>> america votes 2014 battle for kansas only on al jazeera america >> this is al jazeera america, i'm randall pinkston in new york with a look at the top stories. the woman aboard a cruise ship who had some contact thomas eric duncan does not have ebola. more clashes in hong kong between police and pro-democracy demonstrators, with accusations outside forces are to blame for some of the unrest. kurdish forces in kobane push back i.s.i.l. at least for now. how will changes in voter laws impact the election.

we examine that in our sunday section - "the week ahead". we begin with new effort to contain the ebola outbreak. in georgia a group of expert is being assembled to serve on an ebola response team. it is where several patient have been treated. in texas, a cruise ship that carried a healthcare worker that handled a specimen from thomas eric duncan is back in pork. word is she was -- port. word is she was not infected. two countries refused to let it stop. >> being on a boat, assuming you'd get off at the ports, and finding out there was a health scare, it was a little odd.

>> heated care worker ter ooesa rom airio, the first -- teresa romero was the first to catch the virus no longer has ebola. >> and at the world health summit, the first business there, ebola. nadim baba has more. >> reporter: at the opening session of the health summit, the music was upbeat. given the latest on ebola, the medical opinion here is cautious. the german government believes the richest countries should be doing more. >> translation: the international community underestimated the ebola outbreak. many assumed the outbreak, like the ones that preceded it would happen regionally. it was a misjudgment.

>> reporter: germany promised $130 million in aid and will send military and medical volunteers. if each country does otherwise. experts say there are other concerns. >> we know that the virus has undergone a lot of mutations since the beginning of the outbreak, and it very well may be that it is endemic in the areas. >> reporter: the greatest need is to treat people that have ebola in west africa. this medic is doing that in liberia. she is one of hundreds who volunteered to work with others in infected areas. she says fears about workers catching ebola should not be examing rated. >> it is scaury the first time, but you become safe about it. it's not hard. i mean, it's not changing work, it's more the physical demands,

and the getting used to the routine, and more the mental stuff that is harder. >> calls for swifter action are coming thick and fast. politicians say they are listening. events like this are a chance for the world to tell them how to make the action count and now we head to texas, where the so-called patient zero died in a dallas hospital. melissa chan joins us here. some people are cleared from quarantine. what is next for them, do they just go home? >> they do just go home, return back to their normal lives. there are concerns they'll be discriminated against, healthcare workers, newers and doctors, distrim -- nurses and doctors, discriminated against for trying to save the lives of ebola patients. the duggan family, four members, they'll be in the clear midnight

sunday, in a few hours local time. in addition, 34 people will be in the clear, in addition to the 14 from yesterday, saturday, for a total of 48 people that will be in the clear. over the coming days, in. n 2-3 weeks, that's where we'll see if another ebola patient doesn't appear, dallas will be ebola free. >> are health care officials saying these people cleared will have to be tested for check ups. >> that we are not sure. they have not said anything. the signs, something that judge clay jenkins said, he said the science in the past 38 years no one has expressed symptoms past 21 days. they were clear and firm about that fact. >> now, what about impact in dallas, and throughout texas

with the latest develop? >> you can imagine that texas health takes a pummelling. there's a lot of finger pointing. the hospital has come out to do a pr campaign, admitting to mistakes, trying to reassure the public and we are starting to see that in dallas as well. today, as i mentioned the point person dealing with the duncan family, and a lot of people under quarantine and active monitoring. he spoke to journalist, and was mocked by some people dressed in the suits. there has been so much misinformation, changed information about the situation. there's a sense of frustration here in the community. you can see how the judge responded. >> it's been very difficult.

