clinging to power - iraq's prime minister asks for a third term and deploys special forces in baghdad. thousands stranded in northern iraq with kurdish forces fighting sunni rebels. . >> hello there. i'm kyle, you are watching al jazeera live from doha. also ahead - another 72 hour truce is holding in gaza. all eyes turn to cairo for hopes of a long-term solution. the battle for donetsk -

ukraine's forces pound pro-russian separatists. and turkey's prime minister promises a new era of reconciliation after winning the first ever popular presidential vote. iraq's prime minister nouri al-maliki is not backing down on his bid for a third term, despite huge pressure to resign. now he's threatening a legal challenge against a president who is a kurd, for standing in his way. all this is as islamic state are fighting the kurd in the north. >> reporter: an important victory in the fight against the islamic state group. fighters recapture mack more in the north. they hold up the group's black flag as a trophy. as islamic state fighters are in

control of large parts of northern iraq, and gains since june has put p.m. nouri al-maliki under pressure to quit. he's gone under attack against the president. >> translation: i warned the iraqi parliament, the presidency and the constitutional court, the president has no right to delay the election of the new prime minister. and such a violation will lead to more security problems. this is why the government is planning to file a case ace gips the president -- case against the president for violating the cop is it the use twice -- constitution twice. nouri al-maliki, a shia, has been accused of targetting critics, including top sunni politicians. he's now looking increasingly isolated. >> nouri al-maliki's mind-set

narrowed down that he is not seeing the country, the thousands killed by i.s.i.s., and not seeing the fact that he upped his watch, all this happened. he was responsible for arming and guiding the iraqi army that collapsed in front of i.s.i.s. >> reporter: the u.s. state department says it supports the president in his role as the guarantor of the constitution. hope has been expressed that a new prime minister could be elected as early as monday. the advance of fighters from the islamic state group left many without a home in northern iran. large numbers of the yazidi are stranded on a desert mountain top. those that have been able to have crossed the border into syria, there they are crossing into kurdish controlled areas of

northern iraq. it's taken a week for some of them to get back into the country. some are in cars, but families are walking, with little food and no medical supplies. now they face tough conditions in a refugee camp that has been set up. many lost family members during the journey. >> translation: i put two of my sons in a car that came to get us, then i went to grab the one i was holding. it had left. that's why i whacked here alone -- walked here alone. i have three children. i have not seen my three children or husband since then. >> u.s. air strikes conditioned not far from erbil to beat back islamic state fighters.

they are threatening the kurdish capital. kurdish forces lost jer lewda in between baghdad and the kurdish territories. they held the city, but the forces were forced to withdraw and handed back to the islamic state group. fierce fighting all along the 1,000km border between kurdish territories and ricky central government territory backed by the u.s. and iraqi strikes. the focus conditions on backing the civilians. several thousand of them have been able to walk down the mountain. we have spoken to some. they tell stories of women dying in childbirth. a doctor believes up to 1,000 of them died there. political battle lines are drawn with prime minister nouri al-maliki making clear that he

is not going to step down. there's an ongoing battle between nouri al-maliki, who believes that he is entitled to a third term as prime minister, and a growing force of opposition political figures who would like to replace him. the struggle continues. in the green zone, where the u.s. embassy is based, and the iraqi government, more troops, tanks and much more security. as that political deadlock continues. >> israel and hamas held their fire as a new humanitarian ceasefire continues. the respite was worked out in egypt, negotiating separately with palestinians and israelis. since the military assault on gaza began, 64 israeli soldiers and three civilians have been killed. 194 palestinians have been killed.

three-quarters are civilians. around 10,000 palestinians have been wounded and more than 170,000 people are living in 89 unshelters. >> let's get the latest from andrew simmonds. he is live in gaza, at the rafah border crossing. it looks quiet there now. there was a flurry of activity earlier. >> that's right, there's a process here. this is the only border crossing from the gaza strip that is not controlled by israel. over there is egypt, the other side. they are taking one bus in at a time, you can see the bus approaching. it's pulled up here, one at a time. i was talking to the palestinians on the bus that crossed, about 15 minutes ago, after going through the bureaucracy. everywhere on board were waiting for the time, the window of time to get out of the strip. they had enough.

they were fortunate enough to have visas into egypt, and not a lot of people have those. now we are seeing a situation across the strip. it's surreal in place, the serenity of the fishermen return to their work and across the strip, people trying to get some sort of order back into their lives, and people returning to areas where their damaged homes often are beyond repair. and we are finding also that in the un shelters, the schools, 89 of them, a lot of people are staying put because they know they can't do. with their damned homes. they are waiting for isn'ts. there's a massive need for help and humanitarian supplies. it's surprising. you'd think on an international board are crossing it would be crammed with humanitarian goods

across the board, crowded with people. because of procedures, that's not the case. it's taking a long time, it would appear, to get humanitari humanitarian supplies in. it has to be said, it's been pointed out by a number of aid organizations that egypt is not as helpful as it used to be years ago. with the gassan cause. it is - egypt may be mediating but hamas is not on the favourite list by any means. there's a lot of talks about whether or not the ceasefire will hold to allow the important substantive issues to get on the table to get some traction on some level of agreement, possibly between all the sides. andrew live in gaza. thank you very much.

