>>. >> it's the second and final day of egypt's election. former army chief abdul fatah al-sisi who led the coup against mohamed mursi looks set to win a landslide victory. the brotherhood asked followers to boycott the vote. al jazeera has been banned from reporting from egypt and four of the network journalists are in gaol there. let's get more insight into the election. mario david is a member of the parliament from portugal and an

observer in egypt and joins us from cairo, on skype. thank you for being with us. the e.u. decided against sending observes to egypt. why the about turn. why are you there now? >> let me correct that. the invitation of the egyptian authority, the u.n. servers september sent a mission, at the first time, we had 40 members of the team on the spot or in cairo. they were not deployed. there were bureaucratic problems with some material, communication material, the medical kits and so on. for a moment we thought we would be following the events in cairo, and not doing a thorough overseeing all over the county, and at that moment we thought of changing the mission into an

assessment mission. but as this was solved, we are nowadays 150 observers from the european union. the first throughout the country. we have 66 teams that on the first day have visited more than 600 polling stations and we'll continue to do the same thing today. >> now that you are there and in the official capacity of monitoring the elections, are you satisfied with how the pros is going. >> we are not monitoring the elections, we are observing them. the real word is observing. >> what is the difference between monitoring and observing. >> yes, sure. when we are observing we don't interfere at all in the electoral process. we kind of witness what happened before the elections, because elections is not on the

following day. all the registration of voters, candidates, access to the media, impartiality, the time media has different stakeholders and candidates, we observe that. we take our notes. when it comes to election day, we observe - in this case we observe all the procedures that are occur, and then we accompany the counting, the taboolation. we have all the time part of our team members of our team at the center of election committee, the presidential election committee, so they can follow how complaints are dealt with, how they are treated. >> from what you have, you and your team has observed so far, is the process free and fair? >> listen, this is something - we don't want to the interfere. >> no, obviously not.

you don't. you are there as observers. have you observed the process to be free and fair? >> i'll be happy to answer to this questions to you again next thursday, when we present our report here in cairo. >> let me ask you this other question. the election is taking place at a time when journalists are - have been detained and we have hundreds of people who have been sentenced to death as well. there's no freedom of speech in egypt at the moment. can you really call it a free and fair election right now? >> you will see once again, you'll see what you are going say on that, on our report on thursday. at 11 o'clock cairo's time we'll have a press conference and produce our views. one of the main things of democracy is freedom of speech.

of course we are extremely worried about all the international community is worried about the fact of this hundreds of sentences that have been pronounced by a judge, but this is not exactly the scope of an election observation. but, of course, we are a member of the european parliament. so we have our own political judgment. >> right. >> we regret the fact that some of your colleagues, in particular in the case of al jazeera, some of your journalist colleagues are in gaol at the moment. >> from your observations, from your team's osbservations in th last two day, do you think there has been irregularities when it comes to the polling.

>> i'm sorry to disappoint you, repeating the same answer. all this is part of our observation, and we want to remain totally neutral, totally impartial. this guarantees our credibility and ipp dependence, and we don't want to the interfere. i will not break the code of conduct. we will be here again on thursday. if you want to have another talk with me. >> we will have a talk with you next thursday. we look forward to that report. thank you so much for joining us. member of the european parliament of portugal, and the e.u.'s election observer in egypt. thank you. al jazeera is continuing to demand the release of its journalists held in egypt. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed have now been held in prison for 150 days. their trial has been adjourned until 1st june.

they are accused of conspiring with the outlawed muslim brotherhood. al jazeera rejects the charges against its staff. a fourth journalist abdullah al-shami has been held in cairo prison without charge for more than nine months. abdullah al-shami's lawyer filed a third grievance to the attorney-general demanding his release and requires a medical report to document his poor health. the nigerian military ruled out the use of force to retrieve girls kidnapped. the army says it has located the girls, but claims launching an offensive may get them killed. they were taken from their school in borno state by boko haram fighters in april. >> we know where the militants are, leave us alone, we are working. we'll get the girls back.

when the president said we have al qaeda in we've ka, i believe -- we've ka -- west africa. a sudanese woman sentenced to death has given birth to a baby girl. miriam was accused of abandoning is lame and marrying a christian. they have launched an appealment the judiciary will review the conviction. e.u. heads of state are due to meet in brussels in the coming hours to discuss the results of european elections. there was a surge in support. francis hollande's party was beaten, saying the e.u. is too remote and complex. >> translation: i will reaffirm at the european council that prioritiry is growth, employment and investment.