it was hanging over your head. for some, a loved one died or was struggling to overcome the disease. it restricted their movement, and i think you saw a moment ago there are ests in the community by a few to stig mittize the people who are dealing with a difficult situation. >> and, you know, that's the thing that judge jenkins is trying to talk about. he is a public official trying to fight the discrimination that health care workers, friends and families of thomas eric duncan will have to pass away and deal with. there are duncan children. they'll need to go to school, how will other parents react. >> in hong kong, pro-democracy protesters confronted riot police. it is the second day in a row of

silent confrontations between demonstrators and police. these are live pictures in hong kong, it's a little after 8am on monday. protests do not seem to be waning, and external forces are helping to promote unrest, it has been said. >> there's obviously participation by people, organizations outside of hong kong in politician in hong kong over a long time. this is not the only time when they do it, and it's not the exception. >> you say there's external forces involved in the movement. >> there are external force, yes. >> reporter: from which countries? >> from different parts of the world. i shan't go to detail, this is not entirely a domestic movement. >> hong kong chief executive

leung says china is not planning to drop plans to vet candidates for the 2017 elections. the peshawar held off an i.s.i.l. attempt to cut off supply lines. u.s.-led air strikes seem to be helping the kurds hold on to the town. fighting has been taking place since mid september. kurdish leaders say they need more help. bernard smith is another the turkey-syrian border. >> reporter: saturday saw a heavy day of fighting. there was intense fights, street to street, building to build. there remains something of a stalemate. a couple of days ago the kurds managed to regain positions left unopposed by i.s.i.l. fighters after some of the i.s.i.l. bases were destroyed. i.s.i.l. controls about 30% of

kobane. no indication that turkey is going to get further involved, apart from providing humanitarian assistance in terms of housing refugees. the u.s. president obama, and turkish president recep tayyip erdogan talked on the phone on sunday, and said they would continue to cooperate regarding the fight against i.s.i.l. no assurance, no guarantees that it will allow the coalition partners to use the bases as a base to launch military assaults or air assaults. >> in baghdad it's on edge after a suicide bombing. the attack happened in a shia mosque. 21 are dead. 30 injured. the blasts comes as the government tries to reassure iraqis that the capital city is safe. >> imran khan has more from the capital. >> in marketplaces and

neighbourhoods like these. 31 suicide bombers struck in the last 41 days. that government statistic has people worried that iraqi politicians are not doing enough to protect the capital and its people. >> the short walk from the home to the shop is dangerous. >> translation: we are living in fear, every day we open the shop i think someone will attack. we shut at midday. after that it is too dangerous. >> he is angry at the government. >> translation: enough conferences and meetings, i hope the government will change things. nothing has changed for us. for us iraqis, it's a cycle of violence and death. there's no hope. >> in order to calm fears, the ministry of offense is on the pr offensive and issued that video, insisting that baghdad is safe

and ready to face any challenge. shia militias will be important for the defence of baghdad. they held rallies lying this. these shia militias make many nervous. they are afraid there'll be a return to the bloodshed that drove to civil war. >> with car bombs an a daily basis, sectarian tension is an issue. deal with that is the only way to build a lasting piece in the country. sectarianism is a reason for the rise of i.s.i.l. dealing with that will be crucial. there's a more pressing concern. eskimo fighters are -- i.s.i.l. fighters are on three sides of the city. >> they show no signs of slowing down. the capital has been in there are sites, with each village and up to , they get closer, making people here more nervous. >> and there's this disturbing

report from iraq. 60 people have been executed, and the united nations is expressing concern saying many. convictions were based on questionable evidence and systematic failures. u.n. officials say it could fuel more sectarian violence. the death penalty was done away with after the uphavings in 2003, but -- up heaval in 2003, but has been restored. many are on birth row. >> bishops stir controversy with respect the catholic church. wall street sees a series of ups and downs. is it time to hit the panic button over the economic recovery. and hawaii in the path of hurricane anna.

despite a ceasefire brokered six weeks ago the battle continues between pro-russian forces and ukranian government troops. in the city of donetsk, a flag

raising ceremony, hundreds, including the prime minister, said it was the beginning of the liberation of their land. many said it marks the republics first national holiday. >> pope paul vi was beautified in a ceremony and marked the end of a synod of bishops. it was marred with controversy. >> reporter: on sunday st. peter's square was filled with cheering kacatholics. the pope they came for was not francis nor the other, america's benedict xvi who made a rare appearance. they came to celebrate the beautification of pope john vi. he revolutionized the catholic church in the 1960, but was

