>> >> afghanistan has a new president, ashraf ghani is inaugurated in a ceremony in kabul. the first democratic transfer of power for that country. hello, i'm doreden, this -- dored christopher gibson, this is al jazeera live. thousands of protesters shut down the financial hub, and refuse to leave until the demands are met. coalition air strikes target i.s.i.l., as u.s. admit spy chiefs underestimated the threat. and a noisy welcome for india's prime minister in the

u.s., a country he was once banned from visiting. we begin in afghanistan where ashraf ghani has been sworn in as the new president. it's been described as an historic day, as this is the first democratic transfer of power in the country. he will head a unity government, the inauguration comes after a bitterly contested election with claims of fraud and vote recount, and marks the departure of hamid karzai, president since the invasion in 2001. >> translation: brothers and sisters, by participating in the election, we have expressed our determination that we have a political will. our people have demonstrated that peace and stability is what they need for the country.

i am sure the new leadership will bring peace and stability as priority. a task that we have started, that is incomplete is long-lasting security. without peace there's no security, without security we cannot have development in the country. >> this is what afghanistan's new president garmin sharp had to say a short time ago. >> translation: here people, i'm appointed your elder, your leader, but i am not better than you. if i do good things, support me. if i do wrong things, stop me. lies are betrayed. your support is my strength. let's go live to jennifer glasse in the african capital kaboom. the first democratic transition of power in the country. talk us through this morning's event, and how significant a moment is in for afghanistan? >> well, you had a democratic trance mugs of power --

transition of power, but with a twist. ashraf ghani was sworn in by outgoing president hamid karzai, the head of the supreme court. he then signed a decree creating a position of chief executive officer, and abdullah abdullah, his former presidential election rival, now the chief executive officer of afghanistan, that's a new position, darren, and he was the first to speak to the nation, thanking everybody who took place in the process, saying that the government will work together. ashraf ghani speaking to the nation in his first speech as president of afghanistan, saying that the past is behind the afghanistan of yesterday, it's not the afghanistan of tomorrow. and that the government paved the way for a prosperous future. he repeated a scene that he saw throughout the election campaign, that he as a politician, and his ministers

and government will be servants of the people, they'll serve the people and take care of the people of afghanistan. their responsibility is to the people of afghanistan. he reassured that the unity government will work together, it's not about a government of division or dividing power. words of encouragement, support to the afghan people, watching to see how the unity governments can and will work together. >> one of the big ongoing challenges for the new president is, of course, security. reports of major attacks in ghazni and other provinces and an attack on the airport this morning. >> that's right, there was a bombing this morning, and the attacks was a suicide bombing against the district headquarters christopher gibson. the taliban claimed responsibility, the four attackers, four police, two civilians and members of the

intelligence services. we see large-scale attacks over the past few weeks and months, challenging the afghan security forces. ashraf ghani said in his speech that there's many challenges, he knows it will not be an easy road for his presidency and government. the economic challenge, afghanistan's economy is in terrible shape. they've asked for 537 million to make up for budget short falls, and the february ministry told al jazeera that they will not pay out salaries in advance as they usually do during the eid holiday because they don't have the money. ashraf ghani, the new president - he knows he has his work cut out for him, a country with a long way to go. he and the outgoing president

hamid karzai admit that it has come a long way in the past 13 years. >> a final thought from you, what about ordinary afghanis, what hopes do they have that under the leadership, do they feel the country can put the political divisions behind them. >> i think there's a lot of the hope and apprehension. the economy being so bad has affected afghans from all across the country and they want to see the lives move forward, hoping that the unity government will be able to do that. they hope the two men will work together. they have been watching over the past month as ashraf ghani and abdullah abdullah have had bitter fights about all sorts of things about the election prospect, what the leadership should be, what the government should look like. there were talks about what should happen in the

inauguration, ashraf ghani trying to allay that. it will be the practicality, the four page agreement is short on specifics much the two men will have to work it out, who will do what, so they don't have the differences day to day, which is what afghanistan does not want to see, problems that will keep the government from moving ford, keying international aid or investment coming in, they are hoping that today marks a new day, that they can move the country forward, bringing prosperity, peace and stability. >> let's cross to scott heidler, at an african refugee camp.

kamal - refugees behind you have escaped the fighting in afghanistan to seek refuge in afghanistan. what hopes do they have for the new government that has taken power in afghanistan. >> importantly, one has to understand that when mr hamid karzai first became president of afghanistan, over 12 years ago, the refugees took part in that war, and, therefore, a considerable number of them voted for hamid karzai. however, the last election there was no facilities for the afghan refugees to cast their vote. that, of course, disappointed many of the refugees. nevertheless, the refugees in pakistan are looking forward to a working relationship in a power sharing villa, and hoping that if peace returns to afghanistan, if the economic environment is able to improve. the people can go home after

decades in pakistan and iran. they've been here for 30 years, because of the ongoing conflict in afghanistan. many are hoping to go back. they'll need help from the new leadership, and will need some security when they return home. >> scott heidler in peshawar. thank you. let's take a closer look at ashraf ghani's long career in public service. he was an economist for the world job, a job he gave up in 2002. he was the february minister in hamid karzai's government, presiding over the introduction of a new currency and budgeted. he ran unsuccessfully in 2009. five years later he had a theme that he repeated over the years, that politicians should serve the people. >> this is an afghan historian,

