraq's largest democratic exercise since u.s. troops left three years ago. voters in their thousands have to walk to polling stations across the country. >> translator: i came here to participate in the general national election to vote for

two will contribute to building and serving iraq. >> reporter: despite a van on vehicles and curfew like conditions attackers still managed to hit a few areas. >> translator: we have come to vote today to choose a candidate to ask the new government to help build a free and democratic iraq. >> reporter: it's the sectarian divides that fuel the insecurity in this area. critics blame this man, almaulky for failing to bridge the gaps. his biggest challenge oovpgs this election comes from two other parties. analysts believe negotiations with sunnis and kurds will begin

after the shiite majority block begins its divisions. >> there is so much resistance to that, and once the shiite as a whole who make up a slight majority in the parliament, once they come up with a nominee there will be negotiations between the three groups. >> reporter: what unites most of them is a desire to end hate-based sectarian divisions. well, jack straw told us that iraq has proven itself by not allowing the violence to halt elections. >> there is a considerable degree of disaffection amongst some sunni groups, but what uls has to be understood is the iraq

nation is under attack from al-qaeda and its associates, and the vast majority of sunni groups are not interested in this terrorism. and if the iraqi authorities abandoned the elections, that could have been a huge victory for the terrorists, but also in turn would have created very considerable unrest in your terms amongst the majority shiite population. of course what has hand and what is happening in iraq with this up surge of terrorist violence and the killings is terrible, and after a period of whether it's relatively, it has been much lower, but there are quite significant parts of iraq where there is relative calm, obviously in the kurdistan province, but elsewhere. all rights from syria

suggest a school in aleppo has been hit by an air strike. activists say at least 30 people have been killed, most of them children. here is our report from lebanon. >> reporter: the government war plains hit around 9:00 am in the morning, and this time it was a school in eastern aleppo. according to the activists there was an exhibition going on there for drawings and paintings done by the children of the school and other neighborhoods. it's a neighborhood controlled by the rebels and it's not the first time the government uses its airplanes to strike at residential neighborhoods in the city. what we know is the death toll is rising. the people of aleppo are trying to pull out the bodies and save any living if that is still possible. >> ukraine's acting president says police and security forces

are helpless to quell the unrest in the east. the rebels have been patrolling checking points outside of the city of slaviansk to stop an advance by ukrainian forces. the government's main goal is to stop the unrest from spreading. let's speak to barnaby philip who joins us from donetsk so who is pulling the stringing if they are losing control? >> well, it's pretty clear that pro-russian groups are increasingly in control, shoely. they are taking over city after city, town after town. as to who is pulling the strings ultimately, that's the question. most are convinced that the real

puppet master is vladimir putin and it is the kremlin who is controlling events here. an accusation denied by the russian government of course. >> and there must still be prokiev people there. so what is happening to them? i know there was supposed to be a pro-kiev demo at one stage. >> in short they are lying low. there was a pro-kiev demonstration in donetsk, the town from where i'm speaking on monday evening, a few hundred, perhaps as many as a thousand came out and they took an all mighty beating from pro-russian groups. and the police made the most tokenistic effort to present that violence. there was going to be another demonstration, but it was canceled by the city authorities. and you would have to be a brave

person to go out on the streets in this regene, carrying the ukrainian flag. >> thank you for that. there has been an explosion in a stain station in china. reports suggest some people have been injured, although no reports of any deaths. ethnic tensions have been simmering for years in the region. thailand's government will hold another election in july. the prime minister agreed to another poll in an attempt to end the protesting stalemate.

mobile phone video shot by one of the teenagers in the south korean ferry disaster. harry fawcett reports from seoul. >> reporter: it's hard to watch, harder to listen to. the last 15 minutes of a mobile phone recording made by one of the teenage victims of the ferry disaster. it's tilting more someone says. save me comes another voice. the loud speaker tells them to stay put in their cabins. but the tone is one of nervous humor not terror. children sit barefoot on their beds even though it still seems possible to move, one boy is shown standing in the corridor outside. later one boy says we have to get out.