criticized for reaffirming the ban on birth control. it concluded a synod of bishops who debated modern family issues including homosexuality. the initial report stating homosexuals had gifts to offer represented a change in demonizing language used in the past. this is a catholic gay couple who had their marriage officialized which the mayor of rome and were surprised and delighted. >> the change this language is almost revolutionary. pope francis addressed us, referring to us in documents as homosexuals. ageing our existence. now we look at words followed by

actions. >> when it comes to language in the catholic church, the devil is in the detail. the initial report published monday recommended the church should welcome homosexuals. by thursday it changed to a softer approach, stating that gay people should be provided for within the church. on saturday came the final warning. sta stating that homosexuals should be treated with respect. >> the change in language shows a split between those that agree with pope francis, that the church should welcome everywhere, including homosexuals, and those ta stick to tradition. the pope has a year to reassure the conservatives. >> the report laid the ground work for a larger summit of bishops next year. only then it will be clear whether pope francis has performed a miracle of finally resolving how the church should

deal with homosexuality. a hurricane watch is in effect for a tiny remote hawaiian island. hurricane conditions are possible near the uninhabited sanctuary. in the larger island a tropical storm warping is in effect -- warning is in effect. some are taking advantage of strong winds. tell us about the hurricane, and people should get out of the water. >> yes, they've had high surf. we had the hurricane bringing record rain fall and textures to the big -- textures to the big eyed. it -- temperatures to the big island. it's tracking slowly westward, it will not make a turn until monday. we'll continue tonight to get the bulk of the wind gusts, 40 to 50 miles per hour.

primarily that will be offshore. some of the northern islands will get dust from time to time. we are only seeing wind crusts 30 to 5 -- 30 to 35 minneapolis. the last looping of the -- 35 miles per hour. the last looping of the rain is coming around. look at the totals. these are 24 hour totals taken at 8 o'clock this morning. that is 8 o'clock this morning, honolulu time. over 2.5 inches. and wrapped up three inches of rain fall with that. however, we are continuing to see the rainfall totals come up. that was 8 o'clock this morning, and we are getting heavy rainfall with a slow track keeping it a category 1 hurricane because it may weaken slightly as it was today, but it will only pick up to a

category 1. we'll see it off and on, moving into north waters that are so warm. way above normal for that time of year. keeping things mild for the west coast. mild on land with the temperatures. here comes a storm for the pacific. we'll look at it for a moment. first, let's address cold temperatures. growing season - textures dropping 10-15 degrees. overnight we'll have frost and freeze warnings in effect. we'll drop to the 30s. snow in colorado. natural snow - one of the colorado ski slopes to open up. we have incoming rain and most of the rain coming into northern california. where we need it. >> well, now to stormy weather of a different sort. a volatile week on wall street raises questions about the stability of the economy, and this week was no exception. "real money"'s patricia sabga

has more. >> reporter: wednesday the dow jones experienced a 600 point swing within two hours, plunging 460 points before paring losses to close down 163 on the day. by friday the dow bounced back but ended the week down by 1%. why the volatility? if there's one things investors ant deal with is uncertainty. there's plenty hanging over the economy. weakening growth in europe, japan and china, there's no shortage of concerns. amidst the storm clouds, the united states economy is a bright spot. the u.s. unemployment rate fell below 6%, and the economy created an average of 226,000 new jobs. gas and food prices are falling, freeing up money for consumer spending, the engine of economic

growth. many americans are waiting for the economy to show them the money. one reason is that average hourly wages are barely coping up with inflation. more than 7 million people working part time would rather be working full time. many ordinary americans are struggling to make ends meet. a situation after it fell to negative 39. not as bad, but negative nonetheless. >> tape as a whole. -- taken as a whole, living standards are stagnant. a small handful at the top are getting richer and richer. a fact cited by janet yellen. the increase and extent of inequality greatly concern her. it's time to question whether the gap between rich and poor is compatible with what americans place on equal opportunity.

