the final step in the road to democracy, tunisians vote for a president in an historic run-off. welcome to al jazeera, i'm jane dutton, live from our headquarters in doha. also ahead. >> confronting i.s.i.l. in iraq. kurdish forces set their sites on the town of sinjar. health checks overshadow elections in liberia, plus... >> i'm phil lavelle back in the 1950s.

that's how it feels with all of this old equipment. find out how these machines are helping to set new record for vinyl records. we begin in tunisia, the home of arab spring, where people are casting their ballots in historic presidential votes. sunday's run-off is the final step in the transition to democracy. peep are choosing between two capped date, beji caid essebsi, is the candidate for the secular party. he's 88 and seen as an establishment figure from the former regime. critics say he was too old for the job. supporters point to his experience, and a broad coalition behind him. beji caid essebsi won 40% of votes in the first round. his opponent. interim president andrei markov is the candidate of the

revolution, overthrowing the dictators and ben army. markz moncef marzouki is a human rights activist. jamal is in tunis, and has this update. >> another historic day in tunisia as the people here march closer to completing her dream of a post. it useded dictators zine el-abidine ben ali. it's not expected to be hugely large in terms of voter numbers. it will cross to 50%. that is what people are - it's the third time tunisians take to the polls there's a sense of fatigue amongst the population. aside from that, there is a bit of a security concern after

i.s.i.l. posted a threat. they'll conduct what they call a blood bath and the headquarters on the electoral commission, and that led the authorities to dispatch thousands of voters to ensure that the voting is safeguarded. that has been the says so far. it will be a fight race between the major parties. 8-year-old can't days who people say is a remnant from the regime, someone known to favour a stronger harsher way of ruling the country and points to the fact that when he was top security official many years back there was political oppression. his opponent is billed as the chose of the revolution. tight race here and we wait to see how it unfolds. regardless of the results, it's hoped it will be a step forward

for the fledgeling democracy to iraq, where the military has been forced to retreat from baiji. soldiers have been trying to retake the city from the islamic state of iraq and levant. we cross to our correspondent in erbil. what went wrong as far as becamingy is concerned, mohammed. >> there was a lot that was wrong, jane. first of all, the details that are coming out now indicate that the forces, the police and also the shi'a militias supporting the government did not have enough ammunition and were forced to abandon their positions around the city after i.s.i.l. waged an attack on them, and they retreated to areas to the refinery which is the biggest in iraq.

and that is where they say they'll use - they are going to pay a lot of importance and defend it as long as the road that thinks the up to to the capital of the province, which is tikrit we have been focussing on the fighting around sinjar mountains. what is happening there at the moment? >> fighting is ongoing in sinjar, at the foot of the mountains, where many people are stranded. where i.s.i.l. forces had later had a seem for the last few months. the peshmerga forces, the kurdish forces of northern iraq have been assisted by yazidi ethnic fighters as well as coalition aircraft that has been carry out air strikes on positions of i.s.i.l. in and

orpd the up to. that has not had impact. i.s.i.l. continue, according to commanders of peshmerga forces to give them a stiff resistance. now, early on in the day the president of the regional government visited sinjar mountains, where he spoke to his troops on the front lines, and also those stranded there, and they have made significant gains in the fight, and said they would not leave the fight until they take sinjar town, and areas around it. >> all right. thank you for that. >> in syria government air strikes killed 11 people in the city of araqa. dozens were injured dakar is the capital of i.s.i.l.'s self-proclaimed calafat resettlement of refugees is

lengthy and difficult. many think they'll have a better chance leaving the region completely to start a new life. zeina khodr reports. >> they are yet again preparing to start a new life, a refugee moving to lebanon with her family. her husband has a heart problem, putting the family in a vulnerable category. eligible for a resettlement. living in lebanon has not been easy, it's over whelmed sta by refugees. we are paying the price because of difficulties. we are targetting opponents. it's a feeling shared by refugees waiting for hours, just

to apply for asylum. many tell you they have spent their savings and can't find jobs. it's not just economic hardships, they have powerful allies here. >> it's a difficult lie. people are scared. being in lebanon, wanting to leave syria. we were treated as human being. all the ropes about countries is not true. >> people lost hope. there's more than a million refugees. that is around 7,000 people since the conflict started, it's a small percentage. in terms of the process it can be lengthy, and can dependent on a country. we have to interview and determine who people are. and they go through security and checks before they are admitted. we are working to improve the

processing. moving to den mark means hays children can return to school. it's a hard decision. >> we have a choice. we go hungry and leave the security or be safe and able to eat. >> they don't have a third choice. what they prefer is the option to return home to syria. >> egypt reopened the rafa border crossing with the gaza strip for the second foom in two months. it allows iran 3,500 palestinians straned in egypt to return to gaza. it is the only access to the gaza strip that is not controlled. it was shot by egypt in late october. to a suicide bombing in the sinai peninsula. police probing up an anti-government rally. firing tear gas in gabon, dispersing demonstrations which have been banned.

one person was killed. protesters demanded that the president resign. >> the turn out in parliamentary elections appear to be low, because people concerned about ebola stayed home arriving to cast their ballots, many went through a series of stringent health checks. check for sign of fever. they are segregated to make sure those carrying the ebola virus don't mix with those that are cleared. matters of life and death dominated the lives of citizens. not everyone believes the focus should be shifted. even for a day.

after twice finding elections to the upper house, the senate, authorities decided they could wait no longer, despite the risks to public health of large crowds gathered together. candidates for a hotly contested seat, a former football star and the son of the current president among those asked to toe the safety line. >> reporter: all voters were asked to bring their own pens, bring separate ink wells and stand apart from each other. the number of ebola patients was falling. the turn out was low. the fear surrounding the virus, it was killed. evidently it's front of mine.