it's met with laughter, but soon life jackets are being passed around. some of the zips don't work. wear your life jackets comes the message. that means we must be sinking says a boy. and again they are told by the crew stay where you are. the video was recovered from the phone of a boy. his father first released it on sunday. now parents are saying they want the full video to be shown to expose just how badly their children were served by the adults who were supposed to protect them. it may well be used in the trial of the captain who has children were being trapped below, was stepping on board a coast guard ship. the coast guard is under investigation as to whether it's personnel could have tried to harder to get the victim's out. the chief apologized to the

families saying he would accept any criticism of the response. in the hometown of the students, 70 of the 74 who made it out of the ferry have now been discharged from hospital. they paid tribute to their dead classmates at a memorial. medic medical staff are promising to monitor them. thousands of prisoners across egypt have started a hunger strike to protest against their treatment in what they describe as arbitrary trials. death sentences were handed down to more than 680 people. families are calling for a day of fasting as a show of solidarity. al jazeera continues to call for the immediate release of it's a journalists. among them abdullah al-shami.

authorities are still refusing to provide him with medical attention. he started his hunger strike on january 31st. he weighed 108 kilograms. two weeks later he started taking liquids only. on march 16th he limited himself to just water. ten days ago he weighed just 74 kilograms. he's lost a third of his body weight. three more al jazeera journalists remain in prison in egypt. they are falsely accused of providing a platform for the muslim brotherhood. al jazeera rejects all charges. still to come here on al jazeera, the man tipped to be india's next prime minister casts his vote in the election. we'll have a special report from his home state. and the world health

organization warns new drug resistant bacteria could result in diseases becoming killers again.

♪ welcome back. i'm shiulie ghosh. the top stories on al jazeera. a massive security operation has allowed iraqis to vote in the first parliamentary election since u.s. troops went home three years ago. activists in syria say an air strike on a school has killed at least 30 people, many children. the school was attacked in the

northern city of aleppo. and ukraine's acting president says police and security forces are helpless to restore order in eastern parts of the country. he addressed parliament in kiev after more government buildings were taken over. sanctions imposed on russia by the u.s. and the european union because of ukraine are meant to be targeted against those close to president vladimir putin. but the international monetary fund believes the loss of confidence caused by the sanctions is weakening russian's economy. >> reporter: a bad week for the russian economy has just got worse. the international monitor fund says the country is now in recession. >> difficult situation, and

especially the uncertainties surrounding the geopolitical situation and [ inaudible ] sanctions and escalation on sanctions are weighing very anying lively on the investment client. >> reporter: they have added new names to the lists of people subject to sanctions. they cited vt putin's failure to rain in separatists in eastern ukraine. russia's central bank says investors moved $64 billion out of the country. but all three though latest amf announcement seem like bad gnus for russia, some people here are suggesting that the figures could be a blessing in disguise.

>> translator: it is positive for russia because until today russia's full potential has not been realized with business focusing mainly on the west. western and u.s. businesses will experience more adverse effects because of the imposed sanctions. >> reporter: on the streets of the capitol many were defy act. >> translator: there is a poff herb that says what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. >> reporter: but the already weekended ruble dropped further. and the imf says inflation could reach 6% here this year. ten people have been killed by a fire at a russian military base. a forrest fire burning in the siberian region spread to the

base setting off an explosion in an ammunition dump. the politician who's tipped to be india's next prime minister has voted in the latest stage of the five-week long nationwide elections. he was center of attention at a poll station. he has been the state's chief minister for nearly 13 years. he is also the leader of the opposition party. the bjp is hoping to topple the ruling congress party when the votes are counted. his leadership he hopes will be send nationwide. but some farmers believe they have had their land stolen

because of his economic pollties. >> reporter: this is the sound of progress in india's western state a multi-million dollar german manufacturing employing more than 350 indians. they make machines to process beverage companies like coca-cola. they have increased their staff five-fold since opening. >> the typical bureaucracy is absent. here instead of red tape, you find the red carpet. >> reporter: many foreign and indian companies like this have been lured here by the state's chief minister, and now prime ministerial candidate. he is credited with building infrastructure, streamlining bureaucracy, and providing tax

incentives to investors and it seems to be paying off. signs of prosperity are everywhere. the state has enjoyed average annual growth rates of 10% since he became the leader. but some economists say these achievements are more hype than substance. this is an economics professor in the state capitol. he says his policies have plunged the state into massive fiscal deficit. >> it is of very great concern because in the year 2001 when he became the chief minister for the first time, it was around $4 billion, and it has gone up to $30 billion this year.

