al jazeera america presents the system with joe beringer >> the final ballots in the world's biggest vote - the last phase in india's general elections. welcome to al jazeera, live from doha. also - ukraine separatists say people have voted for self-rule. plans to disrupt the presidential election. thailand's protesters move to a rallying point while political leaders meet to end the crisis. the search for jonathan

cohn. the u.n. may be closer to tracking him down. thanks for being with us. voting has begun in the final phase of india's 5-week general election. three more states are casting their votes. the leader of b.j.p. is contesting a seat in a battle ground city. he is a poor front runner, but has been given a spirited fight, leader of the anticorruption common man party yip. the ruling congress party has been suffering. the general election is an undertaking - happening in nine phases. from 7 april until monday - that's five weeks. results will be announced on

may 15th. nearly a million polling stations were prepared. people voted to elect 543-seat lower chamber of parliament. 272 are noded nor an -- needed for an outright majority. we go live to new delhi to our correspondent. we are on the last day of the vote. why is this area so important? >> as mentioned, we have narendra modi fighting against others in the congress party. the reason this place is important, one of the final cities to be voting, is the fact that this is a multiculturalle city, deeply entrenched in the hindu faith. many people cremate their dead on the banks of the river. and it is very important for

religious reasons for the hindu community. it has a large muslim population in the city. why have the men fought here. we associate narendra modi with his home state and others with their home union states. what they are trying to do is show that they can represent all of india, and that they are as popular in a place like here, as in their own states. if whoever wins, they'll send a message that they represent india, and the party represents india as a whole. whoever loses will have to spin it in a positive way. whoever wins will have a platform to influence the politics of delhi once the parliamentary seats are decided. >> security has been a major

issue, but hasn't always been effective. >> no, over a billion and a half security personnel were (played. we met some in the eastern states. before the election they were fighting the maoist insurgency, ongoing for 30 years. there were maoist attacks over the weekend on sunday, in the east. it borders the state across central parts of india. there were attacks, but at the beginning of the election campaign, the prime minister said that the left wing maoist insurgency is most important and a serious threat to india, and a large deployment of security personnel. and we sought ethnic violence, two or three weeks ago, that borrow trooebs me there, a --

tribes many there attacking muslim communities. an ethnic clash in the north-east. on the whole, across the country, it's been calm. the sporadic flashpoints underline how dangerous communal violence can be in india. the politicians are trying to play that down. it comes to an end, seven hours, 6 o'clock local time. it was around about 12:30 g.m. t. >> live in new delhi. thank you very much. separatists in eastern ukraine declared filentry after holding a referendum on self-rule. results confirm that people in the eastern regions want to leave ukraine. the vote has been condemned by europe, the u.s. and government in kiev. huments show people want change.

89% voted in favour of creating a people's republic with 10% against. turn out was almost 75%, and separatists are planning a second round of voting, which has been the aim all along. >> organizers say they'll prevent the donetsk region from taking part in elections on may the 25th. >> translation: we know, of course, that this vote will not be recognised internationally, by european organizations, the government and the world. we want the voices to be hard. that's why we held the vote. ukrainian presidential elections will not take place because it is illogical and wrong to hold elections. >> most of the voting passed off peacefully, one person was killed. jonah hull reports.

>> reporter: this amateur footage shows gunmen firing on an unarmed crowd after reghting them from a polling saying. the tension is turning to violence on an almost cally basis now. it is unlikely to ease after thousands turned out to vote in the referendum on whether to split from the rest of ukraine. >> translation: i want peace in this country. i don't want this horrible mess from kiev, a war, a killing of people. >> the government in kiev is adamant it will not recognise the vote. >>. >> translation: i would like to underline it is not a referendum. it is an attempt by terrorists and killers by having citizens vote. >> kiev's word does not carry much weight among those keep to

endorse the republic of donetsk. >> there has been no official observers, piles of yes votes. see-through ballot boxes like these. lots of allegations of repeat voting, little sign of no votes. there are a lot of people keen to embrace the idea of autonomy. also because those against are afraid to speak out. >> i found one man willing to explain why he was against the movement. he was scared and didn't want to be identified. >> they don't under what kind of a threat poses and what will happen as a result. russia doesn't want us and we are departing from ukraine. left on its own, this region will be catastrophe. votes were counted in the stronghold of slovyansk, ukranian forces on the outskirts

