better than the government spends it. apologies open in ukraine's parliamentary elections despite a boycott of the vote in rebel-controlled areas. hello and welcome to al jazeera, live from our headquarters in doha, i'm elizabeth peranam. also ahead. ment tunisians get to vote nearly a year after the overthrow of zine el abidine ben

ali. we report from the streets of hong kong, where opinion remain divide after weeks of protest.. protest. >> after months of conflict and instability, polls have opened in ukrainian parliamentary elections. difficult times for the extion annexation of crimea. 36,000 are registered for the elections. correspondent barnaby phillips is joining us live from the capital kiev now and barnaby how is the voting going? >> from what we've seen, voting is going smoothly. 8:00 in the morning local time polls opened.

many people in this city are going to those polls with high expectations. kiev was instrumental in the overthrow of president yanukovych back in february of this year. since then, i think there's been frustration at the slow pace of reform and the feeling that the old parliament, the rada was preventing legislation from being pushed through. whether we will see those sweeping changes or not however is a bit of a moot point. part of the issue lies in the complicated voting system we have in ukraine. some of the members of parliament will be voted in individual constituencies. on a local level. traditionally what we've seen in the past in ukraine is those local constituency votes can be influenced by corruption and the

oligarchs who have held positions over the years. the ukrainians as they go to the polls in kiev. on the edge of kiev, they are practicing for war. not all the guns are real. but some fear an attack on this city, others have volunteered to go east to fight. in another part of the city we see refugees from the war. they live in a church shelter. when we visited there was no electricity. olga lost her house in donetsk, now she and her family share a room with 20 other people. their lives have been turned upside down but they are determined to take part in these elections. >> we want to show people that we exist and that we have a right to vote, even if we can't go home. we will fight for our rights. we are citizens of this country.

>> thousands of people have now been killed in the east. these pictures show some of the soldiers and policemen who have died. it is a reminder to people in kiev as if they needed it that these elections are taking place under extraordinary circumstances in ukraine. the dire state of the economy has brought this crowd onto the streets. as ukraine's currency falls in value, these people find their monthly mortgages go up and up. >> we have no home. >> the foreign minister says these elections offer the chance to participate this a new parliament that will force difficult reforms. >> if you talk to all ukrainians now on the streets they will tell you we have a new president. we have new government. but why do we still have the

same parliament who voted for this crazy antidemocratic laws, who supported different initiatives by different regime. >> there is a possibility for ukraine to make a clean break with the past but building a new country under such a crisis is an act of faith. >> barnaby, wife whichever govet is going to be formed is going to face a very difficult economic situation, isn't it? >> yes. and any new government will be under a lot of pressure and something of a race against time to rescue that economy. let's not forget the currency falling as h i said in my piece, industrial output falling as well. a lot of industrial activity lost because of the break away

states to the east, the war, a drain on the government's resources, and that also points to another problem that any new government will face. restoring peace whilst preserving this country's economic integrity. that's an enormous task. let's not forget that people in the east will not be voting today. the government has made provisions for 200,000 displaced people. you saw olga in my report. people like her will have to live up to the ambition during today's voting. >> our correspondent barnaby phillips joining us from kiev. to other news. tunisia is also voting to elect its new parliament under a new constitution. one of the phases in the political ousting of zine el

abidine ben ali in 2011. >> if i can take you inside i'll show you why the protest has been particularly slow. only allowing one at a time. observers national and international watching over the proceedings. people really are thinking about jobs and security but also about their freedoms. if you remember, four years ago, before the revolution took place, there was really only one choice, that was zine el abidine ben ali. now people can vote for a more secular path or a left wing or

socialist path. they have a choice, and they want to maintain the selections people die for. >> iraqi security forces say they've retain the strategic town of jal el sakr from islamic state of iraq and the levant. it is hoped it can slow i.s.i.l.'s advance towards the capital of baghdad. let's go to our correspondent imran khan. why is this seen as so strategically crucial. >> well, the town of jafar el sakr is a jumping off point. if i.s.i.l. was able to use that and consolidate that as a military place, the key shia holy point would have been under

threat. i.s.i.l. have belong maintained they want to attack the shia shrines. by attacking those shrines they want to tackle and plunge the country into sectarian war. the red line, those sliefns if f they were ever under threat. it is one of the weakest links in i.s.i.l.'s territory. this was the further easy southy have come. so this was an operation that was the easiest operation in many ways that the iraqi army could mount. the group that have mounted the operation are called the brother brigades.