>> the economy will play a part in this year's midterm elections. in over two weeks voters will decide who controls the u.s. senate. it's a balance that will be in the hands of swing states like iowa, colorado, and north carolina. this weekend we debut a documentary taking you inside the battle ground regions. a preview now of "mid terms." >> democrats control the senate. >> u.s. senate control is up for grabs. >> republicans have to gain a net of six weeks. . all: one nation under god... >> iowa is one of the purplest of purple states in the union. >> 40% of our voters are neither democrats nor republicans. >> our two senators, one of the most liberal democrats in the united states senate and a conservative republican. and iowans reflect them cycle

after cycle. a lot of iowans vote for path. >> when tom harkins announced his retirement it was unexpected. >> bruce was a strong democrat that the democrats landed this year. >> he represents a quarter of the state, won by a huge margin the election bid. >> i'm not here to tell you who to vote for in the primary, but i'm here to ask you to work hard so i have a republican colleague. >> if you ask various consultants, they'll say we can't wait to fizz joni ernst. >> joani was languishing in the polls, not getting traction against mark jacobs. not a lot new her, she was a senator. >> on march 25th joni ernst released a first television ad. >> i'm joni ernst, i grew up cast rating loss on an iowa

farm, so when i get to washington, i'll know how to cut pork. >> joni ernst, mother, soldiers, conservative. >> it wept viral, got half a million youtube views, was all over fox news and the daily show. >> it was mocked and panned outside of the state and in the state. the audience it was intended for was iowa conservatives, and they respond to this wholesale. >> i need your help. >> colorado's so unusual. we are the swingingest of the swing state. there's a reason for that. we are roughly divided they are democrat, republican, unaffiliated, and they redo the boundaries and making it competitive. mike coffman is taking spanish, learning korea doing outline these things to save his political career. >> we disagree on so many policies. >> by november if you watch tv

you'll hate mike coffman and andrew romanoff, because they'll be portrayed as awful, terrible people that will say anything to get elected. >> kay hagan was on the ballot in a better year. >> now they have to run in a tougher environment, one disillusioned by president obama, you have democrats like kay hague jp, facing a -- hague jp, facing a tough election. you can see the premiere tonight 9:00 eastern, 6:00 pacific. be sure to join us for coverage on tuesday, november 4th. after the break in our "the week ahead", states across the country are trying to implement new voting laws, as the supreme court continues to rule on the

laws. psh psh welcome back to "al

jazeera america". here is a look at your top stories, a cruise ship carrying

a dallas healthcare worker who handled a specimen from thomas eric duncan arrived in port. two countries refused to allow the ship to dock during the 7-day cruise. that person is not infected u.s. led air strikes are hoping kurds hold on to the town of kobane. fighting on the ground is raging, turkish leaders say they need more help. today was a day of confrontation between hong kong protesters and police. external forces are facilitating the movement. negotiations between the government and activists are scheduled for tuesday. it's sunday night, time for our regular look at "the week ahead". tonight we focus on midterm elections and new voter restrictions in place in some states. civil rights groups have been trying to get new voter id laws

overturned saying they disenfranchise minority groups. the u.s. supreme court denied a request. we begin with this report from ray suarez. >> reporter: as midterm elections loom, rulings on stricter voter i.d. laws have been volleying back and forth in federal courts. in texas a u.s. district judge ruled that the new voter id law is unconstitutional, writing: this week that decision was put on hold by the u.s. court of appeals by the fifth circuit, saying there's not enough time to retrain workers. there'll be a reduced number of

eligible i.d.s at the polls. drivers licence and concealed gun licences are okay, but student i.d.s, even from state schools, are not. supporters say it's critical for stopping voter fraud. na case, opponents say, is un -- that case, opponents say is unfund funded. >> it's always the same recollect. the fear of voter fraud. >> reporter: wisconsin is going flow a similar battle. last winter they passed rules on eligible i.d.s. they impacted minorities and low-income voters. u.s. attorney-general towel spoke out on the -- attorney general eric holder spoke out on the issue in june. >> by participating voter participation, laws in wisconsin would shrink rather than expand access to the franchise. it is inconsistent. not only with the history, by

ideals, founded on the principle that all citizens are entitled to equal opportunity, representation and rites. >> reporter: the supreme court oared a block on wisconsin's law last week, sighting a lack of time to train poll workers. >> with a short period before the election, it could have a problem. >> many do not have i.d.s to be eligible to vote upped the law. in -- upped the law. in texas, more than 6,000 voter will be impacted. and those hurt will disproportionately be people of colour. there was a time when voter turn out wasn't, strictly speaking, a partisan issue, how and why it changed is a different story having to do with partisanship and the changing demographics in