let's cross to kimberley for developments from the israeli side, joining us from west jerusalem. what are you hearing about the israelis, there's a lot of talk about a delegation turning to cairo. indeed. the question has been whether or not they have arrived in cairo. we have not secured details if the israeli government directly. they have been quiet and not forthcoming on the whereabouts of the delegation. it's believed that they have arrived in cairo. when we contacted the israeli foreign ministry, all they'd quoirm is that they were waiting to see if the ceasefire would hold before they departed. it's been 11 hours since the ceasefire was put in place, and we have seen no activity. it is believed that the delegation is on its way in cairo, where it's believed to have arrived. again, the israeli government tight-lipped on the details.

what i can tell you is the hours leading up to the ceasefire agreement being put in place were active. it's not unusual before you see an agreement being put in place. we saw israeli air strikes. we did see as well small rocket fire into communities along the israel border. and a long range rocket fired towards tel aviv 10 minutes before the agreement was put in place, hamas did not have that. again, not unusual to see this activity in the lead-up to a ceasefire, it's in place, and has been holding for 11 hours. now the real work begins as both sides meet with the egyptian mediators. >> thank you for brings us the update from west jerusalem. the ukranian government says forces have vouched donetsk and

is demanding that the rebels surrender. more than 100 prisoners fled from a high security prison after it was hit by shelling. we have more from a city near slovyansk. >> reporter: a day after the offer of a ceasefire from the separatists the main telekom center was on fire, hit by a shell. one of many buildings coming under fire from ukranian forces. >> the ukrainian telekom building is on fire. that's what it is. the shell exploded and set it on fire. they are exploding mort tars. many of the population have left. unable to cope, many are trying to get out. others are seeking shelter. the maternity unit at the hospital has been forced to go underground to escape the the violence. ukraine's military appears to

have the upper hand, pushing forward, cutting off the supply routes, saying they will not stop fighting until they drove out the separatists from the strong holds in the east. >> if there is an initiative, it has to be shown with practical action, not just words. if white flags come up and lay down their arms, no one will shoot at them. we have not seen practical substance. >> reporter: ukranian forces are trying to build on successes they have made. in areas under their control, they are leaving nothing to chance. all this is the people that live this the east trying to find safety wherever they can. still to come - south africa's deputy president faces questions over his business interests, two years after police fired on striking miners. plus...

..controversial this the u.s. fracking is coming to mexico. the furore has be gun.

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and get the fastest wifi included. comcast business. built for business. hello again, i'm laura kyle. the top stories - special forces of nouri al-maliki have been deployed in baghdad after he announced he's not backing down on a bid for a third term and threatens a legal challenge against a president, a kurd, for standing in his way. fishermen in gaza returned to the seas after another 72 hour

humanitarian ceasefire continues. egypt negotiated separately with palestinians and the israelis. turkey's prime minister won the country's first direct presidential election. recep tayyip erdogan now wants to increase the powers of the president, and is offering critics an olive branches, we have this report from ankara. jubilation on the streets of ankara as supporters of recep tayyip erdogan celebrated his victory as turkey's first ever directly elected president. they were ecstatic as they gathered outside the haurks to hear the man that -- hear the man that many idolized. unlike his often fiery statements, recep tayyip erdogan struck a conceal itry tone in his victory speech, insisting it was a win for democracy before a

victory for himself. >> translation: from this day onwards we'll have a new social reconciliation, see our differences as richness, put forward not our differences but the common values that we share. >> reporter: the main contender was ekmeleddin ihsanoglu. he was backed by a diverse range of parties, he was unable to stop recep tayyip erdogan winning a ninth election. >> i hope the results will be good for our democracy, i congratulate our prime minister and wish him luck. >> reporter: despite recep tayyip erdogan and his party not losing an election for 12 years, they failed to convince some turks this he was the right man for the job. >> i voted for ekmeleddin ihsanoglu. because i think he's the candidate that would unite the country. unlike recep tayyip erdogan,

what claims to represent the people that vote for him. >> reporter: many that opposed recep tayyip erdogan accused his government of being more thorough tarianism. -- authoritarianism. >> that is what they deny. >> the government and recep tayyip erdogan declared a large democratisation programme, and he has been the sole power behind the peace process in turkey. >> reporter: not lost on the elections or celebrations were issues of foreign policy. recep tayyip erdogan told supporters that this was a victory for the free-loving people. a new victory for recep tayyip erdogan and turkey was a whole. recep tayyip erdogan indicated that he wishes to be in power in 2023. that's when they celebrate

100 years. for him to do that and achieve other goals like modernizing the constitution, he'll need to build on his support case. al jazeera is demanding the release of its three journalists who have been imprisoned in egypt for 226 days. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed were accused of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. in june mohamed fadel fahmy and peter greste were given seven year sentences. baher mohamed had an extra three because he had a spent bullet in his possession, which he picked up at a protest. lib earians have been defying warnings from their president to avoid public gatherings as the west african country struggles to contain the ebola virus. people filled the churches on sunday.

