>> hello, and welcome to the news hour. we have your top stories this hour. 51 arrested in the biggest town hall corruption scandal in spanish history. the most intense fighting for weeks as kurdish fighters battle isil for kobane. and election hailed as a beacon of hope to the region. >> we'll have all the sports. the south african football

community are mornin mourning the death of football captain senzo mewiya shot dead during a robbery. >> we begin with news hour with the news hour with the developing story out of spain where 51 people have been arrested, including senior applications in the biggest corruption crackdown in spanish history. 400 bank accounts have been frozen and 250 companies are being investigated. let's bring in a journalist out of madrid to tell us what these people are accused of. >> reporter: well, a number of offenses, they were diverting public money for their own pockets. using their capacity as

officials they would divert this money to grand contracts to businessmen, who were part of this scheme. apart of that there are instances of fraud, money laundering and a number of accounts which the police are investigating. >> and miguel, some of those arrested are, in fact, from the prime minister's party himself. how is this going to affect the government? >> reporter: well, i think that is perhaps the most crucial thing here is the timing of this operation, not only it comes at a time of turmoil in spanish politics. there is the conflict surrounding the movement in cat loan y but also we are approaching an electoral year that is considered very important because the bigger parties are now very much in this repute precisely because of

this case of corruption. this is one corruption case too many, perhaps. people are very angry with the main parties, including the ruling party, and this is going to add to that anger and fluidity and complexity of the political situation in spain. >> thank you very much for joining us from madrid. now to tunisia early results in parliamentary elections will end in just a moment. we'll go to announcements hashim? >> reporter: well, it's been an important day, and now we're getting a sense of exactly the preliminary results. we know that nidas tounis is

first and ennuoda is second. they believe that nida tounis has two options. to form alliance with another and form a strong government that will lead for five years or force another alliance with different political parties and move forward for the next five years. >> this does, however, hashem, seem to be a dramatic reversal for the numbers, does it not? >> it is a set back for two reasons. they wanted to lead these elections to tell the world, you

know what, we want the elections in 2014, and they'll continue. they will have a huge influence on the government, but at the same time they will decide who is go to be elected as president next month. now no having said that they are instrumental to a stable, strong government in the future. just to give you an idea. tunis with th its parliament it could easily lead the government for the next five years. >> this has been a very significant election symbolizing some sort of hope for a country that has also been through a revolution.

>> people would say they are screening, and they would face the same uncertainties as countries like libya, syria, or egypt. but people are saying we've provided the world with a happy story to tell. people are very confident today after the preliminary result and after the vote yesterday. it's the same sentiment shared by the international community particularly the americans, whose president and secretary of state sent messages of sole support saying that they would continue to be a beacon of hope for the arab world. they want to see for the first time a smooth, peaceful transition to democracy in the arab world that could be replicated in libya in libya, yemen, or syria. >> okay, hashem.

thank you. joining us from to you nice. in syria the northern town of kobane has seen some of the most intense fighting in years. the battle has been ranging for 40 days within sight of the turkish border as they defend the town again isil fighters. bernard smith is following developments from the board to tell us whether they are, in fact, developments on the ground or it just seems to be a stalemate. >> well, there has been fighting throughout today. we've been down there on the turkish side of the border, and we've heard gunfire and mortar fire. that has faulted that very heavy fighting. the isil forces have been determined to find the border crossing. they have won that border crossing and won control of it because they believe they don't

have it, if they don't have control of it, it will be used as an access point for syrian kurdish fighters. those reinforcements whether they come from iraqi peshmerga o or allied to the syrian army. they push back without airstrikes the syrian kurds would have found it difficult to give control given the sustained assault there was on it. after all the airstrikes with the fighting continuing, yes territorially there is still something of a stalemate. you get these assaults by isil on areas of kobane, and now they are pushed back by sir-kurdish fighters with the help of airstrikes. the syrian kurds have not been able to push isil out of kobane down and isil has not been able to take over the town. >> and for all parties involved in kobane, bernard, isil, the

kurdish fighters, the coalition leading those airstrikes. a lot at stake for each one of them when it comes to kobane. >> well, gentlemen, i mean, this has become essentially a test bed of the u.s. policy for pushing back isil in iraq and syria. that relies on airstrikes, and on poorly trained and not very equipped groups on the ground. the u.s. in full view of international media needs to try and make kobane work because this is their policy. isil, of course, know that as well. and isil know everybody is watching kobane as well. that is why they also want to take that town. that is a lot of reason that they poored fighters into it. there is this symbolic battle going on for kobane, more than a strategic one. >> ber hard. thank you. bernard smith reporting from the

