iraq's prime minister nouri al-maliki steps down but the country's problems are far from over. in northern iraq, kurdish forces fight to regain control of towns fromism s is group fighters. >> welcome to al jazerra live from our head quarters in doha i am jane dutton of the also coming up a warning from the world health organization about the ebola out break in west after chasm the scale of the crisis appears to be vastly under estimated. and one of the seven wonders of the modern world is

celebrating its 100th birthday. we'll take you there. ♪ ♪ there is renewed hope of an end to the political deadlock in iraq. the controversy hal prime minister nouri al-maliki has made a surprise announcement that he's to step down. he's making way for the deputy speaker of the parliament. but even with that change at the top. the government is still facing major challenges. as we have a report from erbil the country is still threatened by armed groups which has tang control of large parts of the north. >> reporter: after weeks of insisting he would not step aside. this announcement. >> translator: in order to enable the fiscal process to go forward and form a new government i am withdrawing my nomination from the post of prime minister i in favor of the dear brother for the sake of the

best interest of the country. >> reporter: it's a country at war with itself as well as against the islamic state group. kurds and sunnis had insisted that maliki be replaced. but he had also lost support from his own shia allies. crucially, even the shia religious leadership urged him to step down. convinces that he could no longer hold the country or the shia community together. maliki had insisted that his political block won the largest number of votes and that the move to replace him amount today a political coup. >> translator: i face a ferocious personal tack by some who claim that i was protesting as my percentage interest but i was only carrying my duties in protect th thing cons tunes. >> reporter: he became prime minister eight years ago when the country was in the grip of civil war. he presided over iraq regaining its sovereignty after u.s. occupation. in 2011 oversaw the exit of u.s. troops. although he alienated his

political allies until recently he retained considerable popular support. in one of his boldest moves in 2008, event the iraqi army in to basra to retake the city from shia militias. despite that maliki's political legacy is seen as a sectarian one. under his watch, sunni protests erupted across the country, accusing him government of marginal icing and mistreating them. that anger against maliki's government and its security forces was fertile ground for the it lamb i can state group. whenism s. fighters move in to iraq's second largest city of mosul, they met no resistence as iraqi army commanders appointed by maliki disappeared. in 2006, maliki was a compromised candidate not seen as a threat to anyone. he end his term viewed as a threat to almost everyone.

he now becomes air car caretaker prime minister until a on new government is formed. he can be offered the post of vice president or deputy prime minister, he's stepping side, but no one expect him to disappear. >> the u.s. has praised maliki's decision. susan rice the national security adviser says these are: >> and a statement from u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon pledges to support the new prime minister saying that: joining me from erbil, he's gone, now what?

>> reporter: well, yes, like you mentioned a late announcement that he is stepping aside. iraqi politicians welcome this. but this is just the first stem. now the challenge of forming an inclusive, a broads-based government that will be acceptable by all of iraq's political factions, because of the security situation is to immaterial -- if the security situation is to improve in this country, you need political stability. there needs to be national reconciliation during maliki's rule iraq sunnis felt marginalized, alienated and not just that, they felt targeted and blamed maliki what for what they are calling sectarian policies. the so the new prime minister will now have to pick and choose the right people. it's not just the question of finding representatives from each community, but representatives who can speak on behalf of the people on the ground, we understand from sunni armed groups, those behind the sunni protest movement months before the islamic state group took over territory, they have been demanding real

representation. will the new prime minister reach out to those tribal leaders, those time elders who don't seat sunni politician poln baghdad as their true representatives. of course al baddie will have to talk to the security forces if you talk to sunnis they feel the security forces is nothing but an arm of maliki, they are not loyal to the iraqi nation but to a certain sect. >> the home is you say that will have profound cam indication on his the security situation and the humanitarian situation? >> reporter: definitely. the human tear i didn't know situation is dire, up to 1.2 million iraqs are taking refuge in the north. and kurds are at war. they are at are war with the islamic state group. they are trying told the defensive line of the border. they made rapid advances last week and seized a lot of

territory now there is an active front line on mosul and the kurds are on the offensive and need to protect that territory in order to defender bill. the highway lead to go mosul is now a refugees zone, thousands used to live in camps dotting this highway, the people are now gone. the peshmerge are on force on the ground, but it this is still contested territories. kurdish forces are at war with the islamic state group. last week the fighters advanceed from their strong hold in mosul towards the kurdish region in northern iraq and managed to seize the towns you see in the distance, most of the people who used to live there fled during the advance. the kurds are now fighting back. hoping to reverse the islamic state group's recent gains. this is an active front line.

