heading to the polls, voters in bahrain take part in the first general election since the crack down on protesters three years ago. ♪ ♪ hole there, you are watching al jazerra live from doha. also coming up, try to convince turkey to play a bigger role against isil. the u.s. vice president on on the second day of his visit there. down to the wire, top diplomats cancel plans to leave vienna, raising hopes of ideal over iran's nuclear program. plus. >> reporter: i am phil lavell in london where we are at a world

championship event. can you guess what it is? probably. but what it's all got to do with vlogs. selfies, hashtags, find out shortly. polls have opened in bahrain for the first parliamentary lexes since a crack down on anti--government protests in 2011. but opposition parties say the government has failed to address any of the grievances that sparked that unrest. charles stratford reports. >> reporter: these are some of the more than 260 candidates competing for 40 seats in bahrain's election. saturday's parliamentary poll is the first since a crack down a shia mud lick-led protest in 2011. around 20% of the monarchy is shia and the largest party is

boycotting the vote. >> when a failure it is for the government to beg on if a vote from a people who are marginalized by them. the government is looking for the impossible from any rational person. >> reporter: the protests made their neighbors nervous. they set up tends in the capital. the bahrain authorities then arrested thousands of people. real power comes from bahrain's unelected political leadership. as international condemnation increased. the king appointed what the government described as an independent inquiry in to abuses commited by security forces. the findings were a damning indictment, including details of the torture of detainees and the unfair sacking of shia employees in the public and private sect sector. while some progress has been made on police reform, rights organizations say abuses

continue. >> we have arrest on his a daily basis. we have people being taken from their homes, being interrogated, being threatened, usually elections mean that you embrace the people, that you embrace opposition. and nba bahrain we have people being tortured and the government trying to silence any kind of opposition right before the elections. and that's how they are preparing for it. >> reporter: the government and its supporters is say they are trying to reach out to the opposition. >> translator: the door is open to them. there was an invitation for dialogue. a second invitation to pursue dialogue, but they refuse today participate. they refused because in their minds bahrain should be delivered to iran. >> reporter: the government accuse iran of trying to stir revolution in bahrain. the opposition says it just wants a greater role in politi politics. rights groups say the u.s. isn't doing enough to protect human rights in bahrain. the u.s. fifth fleet is based

there. it's been almost four years since the crack down on what has been described as bahrain's arab spring moment. it is unlikely these elections will help with any meaningful reconciliation in this deeply-divided country. charles stratford, al jazerra. well, the bahrain center for human rights says even that polls have opened, most of them are empty. >> most of the villages and shia areas is almost as a state of emergency. many people were attacked, villagers were attacked and people were arrested. and there is a road blockage in so many places and police cars. you don't see any environment of election. but then you are going to polling station, which is near the causeway, where bahrain government is bringing a lot of saudi people to take part in the voting system to show that they have high percentage of people taking part on the election. and as you know, that many

people were granted bahrain citizenship just to change the december demography. and to have high percentage of people participating in this election and all election. so we have seen almost all the polling station and most of the areas are almost empty. only in some areas where they are highly newly naturalized people and some areas known to be loyal assists. but most of the polling station are empty. near kenya's northeastern boarder with somalia and killed at least 28 passengers. they were on their way to nairobi when attackers forced the bus to turn back towards the town where the shootings happened. let's speak to a journalist on the line now from mander. era. a person with a newspaper.

i know that you have been speaking to forces on the ground there, tell us what they are telling you. >> well, at the moment the authorities he is meshl especiae authorities in mand era. the bus that they were traveling was. [ inaudible ] the bus had just mandera town about 5:45 in the morning when it was intercept id september. police said the gunman asked the passengerrers to alight from the bus. and then they were shot on the spot. >> you are being told that

nonplus limbs were targeted? >> yes. the authorities have confirmed that the passengers were traveling in that bus, that all of them, those that were killed were nonmuslims. >> okay. and what else do we know about the passengers? who were these people? >> so far the authorities say that among those who were killed were two unofficially heading back to their home counties, and some of the passengers also included schoolteachers who were also heading for their december holiday to be with their families in other counties. so far. [ inaudible ] they have not yet confirmed the identity of the others who were killed. >> and who is being blamed for carrying out this attack, do we

know? >> yes, the authorities have said that it's al-shabab militants from. [ inaudible ] they carried out the. [ inaudible ] around that area. they say that the gunmen identified themselves to the passengers that they were al shabab group. >> so they identified their selves as al shabab? >> reporter: yes, they identified themselves as elva bob. al shabab. >> the same group that carried out other a tacked in recent months in kenya? >> yes, the same group carrying out attacks in en ca. in the same area they have been involved in highjacking of civilian vehicles and attacking security personnel along that road. >> very interesting information that you have been able to give us. thank you very much for that.