turkey-syria border. well, let's stay with syria on the civil war. there is continuing unabated the all-diedathe al nusra front. >> the syrian government is bombarding rebel-held positions around the city of idlib. activists are reporting multiple airstrikes including the use of barrel bombs. it follows a coordinated attacks on monday led by al-qaed al-qaeda-affiliated al nusra front. >> they held check points on three sides. some managed to sneak inside the city and control the government building before they withdrew. they managed to kill a number of snipers. >> reporter: syrian army units managed to kill a number of fighters and the city is now secure. >> in the early morning the fighting happened around check

points surrounding the town. the terrorists managed to cut off electricity, which is how they got into a government building. they started shooting and throwing grenades. we managed to contain the situation. >> reporter: sources tell us that it was a serious attack that surprised the country. al nusra front has a presence in the province. taking the city was strategically and symbolically important. it would cut off supply lines and give opposition groups control of the main city. there was an intensified for idlib back in 2012. opposition groups took the city for a couple of days before the regime managed to take it back and it's been under their control ever since. this video purports to be filmed from new rebel positions overlooking the city. warning the government that

retaking idlib remains within their eye. >> a checkpoint has killed 21 people and wounding 37 others. the town was recently retaken from isil by the iraqi armies. hundreds of thousands of people in the kurdish north of iraq have been displaced by the advance of isil. many of them have fled to the capitol of erbil. a number have had to leave vulnerable family members behind. >> i'm her mother, and she is my baby, she says. i have lost the dearest thing in my life. ida and her family were forced to leave the town when isil fighters ran over ran it in august. her husband is blind. he sifts through the family's

family i.d. cards so his son can find the one that belongs to his three-year-old sister. ida describes the day that isil took their daughter away. >> they came to our house and put us on a truck. they took us to the medical center. they said they would give us medical checks and medicine if anyone was sick. then they ordered us on the bus. they searched our bags, took our money and gold and even clothes. >> reporter: aida said a young man wearing all-black clothing of isil came onto the bus. armed isil fighters surrounded the vehicle. >> he took my daughter from me. i followed him and was pleading with him to give her back. >> reporter: aida said that the man disappeared in the medical center after a few minutes another man appeared holding christina. >> he was around 60 or 70 years old and carrying my daughter. she was crying. i was begging him to give me

her. he threatened me saying if i didn't get back on the bus i would be killed. i feel tortured put my heart is crying out for my daughter. i have no information at all. >> aida's bus was ordered to follow an isil-armed vehicle. she and a group of 20 men and women were driven out of town and left in the desert. the family now live in makeshift cubicles in this unfinished shopping mall. 400 christian families, are staying here. in comparison to the hundreds of thousands of displaced people facing winter' winter in tents, these families are more fortunate but there is uncertainty here especially for people like aida, whose daughter

was left behind. there are increasing reports of family who say that isil have taken their daughters. for the time being there is nothing these families can do accept pray that they'll see their loved ones again. erbil. >> here with the al jazeera news hour dilma rousseff re' elected as about still's president, her challenge now, how to unite a divided country am. and boca ham ar we have more on boko haram's victims. and what the giants are doing to stop the royals from taking the crown in 29 years.

in ukraine president poroshenko is expected to lead a new coalition. let's cross kiev and join barnaby phillips. >> reporter: that's right. with those coalition talks under way, there is an urgency in forming a new government because the state of ukraine is critical. the economy is shrinking, and of course in the east the country is at war. we've been gauging reaction to the results here in the capitol of kiev. this television station played a crucial role in the overthrow of president yanukovych. the young and educated from kiev and other cities want change in ukraine, so what does natalia, a reporter here, make of the results? >> people showed more or less--made a smarter choice because the first three parties

they more or less the moderate parties. the system is still not perfect, but in general the results are a good surprise. >> these elections were closely monitored abroad. russia said they were legitimate, and now foreign observers in ukraine are drawing their own conclusions. >> nobody can question the legitimacy of the european direction of the country. this is important. this is where the message from maidan has received a political endorsement of the citizens of ukraine, and i'm sure that moscow will also have to take it into account. >> the majority of ukrainians who voted for this new parliament will expect it to fight through corruption and push were you economic reforms. process has been slow in recent months. the government said that's because the old government

moved, they will no longer have that excuse. the ukrainians will expect the pace of reform to accelerate. although the people of kiev, this does feel like a moment of hope. feast lear in the capitol. some how the new government must take that message to the entire country. >> well, i'm joined now by the head of the osce observer, and let me ask her about her impressions of the vote. thank you for joining us. do you think this was a legitimate election? >> well, we have first of 900 in polling stations assess the process as well organized and ordinarily in a huge majority of polling stations visited. so yes, they did well. >> this is a country at war. millions of people didn't even have a chance to vote. that must undermine the credibility of this election? >> well, we're not in the

business on deciding on the legitimacy of an election. we took note that the-- >> you are in the business telling us whether it was a credible reflection of what ukrainians want politically. >> that is correct. we took note of the fact that the authorities made good efforts to insure that everybody could vote. voting was attempted and actually organized, and half of the polling stations in donetsk and luhansk, or at least in half of the election district. >> and in crimea not at all. >> but it is outside of its control, therefore no polling was organized.

