♪. >> isil fighters retake territory in iraq's anbar province, advance on the main supply route to the capitol. hello. i am david foster. you are watching al jazeera live from doha in the next 30 minutes, 11 candidates for brazil's candidacy. but the real contest expected between 3s main contenders. student dmontstrators ahead of a deadline to clear protest sites. we report on russian volunteers trying to find the remains of soldiers missing since the

second world war. the islamic state of iraq in the lavant otherwise known as isil said it has taken over more. large parts of syria and iraq and wants to establish an islamic state in the region. strategic battleground not far from the iraqi capitol are proving difficult for it or the government to hold. reports suggest that isil's recertain parts of dula ia after won by iraqi forces. west of baghdad, airstrikes have helped pushal isil fighters back to kubasi. it has put to falu. ja. a report on why holding that town is so important for the iraqi army.

>> this furious exchange for fire shows the battle against isil isn't slowing down. backed by tanks andhe weapons, these government 40ss are in the town of amaria, a strategic town linking aanbar in the south of the country. holding it against isil fighters means plies for the capitol can reach anbar professor. >> we will never leave our city. this is our homeland that we cannot aband on just because there is a conspiracy on this country. well fight them whether they call themselves rebels or armed groups. we are all iraqis, sunnis and shia, christians, arabs and kurds. we are all brothers. if they want their rights, did should be through dialogue, not by force and not to have foreign fightersroot from the regional countries. >> there are only a few kilometers between isil fighters and the troops. isil keeps up the push toward the city. >> what we are seeing in anbar province is the effect of coalition airstrikes on the border with syria. but it might not be the effect

the coalition expected or intended of what's happened is isil fighters are pushed further into the province taking shelter in towns like hit and kavarsi. what's happened after is iraqi army forces and pro-sunni government troops have surrounded those areas and the fighting now is one of shelling and fierce clashes on the outskirts but the iraqi army haven't gone inside those towns for fear of civilian casualties. with large numbers of isil excitingers taking up positions in urban areas it's highlighted how difficult the fight against the group is. a fight that won't be over any time soon. imran khan, al jazeera, baghdad. >> we have been reporting for weeks out of the town of kobane under assault from ooils fightsers. thousands living there have been forced to flee their homes. the latest we are here something what's been described as a stray missile has been fired from near the town across turkey's border wounding five people.

syrian kurdish forces are trying to push back isil fighters from kobane. the spillover of violence into turkey's significant as turkey has not joined the air assault against isil but is deploying reinforcements along the border with syria. bernard smith on the turkey syria border sent us this. >> reporter: turkish authorities have evacuated residents and the media from the border area with kolab e because isil fighters seized the hill from that position, they are shelling the town. some of the shells, stray shells, have been falling on turkish soil. one family was injured when a shell hit their house not far from where the media have been recording events in kobane. as the vehicles leave, military vehicles go in to kobani. reinforcements there reinforcing what is already a significant turkish military presence along that border and while all of that is happening, we know that will muslin, the leader of the

main syrian kurdish party, he's been in ankara meeting turkish securities officials we don't know what happened in that meeting, the subject of that meeting. what has to have been on the agenda is how those syria kurds are going to defend kolbane from the advancing ice ill forces. >> the syrian government has stepped up fight to drive opposition groups from the country's northern city, aleppo. >> it has been attacking rebel positions the several opinion vision fighters have been killed. the town is two and a half kilometers from aleppo and over looks like the only road connection to the city to rebel supply lines. -linked fighters have launched a major offensive in northeast lebanonon near syria. force ins lebanon con fronted the group in the town of asal, 16 fighters said to be

affiliated with the alnusrrah front were reportedly killed. there are reports that twoez bello fighters decide. hezbollah century enforcements. million of brazilians are voting for their next president. the eriction is one of the country's closest in recent history. the incumbent dilma roussef cast her ballot. she wants a second term in office but will need at least 50% plus 1 vote to win in a first round. al jazeera gabriel he will elazondo has more from sao palo. this is one of the main voting locations here in the entire city in what is going to be the biggest election in brazil history with more than 14,800 candidates nationwide running for senate for congress and even

state offices as well and, of course, the 11 candidates running for president. now, overall, there is one 42 million brazilians expected to cast their ballots and when the doors open up here at this school this morning, we saw a rush of voters coming in here to be the first people to cast their ballot did election process an the voting process is done in a very orderly manner here when voters get here, they check their name against a list and then they can also look at the names and numbers associated with all of the candidates here in their district. then they go in to rooms in this school where they then ultimately will have their id checked and they cast their ballots. brazil is a pioneer in electronic voting. so everybody casts their ballot on a machine. they push in number associated with the candidates they want to vote for. >> that's in order to eliminate any sort of fraud. then there are actually more than 25 different countries that have sent observers here to learn how the brazilian election