stringent airport checks and controls are being brought in. the world health organisation classified the ebola epidemic as an international health emergency. as a political deadlock continues in south sudan, an armed group emerged in the upper nile. the militia killed a number of people working for aid agencies, and there are fears that other groups may follow their lead. we have this report from south sudan. >> we heard the shots. >> reporter: in 48 hours six humanitarian aid workers have been killed, and two reported missing. one was shot in the head outside the gate of the aid agency compound. >> there was a shot from the back. the bullet came. the guy was stumbling. there was huge hole made in the front. until last week, this town

was relatively peaceful. close to 130,000 refugees lived alongside the population. out of the community emerged a militia group calling itself the defense force, and they turned on neem from the knew air tribe, including some employed by aid organizations, the reason why is not clear. at a meeting local government tried to assure agencies that the staff would be safe. they tried to justify the militia on the frouned that militia and soldiers. >> they killed the civilians in churches and villages. that is why they come up with this. it is there, but not enough. they have also to have to defend themselves. >> despite the presence of the government army patients did not feel safe when the killing began.

a week ago it was a busy hospital for a community. when the gunshots were heard, patient fled, afraid they would not be safe. analysts are concerned militia pose a threat. if the only way citizens will defend themselves is by arming themselves against the local militia, what will protect every group, town from having a militia and fight for their own turf. and that would be the demise of the country. >> reporter: life is going back to normal, but people hope for a swift solution in juba before the country fractures into pieces. columbia is in the grip of a severe drought, and one of the worst-affected regions is northern wa hera, home to the wa hera group.

the harsh weather is blamed for hundreds of deaths, including children. we have this report from wa hera. >> reporter: every day when this woman and her son travel under a blistering sun in search of the water. they are part of the people that for centuries have inhabited this peninsula in northern columbia. water here has been scarce, but a continuing drought means getting hold of it has become an almost impossible task. >> translation: our reserves would last for a year and rain would come. they are gone now. >> reporter: like many, she walks all the way to a government-built well, hours from home. what she find is salt water barely fit to drink. >> translation: this water makes us sick, and gives us stomachation and diarrhoea,

especially to the kids. it's all we have. >> reporter: filled with collected rain, traditional reserves used to be the main source for clean and portable water. without the rain, most of them, like this one, have gone dry. not an until drop has one in this territory in years. the crops are gone, and the animals are thin and weak. community leaders remember a different time. our water would be fresh, we'd get rain every three months and abundant food. now i war yoi for our -- worry for our children and elders, mostly for the little ones. some settlements are four or five hours away from the closest up to, leaving them isolated. the government's human rights office estimates 40,000 children

are showing scenes of malnourishment. >> translation: many think this is a longer summer and pray to the sun god tore rain. they are at risk the the traditions and world views making them vulnerable. we know of 23 children that died, but we are afraid this was underestimated. they have so far managed to strike a balance with the difficult environment. as the climate changes, so does their land. threatening the fragile balance and their survival. hundreds of prisoners are on the run in porta prisons. the main prison which held around 900 inmates were attacked by a gang. it was part of a block to free a businessman gaoled on kidnapping charges.

a reward is offered to find him. 10 prisoners have been recaptured. after 76 years of state monopoly mexico opened the energy sector to private investors. it's on the agenda to stimulate economic growth. one set for a boom is fracking. we have a report on the consequences for residents and the environment. >> fracking wells in the u.s. - soon there'll be a common site south of the border. fracking has been sold as a cost effective way to deal with oil and gas despite claims to the contrary. >> these cracks appear after the state began exploratory fracking in the area. >> i'm 50 years old. as far as i can remember i never net any earthquakes. they began offer the drilling.

many told us the same thing, the earth is shaking and houses criss-crossed by cracks. geologist said quakes are agreeing in number and strength. >> after 2006 there has been reports of two quakes ever in this region, bip 2014, there were reports of 200, in a span of six years. in 2012 there were 89 quakes. >> in the u.s. there has been an increase in earthquakes. tremors are not the only concern. fracking requires water, lots of it. one well requires millions of leaders, and the plan is to drill thousands of them. water is squares in northern mexico. drought hit the cattle industry hard. killing hundreds. they have sold rights to drill on the land. it could mean less water.

many people now are emigrating to the u.s. others to mon ray. for the same reason because here in this ranch, there's no life. what do we live on. cattle and forming. if there's no water, we have nothing. >> besides consuming water, there's growing thought that for exampling pollutes the water. it's been banned or prestricted in several countries. the head of penn ex says drilling for shale gas is key to the future. we had the fourth largest in the world. this is gas cheaper number, cleaner energy. >> now that the energy reform is set to take full effect foreign companies are planning to build wells in a dry hot region of mexico, promising that it will lead to an economic boom. many fear long-lasting environmental impacts. >> a supermoon lit up the skies

across the world on sunday night. this happiness when the full moon makes its closest preach to arth. it will -- approach to earth. it will be 14% bigger and brighter. the supermoon is the second and biggest of a trio to appear in our skies this summer. vo: visitors to london could be forgiven for thinking they are seeing a quintessentially british town. the imperial architecture.