america. with election day 2014 approaching, a presidential race and court cases to come, this is a debate that will not be over any time soon. in addition to wisconsin and texas, the u.s. supreme court weighed in on voting laws and two other states. new hampshire can enforce voting provisions eliminating same-day voting regulations. those will be in force next month. >> they are challenged in court. in ohio, the supreme court allowed the court to cut back early voting hours. in arkansas, the state supreme court struck down voter i.d. law. arizona and kansas require voters to show proof of citizenship when registered. they are suing the government, hoping to make that the law in all 50 states. voters that use the form will

not be able to vote for state offices. a federal appeals court is looking at the case. we'll get a lot more information about this, clarifying the contradictory rulings with the guests. first, let's meet professor samuel. professor of constitutional law at new york university, and liz kennedy with a public policy think tank. let's start with past saturday, yesterday morning, the supreme court's ruling, allowing texas to proceed with the imposition of a new voter i.d. law. either one of you, explain what that was about, and the supreme court didn't explain why they did it. >> well the supreme court had to act in close quarters, they had to move quickly, they coming through fast, the states are changing their practices quickly. the federal court at all levels are involved at the last minute,

and the most dramatic was in texas, where they issued an opinion at five in the morning with the three most liberal justices saying this is an outrage, and the more conservative justices saying "we can let this proceed for this cycle, and then look at it with more time." this is a very difficult constitutional issue, and terribly freighted partisan issue putting the courts in the worst scenario. the one fact we can't escape is these i.d. laws only go in effect in states that have control of the state legislature and governors. this is a partisan divide on how easy it should be to vote. neither one of you, i suppose, represent those forces who think that the laws are a good idea. however, if i could put to you the idea of being one of the

states, and you trying to convince the court and the public that we need the laws to present fraud, people that shouldn't vote from being allowed to vote. what is the philosophical framework underpinning their rational. >> it is an empty quiver. what they are seeking to do is to use the fear of voter fraud since there has been found to be no facts substantiating claims of in person voter personification fraud, which are the only kinds of voter fraud that these voter identification laws prevent. >> they argue they are trying to make sure it doesn't happen, and say listen, if you need an identification to get a social security benefit, to drive a car, why not have to show some proof that you are who you say you are, when you exercise the most precious rite to vote? >> they argue that.

let's remember that the texas trial court, after a 9 day trial found that the state, while using the fig leaf fear of voter fraud passed an intentionally rationally discriminatory law that will have - they said they passed it because of the particular restrictions, because of, not in spite of discriminatory impact that it would have on african american and latino voters, who are found to have 300% and 200% less likely to have the forms of voter identification as caucasian voters. you are seeing politicians manipulating voting laws, instead of being accountable to the differs population. >> when the state of texas looked at the dissent, when she referenced the estimate of

600,000 that might not be act vote. they said it was preposterous, there was no way to know there would be that many people. we are extrapolating. the key fact you need to remember is in 2008, president obama won handily, and handily with 60% of the population. again in 2012 he wins with 58% of the voting. in 2010 republicans clean the slate. >> you are talking about turn out. >> turn out. everyone understands we have a polarized political party. democrats tried to enhance the ability of turn out, and the republicans locked into a strategy of trying to sup res turn out. >> we have information to share, 31 dates requiring voters to show identification.

the majority were passed in the last four years. several states implemented strict requirements. they were all approved by republican controlled legislators. a group of senators asking the accountability office to analyse the effect of laws, and the office found that voter turn out decreased in the states that it imposed stricter laws. the study focussed on kansas where the turn out dropped 1%. that proves a point. >> it follows impetus behind this. it doesn't establish that it had much effect. every academic tried to piece together the effect. >> voter i.d. laws don't have a large impact. >> a smaller percentage than the

