least 100 times larger than our own sun. the ability to navigate among these stars is invaluable to astronomers, but even to a casual observer it's pretty mind-blowing. . >> iraq's army makes ground near baghdad, stalling i.s.i.l.'s move towards the capital. >> you're watching al jazeera live from doha. also on the programme egypt's deposed president mohamed mursi issues a statement from his prison cell calling the country's leader a criminal. candidates for the presidential run off makes a pitch ahead of the vote on sunday. plus... >> coming up, we'll see how a ban an bicycles on the main

roads here is affecting livelihoods and the environment. good to have you with us. iraqi security forces has retaken a town, the biggest gain in a month. in syria, the fighting conditions as kurdish drops defend the town of kobane. >> reporter: iraqi soldiers enter the area. it has been held by i.s.i.l. for months, an important town 50km south of bag dad. the last three days, we carried out a number of strikes. we started to clear the area east of the you frayedies, before pushing towards the area. it's a victory in the face of

continued i.s.i.l. domination of much of iraq and syria. another main battle area is the town of kobane, on the surrian turkish border. fought over by i.s.i.l. and kurdish forces for weeks. a key issue is what support the turkish government would give kurdish fighters taking on i.s.i.l. fighters in the town. tensions between the kurd and the turks increased with allegations of soldiers killed, posing a threat to the ceasefire between the p.k.k. and the turkish government. turkey is trying to play at the differences. the differences that exist between the kurdish president, in northern iraq, and the syrian kurdish people in the democratic union, which is affiliated to the p.k.k. in turkey. >> the iraqi army says it plans

now to capitalize on the gains, to push into i.s.i.l. held territory. with so much currently held by i.s.i.l., there's much to reclaim well, the deposed egyptian president mohamed mursi issued a statement from prison saying that he considers the counter regime of abdul fatah al-sisi null and void, saying: staying in egypt, and president abdul fatah al-sisi says his country faces a threat to his existence on the people he called terrorists. no one claimed responsibility for the attacks in the sinai.

they declared a 3-month state of emergency in the north, and the center of the sip eyed. there has been a spate of same time attacks in the sinai this year. all five soldiers on board were killed. the following month a suicide bomber detonated his explosives on a bus bound for israel. four were killed. fighters in the sinai fired mortar runs in the capital, killing seven and one soldier. the attacks have been blamed on a group. historically it targeted border posts, in recent months it shifted attentions. a senior associate from the programme. >> it has been tough to control, it's a tribal area, it is not very densely populated.

it's a large area. there are some - the supporters were there. it's hard to maintain complete control, if you will. there have been elements of terrorism and extremism that have been bubbling there for a long time. after january 25th revolution, when the military and security forces were distracted by what is happening in cairo and other large cities. i don't think people in sinai. extremists were able to take advantage of that, and strengthen themselves. now there is a stronger base for extremists that the military is trying to fight. and so far has not been as effective three al jazeera journalists have been detained in egypt for

302 days. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed were convicted of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. they are appealing against the convictions. al jazeera dismissed the charges against them and continues to demand an immediate release. so egypt continues to struggle with the fall out of a revolution that ousted hosni mubarak in 2011. the countries that inspired the protests is demonstrating its transition to democracy. people will vote in elections in less than an hour. >> violence and instability loom large in a country said to cast an historic vote. >> security forces track a group of people with explosives in a house, in a suburb of the capital tunis. especially in the hideout, killing most of the fighters, including five women. police officials say they were armed and planning to disrupt the country's political process.

the raid happened just as millions of tunisians are getting ready to elect a new parliament. this is leader of a secular tunisians call a party likely to make gains. members of the former government and the president are also taking part in these elections. one of them is defense and foreign minister. >> my priority is security, gich the ruse of terrorism in tunisia and the region. i'm determined to fix the economy and build strong ties with the international community. >> morjane and others face a tough challenge. the tunisian election system is based on proportional representation. no party is likely to win a

majority. the con sensis is the only way forward. the lesson that we learnt from egypt and other countries is that a transitional period, a majority will not be able to solve the problems. you have to have an extended coalition. to do that you need consensus. >> it will end four years of a transition marred by violence and instability. >> i think it's degining political moment. tunisia will basically stand on the basis of the outcome of this election as a country with some kind of opportunity to rebuild society, to rebuild the state. i guess to be the shining model. >> tunisia's future will be decided by more that 5 million

voters. half of them are undecided. >> this is where four years ago thousands of tunisians took to the street to denounce government oppression, and financial freedom inspired millions across the world. now people wonder whether tunizians will be inspired to become a model. and on the other side of the world brazilians will be voting. the choice in the run off is between the incumbent president dilma rousseff, and a senator and former state governor. more from brasilia. >> even buying and selling a coconut at the market is a chance to show allegiance. no opportunity is too trivial to demonstrate whose side you are on. the duel is between the incumbent workers party

