>> the holes are closing in tunisia. voters cast ballots in a historic post-revolution election. hello. i am marianne. you are watching al jazeera. cop fronting ice ill. kurdish forces in sinja. volatile oil markets with prices sinking, we look at what it means for the global economy a

man shotded for revenge in social media. >> we begin in tun easy i can't. the home of the arrestash sprivening where polls are about to close in a historic presidential vote. the run-off election is the final step in tunisia's transition to full democracy. voters are treeing between two candidates. cray i didn't-year-old asepci is for the tunnis party, an establishment figure he is shown as the revolution. he is a well-known former human rights activist. he took a third of the vote in this update.

increasing throughout the days. this is the third time tun easeians take to the poll in less than two months. there is a bit of prestige related to the turnout. however, there is still strong feelings for those supporting both sides. issues relating to, to the economy as well as freedom. tunisian politics are at the top of the agenda. those who are supporting the almost 90-year-old regime, they are doing so because he has a lot of experience. experience that.

>> he is a liberal. his politics and has managed to win over both secularists and islamists. when you come to speak to the young people in this country, those who are the forefront of the revolution, the revolutionary forces, they believe he is the candidate of the revolution. regardless of the out k078, this is an historic election, the first time that many tunisians will have voted freely and chosen by their own will the president and the home that they have is that regardless of who wings rpths this will be another major step in establishing tunisia's democracy. >> retreating from the city of baji soldiers have been trying to retake that city. there is an ongoing battle for

sinjar in northern iraq. >> the fight has been intense. for almost a week, kurdish peshmerga fighters have faced steep resistance from isil fighters who are still in control of sinjar town at the foot of the mountains. sinjar has been where ice ill has committed some of the worst atrocities against ethnic yazzis. the president vested troops on the front line. he also addressed the displaced families. >> i learn. >> thanks to god, we have opened and controlled all of the roads and broken the siege imposed on sinjar mountain. today, we have liberated the whole area. libration of the sinjar town was not part of our plans, but we have managed to take control of a large area of it.

kel not leave any members of the terrorists on any area which we can reach and our brave peshmerga are ready to teach a lesson to anyone who dares to attack our people. >> pesh punish fighters are supported in their effort to take sinjar by ethnic fighters. jets belonging to the u.s.-led coalition are also carrying out airstrikes against isil positions in and around the town. isil fighters captured the towns of sinjar in early august, prompting tennessee of thousands of people from the yatti minority to escape. they have been trapped there ever since. peshmerga fighters managed to open a corridor to the mountain in fighting earlier this week. they sustained heavy casualties. they are treating the wounded at the based on top of the mountain. the peshmerga troops and their allies are in a convoy of vehicles with bright colors. it's to avoid being bombed by

coalition aircraft. the access corridor for the mountains is good news for the thousands of families stranded there. it means more aid can finally, reach them. with temperatures expected to drop further, returning to their homes is their biggest wish. >> depends upon who gets the upper hand in the fight for their town. mohammed ado in northern iraq. >> to yemen wherea houthis have been killed fighting with sunni trooibzmen in the area northeast of the capital sanaa. violence e resulted when houthi fighters abducted 40 people from the tribe. the united arab em rants is blaming non-opec members, saying irresponsible output levels are behind the slide. the price of oil has fallen nearly 50% since june. crude used to price most of the world's oil is trading blow $62

a barely t u.s. pumps and will be the largest producer by next year. let's look at what falling oil prices mean for opec. the 12-member states supply about 4thed percents of the world's oil and they would like to maintain that market share while countries like you had e arabia can sgur prices. nigeria and venzuela could see unrest and a real decline in their economies. meanwhile, non-opec members are feeling the pain, falling oil prices have hit the russian rubal's values. an economics lecturer at the university of the west of england explains why opec some concerned about falling oil prices. >> there are increasing number of questions around why opec is choosing to maintain output even as prices continue to slide. in particular, why saudi arabia is leading this decision. a number of theories have been