the peshmerge are on the offensive. what they are trying to do is recapture territory they lost to the islamic state group and it is right follow them to recapture this land. but it won't be easy. the peshmerge is a force with limited resources. the u.s. has been targeting the islamic state group from the skies. but that group is well armed, well trained and determined. you can see them drive around in their vehicles near the frontline. he is commanding the peshmerge forces on this front line, he isn't here in his capacity as deputy prime minister of the iraqi federal government. he says he is here because as a cured, he wants to defends his people. but he admits it is a challenge just to defends this territory. >> translator: terrorism is an international problem. this is not just a war that kurds or minorities have to fight alone. we need the cooperation of regional and international powers, including the baghdad

government. >> reporter: this is strategic territory. it is the main road that links mosul to erbil. the political capital of the semi all town plus kurdish ring none northern iraq, it was the target of the islamic state group's resents military a advance of they have been slowed down try busch right now they are just 40-kilometered from erbil. the ending the political crisis won't end the bar, as you can see it's just beginning and the is lat i can state is being increasingly seen as a threat. >> the new prime minister was born in baghdad, he is a member of the shia group. and was he can side for most of the 1980s and 1990s during the rain of sadam hussein, he concerned in 2003 and became an mp in 2006, and served in several very positions since

then includes minister of communications. the bid for the prime minister job in 2006 and 2010. he's generally regarded as a less divisive figure than nouri al-maliki. let's move on now. >> in gaza the five-day ceasefire tension between hamas and israel continues to hold. but for people on both sides, uncertainty remains, still hasn't been a breakthrough on a long-term truce, delegates have returned from cairo where negotiations were being held for consultation with his their respective leaders. with that ceasefire in place many of the palestinians living close to the border have returned to where their homes once stood to find only piles of rubble as is reported in this report. >> reporter: this story of this family is a common one in gaza. it was only a year ago when they she moved in to her new house, now she sits in front of a pile of rubble in the hopes that someone will provide some help.

>> translator: i was shocked and screaming in the street. i still have to pay the mortgage. i am a widow. my husband was killed in the previous war. and now my son is in hospital. >> reporter: her relative and her four children, left during the conflict to a safer place. it's only after the ceasefire was extended that she decided to return. >> translator: we will stay here for the next five days. i haven't seen many members of my family since the war started. i want to know what happened to them. >> reporter: first stop, her parents' house. this is where she grew up and it's full of memories. the joy of seeing it still standing is too much to contain. the destruction here is overwhelming. we are on the edge of the gaza strip and israel and its tanks are about a half a kilometer way from here. people here have put these on the main road to try to pro next themselves, but it's bordering

areas like this that suffer the most each time there is a war. the tracks. tanks that came through here are still fresh. people are make getting their way home but for most it will be a short visits. the entire area has been flattened. hamas says israel should pay for reconstruction and inning sieves the blockade must be lift today the truce to hold in the longer term. but many here remain skeptical. >> translator: there is still no hope in the negotiations. people are worried and scared. we just come and pick up whatever is left but by late afternoon we go. it's still dangerous. >> reporter: there is a sigh of relief in gaza, uncertainty is still hanging in the air. and even if the ceasefire holds, people here will continue to struggle for months to come before picking up their lives again. al jazerra, in the gaza strip. thousands of people gathered in tel aviv to protest against the extension of the truce. many are from the southern israel i towns where rockets

from gaza often land, some are calling for the government to do more to stop the rockets. in pakistan sick fighters killed and six injured in the capital of the southwestern province. the attackers used guns and grenades to storm a police checkpoint close to an airport which also serves as an air base, in a separate incidents four bombs were did fused as a neighboring air force base, meanwhile thousands of pakistani opposition supporters continued their march to the capital. protesters want the prime minister to resign, they accuse him of voter fraud in last year's election. he's seen as the challe strongest challenger since he took over a year ago. still ahead, human rights groups blame separatist militia for hundreds of abductions plus.

>> reporter: i am in india with the country's contribution to the first world war likely saved the western front. coming up we'll see how those and other memories from the war are fading.