as all the citizens of donetsk and luhansk special provision was made so they could reregister. we know over 400,000 people have been displaced by this conflict, and of course it was a concern where they could vote if they so wished. rules and new regulations have passed, and the law that enabled them to reregister of those 400,000 only 35,000 took up this opportunity. this may be because they had other concerns on their mind. the turnout was definitely lower in the east, but with 32% of total turn ou-out nationwide i feel we can say that the future parliament has a constitutional mandate. >> we've run out of time. we'll have to leave it there. thank you very much for joining us on al jazeera. stay with us in the coming days

as we bring you the latest on the political situation here in ukraine. >> all right, barnaby, thank you very much for the time being. barnaby phillips reporting with all the latest developments from kiev. well, president dilma rousseff has promised to reunite brazil. rousseff has won 51% of the votes, enough to give her another four years of power. our latin america editor has this report on the election that split brazil along lines of class and geography. >> she's known not for her can raise ma ancharisma, but for her fighting spirit. she won with enough to lead south america's largest nation. >> i do not believe honestly from the bottom of my heart that

these elections have divided the country into two halfs. the elections mobilize ideas and motions that have at times been contradictory, however they've been driven by a shared feeling. >> rousseffa has always been aligned with the left. in her youth she joined a guerrilla group and was tortured and imprisoned during a dictatorship. it shaped her character. she's often referred to as brazil's iron lady who rose to prominence as chief of staff. a period during which brazil's economy grew. but during her term inflation has soared, and so have corruption scandals linked to her political party. other opponent, the centrist former governor of brazil's third largest state ran on a ticket for change.

vowing his market-friendly policies would modernize brazil without cutting social programs. but ultimately rousseff was able to convince enough of her countrymen that she's best for the economy. a daunting task. >> she has to give the middle class an opportunity to look to the future and see in her and bt th they want a brighter future for the middle class. >> it was by far the most aggressive and divisive campaign in history. although she won she knows that her countrymen have become more intolerant of corruption and demanding of politicians. as one analyst put it, before brazilians were happy to get new dentures. now they want broadband. >> now they'll be under more pressure to deliver.

>> let's cross over to gabriel alazondo. he's joining us from the campaign headquarters of the losing candidate, i imagine quite a lot of disappoint especially considering what a tight race it seemed to be. >> it's the tightest race ever. there is relief by rousseff and her supporters that they're able to get this victory. and now we have to look forward and we can get a sense now that the challenges that dilma rousseff is going to face. the stock exchange of the sao paolo stock exchange is down 4% today. and the state run agency, their

stocks are down 10%. that's immediate reaction to dilma rousseff from being re-elected. rousseff is not worried about that. she's worried about her supporters, and the ones she was able to convince that she could carry on this social programs that would keep brazil moving forward, and unemployment very low. she has got challenges, and i want to bring in a political analyst to start talking about those. first quickly, what about the markets? why are they reacting so negatively? >> well, the benchmark company, and some how it reflects how dilma is going to run the country. the markets are afraid that dilma will not be able to continue on as in recent years. >> the markets want dilma to dramatically change the economy,

but she might not. >> she might not because social programs are very important. and if you want to spend money on the social programs you have to make adjustment in the economy so they can keep down the spending. but there needs to be fiscal adjustments as well, that means that you cannot spend as much. it's a very difficult situation for rousseff over the next four years. >> she has challenges but she has the victory he, even with a struggling economy. how did she do it? how important are her voters to these social programs. >> she has won the debate of social programs. if they want to go back to the presidency they'll have to address that over the next four years. the victory was narrow, but it was the fact that she haven't made the social programs work and improved the lives of many brazilians over the last four years. just having the base of social programs does not give her the support that she needs to make it grow again. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. that's one situation here in

brazil a country trying to come to grips with this crazy election that just ended. dishedilma rousseff reelected in brazil. >> thank you, gabriel elizondo. >> carrying out multiple strikes, plus. >> i'm rob mcbride in the west of china where the wine makers are making a splash on the world stak stage. >> we'll look at basketball players who are hoping to turn into nba stars. back in a moment.

>> 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, let the journalists live.

federal authorities have charged seven people with conspiring with al qaeda. >> since 9/11 the us has spent has spent billions of dollars on domestic counter-terrorism operations. >> i wanted to be in on the big game and to be paid top-dollar for it. that's it. >> many of these involved targeted informant led stings. >> to them, everyone in the muslim community is a potential informant or a potential terrorist. >> 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."