joining us live from kabul. this swearing in comes six months after bitter political deadlock between both rivals, can they work together and can the deal work, given the challenges that the country faces. >> this is not an ideal situation, in terms of the democratic process. they interrupted that, and they ignored people's vote. and that may have implications for the future elections. but at the same time now that the government of national unity has been sworn in, i think they don't have any other choice but to find ways to work together. the country has a lot of problems. the economy is in shambles,

especially because of the past few months of the struggle over who won the elections. the foreign aid has been frozen. and afghan investment stopped and, in fact, a lot of money has gone out of the country in anticipation of chaos, in fact. on the other hand, the security situation worsened, and when i talk about security, it's not about the taliban attacks here and there. the security that people of afghanistan immediately you are concerned with and affected by, robberies, highway robberies, rapes, and a lot of these types of crimes have risen tremendously. these two men have to find a way to work together and start solving the issues. >> you talk about the big changes, the economy, the security. let's stay with the security and

talk about the taliban, they described the deal as a u.s.-orchestrated sham. where does this leave the taliban in terms of their inclusion in the evolving political landscape in afghanistan? >> well, i think the rhetoric is expected because, after all, they have to oppose the system in kabul and afghanistan, and that justifies their existence. at the same time both men, especially dr ashraf ghani has repeatedly during his campaign indicated that he wants to look over the peace process, and come up with more innovative ways to reach a peace agreement with the taliban, and all the afghans are tired of this. and i think there'll be some efforts, some new efforts

towards extending a hand towards the taliban, but, of course, the issue of the taliban does not depend on the afghan government, but depends on the international community, on washington, and most of all on neighbouring pakistan, whether they'll continue to support the taliban as a destabilizing factor in afghanistan or not. >> thank you for talking to al jazeera. now, thousands of defiant protesters in hong kong vowed to stand their ground after facing a night of tear gas. demonstrators are camped out. riot police have withdrawn from the area, protesters are demanding open nominations for upcoming elections in 2017. >> translation: i urge the people blocking the roads to leave peacefully as quickly as possible so as not to affect the traffic. i urge the organizers of occupy

central, for the benefit of society to stop the occupation. scott heidler is there for you. >> well into monday, thousands of protesters are on the main thorough fares, strangling this part of the city where the business district is, down that direction and for the most part it's been peace: monday there was joint confrontations with tear gas, that was between sunday and monday. monday has been chanting and moving back and forth. for the most part there hasn't been complications like before. >> the stock market opened down here and continued to slide down. a lot of financial institutions down here in central. they are operating out of - or asked employees to work from home. we heard that branch officers of several banks, more than two

dozen have been shopped. the shopping areas are shut. we also know that some teachers unions called tore a strike -- for a strike. a dozen secondary schools. what is interesting as the day goes on, will it stay like this. are the protesters occupying the street. there's a flow of protesters over there, but no movement. earlier they handed out the umbrellas used to warden off the pepper spray, but so far it's been fairly calm, but throughout the day, in early afternoon numbers swelled. all eyes will be here. the city is in the center part, will it remain peaceful. >> the fight against i.s.i.l. is raging on with two air strikes hiding tal abby add and northern

syria. u.s.-led coalition aircraft targeted three refineries controlled in the same area. a command center was hit. an air base and raqqa, and an air base were attacked also. >> president obama admitted that his security officials under stipted the threat of i.s.i.l. in an interview on u.s. television, president obama said he didn't realise how fighters driven from iraq would regroup in syria. >> i think our head of the intelligence community, jim clap -- clapper acknowledged that they had underestimated what had taken place in syria. >> he didn't say we underestimated yil rsh, he said we -- i.s.i.l., he said we overestimated the ability and will of our allies, the iraqi army to fight. >> that is true, absolutely true. >> lots more to come on the

programme, including. >> i'm here from an island where children race for their lives.

welcome back. a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. ashraf ghani has been sworn in as afghanistan's new president. in a first democratic transfer of power. he'll head a unity government following the power-sharing deal with abdullah abdullah. pro-democracy protesters in hong kong vow to stand their ground in the financial center. riot police are withdrawing from the center for now, after firing tear gas overnight. >> let's go to the director of china's national association of international studies. >> pro-democracy protests are gathering critical mass. how worried are the chinese authorities by what they are seeing there? >> ever since 1997 when hong kong returned to mainland

china, hong kong kept a list of people in hong kong. they have the right to protest and demonstrate. the current demonstrations are a reflection of the fact that democracy exists in hong kong. i urge people in hong kong who do the demonstrations and protests to do so according to law. they cannot do such protests and demonstrations by violating freedom of other people that want to go to work and get along with their lives. i would say to do such protests by disregarding police warnings, and refusing to disperse is counter product ty and is not a -- productive and is not a good way to advance the democratic goals in hong kong. >> it's an interesting point you make about the rights to protest and demonstrate. democracy works both ways. what concessions is beijing going to make here?