president, a former left-wing guerilla tortured and imprisoned. and social democratic senator, the grandson of a famous politician who died the day before becoming the first elected official. unlike a predecessor, a tough lady, representing the political party, who dramatically reduced poverty through wages and social programs. the promise of more democratic policies is the favourite. married to a model. he insists brazil can change. someone that would go to brazil to combat corruption and reduce inflation, to an economy in

recession. brazil's capital was built in the shape of an aeroplane. in the cockpit is the presidential palace. it's a metaphor for a country that final lay took off under the previous president. but has been losing altitude under dilma rousseff. brazilians want change, but are torn as to who can deliver it. >> there's a guard - he looks to the future, and the past. and looks both ways. the middle class looks like the figure, they are thankful for everything done for them. they look to the future. they are not sure if they'll be given the extra mile that they want. >> strongest support comes from the poor sectors. people who believe their turn next. but that's not the case for much

of the middle class that has come to expect more. >> it hasn't been all bad. there's too much corruption and services. we need to renew things. >> in the end, the outcome will be decided by the middle and lower middle classes that have not given up on a dream of a giant nation taking flight again. there's more to come in this hour. over 10,000 people have been infected with the ebola virus. nearly half of them have died. after months of protest in conflict and instability, ukrainians vote for a new parliament.

welcome back. you are watching al jazeera. a reminder of the top stories. iraqi security forces talk the strategic town from islamic state of iraq and levant. the biggest gain for the iraqi army in months. egypt's president said the country faces threats from terrorists. deposed president mohamed mursi issued a statement from prison saying he considers the current government null and void. tunisians vote in parliamentary elections in under an hour. it's the second election. the u.s. ambassador to the

united nations, samantha power, is travelling to ebola-stricken west africa, making stops in liberia, guinea and sierra leone. british forces and health workers are helping to train local volunteers to treat patients. according to the health organization, there are 10,000 ebola patients. liberia has dealt with more than 4,000 patients. it's followed by sierra leone, where over 3,700 cases have been reported. in guinea, close to 2,000 were put in isolation. nigeria was declared ebola free. more than six weeks passed since the last of 20 cases were confirmed. senegal succeeded in containing the virus. in mali, a 2-year-old died.

>> dr celine grounder is critical of the approach. >> we are seeing a doubling of cases every three to four weeks. this is an epidemic that is growing. the world response has been too little, too slow, too late. that's been allowed to happen. we have a small period of bringing in physicians, nurses to control the outbreak. i don't see people responding quickly enough. we may have a vaccine or a couple available as of next summer. so june, july, 2015. but by then we'll have seen hundreds of thousands of people die from ebola, if we don't respond with the things that we know work right now. that would be contact tracing,

identifying people that have been exposed. diagnosing and isolating those that have had the disease. those efforts are not done at scale. >> syria's war has been spilling over. at least six soldiers and civilians have been killed. in yemen, dozens of rebels have been killed south of the capital sanaa. they were attacked by tribesman after u.s. drone strikes killed 10 fighters. >> an armed group fighting for benghazi denied that a base was contracted. forces loyal to the general claimed to have taken control of the base. more than 120 people have been killed since khalifa haftar's forces began a campaign to

retake benghazi from armed groups. 20 years ago, a peace deal between jordan and israel ended decades of war. jordan may not publicly support israel. we have this report when jordan and israel signed a peace treaty, they put behind them 46 years of war and mistrust. since then the two neighbouring countries had an uneasy relationship. king abdullah described his relationship with the prime minister as cold and unpleasant. this is how he feels now. >> today we have both. islamic extremism and zion. >> extremism. if jordan and others fight extremism within islam and the israelis are slaughtering our children. then we have a problem.

>> fierce round angered the kingdom, which hosts over 2 mill join palestinian -- million palestinion refugees. jordan has a stake not only because it has the largest population, but because of its strong attachment to jerusalem. israel recollections the special role in looking after the shrines, and agreed to give a priority when israelis and palestinians negotiate the future of the city. >> by allowing the right wing groups to enter the al-aqsa compound. jordan feels they are undermining their role in entering the holy site. >> we continue to tell israeli officials that the action affecting the holy sites must be stopped. >> a palestinian refugee that fled to jordan is living in the