was said to be pramping for the time phase of an operation to clear the town. the referendum will tip the region into abusiness. some feel that has happened. the supreme court of greece ruled that the far rite golden dawn party can take part in european elections this month, despite it being investigated to linkses to organised crime and violence. six mps and its leader of awaiting trial. election can't dates are on the -- candidates are only prevented from running if convicted of a crime. dozens of bodies have been recovered from the coast of tripoli, believed to be african migrants who drowned when their boat sank. at least 15 have been killed in a stampede at a football stadium

in democratic republic of congo. rival fans have been fighting. police fired tear gas into the crowd, drinkinguring the stam -- triggering the stampede. >> the united nations will discuss a report that could narrow the hunt for jonathan cohn, the leader of the lords resistance army. he is wanted for wore crimes and crimes against humanity. this is a rare glimpse of jonathan cohn, often called africa's most wanted man. a leader of the lords resistance army, and led a ghostly existence in the jungles of central africa for years. he's been indicted by the international criminal court, stemming from a guerilla war waged in the north. tens of thousands were killed. over a million displaced. many raped and maimed.

children forced to kill and mutilate their open families, and turned into copy's personal -- kony's personal soldiers. >> the l.r.a. is just about responsible for every war crime and atrocity in the book. in the past 3-4 years, the tactics of the l.r.a. have changed a bit. the violence has decreased significantly in the past few years, but their history shows what they are still capable of. an african union task force, with 5,000 soldiers backed by special forces has been trying to find them for years. in march, they sent aircraft to help in the search. it's a massive challenge. the operation is based out of uganda, covering areas of south sudan, the central african republic, and the democratic republic of congo. it's inhospitable terrain that

coney and his men know well. >> it's difficult to measure the strength of the l.r.a. we estimate that the l.r.a. only has about 160 actual combatants from uganda left. even though the numbers don't seem that imposing compared to other armed groups in the region, the l.r.a. is able to do much damage with relatively few fighters. whereas the l.r.a. isn't the force it was. there is a fear the group can take vaping of unrest in places like the central african republic and south sudan to destabilize the reason. for then that devised his tactics, hearing his name insteels an unspeakable fear. and still ahead on al

jazeera... >> i'm raun awe long the main migrant corridor in mexico. coming up, a group of women who try to give migrants heading to the u.s. a helping hand. born to be wild - why biker gangs in australia are not riding so easily any more. true business-grade internet comes with secure wifi for your business. it also comes with public wifi for your customers. not so with internet from the phone company.

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welcome back. a reminder of the top stories - three seats left to cast votes on monday in india. narendra modi is contesting a seat in the battle ground city. in ukraine separatists in donetsk say almost 90% of people that voted in a referendum support self-rule. organizers say they'll disrupt the upcoming ukranian election in the region. now, thai anti-protesters - thousands of people have been camping out in the park since

march. they are vowing to bring down the caretaker government. they want elections planned for july postponed. scott heidler joins us now. i understand the acting prime minister will hold a press conference later today. what is he likely to say? >> yes, this is the first time he'll speak to the media since this acting prime minister position will become his. we are expecting broadbrush strokes as to what he'll say. it's unclear where things move from here. yes, we are hearing, as you said, that the leader of this anti-government protest is moving here, over to and in front of government house, a little away from with i'm standing. there have been protesters here through this process, and since march. now we are seeing everyone at the headquarters, now here in government house.

that's because they got a little of what they wanted to achieve. she's out of office. she has an acting prime minister. there's several steps ahead. we will not see any major announcement from the acting prime minister. what we hope to see is what is going to be spelled out over the days to come. it's confusing politically. >> the senate will hold an n formal meeting to talk about how the courts tried to move the protest forward. what will be happening there? >> yes, with the senate they are the only sitting governing body here in thailand. they will pretty much have to map out what comes next. what we are hearing, they are not going to come out with a major decision. this is the first time they are sitting down. it's an informal meeting. they'll discuss the future of politics in thailand.

we don't expect a major announcement. what is important is what they'll say. there's pressure from the ruling party and those in the government now, that is to keep the government in place. they are getting pressure from an anti-government movement. they wantant appointed prime minister and cabinet. they have pressure from both sides and may play out a waiting game to see which side the government will make a move. it will be interesting how they play it. >>. >> abdullah al-shami has been on hunger strike, from al jazeera arabic, for 112 days. his lawyer told al jazeera, that he asked egyptian authorities to transfer him to hospital within 48 hours. his client could die if not given immediate help.