>> imran thank you very much for that. our correspondent imran khan in baghdad. lebanon's army appears to be stepping up efforts to move armed groups up north. with sunni fighters inspired by al qaeda and i.s.i.l. crossing over into lebanon. stephanie decker is following the clash. >> specifically in the area of tripoli, sunni neighborhood and also, a little further north in an area of bahnin there is a home of a salifi sheik that the lebanese army has surrounded. first time helicopters have been used in that area since the spillover of the syrian war began. just to put this into context, the latest round of fighting was

kicked off thursday dawn when the army arrested him and the backlash to that, is that we had a statement from one of the sheiks in tripoli calling for jihad, calling for attacks on the army, and for the army to lift its siege on tripoli. and the al qaeda nusra front, they still hold those men in the no man's land between lebanon and syria and they are threatening to execute one of them if the siege is not lifted from tripoli. trying to deal with the spread of ebola.

>> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> this trial was a sham... >> they are truth seekers... >> all they really wanna do is find out what's happening, so they can tell people... >> governments around the world all united to condemn this... >> as you can see, it's still a very much volatile situation... >> the government is prepared to carry out mass array... >> if you want free press in the new democracy,

>> good to have you with us. these are the top stories on al jazeera. people in ukraine are voting in parliamentary elections. it's the first poll since the overthrow of president viktor yanukovych earl this year. tunisia is voting to pass its full parliament, final stages of the political transition which follows the ousting of political leader zine el abidine ben ali in 2011. six soldiers and four civilians have died in fighting in and around tripoli. let's get to the top story.

the parliamentary elections in ukraine. pro-russian separatists have been fighting, separate election in early november. when a ceasefire was signed in the beginning of september this was the area controlled by the separatists. since then there have been several violations by both sides with the rebels controlling more territory. hoda is reporting from this area of slovyansk. >> hefnhelping ukrainian troopse was lashed to a sign post, accusing her of being a child killer. >> honesty will be my main priority.

i want a strong army because we should be able to protect our own country. we should be able to decentralize authority. >> for three months, slovyansk was the focal point, it returned to ukrainian control in july. replaced by the blue and yellow of the ukrainian flag. but beyond this makeover, there is anger here. especially among those who lost their homes. and it's directed towards the government in kiev. >> so they don't want to talk to us on camera but they're saying that they're not going to vote because they don't recognize the government in kiev. they actually say that any prospects of a united ukraine is impossible at this stage. but these are the pro-russian voices in the present but they

are trying to be as discrete as possible now. for two months, pro-russian fighters were stationed on this spot of land next to tatiana baboosh's home. the houses in this area were destroyed. she has decided to give her vote to a pro-moscow candidate. >> because they are the only one who stayed with us when we have been shelled and helped people create frorecreate from the cit. >> people feel thousand there is very harsh owe is pressing. the army punishes russian fighters. >> separatist leaders have vowed to regain the city with force if

needed. many are wondering when ukrainian colors are removed. >> brazil's runoff presidential election, one will decide between the incumbent president dilma rousseff and aecio neves. protesters in hong kong have called off their two day referendum. protesters admit there hadn't bent enough consults before announcing the vote. created a division not as simple as being for or against democracy as marga ortiges explain. >> police try ostop another

confrontation between protesters and those who want them off the streets. the emotions are high. sit-ins calling for more democracy have blocked the streets for nearly a month. some call it a nuisance. 72-year-old who has worked here for 30 years, chung has moved here from main lan china to make a living. >> hong kong will never be like china. hong kong has democracy. nowhere else is as good as hong kong. these protesters are attacking what we have for granted. >> like the rights to free expression and public simply. which though restricted are not available at all to their countrymen in mainland china. last month police tried to disperse the crowds using tear gas. it was seen by many as excessive

and only brought more attention to the demonstrators. people like these on the street engaged in heated debate over hong kong's future. raising a political consciousness that was not here before. >> those who want the protesters gone call themselves the silent majority and are gathering signatures to proof it. say they don't necessarily disagree with the demonstrators' cause but the way they are going about advocating it. >> they are the ones taking away law and order and ignoring the rule of law. rule of law is became of what democracy's backbone is. you take it away, what do we have? >> all sides insist they're standing up for hong kong. with each calling each other