a reporter on the ground there speaking to us from mandera. the u.s. vice president is due to meet the turkey surprise vice president. joed by sen on a three-day visit to take a bigger role in the u.s.-led coalition against isil. turkey and the u.s. have been cooperating closely, but turkey has been criticized for not doing enough to stop the flow of foreign fighters joining isil in syria and iraq. fighters from the islamic state of iraq and the levant have launch aid major attack on government forces in anbar province, it's isil's largest offense on on the city of romadi since they took back the city center last month. imran kahn sent this update from baghdad. >> reporter: on friday this assault began and it began from all four sides of the city going in towards the center, they actually called the pro government sunni forces in the

center of the city off guard. they tried to fight back. over the night there were fierce clashes. they managed to repel the invaders from the east, west, north, but the south still faces quite a lot of fighting. now, overnight we also heard this the iraqi army was going to end in reinforcements to try to help those troops stuck in the middle of the city to try to repel these fighters. that didn't happen and the heads of the anbar provincial county is saying that the troops have simply been abandoned. he's called out very publically to eye iraqi army and the u.s. ambassador in baghdad saying we ned need more helpful we don't have any coalition air cover, no iraqi helicopters, we have managed to repel the fighters so far but we don't know how long we are going t last a very desperate plea coming from the anbar provisional council. in egypt. police marched in cairo, giza and alex address via to demands

the release of political prisoners. also urged the military not to interfere in politics. small-scale demonstrations have been taking place weekly since former president mohamed morrisey wamorsiwas removed frot year. al jazerra continues to demand the release of our three journalists who have now been jailed in egypt for 329 days. party greste, mo ham em far me and bahar mohamed are falsely accused of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. bar mba me and greste were sente today seven years. mohamed given an additional three years for having a spent bullet in his possession which he picked up at a protest. rebels in eastern libya have order the shutdown of seaports. most of the ports are under the control of the parliament based in tripoli. they have been designated as milling terry zones by forces loyal to the renegade general.

now, more talks about been held in vienna. trying reach ideal on iran's nuclear program before monday's deadline. iran's foreign minister and the u.s. 70 of state canceled plans to leave the austrian capital choosing to continue negotiations they were limit on iran's nuclear actions. >> reporter: the talks have been describes as somber and tense. at one point on friday, it seemed that they had ground to a halt. iran announced that its foreign minister was return to teheran for consultations. and the u.s. state department said john kerry and others were leave for paris. >> well, we had had a series of useful discussions. as i said earlier, these are very complex issues. and there is still a very significant gap between the parties. we are all going to go away and have further technical discussions with our experts and we will resume again over the

course of the weekend. >> reporter: but a final meeting in the evening, including european union envoy catherine ashton suggested the parties do still have something to talk b late on friday we were told that john kerr will not be traveling to paris after all. during the afternoon, we are told that he had a phone conversation with air game lavrov the russian foreign minister in moscow, he's said to have cleared his diary for a possible arrival in vee an to join the talks on sunday. but the possibility does remain that mohamed zarif may yet go to teheran to consult on iran's final position, u.s., france, britain, russia, china, germany began the latest rounds of negotiations on tuesday looking to end a long-running crisis by limiting teheran's nuclear ambitions in return for sanctions relief. with the clock counting down to monday's deadline, all efforts are focused on ideal. >> translator: i am here for a good deal that's use to feel peace and security.

the french position is known, wise and in line with the international community. iran can have civil nuclear energy. but the a t atomic bomb, no. >> reporter: but optimism is ebbing now, there is no open talk of an extension to the negotiations, rather the hope that a framework agreement can be reached with key details to follow sometime later. jonah hull, al jazerra, vienna. still to come here on the program, boxer manny pacquiao is aiming for a career outside the ring. and it's got nothing to do with playing pool. stay with us.