>> more to come here on al jazeera. we look at the hard work to harvest a winter wonder land for the christmas tree cutters. >> i'm tania page reporting from south africa, from the desmond tutu center at the heart of efforts to find h.i.v. vaccine. >> al jazeera america presents >> somebody's telling lies... >> it looks nothing like him... >> pan am flight 103 explodes

december 21st, 1988 was the right man convicted? >> so many people, at such a high level, had the stake in al-megrahi's guilt >> the most definitive look at this shocking crime >> the major difficulty for the prosecution that there was no evidence >> al jazeera america presents lockerbie part one: the pan am bomber

hello, you are watching al jazeera. here is a reminder of the top stories. polls opened in the tunisian run-off election for what is hoped to be the final step in

the country. it's the first time tunisians vote for a president since the revolution three years ago. iraqi security forces have been forced to retreat from the city of baiji. fighters from the islamic state of iraq and levant took control of the city after an intense battle with iraqi forces. and kurdish forces battle to recapture the town of sinjar from i.s.i.l. it is more than 100km west of mosul, which i.s.i.l. captured in june. >> u.s. president obama condemned the murder of two new york city police officers who were shot while they were on patrol in brooklyn. let's go to john terrett, live from new york city. what happened? >> good morning. from the bedside distribute of brooklyn in new york city, where yesterday, saturday at 2:45 in

the afternoon, local time. 19:45 g.m.t. two police officers were sitting in their marked police cruiser at a place called tomorrow kip houses, which is what the americans called the projects, or council houses they were looking after the area known to have been violent when suddenly in cold blood and without warning they were gunned down in the front seats of their car. their boss, the police commissioner of new york called it an assassination. the two officers were 32-year-old wenjian liu, who according to the commissioner got married two months ago, and 40-year-old rafael ramos, who leaves behind a wife and two sons, one absolutely destated at the loss of his father. the last time new york lost an officer in this way was in 2011. after the shooting, briismaaiyl

brinsley ran to a subway station where he killed himself. behind me is a memorial to the slain officers, candles, flowers and the flag. this is the build-up to christmas. christmas, the major christian festival, celebrated widely in the country is on thursday. that's causing a lot of angst and people are upset not just at the loss of police officers, but that it happened at this time of year. >> i am sure they are. i'm hearing that this was a planned killing. >> according to the police commissioner and began yesterday in the city of baltimore, maryland, which is close to the capital washington d.c. there, according to the commissioner, 28-year-old bryn -- ismaaiyl brinsley shot his former girlfriend. she survived.

immediately after that he tack to her twitter act and posted vicious messages saying he wanted to kill two police officers and linked what he intended to do to the killing of two unarmed african american men recently. in ferguson, missouri. that's michael brown, and here in staten island in new york city. that is the case of eric garner. what then happened is he came to new york city, and the maryland police alerted the new york city by fax saying he was potentially coming here. the facts arrive almost at the same time that the killing took place. >> thank you for that, john. egypt's intelligence chief has been replaced. president abdul fatah al-sisi appointed him in july. the replacement.

national securely chief will be sworn in on sunday. >> al jazeera continues to demand the release of our journalists imprisoned for 358 days. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed were gaoled on false charges of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. they are appealing against their convictions. peter and mohammed were sentenced to 7 years. baher mohamed an additional three for having a spent bullet in his possession. >> south africa what he highest number of h.i.v. and aid sufferers in the world. scientist are driving research that could lead to a breakthrough in the fight against the virus. trials are being expanded for a vaccine shown to reduce the rate of infections. in the final part of the series on h.i.v. in south africa. tania page reports from cape town. >> this woman is not a scientist but is at the cutting edge of

h.i.v. aids research. she volunteered to test a vac soon that could save millions of lives. the trial is run by the h.i.v. research center, a scientific hub dedicated to fighting the virus in a country with a high prevalence of h.i.v. so far all hor blood tests came back negative for h.i.v. the vaccine cuts. she's helping because two of her uncles dies of age. >> it's better for those two. they want to make sure that the people left maybe in three years time, or our generation, there'll be nothing left. >> reporter: the second phase starts inn. within two years 7,000 people will be taking it. >> this is the pharmacy where everything tested at the

research center is kept. vaccine, drugs and products here or at different temperatures in one of the priges. >> it's a scientific advance that makes a bigger difference. instead of taking pills, some h.i.v. positive people are on a single dose, anti-retro viral. because it's simply. it's easier for people to stick to. participation vaccines are seen. this is the first one they are talking about licensing for widespread use by 2022. >> in terms of is this a game changer. the current interventions are the mortgage while we find a vaccine. for me to be part of a team to find a vaccine that is protective is the best thing that could happen in my life. >> she feels the same. >> i can't wait to finish the study. i will do another. >> she'll be back in a fortnight for another blood test.