>> i think at issue is not universal suf ridge. everyone wants universal suf ridge. the goal is to institute universal suffrage in 2013. what is at issue is how the candidates for the chief executive should be nominated. for this issue, of course, different people have different views, and the central government in china, through the standing committee of the national people's congress has taken its position, that is to constitute a nominating committee composed of 1,200 members, representing the broad masses and all walks of life. the process is ongoing. the decision made by the standing committee is referring back to hong kong. people with different opinions have their right to express

themselves, and if they want to do it any other way, they need to express their positions. therefore, i will say there are better ways to ex-weres the political-- express the political views. you say the issue is not universal suf rig. the protesters beg to differ, that is the issue. why shouldn't the people in hong kong have a rite to nominate who they choose to be leader. >> they have the right to nominate, of course, because this nominating committee, composed of 1,200 people represents the broad walks of life, now, of course, if you look at britain versus the united states, france or germany, no country has a uniform way of nominating the candidates or uniform way of running the elections, everyone has a different set of rules, and a system.

therefore, i would say let's give it a chance. when the british rule the economy, they ruled hong kong through a governor, there was no election. there were, i think, compared with before 1997, hong kong is already making a big stride forward, and we should not just, you know try to achieve everything in one go. >> thank you for talking to al jazeera. india's prime minister has been given a rock star welcome in new york. thousands of indian americans greeted narendra modi at maddison square garden. it's a major turn around. >> reporter: just a few years ago narendra modi was denied a u.s. visa, the only person to fall foul of the international freedom's act, but that was then. now he is feted by 18,500

members of the u.s.'s indian community, as well as political and corporate leaders. he basked in their adulation. >> we should join hands for our mother india, do all you can for the land of your birth. long live mother india. >> reporter: the speech was beamed live into times square, where those who failed to secure tickets gathered. >> he's popular with the young indian population. >> reporter: local politicians were keen to leave behind politicians, narendra modi did little to stop the murder of people in 2002. >> i'm happy, with have substantive issues to discuss, and deep and economic ties when it comes to advancing human

rights. it's not all adulation. at least 1,000 protesters gather outside maddison square garden. they say he shouldn't be treated like a rock star, but a criminal. >> hindu sikhs were kepted, as well as antiwar groups. >> the red carpet rolled out for him, it raises concerns. we have basically a strong projustice position and a type of atrocities and chateaus that have been following prime minister narendra modi since he was the chief minister of gooujera. these are things of great concern. some suggested the adoring crowds were creptive of india's wealthy and not the poor majority. >> they are the ones that have been in to see their children.

>> from new york, narendra modi travels to washington d.c. to meet with political leaders and president obama. it's clear that a u.s. establishment opens their arms to narendra modi. on the indonesian island of sombowda child jockeys risk life and limb to ride horses. students as young ag five are skipping school. it's seen as a tradition that needs to condition. >> he was three when he started training. at eight, he has become one of his island's most popular jockeys. he's fast, furious and light. for decades they raced horses, less travel took part in indonesia, the young riders provided the horse owners

lightweight. in a sport fuelled by gambling. >> translation: i'm afraid of the small horses because they are still wild, and when people hit the horses, i'm afraid to fall off. >> reporter: his twin brother did that and can't race any more. his fall left him unconscious for six days, when he woke up he was partially paralyzed. even with that, the boys desperate parents believe they have no choice but to let chackel continue to race. when he does, he earns around $70 a day. >> of course i'm afraid. they are my children. if we don't go to races, my daughters can't go to college. her little brothers are paying for her education. >> reporter: the races are about money and excitement.

and the fact the jockeys are little is not important. three jockeys fell during our visit. none used saddles or had protective gear. neither were there doctors or ambulances on site. minutes after this five-year-old fell, he was forced to race again. there are national childhood laws, but here it's under the watchful gaze of those meant to protect the children. they are unapologetic. >> if you want to protect the children, we have to discuss this with others involved. with the horse owners. we cannot change the rule because this is our tradition, and the tradition is above the law. so ask why the child jockeys are allowed to ride without protection. one of those is photographer who

for the last four years documented their story. during that time he says two jockeys have died. the photographs he hopes will persuade the government to change the rules. >> the country needs to protect the children and give them safety and an opportunity to get education. i don't see this with the jockeys. during the races, there is no balance, and i took two children to the hospital myself on a motorbike after they fell. >> after seeing the photos, indonesia's child commission said it's clear action is needed. >> what we want is a regional regulation forbidding children under 15 years from becoming jockeys. if they insist, there has to be strict regulations. >> he knows his brother paid a high price. for now, an 8-year-old boy will race at high speed without the

protection he deserves. a quick reminder, keep up to date with all the news on the website. there it is on your screen. the address, of course, aljazeera.com. that's aljazeera.com. hello. you are watching a special edition of "the listening post" on the snowden effect. change is occurring in journalism in the age of the state. when he hadwin snowden took the classified u.s. intelligence documents and make them public, he knew his e-mails could be intercepted by the same people that the story was about.