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♪ ♪ welcome back. the top stories. gunmen have highjacked a bus near kenya's border with so mole i can't killing at least 28 passengers, it was on its way to nigh robe i can't. polls have opened in bahrain for the first parliamentary lexes since the crack down on an 10 ai government election. they are boycotting the vote saying grievances of the sunni man, i have not been addresses. the u.s. vice president is due to meet turkey as president after being greeted by the turkish prime minister in istanbul. joed by sen on a three-day trip to persuade them to take a bigger part in the fight against isil.

power was handed over by the military commander responsible for the rerepresents tak recentc zita has become the new prime minister. more now. >> reporter: it's a symbolic gesture, lieutenant colonel zita hands over the power to the new president. zita will be the interim mime minister for one year. the regional body of course, warned the army come elections next year it can't be part of government. >> the army is a political and shall submit to the duly constituted political authority no militia personnel in active service may seek lex to a political position, ended quote. this means that that military personnel who takes on positions

must seven their ties with the military -- sever their ties with the military. >> reporter: many people are optimistic opening this willed end the instability. some say the military won't try to manipulate the process. >> no, the army won't do it. if that was the plan they wouldn't have given power to civilians. >> reporter: but others are more cautious, ba ente enter burkinar owe has a history. >> when former president left office, zita stepped down as head of state, but he still has power as prime minister. i can't understand how a soldier can be a prime minute stick he has no experience. >> reporter: the song is about peace and prosperity in burkina faso. for now times to sill brought what seems like a smooth transition from mail their toy civilian role.

they have to prepare for elections next year a job 19 maine know will not be easy. the head of the u.n. ebola mission has warned that the worlds is far from beaten the deadly outbreak. a huge increase in aid is needed to fight the virus in a africa. he also warned there was some progress made but a new outbreak in mali shows it's continuing to spread. u.n. general ban ki-moon believes if i was are stepped up to fight the virus it coul can e contained by the middle of next year. at least 40 people have died from the plage in madagascar during the past three month. the world health organization is warning that the disease which is caused by fleas on rats could spread. 119 cases have there have been two recorded cases in the capital and one death. the w.h.o. isn't recommending

any traitor trave trait trade ol restrictions. 11 people have died in a stampede. 11,000 people packed in to a stadium. they were there to listen to a popular preacher. dozens more were injured when thousands of people tried to leave through the same exit. remembrance rallies to remember the dead have been held in ukraine on the first anniversary of massive anti-government protests. they have prompted a chain of events that saw kiev lose territory and thousands of lives lost. harry fawcett reports from the rebel-held city of donetsk. a solemn start for a new national holiday for ukraine's new president. petro poroshenko rolling a relief in remembrance of those that died in the protests. there was anger in the crowd for those failing to find and punish the killers. >> translator: we need to be united now.

there is an enemy in our yard and i took a decision. today i will sign a decree awarding heros to the heavily hundred. as heros of ukraine. >> reporter: the deaths were part of a month's long protest that forced the sitting president victor yanukovych from office. the civil war that has since unfolded has claimed more than 4,000 lives, more still die every day despite the two 1/2 month sees fire, ukraine accused russian troops of firing across the border. ukraine wanted a. washington says it's not off the table but for now vice president joe biden announced a further $20 million in so-called nonlethal aid and rounded once again on russia. >> it's simply unacceptable in the 21st century for countries to attempt to redraw boarders by force in europe. or anywhere for that matter. or to intervene militarily

because they don't like a decision their neighbor has made. >> reporter: in rebel-held donetsk, of course, no public holiday no, street gatherings, unless you count the daily crush at the bus station. many here on a regular run to ukrainian-controlled territory in search of functioning banks. >> translator: the people have changed the government. but for ordinary people, it's just meant war and nothing more. >> translator: the infrastructure has been demolished. the security situation is worse. and the financial situation is worrying every here. life has become hard. >> reporter: hardship is far from restricted to this part of eastern ukraine, the he con my as a holcon meashe con anyas a . already the optimism a year ago seems like a world away.