whole votes or pants. as a general matter, people without a form of government issued i.d. are folks lessen gajed -- less engaged they tend not to vote at a high level. that's a question how to get them to vote. >> early registration, extended hours - any metrics that can tell us whether they have an impact. >> absolutely. you definitely see early voting and providing the flexibility, increasing turn out numbers and among low income and people of colour. you saw in north carolina, rather, they adopted their same-day registration programme that gives people the ability to register and vote in one step. they adopted it in 2006. in 2008 they saw the largest voter increase in the country with an 8% increase, which north

carolina should be proud about. instead, they turned around and passed a big voter suppression bill, repealing their programme, made it harder to account ballots, ended a programme. i think sam's point is right. unfortunately there has been a question since the 2000 elections of politicizing the understanding that it's not just - it the old, it doesn't matter who votes, it matters who counts the votes. at this point it matters who is telling us who can vote. to bring it back to the supreme court action in texas is shameful. this is the first time we a seen the supreme court allow a racially discriminatory law to be in - put in place for an election. they haven't changed the merit holdings on that. it will be in place and have an impact. we know elections are so close in the country, with essentially a tie in the race, that on the

marge jips, if you make -- margins, if you make it harder to register to vote, you are impacting negatively americans freedom to vote. that is something we should not stand for, because these things come innar the supreme court shell by decision. >> i was going to ask you about that, texas, ohio, north carolina, states whether the supreme court intervenes in support of restricted voter laws. they knock down the requirement in wisconsin, how do you explain that? >> these are not a procedural matter. i disagree with liz on the texas, the district court found it was integsally distrim -- intentionally discriminatory, that has a long history that will unfoal in the courts. what we are -- unfold in the courts. we are see a sea change in voting. between 2000 and 2008 we liberalized the voting, we were

traumatised of bush versus gore. in 2008 somewhere between 35 and 40% of americans voted not on election day, but voted early, beginning in 2008 with the huge turn out of obama. this was politicized and now there's the restrictions on early voting. it's damaging. people work, they have childcare difficulties, the ability to go to a state center or vote absentee without justification because they need to. they are important. >> weekend voting. >> now, i'll remind you we shouldn't be so confident that this is a problem of texas and other states as we like to say here on this side of the hued con river. new york -- hudson river. new york state is about as bad a state on voting practices. in new york state there's no non-excuse for absentee voting. there's no federal, no state-controlled voting sites

open prior to election day. this is a problem. uneven distribution. i think that the solution is partially this - and you have it in your opening bit. the solution is the congress actually has the power over all federal elections, and they can legislate rational system. if arizona and kansas want a crazy system where people can rationally use the federal election day to register for that and ratchet up restrictions on its own scitizens, so be it. people will get fed up with it, it's expensive and silly serves no purpose. this is the time when a national consensus and solution is needed. congress can say i.d. is a passport or a driver's licence or a federally issued photo id. >> the you mentioned the shell

by decision, and we should have devoted more time that that crucial landmark decision. the voting right act was neutered when the supreme court decided. it means that states with a history of discrimination, had to prove to the government that changes in the voting procedures were constitutional and not discriminatory. that is eliminated. >> that's right, it was eliminated less than a year and a half ago. this very texas voter law, sb 14 had been not pre-cleared. the federal government said no, this law will have discriminatory impacts on racial minority voters, we will not allow this law to go forward. the texas government reinstated the law the day after the shell by decision, and they were considering a smaller package of

restrictions, once the law came down, they were restriking all of the voter laws. that is not the way that we should be moving forward in a democracy. >> it is of interest to note that most of it is happening since 2008, when president obama was elected, and you can make that in terms of connection. what you will. >> studies showed in addition to sam's point about the laws moving forward, the laws have been adopted where african american turn out increased the most and was on parity. >> that is mixed. let's befair, a big driver for the implementation of changes has been kansas, and they have a small minority turn out. parts of north carolina were covered under section 5 of the voting rights act. the same laws are going in

effect in g wisconsin and ohio. it's a partisan issue, in 2008 the obama campaign showed it could mobilize people that hadn't been mobilized before. that scared the bejesus out of the republicans, until they catch up in the technological leap frog game. >> we have to leave it there. thank you for joining us and sharing your insights as we look forward to the midterm elections and what the rules will mean for the outcome. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> before we go, let's take a look at other event coming up in "the week ahead." tuesday - reception in new york on continuing challenges in addressing violence against women. thursday - al jazeera will hold a 10th annual documentary film festival in doha. and saturday parents and teachers march in san diego against plans to scrap subsidised education.