♪ ♪ er watching al jazerra, a reminder of the top stories. nouri al-maliki has quit as iraq's prime minister after domestic and international pressure. he was vying for a third term in office, but he's stepped down to support his replacement allah baddie.

the rebels have already over run the towns of mosul and tikrit. in. in gaza a 5-day ceasefire extension between hamas and israel continues to hold but there still hasn't been a breakthrough on a long-term truce. del have the tkpwa*ts have returned from high ky row where negotiations were being held. ukraine's military says it has surrounded the town of luhansk cutting off pro-russia rebels. heavy shelling that city and the strong hold of donetsk has killed dozens of people. the u.n. and human rights groups are warning of widespread abuses by the rebels after hundreds of abductions barnaby phillips reports from slo slow vee after. >> reporter: what won't be so easy to fix are all the broken lives. this is boris and his wife maria

this picture is of their son, he disappeared when the separatists arrested him. they said he was stealing. there are reports that they executed him in a type of crude summary justice. maria has been looking for him everywhere, she says she has to believe his stella life. she saw him in her dreams last night. when the separatists were in charge this building was their military headquarters. it was shar hally destroyed in the fighting but we were allowed inside. this was the as of their commander. and these are the cellars where he kept his prisoners. under the separatists slovyansk was a city of fear and what people dreaded above all was being brought to these rooms where people were held as hostages and where they were interrogated. on the wall, traces of what

looked like blood. and here, marks, perhaps where someone has been counting off the days. a pro ukrainian activist was held in that cellar for 10 days, he thought he would die there. >> translator: they tied my hands together and blindfolded me. they beat me with a rubber stick. they kicked me. they put a bucket over my head and i struggled to breathe. >> reporter: he told me that a friends of his was murdered bicep tests, because they discovered that he was giving information to the ukrainian army. >> translator: at first i hoped these bandits would be punished but i am losing hope every day. the police didn't do anything when the separatists were in charge and still don't do anything. >> reporter: we went to the farm where he says his friend was murdered. neighbors confirmed the story. but his family did not want to talk to us. back in slovyansk of course 14 bodies were found in this grave.

only four to are have been identified. apparently killed because a separatist leader wanted to take over their business. we don't know who the other 10 bodies belong to. but this is a town where many are still looking for answers. barnaby phillips, al jazerra, slovyansk. protesters filled the streets in the u.s. city of ferguson, missouri for a fifth night on thursday. they have been protesting the killing of an unarmed black teenager by the police. demonstrations were peaceful following days of tense stands offs with the police. law enforcement has changed their approach after the state took control of security from local police who had used tear gas and rubber pellets to disperse the crowds. vigils and protests in support of victim were held across the united states in new york city thousands took to the streets in a march to time square. hundreds of others gathered in los angeles and in miami, demonstrators a december assembe

federal courthouse demanding an end to police brutality. the united nations says the scale of the ebola out break in west calf what has been extremely under estimated. accord to this u.n. health agency, more than a million people could be directly or indirectly affected by the virus, there is no cure for ebola and the known experimental vaccine has been made available to only one of the country's in the region. malcolm has more. >> reporter: the experimental but potentially life-saving serum arrives in lie beer ya. over a thousand people have died in west africa's ebola out break nearly as many against are affected but only enough serum here to treat three people. >> for me this is not the answer. it's just a matter of trial. we need to continue our. [ inaudible ] system, we need to continue the health promotion, need to continues mechanisms that will break transmission so that we irradicate this disease. by giving it drugs is not the

answer. >> reporter: when two american missionaries were inning selected they were taken home and showed improvement. that raises questions about why africans have never had it. with u.n. approval limited supplies were sent. it's prevention that's needs today stem the out break and that's proving difficult in one of the world's poorest regions, health care facilities are lacking and it's not easy to enforce precautionary measures. guinea's border has been closed but frustrated travelers have still been trying to cross, for many no movement means no trade and so no agreement. in knee year i can't an infected nurse skipped quarantine to be with her family putting at risk another 21 people. president goods luck jonathan uses a hands sanitizer to show the importance of people hands clean but the numbers are still going up.

the number 198. out of this, in lagos and quarantine some are being monitored by health specialist. >> reporter: back in lie beer yeah, three infected medics will receive the treatment. if they are lucky it will work. the fate of hundreds more infected patients is even less certain. malcolm webb, al jazerra. indian prime minister had urged global investors to make india a global hub. he said india had been shame booed a recent spate of crimes against well he led his party to victory in this summer's general election. india isn't only celebrating its 68th year of independence from britain, it's also remembering its contribution to world war i, it's not often said that the country's soldiers fought and died for britain in the battle.