unpatriotic. the government has put itself in the middle hoping not to look ineffective either to the people of hong kong or to china's ruling party watching from biej. beijing. marga ortiz, hong kong. privately both countries work together on security measures, niselene al shamili reports. >> when israel and palestine signed a peace deal 46 years ago, they put behind themselves years ever animosity. >> today we have both islamic

streamism and zionist extremism. we have a problem. >> failed rounds of israeli-palestinian negotiations have also angered the kingdom. jordan has a stake in the outcome of the israeli-palestinian conflict, are israel recognizes jordan's special role in looking at islamic shrines in jerusalem and agreed to give it high priority, when descraifls and palestinians eventually -- >> by allowing to enter the al-aqsa compound. >> we continue to tell israeli officials that any lateral

action that that will affect the holy sites must be stopped immediately. >> fled to jordan in 1967 is still living in a refugee camp. >> by signing a peace treaty with jordan, israel, stealing palestinian land. >> there have been called on the government to sever ties with israel. >> i'm convinced that jordan will never sever ties with israel, it is not in jordan's interests, now if we're talking about i.s.i.s, let's not forget the borders. >> treaty defined permanent borders with israel and returned the area of an bakura to jordan.

>> three al jazeera journalists have now been detained in egypt for 302 days. peter greste, mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed were convicted of aiding the outlaw muslim brotherhood. al jazeera continues to demand their release. country countries hardest hit by the outbreak. british soldiers are helping to train local volunteers to treat patients. there are now 10,000 cases of ebola worldwide. the outbreak has put the spotlight on public health facilities in west africa. tanya page reports from lesuthu

on a controversial plan. >> quaine are hospital has brought 21st century medicine to lesuthu. >> this hospital is well organized, i come i get a number and i see a doctor. that didn't happen in the old one. >> it has the country's first intensive care unit which offers surgeries like hip replacement but patients had to travel to south africa for. there's no doubt it's saving lives. this baby was born at 24 weeks. a full term is 40 weeks. if she had been born in the old hospital she wouldn't have survived. the government says the hospital uses 32% of the entire health care budget but oxfam says it's draining much much more.

>> it's an 18 year agreement that the government is locked into. the fact that it takes 51% of the health budget and constantly increasing would mean that ultimately there isn't going to be a health budget for any other facilities. >> rural clinics is where three out of four of the lesuthu people live. the government says it is making too much money out of the hospital and the world bank should not be promoting the model as one for poor countries to follow. >> it is the a good hospital. it is a good model. meaning the infrastructure is good. the services and feels like that. but how you use it to benefit your own society is very difficult for me to say this is the best. >> the public-private experiment in health care has brought much

needed world class services to one poor country but far less than what's needed. the india city of krall cut tcalcuttahas introduced the bic. livelihoods have suffered over the past 12 months. >> calcutta's roads are brimming with all sorts of vehicles just like any indian city, with one difference. there are no bicycles on the main road. for the past year the a bicycle ban has pushed these cyclists onto back roads. it is especially hard for those who ride a bicycle to make a living. travel more, work less. his income has gone down from

200 a month before the ban to now just $80. >> if the ban goes on for a longer time i don't think i can make ends meet. >> business is also bad for those who repair bicycles since many cyclists have switched in the last year for other forms of transport. >> before the ban i had 20 to 30 each day to fix. now i only have five or six. you can imagine how bead that is. >> general safety and traffic congestion were the main reasons behind the ban, and there's no plan to lift it. with traffic increasing every year, calcutta police say since banning bicycle from these main roads traffic moves faster. however, critics say that b

besides restrict those whose incomes come from bicycles. this environmentallivity says banning bicycles will make pollution worse. >> it would only mean that the air pollution in calcutta's only going to rise and if you don't look at more sustainable methods of transportation it's going to become a problem. >> pukete is still trying to fight ban. they want to stop sitting idle and start moving again with the rest of the city. fez jamil, al jazeera, cal calc. >> after lengthsy delays, the picasso museum has reopened in

paris. featuring thousands of picasso's works, the spanish artist spent many of his years in france. the $66 million project took five years to complete. you can keep up with our news on aljazeera.com. >> with so many eyes focused on the u.s. senate changing hands, maybe not enough attention has gone to state capitals. a lot of governors are not having an easy walk to re-election, and there's plenty at stake. it's "inside story." hello, i'm ray suarez. governors have been reengineering state government in