refugee camp, and said the treaty was more beneficial to israel. >> it reassured the population that there would be no wars with its neighbour, and no one would ask israel why it's stealing palestinian land. >> analysts say there's too much to lose. >> i'm convinced jordan will never sever ties with israel. it is not in jordan's interest. security coordination is important, but it is important for israel as it is for children. if we baulk about i.s.i.s. let's nor -- if we talk about i.s.i.s., let's not forget the borders. >> for many, it feels like a truce, not peace. iran has hanged a woman would killed an intelligence official she said was trying to

rape her. there has been international condemnation of the execution. it was said she was acting in self-defence when the man tried to sexually assault her. amnesty international's researcher is based in london. >> amnesty is shocked by the news of the woman's execution. it has condemned in the strongest terms. we were hoping, until the last minute. that the iranian authorities would stop the execution and grant a retrial. both in iran and globally. the case personifies in a way the outrage that has been shown internationally and inside iran. over iran's use of excessive - death penalty, and its - the growing numbers of executions that we are seeing in

recent years. >> a number of muslim rohingya escaping violence in myanmar has rich to over 100,000, according to the human right group. more than 900 left every day for nine weeks. they are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. >> botswana's president won a second term. the party has secured a parliamentary majority at the polls. botswana is a large diamond miner. >> now, after months of conflict and instability ukrainians will vote for a new parliament on sunday. many in the east will not be taking part. pro-russian separatists are voting troops. it blocked voters. they want to hold an election in november. when a ceasefire was signed.

this is the area controlled by the separatists. since then there has been violations by both sides with the rebels controlling more territory. >> reporter: it's these pictures that landed this woman in trouble. she was detained and beaten by pro-russian fighters, accused of repping troops. she was died to a lamp post with a sign on the chest accusing her of being a traitor. now she's running as an independent candidate. >> translation: honesty will be my main priority. i want a strong army because we should be able to protect our society. >> for three months, it was the focal point of the pro-russian uprising. it returned under ukranian

control. gone are the war cades that the pro-russians put up, replaced by the blue and yellow of the ukranian flags. behind the make over, there's anger here. especially among those that lost their homes. and is directed towards the government in kiev. >> they don't want to talk to us on camera, but they are saying they are not going to vat because they department recognise the government in kiev, but prospects of a united ukraine is impossible at this stage. these are the pro-russian voices. the pro-ukranian voices were low. as discrete has possible now. for two months. pro-russian forces were found on

land. it's when government forces started shelling that the houses were destroyed. they have decided to give their vote. >> because they are the only ones who stayed with us when they have been shelled and helped people. >> people are afraid. there's harsh operations. there are relatives of production crisis. >> a few in slovyansk believe that they will reveal the divisions. many wonder how long it will be before the ukranian national colours are removed in hong kong demonstrators calling for a democratic process are soon to vote in a referendum of their own. it will determine whether the

supporters will continue their sit in or accept government proposeless to end it. these are live pictures. organizers say they'll register public opinion at the downtown site and two other protest zones. they don't want candidates running in the 2017 election to be preapproved by a committee. now, a year ago the indian city of kolkata banned cyclists from the main road because of safety concerns and track. the poorest were the worst hit. we have been to meet some of those that say their lives and livelihoods suffer. >> calcutta's roads are bringing with all sorts of vehicles, with one difference. there's no bicycles on the main road. for the past year a ban pushed cyclists on to the back roads. it's especially hard for those that use a cycle to make a

living. for him, the ban means travelling longer and working less, estimating that his income has gone down. the ban has affected my family. if it goes on for a longer time, i don't think i can make ends meet. business is bad for those that repair bicycles, since many cyclists switched in the past year to other forms of transport. >> before the ban i had 20-30 cycles in the garage for repairs. now there's not even five. imagine what will happen if it goes on for another year. >> calcutta police declined a request for an interview. in past media statements, police said general safety and congestion were the main reasons behind the ban. there's no plans to lift it.

>> calcutta police say since banning bicycles, traffic flows faster. besides affecting those whose livelihood depends, it also puts down one the greenest forms of getting around. >> the pollution patrol board says 50% of air pollution comes from cars. >> and this environmentalist says banning bicycles will make it worse. >> if we allow more and more vehicles to come on the streets, it means the air pollution is going to reez. if we don't look at sustainable measures of transportation, it will be a problem. >> they are trying to fight the ban, along with others that use it for work. they want to stop sitting idle and move again with the rest of the city. >> now, a google executive has

broken the world free fall record, skydiving from the edge of space. look at this, alan ooust as jumped from 41,000 meters above the desert, using a space suit and balloon module to carry him from the stratos sphere. more on the website aljazeera.com. the shooting was the work of one gunman. >> is fear of ebola stigmatizing of african-americans living here. >> plus the toll that ebola is taking on the west africa food supply and the businesses.