>> translation: during a visit it said that he was incoherent. the things he said did not make sense. he fainted and was unconscious. his mother called a lawyer confirming that people saw him. i felt his wife was at rick, after i saw him in court, and the pictures after he lost weight. >> three other al jazeera journalists continue to be held in egypt for 135 days peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed are falsely acaused of conspiring with the outlawed muslim brotherhood. the group has been declared a terrorist organization. al jazeera realities all charges, demanding their release. >> protests are expected in turkey, at the trial of eight men accused of beating a protestor to death. a 19-year-old died after an attack last year, during anti-government protests.

the court is keen is here key testimonies, in which four of the accused are police many. the teenager suffered a brain haemorrhage. people inside the iraqi city of fallujah told al jazeera that the military is using barrel bombs. the army is in the midst of an operation to drive out fighters. if true, the use of improvised explosive devices in heavily populated areas could be seen as a war crime. we have more. >> these pictures could be the first time we saw the use of barrel bombs in iraq. they are home-made heavy explosives. the name is accurate. the bombs aren't. one man said he saw barrel bombs dropped by army helicopters. >> translation: the army is using barrel bombs on many parts of the city.

they are targetting civilian areas. >> the ministry of defense told al jazeera: >> people have [ inaudible ] barrel bombs on residential neighbourhoods. >> reporter: this operation in fall uma is the final action. however, they have been fighting in anbar province, and both sides experienced crushes. if the use is confirm in civilian areas it's a new and

troubling aspect. hundreds of people have been protesting for an end to violence. rival drug gangs have been fighting in the region, and protesters want the government to provide security. a group of women make their way to the u.s. by railroad. we have more. >> reporter: meet this group of women, feeding migrants that ride a train, carrying them north to the border. their leader has been doing this for almost 20 years, waiting for the train. it's known as "the beast," and carries migrants. she asks the new arrivals why they left home?

>> i left hond honduras because there's no work. my children can't go school. one of my sons has been killed. >> that's why he brought his youngest son on this journey. like countless mothers before her she left her children in guatemala. >> my children asked for things i couldn't buy. all i could go is give them my heart. >> norma soothes their pain in the only way she knows how - offering them a home-cooked meal. >> it doesn't matter where they are from. all we know it they are hungry, they need to leave. leaving their family is not easy. >> norma gaped support from -- gained support from those in power. the president recently awarded the petronus.

>> they are easy prey, if they don't pay they get thrown off the train. they get mutilated and sometimes sky that way. >> they have a few moments to pack the food and toss it to migrants riding the rails. when a full train comes, the work is fast and dangerous. migrants on board feel a rush of exciteme excitement. >> this day, like every other day, they come to the track to give foods to hundreds of mying grants making their way north to the border. many are not getting on the train because it is so dangerous. some are walking along the highway. >> some walk in the train's wake. the father and son left honduras three months ago. they saw migrants tossed off

"the beast," and have walked ever since. australia has tough new laws aimed at cracking down on gang violence. bikie cannings are accused of being behind a surge. many say the new laws threaten civil rights. >> reporter: riding as a group, it can seem intimidating. australia politicians and police say people are right to be scared of bikie gangs. rules like this are part of it. they allege that members are behind organised crime, drug dealing, extortion and murder. >> hi, thank you for letting us come along. bikkies are hitting back. normally secretive, they want to talk. they are not criminals, merely enthusiasts, they say, and now they are the victims.

>> they are select ty as to who we talk to -- sective as to who we talk to and let in. bikies are selective, including 15 years in prison where any crime which in the eyes of the police is gang related. this is taking place in new south wales. in the neighbouring state it would be illegal. the new laws would ban more than two club members in the same place at the same time. australians are quick to condemn other countries to human rights abuses. what they are doing to us now is not much different. if we haven't committed acrime, why can't we associate. a lawyer leading a challenge brought similar laws. legal cases take months. >> the government indicated that if the laws were

unconstitutional, they don't care, they'll do enough damage before they are knocked out by the high court. >> police are unapologetic. bikies are criminals. along the gold coast, the violence associated with them is getting worse. >> the intimidation, extortions, harassment that the crime gang members put on the community - they were a criminal menace. >> bikies say they are not the menace, draconian laws are. politicians say laws protecting rights are worth having. the high court is being asked whether the constitution agrees, whether the laws are legal. jool more news in the -- more noose in the next half hour. prayers for the missing school girls. outrage brings people together in nigeria.

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