with every negative result south africa is a step closer to finding a vaccine the united arab emirates is claiming non-o.p.e.c. members for a drop in oil prices. the minister says irresponsible output levels of nonmember countries are beyond the slide. prices have dropped 50%. brent crude is trading at $52. we bring in an oil consultant for an insight into the falling prices and what is motivating o.p.e.c.'s actions. >> it is who is going to blink first. we have the pressure on the u.s. government, the russians and other, for them in order to defend their own oil sectors to do something of within o.p.e.c. you have nigeria and others to

put pressure on others. it is a similar story. the same prerures on both sides. it really becomes the fuel business and commercial aspect. and political issues come in. >> it is there that the media talks about conspiracy theory. the whole thing it to put pressure on russia and venezuela. that i cannot comment. the basic really is it's a business issue, and supply and demand, and if you want to get competitors out of the market, you lower the price. >> hundred of people rallied in miami, against president obama's decision to normalize relations with a cuban government. many of the protesters are cuban exiles. i think president obama's decision empowers the government. demonstrators are angry about the prisoner swap between the two countries.

>> boxing great mohammed ali has been hospitalized with a mild case of nooum openia. his condition is said to be stable. he battled parkinson's disease since retiring from the sport in 1981 for many families, picking out a christmas tree is a normal part of this time of year. little thought is given to who cuts them down, but as reported, getting the trees can be a risky business. >> reporter: above the forest canopy lies a hidden bounty. harvesting it can be dangerous work. climbers earn their wages at the tips of nordman pines, some 60 meters high. the cones contain fine quality

seeds for christmas tree growers for a region sky hive in unemployment. it's a seasonal bonanza, supplying a $1.5 billion industry. >> a kilo's worth of the copes is about on average $0.70. it's possible to collect several hundred kilos a day as a team. that's why it's lucrative, there's a black market and many are prepared to take the risk to climb the trees even without the right equipment. this man fell to his death, gathering cones without a harness or a licence. his brother is the local mayor now, and says tragedy happens, unscrupulous buyers ignore safety. >> translation: police departments hope to control blocks where people pick the cones. it's a vast area and impossible

to control totally. the black market is harmful for the company. >> companies operating legally could, themselves, do more to support russia's economy. 90% of app estimated 45 million trees sold annually in europe, are grown from georgian seeds. >> we have to take care of it. we have to know what is needed and help and support and participate in development. you can't just make money in this wonderful area, pay nothing and disappear. i don't think it's fair. >> there's some one programme with a social programme, supporting a health clinic and two local schools. it pays above average prices for the copes.

but it gathers only a fraction. local harvest. so if you are celebrating christmas this year, you might want to think about where your tree came from, and whether you paid a fair price for it. it's been years signs a vinyl record got number one in the british music charts. it seems records are fighting back. sales passed the 1 million mark in the u.k. for the first time in 20 years. phil lavelle reports on a new record for the record. >> reporter: once upon a time before these, before these, before these - there were these. the snap, crackle and pop of the record was the sound track to many a life. it is making what is for some a welcome return final record sales passed the 1 million mark last month.

retailers say if you take into account the busy christmas period it will be 1.2 million by the end of the year. it's the first time we hit 7 digits since 1996, the year we learnt about the spice girl, it's nothing compared to the heyday in 1981. that year 1.1 billion records from sold. if you look at the charts and see which records perform well. it's not just the established artist and pink floids of the world, but a new wam like ed-sheeran, and others. and the arctic monkeys, who are bringing this in a new generation of fans and exploring it for the first time. >> it's an acquired taste. you need hardly portable equipment. the enthusiasts never tired of it. when it happens, often that then

at some point becomes trendy again, and starts to see more into the main stream because peep are looking for what is happening maybe in the under ground or independent or what younger people are doing. >> for some, vinyl borders on heart. case in point this studio in london using 1950 equipment to press classics the old-fashioned way. business has gone through the roof with international orders with records costing thousands of dollars in some cases. >> food is a good analogy. the vinyl person that enjoys wipe, food. the digital industry is that fast food animal. >> vinyl in 2014 has more competition that the vine ill of the '80s. for the real audio feels,

nothing comes close. this return is literally music to their ears. i hope their dancing doubt come back, if it does, you can read it first on the website aljazeera.com. from me, jane duton and the rest of the team. thanks for watching. >> turning their backs on a half century of u.s.-cuba relations, presidents barack obama and raul castro announce that their two countries are on their way to normal relations. that's inside story. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. one of the final chapters of the w