raised. for example, somehow speculating whether this is an attempt to hurt iran or russia, for example, i think more concretely, what's clear is that there is increasing concern in the gulf about the rising levels of u.s. output from shale gas and concern that they will increasingly lose market share in the united states will become oil-independent. i think there are much more obvious economic reasons why opec would be concerned or the gulf states would be concerned about north american oil production with global demand falling at the same time as supply rising at a very high rate, not only because of north american production but both n libyan and iraqi oil on stream. there are a lot of pressures for market share at the moment. so, it's a more obvious reason for the decision not to cut by opec. egypt's intelligence chief has been sacked and replaced.

sources within egypt's military say this is due to health reasons. his successor, national security chief will be sworn in on sunday. u.s. president barack obama has con determined the murder of two new york city police officers. police say a man approached the officer's car and shot them through the window while they were on patrol in brooklyn. a social media suggests it was in retaliation for the police choke hold death of eric garner who died in july. more from washington, d.c. >> reporter: authorities think they have put together the chain of events that led to the killing of the two police officers in brooklyn, new york. ismal brinesley first traveled to the home of an exgirlfriend in baltimore. he shot and wounded her. he then posted a mention on instagram saying, quote, i am putting wings on pigs today. they take one of ours. let's take two of theirs. he invoked the names of michael brown and eric garner, one black

youth and one black man killed by police officers even though they were unarmed. no police officers face any prosecution as a result of their killings. the brooklyn -- rather, the baltimore authorities did attempt, to, to alert authorities in new york about this insta graham posting. spaifkt, mayor their message only got through half an hour before the killings took place. isla brinzley then shot two patrolmen in their car in the area of brooklyn in new york at point-blank rage and fled to al subway station and killed himself. condemnation from various areas the president, civil rights leaders, those demonstrations mounted since the killing of michael brown, the youth in missouri, by police officers, all of them condemning this killing. perhaps most interesting, though, has been the reaction of the new york police department, the head of the union said there is blood on many hands tonight.

those incited violence under the guides of protest but try to tear down the nypd officers every day. we tried to warn it must not go on. it cannot be tolerated. the head of the union said the blood on the hands starts at the steps of city hall in the office of the mayor. in the obviously a reference then to the may new york mayor who has spoken in favor of the protest. his fears for his son who is black, interactions with the police department. it raises several questions. one, does the new york police department really think that the protests. young black men are killed a rate of 21 times higher than their white counterparts by the police and another statement from the new york police union is of some concern: we have become a war-time police department. we will act accordingly. if that is the case, the question is: who does the new york police department feel it is at war with?

>> still ahead for you this 4568 hour, we will meet a man who has a plan to take coal reserves to the outside world. we look at how a slowing domestic economy is speeding up beijing's investment in infrastructure abroad.

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three years as. iraqi forces have been forced to retreat from beigi they have taken control of a city after an intention battle with the iraqi army. the united arab emirates has blamed non-opec members for the drop in pricing. nearly 50% since june. in syria, there has been heavy shelling in an area of the damascus countryside. the attack carried out by government forces on the neighborhood in duma. several were killed, dozens injured. duma is home to a large number of opposition fighters. in other developments sir, syrian airstrikes have killed less than in raqqa. dozens more were injured. raqqa is the capitol of isil's self-proclaimed caliphate. countries that border syria are under pressure to take in more refugees but resettlement is a lengthy and difficult process.