in keif there was an attempt if not to create the spirit but at least to pay tribute to it with thousands gathering in independence square as they mark 12 often devastating months and wonder what will happened happen to their country in the course of the next year. hairy fawcett, al jazerra, donetsk. u.s. press barack obama has been rallying support for his new immigration plan, he addressed support nurse las vegas, his plan would give temporary legal status and work permits to millions of undocumented immigrants. during his address the president explained why he thinks the knew law makes economic sense. >> independent experts, not me. people who analyze the economy for a living said over two decades the new law would grow our economy and shrink our deficit. it would help to solve big problems in a bipartisan way. scrabble is played by

millions of people worldwide. nowhere is the game being taken more seriously than in london. where hundreds have turned up for the world scramble championships. as fill lavell reports, the competitors have a new new words up their sleeve. >> reporter: you are looking at scrabble gold. these letters in the right order, could net a massive sco score. see if you can figure the word out. we'll leave it here for a minute. what they wouldn't give for a set of heard like that. 200 big brains all in one here at the scrabble championships. >> i am from poland. >> i have come from kenya. i have came all the way from south after k56789 the international championships no less. scramble is worldwide, there is no better place to be than london right now. abdullah is from pakistan a 14-year-old with big dreams. >> i will be number 11 day. >> reporter: so you have ambitions? >> big ones. >> reporter: and that is where

he is aiming the main stage, the big tournament. it's hungry work. this is an old game with a modern approach. each move security newsed by computers, relayed to players worldwide. a hobby enjoyed in 120 countries. >> it's a fun game. >> reporter: and one in the midst of a big change. for those that love to play scrabble but are absolutely dreadful at it. this is the bane of their lives. dick air sit rule book, it says what words you can and cannot use and for those who are not very good it means that they can get away with very little indeed. now, traditionally slang has been banned from this. and i say traditionally because 5,000 slang words have just been added. words that you will hear in every day use, things like hash tags, chill ax. selfie and vlog. this is fantastic news for those with limited vocabulary.

for those who are traditional assists need to learn again. >> some people are purist. they don't want to add selfie but there is no getting away that these are actual words that everyone knows. >> reporter: no doubt this champ would have guessed the big within and, here it is to put it you out of your misery. that word, have you ever heard of it? probably not. it's a new addition, but it could get you 401-point. if placed correct limb the definition a shelter made by hollowing out a pile of settled snow and speaking of digging. >> i finally get to play an al jazerra porter at scrabble. i heard you guys have quite the vocabulary should be a good match. >> reporter: i am brilliant. okay, so that's a lie. sometimes it's good to have a plan "b" up your sleep. >> what's going on here. >> reporter: literally. but only of course if you development get caught. phil lavell. al jazerra with some very brainy people in london. >> wow. the boxer manny pacquiao is about to step back in to the ring to defend his world

welterweight title. the fill mean owe champion also has his sights debt setoguchi on a new career when he retires. after twice being elects today congress, pacquiao says that he will run for the senate. rob mcbride reports from his home city of general santos. >> reporter: taking aim with a keen eye on his future. in a competition he is sponsoring pacquiao proves he's a winner with a pool cue as well. >> it's very important to organize this tournament, this sport, and i like billiards, but i am not only supporting billiards but also sporting sports. >> reporter: branching out in to professional basketball as a player and a coach. he is the ultimate sporting ambassador. supporting multiple causes in his only city, known as jensan and where he is known as the pac man, it's difficult to miss him. >> i think people love him for

his generosity, for his, you know, approachable and easy, go lucky guy, so basically he has a future in public service. >> reporter: and, of course, a big supporter of local boxing. this weigh in is attended by his life-long friends. >> definitely a champion for the boxing. for me, and the people of general santos, this is a big part for the poor people. because he looks back where he has come before. >> reporter: also here, columnist edwin, who has followed his career from the start. now a congressman and tipped for the senate or a governor ship, there is speculation that he could go all the way to the top. >> he's close to the people and he wants to serve the people the better way is to run for gloverrer, perhaps maybe president some day. >> reporter: pacquiao is also renowned in the past for a lover of gambling. with just a few fights left in his career, he faces the biggest

gamble of all, taking the reputation and goodwill he has earned and staying it on the high-risk game of philippines politics. robnik bride, al jazerra, general santos city in the southern philippines. and you can keep u up-to-dae with all the news of the day and development on his aljazerra.com. >> the threat of deportation has been lifted for millions of undocumented people in the u.s. does the executive action deliver the relief activists say they wanted and needed? this is "inside story." >> hello, i'm ray suarez. at the beginning of second term