a report from new delhi it's hard to keep the memories alive. >> reporter: it's one of india's most famous lands marks it was built by the british to commemorate their colony's contribution to the first world war. today that history has been largely forgotten. this family is an exception. they don't know all the details, but they are proud of their grandfather's role in the war. >> this is. [ inaudible ] who had his bullets and got this. and you should honor it. >> he fought in the war in africa. >> once he told does. >> reporter: their grandfather told them stories of hardship and valor among the indian soldiers. >> my god, it's too much, too is too much. they were there for five years. and very hostile conditions. >> reporter: more than 130,000 indian troops were killed or wounded in action during world war i.

yet most artifacts, like these at delhi's immaterial pee impere from private collections. public memorials like this one are common. but memorials commemorating the first world war are few. those trying to preseven indian's history in the conflict say the country's contribution likely changed the course. of the war. in london the british library's collection includes photographs and letters from indian soldiers fighting in the trenches in europe, revealing their crucial role. >> the british army was suffering, the frontline was crumbling, so these troops were shipped in and were really vital for maintaining the western front. >> reporter: in india, trying to maintain the country's history in the war has been an uphill battle. >> the feeling then was it's simply not our war it belongs to the british government. >> reporter: his grand father was among the men who sent

troops and money for the war. he said doing so was part of the indian warrior tradition, even with the country's colonial status at the time. >> they were our boys fighting for and our boys who made the name of -- put the name of india on the world map by their gallantry. >> reporter: it bears the names of the fore boughten dead. the concern is that the few surviving memories. great war and those who fought will fade as the years go by. al jazerra, new delhi. it is one of the world's most famous shortcuts the panama kamal is a feat of engineering that revolutionized global trade and now it's 100 years old. the 77-kilometer waterway connects the atlantic and pacific oceans. when it opened in 1914, it transformed international trade by creating a significant shortcut before a ship traveling from new york to san francisco, for example, had to go around the tip of south america.

but the canal cuts that journey by more than half saving more than 12,600-kilometers. today the canal transports about 5% of the world's total cargo volume between 12 and 15,000 ships across the panama canal every year, rachel evans looks at the history and legacy of the canal. >> reporter: climbing aboard another ship is the least challenging part of vilma romero's day. after she checks in, she literally takes command and begins plotting the navigation of the 10,000-ton vessel. the panama canal is the only place in the world where captain's have to turnover control to canal captain loopings salt lake vilma. she was the first panamanian women to steer the ships through the waters. >> many times the captain says

it's the first time working with a female pilot. we are not too many around the world. after we go through the first load they ease up. >> reporter: it's a high stress job one she that is to do at any time of day or night. and even in the middle of a storm. >> when it's raining visibility is also, of course, diminished. and when it's windy, you have to fight the wind or work with the wind, looking at the side of the ship, just calculating. >> reporter: after the lines are cast, and the engine is cut. vilma commands the crew. there are three narrow locks to be slowly navigated on the 80-kilometer journey. >> slow ahead. >> reporter: it's a delicate task helped by dug boats and locomotives which pull and guide the shim. this is the most difficult part of the journey, these cargo ships carrying millions of dollars of goods have to pass through these narrow locks. sometimes with just inches to spare. and for pilots like vilma, there is no room for error.

operating the canal and getting ships safely from th the atlantc to the pa saving is the work 10,000 people. every day dozens of vessels make the shortcut between the two oceans. one of the most ambitious engineering projects in history. it took nearly 40 years to build. nearly 26,000 workers died mainly from diseases like malaria. when it was complete, it changed international trade forever. now a new era beckons, panama is spending $6.5 billion to widen the canal and double its capacity. back on board, vilma has a long journey ahead. but she loves the challenge and the adrenaline. >> i am doing a little bit to correct that panama shows to the world that we can handle this. we have done a pretty good job. >> reporter: for her and her thousands of colleagues, canal is a national symbol, not just of great success, but of great

sacrifice. by those two build it and change the world. rachel, al jazerra on the panama canal. if you want to find out more about that story or anything else, you can always keep up-to-date with the news on our website a aljazerra.com. you alone may not be able to stop climate change, how should you and your community prepare for it. ideas from local leaders on the front line. that is the "inside story". . >> hello, i'm