many refugees think they will have a better chance by leaving the region and going to europe. this from the lebanese capitol, beirut. >> reporter: preparing to start a new life, a refugee from syria moved to lebanon with her family two years ago. her husband has a heart problem and cannot work. >> puts the family in the most vulnerable category of refugees. according to the united nations, eligible for resettlement in europe. living in lebanon hasn't been easy. it is a country overwhelmed by the burden of refugees and the country caught up in the conflict next door. >> there are no jobs. and in lebanon, we are paying the price because the physical differences the we are targeted when there are tensions between supporters and opponents of the syrian government here. >> reporter: it is a feeling shared by many refugees who wait for hours at a u.n. office in beirut just to apply for asylum. minitel you they have spent

their savings and can't find jobs. but it is not just economic hardships. the syrian government has powerful allics here. >> it's a difficult life. people are scared. as if one didn't need syria. in europe, we would be treated as human beings but this report of our country's accepting refugees is not true. >> people have lost hope. therefore more than a million refugees registered in lebanon. so far, the united states has resettled around 7 ,000 people since the conflict started. its a small percentage of those who need urgent assistance. >> it can be lengthy. it depends upon the individual country. but you believe, what we have to do is interview and determine who these people are and then, they go through certain security and medical checks before they are admitted to third country tries. we are also working to improve the processing. >> it couldn't have come any sooner for ismael's family. it means his children can return to school. but for these people, it is a

hard decision to leave the region. >> we have a choice. either we go hungry and live without security, or we will be safe and able to eat. >> they don't have a third choice even though what they would prefer is to have the option of returning home to syria. zena hoda, beirut. pakistan said it has taken several suspects into custody on a cool in peshawara. they say they are pakistani but some are hard to identify because their faces have been blow up. naris reafirmed a lifting of a more tollway. mo mostly children died in that attack. >> bracing for a new protest after one person was killed in anti-government demonstrations, protesters have been on the streets for days demanding president ali binga step down.

many were arrested and many were injured. move to go haiti where health minister has been named as the new interim prime minister. it follows the resignation of former prime minister last week. he stepped down after days of violent protests. he script has re-opened the raffa border opening for the second time in the past month. he job description officials say at this point, the opening is only temporary. natasha gname reports. >> reporter: the bags stuffed to the seams were a sign people could finally, leave. but the faces revealed the misery and frustration they have endured. everyone carries responsibility, including president sisi. i appeal to the arab countries, the u.s. to help us because all of them are responsible. they are partners in the siege against us. among the thousands who found themselves trapped in the gaza strip for almost two months, the sick, the elderly and 100

students. >> translator: i lived there for 51 days. it was a demand for the crossing, the airport and the port, but nothing would open. >> reporter: the egyptian government closed the crossing in late octave coordinated attacks killed 33 soldiers in the sinaii peninsula. hamas controls gaza an has ties to the muslim brotherhood now banned in egypt. the crossing is open for two days and only for humanitarian purposes. the egyptians have given no indication of their future plans but the decision still gave some people a sliver of hope. >> this is, i think, a signal of the relation between the palestinians and the egyptian we talk about the egypt, which is all the time was the site of the palestinians. >> open, the crossing permit is one way palestinians say they can stop living like they are in a prison and have a basic freedom to come and go as they

please. they continue to call on the international community to pressure israel to end the blockade on gaza that's making life difficult for 1.8 million people. natasha gname, al jazeera. al jazeera continues to demand the re3 journalists fp who were jailed on as far as charges of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. they are appealing against their convictions. roman i can man ya /* /-ia gathered to pays respect to victims who died in deadly street battles. the unrest followed when he was executed on christmas day. kirkstan has enough coal to power the country for sentence

trees but doesn't have the infrastructure to get it from the mines to the markets. a man who is trying to change that. >> meet vladimir smir november. his job was to look for gold. he had to look in secret. it was like being a kgb agent. his work brought him to the outer ages of the soviet state and what he find was better than gold. coal, he said, provides stability. buricked under mountains, it isn't easy to get to but the potential is too big to ignore. the biggest problem: there are no roads. so smirnoff built one.