system works to take that back to their country as well. there has been a lot of talk in the last couple of weeks about polls, about candidate debates and experts trying to predict what would happen. but right now, the brazilian people are the ones that are going to decide and they are turning out to the polls to vote for who they think should be their next president. >> a mass grave has been fount on the outskirts of iguala. that is where 43 students went missing last week no. clear connection has been made as yet, though, between the two incidents. adam raney has more from the nearby town of chilpansingo. >> tests on the remains of the bodies found in this mass grave outside the town of iguala to see if they can confirm if they are bodies of some of the 403 students who have been missing now you more than a week. the last time these students were seen, witnesses say they were being put in to police cars and taken away. we have an ongoing investigation

in which some police are under arrest and being questioned in the case. when the govern and attorney general rat announced the fightings you had a very angry reaction from some of the students who study with these other missing students. thing rioted outside the government house, flipped over a car and threw rocks and malatov cocktails. they are kaling on the government to tell them more and to do more to bring the people who disappeared with these students and perhaps may have killed them to bring these students to justice. >> leaders of the pro-democracy group had a meeting with government representative. they say more talks are read. the protesters appear to be pulling back a little ahead of a monday deadline. from hong kong, adrian brown reports. >> china's government says hong kong's pro-democracy protesters are on a road to no where.

the one entered the central business district remains blocked. at first, the students refuse to let this driver through. does but he is so angry, they eventually give in to his demands. now, the government's demanding that those blockating its office completion also relent and the monday deadline for them to leave the area is now looming. >> if it's only tear gas, we will stay here. if it's bullets, we will fine some evacway,, plan and come back. >> hong kong's chief executive has warned the city could be on the brink of tragedy saying the most pressing need is for the students to end their blockade of the central government offices so that more than 3,000 civil servants can return to work on monday morning. >> leaders of the protest movement incest the building is still accessible. lu ng admits she is torn about whether the action should continue. >> we need to pay for a real

democracy like in -- >> even that means people losing their jobs, people not being able to provide food for their families? you think it's worth it? >> it is really a big conflict. >> it was time for some of the students to catch up on missed studies unsure like everyone else as to how all of this will end. adrienne brown, al jazeera, in hong kong. >> let's take a look at the streets right now 10 past 1 in the morning. we will talk to kopalan. fewer people than one hour ago when we took a look at that shot. i don't know whether this is anything to do with the talks that have been held but tell us what you know about those conversations between the protesters and the government. >>. >> david, what we know about those conversations really leads you to the meandering path about talks about more talks.

but it is somewhat positive. the main student group has met with the government representative to talk about the parameters for more talks so there is dialogue going on. the thing is there are certain things they need to griagree on before they can proceed. one of those issues is what's going on behind me, the people on the streets there now. the government has given an ultimatum asking people to get off of the streets. they want people to be able to go back to work and resume daily lives on monday morning, a few hours away now. but the main student group says, well, we are going to stand our ground because you haven't given us any concessions. so we are going to stay here and we are going to gauge how you treat us and whether you throw us off of the street. >> okay. slight problem with the communications there but a report on the fact that there has been a meeting between the protesters and a government official ahead of monday morning deadline for them to get off of

the streets. coming up on this program in the next 15 minutes. south africa said it guarantees an education for all. we will meet some of the children whose parents say they are missing out and seoul sees the light as the south korea ian capitol rids itself of overpass eyeso eyesores. eyesores.

>> i don't really know what's going to happen to me... >> of oscar winner alex gibney's hard hitting series... edge of eighteen >> i'm never going to appoligize for the type of person that i am >> facing tough challenges... >> we do feel cheeted, by the american university process >> taking a stand... >> it's gonna be on my terms, on how i want it to be >> boldly pursuing their dreams >> what did i do? >> the lives of american teenagers... on the edge of eighteen only on al jazeera america >> these are the global headlines on al jazeera. strategic battle grounds not far from the iraqi capitol are proving difficult for either isil or the government of iraq

to hold on to. these are the latest pictures of the fighting in the town just north of baghdad. isil reportedly took parts of the town on saturday but the government now says it is in control there. these are the proceed democracy movements hong kong have had a meeting with the government representative. they do say, though, the differences still exist and more talks are he had needed. protesters appear to be pulling back from the inner city streets ahead of a monday deadline set by the government for them to go. millions of brazilians are heading to the polls to choose their next president. the income bent is seeking a second term. om 50% plus one vote to win in a first round. human rights groups say the death of haiti's former decktator's deprived his vict ims of one of the most important trials in the country's history. john drawed duvalier died at the age of 63 of a heart attack.