europe is illegible. i'm aware that it's remote and incomprehensible. this cannot continue. europe has to be simple, clear to be effective where it is needed and withdraw from where it is not necessary. >> the leaders of india and pakistan are holding face to face talks in over a decade. pakistani president nawaz sharif met his counterpart narendra modi in new delhi once he was sworn in. of all the stark leaders that narendra modi is meeting, all eyes are on his meeting with nawaz sharif. are we expecting any major announcements following this meeting? >> just as you come, nawaz sharif, the prime minister of pakistan is being greeted by the new prime minister. they are going in for bilateral

talks, lasting about half an hour. there'll be no joint statement, no press questions. we are not exactly sure what they will discuss. we assume it's an issue on trade. all eyes, as you said are on the front page, that image of him shaking the prime minister's hand, and in the hindu another major paper. along with a photograph of all of the leaders democratically elected leaders. of course, we expect them to talk initially about trade or opening trade. and also about terrorists and the ongoing conflict administered by pakistan. it's a spate of encouragens over

the last few years and 65 years that they want to sought out this meeting. it could be a kick start to trying to restart the piece negotiations that each has a problem dealing with. on the surface, both leaders are cordial. you have to keep in mind the two countries have long-running conflicts. are we seeing nuclear rivals turning a page, or is it for the cameras. >> what has to be said is during the election campaign, prime minister narendra modi said harsh things about pakistan. armed fighters through kashmir, fighters attacking indian soldiers - he'll put a halt to that. he was tough on immigration with

the bangladesh. once you assume the office of prime minister your stance has to change, because you take op a bigger role. perhaps it dawned on him since his victory that he has to deal with pakistan, hopefully on his own terms. there'll be negotiation involved. really, i think this is opportunity for india and pakistan to talk about the outstanding issues that they want resolved. kashmir is top of the list, but those behind the 26/11 attacks in mumbai in 2008 - there's no closure. india has been strong in offering pakistan folders of evidence, backed by the international community, including the united states saying that those behind, that organised the killing of 166 people in mumbai need to be brought to justice and need to be extradited and india wants them. it's a firm position that the b.j.p. party had during the

campaign. harsh words for prime minister sharif to listen to. listen to them with a softer tone. it will be interesting to see how they come out of the meeting. there'll be no statements. we'll see how it progresses over the next few weeks with a new foreign minister. >> indeed. it will be interesting. thank you so much for that. live for us in new delhi. still to come on al jazeera - tension in the south china sea as beijing and hanoi trade accusations - this time over the sinking of a vietnamese fishing boat. >> two weeks before the world cup kicks off in brazil - where is the passion. revealing, and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time. rosie perez

>> i had to fight back, or else my ass was gonna get kicked... >> a tough childhood... >> there was a crying, there was a lot of laughter... >> finding her voice >> i was not a ham, i was ham & cheese... >> and turning it around... >> you don't have to let your circumstance dictate who you are as a person >> talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america al jazeera america. we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. >> we pursue that story beyond the headline, pass the spokesperson, to the streets. >> thousands of riot police deployed across the capital. >> we put all of our global resources behind every story. >> it is a scene of utter devastation. >> and follow it no matter where

welcome back. the top stories here in al jazeera. egyptians are voting in a second and final day to choose a new president. former army chief abdul fatah al-sisi is expected to win the contest. he is facing off against leftist politicians, hamdeen sabahi. the nigerian military ruled out the use of force to rescue more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped. it said it located the girls, but launching an offensive may get them killed. indian and pakistan's prime ministers are holding bilateral talks in new delhi, the first talks at a high level between two regional rivals since 2002.

10 vietnamese fishermen have been rescue after their boat was rammed. it occurred near an i will rig near the -- oil rig near the paro sell i would say. the vietnamese beat was harassing the chinese craft before colliding with it and collapsing. adrian brown has more. >> reporter: this is a reminder that tensions between vietnam and china are not going away. china says a vietnamese fishing vessel bumped into one of its fishing vessels, capsized and sank. hanoi says it's not the case, they accused beijing of attacking the vessel and causing it to sink. this happened in an area where china has been drilling for oil, close to islands claimed by china and vietnam, the paro sell islands. the drilling began at the

beginning of the month and a sizeable ar marreda was deployed. vietnamese vessels have been doing what they can to harass that operation. two weeks ago we had anti-chinese riots, leading to the arrest, detention of 1,000 protesters. several hundred of those will be put on trial or fined. two have been convicted and gaoled. the issue for china now is compensation, because up to 16 taiwanese and chinese factories were set on fire, and men others damaged. >> the data that was used to determine the path of missing malaysian airlines flight mm-hmm 370 has been released. relatives of the 239 passengers had been calling for the information to be made public. it includes 14 pieces of data sent between a satellite and the

plane. in the hours after it disappeared on march 8th. >> a satanic mass - that was how pope francis described the sexual abuse of children by priests. that was after flying back. he said he was shown zero tolerance in the roman catholic church. >> reporter: pope francis greets the faithful in jerusalem. christians hold that jesus christ said "suffer the little children to come unto me." it has been tarnished. taking him back to rome, the pope addressed the situation. the priest who does this betrays the body of the laws. bridging the children to