>> reporter: there are also those suffering under the government's policies. these farmers are accusing the administration of stealing their land and selling it to the auto giant. they say they have been tilling their land for generations, but were never given any land deeds. >> they took our land from us. >> reporter: while he continues his campaign to win the elections, these farmers say they will continue their campaign against his economic policies. the united nations human rights chief says the security situation in south sudan is deteriorating rapidly. he said the un has requested an investigation into recent mass killings. he also met the rebel leader to

discuss the violence. human rights groups are condemning the botched execution of an inmate in the u.s. state of oklahoma. he was given lethal ib injections but the execution was called off when he began to convulse in agony. he died of a heart attack 40 minutes later. the inmate experienced a vein failure which prevented the injection from being effective. >> it was the third time that there has been a so-called botched execution. there are more than 30 in fact, that have taken a variety of lengths of time, and a variety of methods of execution have been so-called botched. some states have started to work against this in the u.s. and there have been four states

in the last four years which have abolished the death sentence. but this is oklahoma, which is a very enthusiastic supporter of the death penalty, one might say, and have conducted over a 100 executions. and we're not seeing any sign even after last night that they are having second thoughts. they are just delaying the next execution by two weeks while they look into this. but there will be a lot of litigation now and a lot of pressure on the legislature and the governor to -- to see an end to this form of punishment, and we hope that actually what happened in oklahoma also will effect some of the more marginal states in the u.s. which are having second thoughts about this punishment. >> reporter: resistance to antibiotics is becoming so widespread that many of the world's curable diseases could

become killers again. some back keeria have evolved so they can now fight off the most powerful of drugs. >> reporter: the world health organization says it is happening right now. antibiotic resistance is growing all over the world. common diseases, which have for decades been treatable with antibiotics, are developing ever-stronger resistance. the main bacteria are all becoming more difficult to treat. the wide-spread prescription of antibiotics started in the 1940s, and revolutionized medicine. but in recent years we have all taken too many antibiotics too often, and that has allowed bacteria to develop resistance. what the world needs now are new drugs to deal with this emerging

crisis. but no new antibiotics are being produced. >> we have had resistance over many, many decades. for more intensefy to select the pressure on an organism, such as anti-b antibiot antibiotics, the more quickly it will develop a resistance. so we have to get away from that, we have to sensibly manage what we have and develop new products. >> reporter: antibiotics should only be given when absolutely necessary. more should be done to prevent people from getting ill in the first place, and governments and industry need to do more to develop new drugs. the report is the most comprehensive study into this problem. it conjures the possibility of a

future in which minor infections could once more been life-threatening, and an era for ed medicine for the first time takes a huge step backward. music therapy is known to help patients coping with a variety of conditions. one musician is helping those with mental health issues find relief. >> reporter: typical small talk before rehearsal for an orchestra that is anything but typical. it's one of a kind. as a young conductor, ronald bernstein has a promising career ahead of him. he conducted orchestras all over the world. but his performances were fwreenthly disrupted by intense mood swings. >> being on the top of the world

and that kind of fits into the personal -- general persona of a maestro, so it can go undetected. >> reporter: in 1985 he was diagnosed as bipolar. there were long periods when he struggled to get out of bed. he claims he was fired because of his mental condition. >> good. good. ♪ >> reporter: in response the 58-year-old created the me-to orchestra made of musicians with meantal illnesses, and those who love them. for this man who has schizophrenia, the group gives him purpose. >> they just had me on a bunch of meds and sitting around, and i couldn't get anywhere. >> reporter: the unique

orchestra has helped soften the stigma often associated with a mental illness. >> all i want to do is support him and make sure he is in a place where he can be the greatest artist that he can be, because i could see that there was magic when he got on the podium. >> reporter: not long ago bronstein was having a rough day, and came close to canceling rehearsal. >> when i came in that door i felt so much love and warmth in the room that i just felt -- i felt ready to conduct. >> reporter: a room free of judgment and full of musical passion. ♪ >> reporter: the combination has proved to be the best therapy at all. the british actor bob hoskins has died at the age of

71. he rose to fame for his performance in who framed roger rabbit. he died in hospital after a bout of pneumonia.