he became known as baby doc when he was a 19-year-old he took over from his father as haiti's ruler and a court in february ruled he could be charged with crimes of humanity under international law. andy gallacher has more from the country's capitol, port au prince. >> better known to the world as baby doc died on saturday as a suspected heart attack. he surprised the world when he returned to haiti in 2011 already quite an ilman. this is somebody who declared president of life by his father, papa doc. for the preceding 15 years, he ruled with an iron fist. human rights groups say between 30 and 40,000 people were killed. mravl feared were his private militia who tortured people, disappeared people. i remember during his rule, around 100,000 shaingsz took to the open waters. the boat people of haiti became world renown trying to escape his regime to a better life.

of course, there were charges against jean claud duvalier but he hasn't been seen in court since back in february. >> court has come to a virtual standstill which will be disturbing news to human rights groups who have campaigned long and hard for justice. michelle martelli, the current president tweeted out i am sympathetic and at least a dozen people from the former duvalier regime are in the current government. >> could suggest some complicit sympathy. we don't know how far that goes. we don't know what kind of funeral will be held for baby doc, jean claud duvalier. it may be a state funeral which would upset many here who have campaigned so long and hard on behalf of those who suffered under his regime. human rights watch is calling on t the united arab emirates to reveal the whereabouts of those being detained by the country.

they have beening claimed to have been held since is september. the a statement says the uae has grown accustomed to serial violations of human rights passing without comment from a an international national community but appears cowed. the longer this silence goes on, the more the international community appears to send amental it doesn't care. a critically ill egyptian activist is in hospital after being moved from prison where he refused food for more than a month. amad dumas started the hunger strike. he has been in detention since december for violating a law that effectively bans street protests. i job description security forces have arrested four alleged isil recruiters. they are accused of asking young egyptian then port said to fight for iraq in syria.

the fourmen confessed they are part of an isil cell with four other members at large. those reports were attributed to the director of security in the state run newspaper, a al afhafram. the first person in the united states is on life support. the man went from liberia to texas in late september. 15 who came in to contact with the patient have been quart quarantined the hecht officials are looking for a man they describe as quote low risk. a hospital is preparing for the arrival of a u.s. cameraman after he also caught the virus in linebiera. the center on of disease control director tom frieden spoke on nbc's "meet the press." he described the virus spreading so fast that it's hard to keep up. he was encouraging, though, about the work of the 3,000 u.s. troops in west africa. >> they are on the ground. they are working very effectively with our team, with

other teams in the u.s. government internationally. we are seeing a terrific international response. other companies are helping but the vitters moves very, very fast. we are beginning to see some signs that the response is getting more and more effective. for example, at making sure people aren't being exposed to patients who have died from ebola and getting savorimoval of bodies. there has been progress on that in the past week. >> that's encouraging. this is going to be a long, hard fight. >> south africa's constitution states that all children have the right to a decent education. but the children are undocumented migrants are finding it hard to enter the public schooling system due to fears of deportation. a report from johannes berg. >> if john had his way, his children would attend a public school. they are refugees from war torn republic of congo. they don't have yet permit to legally stay in south africa.

>> my child is still young. they can't give him a document. they need to go to school. >> that's the problem. parents complain the quality of education is poor. some schools are registered. many aren't. we are worried about separated children. with adult caregivers but they are not their biological parents. they are aunts or other relatives. unlike biological children, they are not included in the eye sigh lum claim their caregivers make. >> they are following orders. >> it is not the department of education that turns them away. it is because we follow a directive from the department and it is important for the guardians or the parents these children to come forward, identify themselves, vouch for

these children so that they can participate. >> south africa tightened immigration laws. >> that's making undocumented refugees and asylum seekers nerve. >> government officials say they need to know who these children are, what countries they come from and how many are in south africa. that's why registration is important. some refugees say they are afraid they could be gorted if they report themselves to the immigration department. >> judith is trying to keep her refugees school until johannes birth open. she may have to close it down. she owes her landlord more than $20,000 in present. >> many of those are parents who can't afford it. legally documenting and getting all my grant children into south africa's already over stretched public schooling system could take years. until that happens,