sanctity, children trust them. he abuses them. he'll make a comparison. it's a san tannic mass. >> pope francis said there is no place in the church for those that abuse children. next week at the vatican, he will meet a group of victims. >> there'll be a mass with 6-8 people who have been abused. after that he'll have a meeting with me. there'll be eight of them with the cardinal, who is on the commission. we must go guard on this issue. >> in recent years there has been an avalanche of abuse allegations against the church. prosecutors claim to have handled 3,000 abuse cases over the past decade. 848 priests have been unfrocked. more than 2,500 have been ordered to live a life of prayer or pennant. the u.n. published a report accusing the vatican of placing

the preservation of the reputation of the church over the application of child victims. >> this pope spoke of his compulsion to confront the evil perpetrated by priests that adduce children. >> with new cases all the time. that is something he'll ahave te chance to do. ukraine's military has been trying to recapture donetsk airport from separatists. >> reporter: they came from above, an attempt to regain the airport. the military using airborne force to launch an operation. it began earlier in the day when separatists arrived. the airport shut down, no flights in or out of the city. police blocked access. authorities gave a deadline to

separatists to lay down their arms. there was a crackdown, jets and helicopters launching an attack to wrest control from the operatists. shortly after trucks and fighters arrived. this was a battle they were not prepared to let go of. >> the leader of the donetsk people's republic was defiant. >> with the latest developments unfolding fast and aggressively. we have to appeal to the president of the russian federation, vladimir putin. >> an al jazeera crew was caught up in the crossfire. they were on the road leading to the airport when gunfire broke out. the crew escaped unharmed. >> keep going.

>> but they narrowly avoided an explosion as they were turning back. the fighting subsided but it is unclear if the military gained control of the airport. donetsk's mayor urged residents to stay indoors, at home. in a city of 1 million, a strong hold of separatists, there's little in the way of effective conciliation. >> syrian activists say 50 people have been killed in aleppo since monday. activists accused the residents of dropping bombers. these are drums filling with nails and explosives killing indiscrimina indiscriminately. >> the conflict in syria has destroyed many buildings. all six world heritage sites are on the endangered list. we have more on efforts to safeguard them. >> this has been fought over by

government and rebels alike for three years. some of syria's valuable oil reserves lay beneath the ground. above ground there are treasures at risk. cultural ones, traditionally a focal point for commerce, but bombs and bullets transformed it into an empty shell. >> translation: this is one of the most famous monumental sites. it was totally destroyed by the forces in an indescribable barbaric manner. >> this was the mosque in aleppo before the civil war. for almost 1,000 years the miner et towered over the landscape. until last year, when it was blown up. >> what happened there is catastrophic. we never saw something like this in the case of iraq or afghanistan.

it gives certainty. we need to do more. we need to put culture heritage within the humanitarian efforts and certainly give it a higher role in international agenda for syria. >> the violence of the last three years has taken its toll on religious and cultural sites across syria when the miner et of the alelmari mosque was destroyed. it had been a sacred place for a millennium. these are the ruins of an ancient city, almost 1,000 years old. at various times it was roman, bi-sen time and part of the calafat. now u.n.e.s.c.o. says the war between fellow syrians threatens this and other cultural sites like never before. in the u.s. rescue teams are looking for three men missing

since a mudslide in western colorado on sunday. the 4-mile long mudslide inundated an area near the grand nessa natural forest. the disaster area is over 300 metres wide. they'd been investigating damn by on earlier rock slide when the largest slide hit. >> in two weeks the football world cup kicks off. not all are excited about hosting the greatest football spectacle. daniel schweimler reports from rio de janeiro. >> reporter: of course the football world cup should be in brazil. 5-times winners, the birthplace, kicking around on the beach. who could complain? >> translation: now i'm terrified. brazil should not host a world cup.

it's ab surd. all the expenses do not have the population in mind. most is coming from our own pockets. >> protesters in rio de janeiro said the $14 million spent on hosting the tournament is at the expense of health, education and housing. lewis loves his football, but agrees. >> as a brazilian, i'm in favour of us hosting the world cup. we are the country of soccer. in terms of everything we are giving up, it's not worth the sacrifice. >> reporter: brazilians across the country have been demonstrating - a major concern as the world will descend for a tournament that gets bigger and costlier. there's obviously some passion for the world cup. this on the copa cobbana beach in rio de janeiro.

as we kick off the days until the world cup kicks off. we'll have to see whether the pockets of passion ineffect the rest of the football-mad country. they'll tell you it was to different the last time brazil hosted the world cup back in 1915. >> translation: this explosion of enthusiasm did not start until brazil won in 1958 and in the '70s, when they decorated the streets. >> reporter: they lost it that time to uruguay. not this time says the man responsible for these decorations. brazil is ready to put that ghost to rest. >> translation: the marriage between football and brazil is perfect. i started the decorations earlier to motivate the people, hoping they'd dive into the world cup. >> whoever said that football was just a game? in brazil, as

the world cup looms, it looks like more than that. both on and off the pitch. and a reminder you can keep up to date with the latest news on the website at aljazeera.com. >> some are blind. others are ridden with cancer. many have serious mental illness. all of them are old.