ahead on al jazeera america - after a month of rumours and suggestions about his status. pictures of north korea's leaders surface for a second time in a week. meanwhile. despite international sanctions some north koreans are not feeling the effect. we'll look at what a life of luxury looks like inside north korea next. knlz

there are new pictures of north korean leader kim jong un and his wife. the photos ran on sit media, showing him meeting athletes from the asian games. the network did not specify the location or date of the meeting, but they ended two weeks ago in south korea. kim reappeared earlier this week in pictures, and after not being heard from in weeks. well, despite trade and economic sanctions against north korea, many are living a life of luxury. turns out the government found ways to get around sanctions.

teresa bo has a rare look inside the exclusive nation. >> reporter: a new water park in pyongyang is for people here a symbol of prosperity. new pools and slides, 12 different types of saunas. for the government, places like this are an act of defines. >> according -- de-ians. >> accord -- defiance. >> some of the these are imported, but most of the things we did it ourselves. some say it is a luxury place for the high class. as you can see, it's a place for normal families and citizens coming and enjoying their life in the last year, imports of luxury goods soared in spite of u.n. sanctions, and post of them are widely seep in the capital. where it's not difficult to spot

imported wine and cars. at the equestrian center outside the state, more and more people are coming to learn to ride. under u.n. sanctions these horses are banned. they are considered a luxury good. the government is finding out sorts of ways to bring them into the country. the definition of luxury its varies from one country to another, in this case it is clear. sanctions are aimed at hurting the leadership class, and not the vast majority who does not have access to the capital's installations. this is the first time he has brought his children to the equestrian center for a ride. he works in a government ministry. >> with all the newly built facilities in the park, we can feel that we are having a happy life. and a more civilized and cultured life thanks to the care and love of our great marshal

kim jong un. >> many instructors have been learn about horses for a while. what does he think the united states don't want them to bring horses here. no. to here, no. okay. while workers may not be able to speak about politics, it's clear that his place of work is a political statement and the leadership of the government will press on with its defiance of u.s. sanctions. >> there are many sanctions involving this. there is a thing, when our party and leader decides, we do it. and nobody here has any doubt about that. since coming to office three years ago, kim jong un has seep the capital get new building and entertainment facilities. whether such transformation will extend further remains to be

seen. in china, high smog levels didn't stop runners from competing in the 34th beijing marathon. organizers warned runners to expect slight or moderate smog, but the u.s. embassy said air quality was hazardous. many runners wore face masks. some dropped out of the race. ethiopian runners took first place. >> tomorrow is a dead line for the government of iran order a court-ordered censorship. the ban contradicts promise made. we have this report. >> reporter: as of monday, people who use smartphones in iran may be forbidden from using some popular applications, because an iranian court ruled people are using them to spread

offensive material against the iranian government. it ordered them to stop using the apps and set a deadline. >> translation: we are a county facing a cultural attack. some cultural media sites are part of such attack. they relate that challenge. >> reporter: the president promised to ease constraints on the internet, and the social media is supposed to be an example. some apps are what is not liked, unpredictability. during the u.n. assembly. tweet are challenged by the c.e.o., calling on the president to lift a ban so all iran cans can express themselves online. critics accuse it of enhancing internet milterring.

the government repeated an aim to provide fast, low cost. in around 18 months we'll double the internet quality. some social media sites are banned. there are other sites that are not. there's a need to pave the way for not banning a site because we are part of the world. with iranians facing more restrictses on how to communicate, many found ways around internet curves. >> we use certain programs to break the ban, and we need to download the programs. >> we have heard so many promises that the internet is still slow and bad and expensive. >> the hassan rouhani government came into power with people hoping they might lift the ban on social media sites. that government faces a court order to limit how people communicate, and so far no government dared to ignore iran's powerful judiciary

thank for joining us. i'm randall pinkston in new york. i'll be back with another hour of news 11:00pm pacific, 8:00 p.m. eastern. stay tuned. "midterm" starts now. mid

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