under-staffed and poorly equipped refugee schools will be a temporary solution for parents. johannes burg. >> pope francis has opened the global center to address some of the most controversial issues facing roman catholic families. the meeting of 200 senior bishops will examine the church's response to abortion, continues tra sense, homosexuality and divorce. during opening mass, the pontive urged bishops to be generous. an estimated september million people were killed during world war ii and more than a third of those numbers were lost on the russian front. four million still missing and volunteers are now looking at old battlefields to try to give them a proper burlial. here is peter sharp. >> the horrors of war lie just below the surface. in these forests, they are known as lenin grad action members of the recon sans squadron are

listening tracking rales of fighting from 70 years ago. the siege of the city norsz 1941 lasted nearly three years. 900 days of terror that left 70 0e8 soviet soldiers dead. the diggers have filled a music with what they have found beneath the battlefield. among the machine guns an mortars, the personal effects. because this is not search for the weapons of war, it is a search for the victims of that conflict, finding the remains of the fallen soviet soldiers, give them a properly barely yil and sometimes but not always a name. >> we have found the soldiers death medalliomedallion. it helps us identify the person and try to find his relatives. you can open the capsule but in this case, you see that unfortunately, it is empty and won't be able to identify this sold. >> it's a job not without risks. the sold's ammunition is untable. volunteers and other teams have been killed. among the diggers, 17-year-old

maria antrieva. i wanted to pay respects of the people who gave away their lives. i wanted them to be bur i'd proper on so they won't remain in pits like these forever. . >> and occasionally, they can give the missing soldiers a name. in her in the apartment saint peter's burg last week, irina took a call from the squad >> rhonda walker: they found the body of her father she had last seen when she was 4 years old, a bomber pilot shot down in 1941 three months into the war. >>i feel proud, unbelievable. i was always proud of my father. he was a pilot even though i was a child. but he was always a hero for me. and when they called and said that the remains were discovered, when i lost hope, it was so exciting it's not just the volunteers from the recon answer is group searching for the fallen. there is another group of men hunting the bodies, stripping the dead of their weapons and

equipment to supply the lucrative and illegal trade in war memorabilia back in moscow. they are called "the black diggers ". . >> at the market outside of moscow on display, the paraphernal i can't of war dug up in forests outside the capitol, foreign buyers will pay well for these looted remains. at a military cemetery in petersburg, they lay to rest the four bodies of the men brought up from the ground by the recon sans squad rona week earlier. a moment of quiet satisfaction for the team and some sort of consolation of the families of the tens of thousands of missing soldiers knowing that they won't be forgotten. peter sharp, al jazeera, saint peter's berg elevated highways, overpasses once seen as crucial links between the big roads that keep south korea's capitol moving now they are being tosh down, harries fawcell will tell

us why. >> in 700 meters, enter the overpass. >> office. >> you don't have to drive far to come across one of the more common features repeatedlyly. >> enter the overpass. >> this is the city of the overpass, 84 of them to be exact. one of the legacies of the rapid urban growth that started in the 19 signatures. >> now, they are being viewed less as time-saving boons, more as light-robbing eyesores and they are coming down. like this one. a westward artery now govenlt the city government says they have served their purpose. under is the prior to should now be on making the city a more pleasant place to live. >> it was a bit of a some bore of this area, but we get more light now and i like that. >> it's more spacious and it's convenient to walk around now. >> it's far from the first project aimed at making seoul a

vibrant, engaging but hardly beautiful city easier on the eye. this was covered on by an elevated rote in the 1960s. 10 years ago it was it was ripped, and a welcome taste of nature restored. >> despite the occasional oasis like this, seoul suffers from a lack of green space. most put it at four or five square meters per person. the world health o recommends nine square meters and london, for example, has a figure of 27. so rather than tear down this overpass near the city's main rrl station, the plan is to turn it into an elevated park at a cost of $36 million. by not just tearing down these structures but recycling them, we hope to make seoul an international city where lots of people hwill come to enjoy the beauty views. >> a much bigger bit of recycling is underway to get underway in three years time as u.s. soldiers pull out of their huge home, the base is set to become a public park, but work

isn't due to be completed until 227. harry faucet, al jazeera, seoul. >> go to our website, aljazeera.com, for headline stories and the background information, too. >> that's aljazeera.com. >> i had an american sitting here and he said to me are you actually running a holiday camp for criminals? and my answer to him there immediately was 'so what'?