>> in the country last year, we mined 1 million tons of coal. 20s years ago, it was 5 million tons each year. as you can see, it can be miserable work getting the coal out of the ground but with us you have it, you can harness its power almost immediately. this is the coal-powered stove that pretty much rungs the whole house. >> it's tough work, and when the rain is too much, it's time to come in for a cup of tea. this has been profitable for investors but it's been good for them. everyone here is from local villages. they work and live together. >> i have worked here for one year. everything is perfect. i just miss ice cream, and i send the men to bring it to me from the town.

>> the clouds pass and it's time to get back to work. with more investment, smirnoff said the model his company built here could be used at a national level. >> our country and our neighbors need a big amount of coal. for example, coal from the uzgan pool is used by uzbek stan. the main thing is if we develop coal mining, it will develop industry, give jobs, improve life of local people. this will coal pit is a reflex of his life's work. the mountains, he says, are sacred and connect man to nature and god. and what's inside them has the potential to dramatically improve the country's economy. zane bizradi in southern kurdistan. >> china is expanding influence by taking on infrastructure projects around the world. this week, construction is due to start on a shipping canal costing $50,000,000,000.

adrienne brown takes a closer look at the man behind the project. >> reporter: the businessman behind this high-profile deal tends to keep a low public profile. wayne jing made his fortune in mining and ten telecommunications but has no experience with such large infrastructure projects. wang insists he doesn't have a political bear stearns, yet the company's website wid of his links to government leaders. whatever the true nature of the relationship, the deal is very strategic for china. >> this project is not just a canal. it's about ports, roads, airports, and, also, tourist resorts and it will create a lot of jobs for the local people. the local people will definitely benefit from it. >> reporter: this week, china signed another contract that it says will create jobs and help one more small economy. this time, in europe, the project, to fund and build the new highway in montenegro.

the cost: over a billion dollars. small change compared to china's investments elsewhere in the world. last month, a state-owned company signed off on a $12 billion contract to expand nigeria's rail network with a high-speed train service. the problem for china is not money but cooperation with local people, says one analyst. >> so when china is proposing all of these institutions, it has to have the capacity with the local community and not just a challenge for beijing. >> many of china's other projects are also very strategic. it's working with pakistan to develop a port on the indian ocean that will be linked to china byroad and rail. president shi jinb ping has been encouraging this to gain access to the resources china needs to fuel infrastructure growth projects are often thrown in as part of the deal. >> the most important is perhaps

the plan to reconstruct the ancient silk road trade route linking china with europe via new highways and railways in central asia. how does the chinese government pay for this? well, it's currently sitting on savings of more than $4 trillion. adrian brown, al jazeera, bi jing. now, it's been years since a vinyl record got to number 1 in the music charts but it seems records are fighting back against downloads. viable sales have past the 1 million mark in the u.k. for the first time in almost 20 years. phil lavell reports on a new record for the record. >> reporter: once upon a time before these, before these, before these, there were these. the snap, crack he will and pop of the record was the sound track to many a life, and it is making what is for some a very welcome return. vinyl record sales passed the 1 million mark last month. retailers say if you take into

account the busy christmas period, that will be more like 1.2 million by the i wanted of the year. it's the first time we have hit seven digits since 1996, the year we first heard about the spice girls. whatever to them? and it is nothing compared to vinyl's hay day in 1981. >> year, 1.1 billion records were sold. >> if you look at the charts and you see which were performing well, you will see it's not just the established artists, david bowies and pink floyds of the world but a new wave like ed sharon, temples, royal blood and the arctic monkeyses bringing this new generation of music fans for the first time. >> of course, it is an acquired taste, bulky equipment but the enthusiasts never tired of it. >> it became more scale, but it was still there, and when that happens, i think often, then at

some point, that becomes quite trendy again. and it starts to see, again, more into the mainstream because people are looking for what's happening maybe in the sort of underground or independent or what may be younger people are doing. for some, vinyl borders on art. case in point: this studio in london which uses original 1950s equipment to press classics the old fashion way. business has gone through the roof with international orders for records costing, in some cases, thousands of dollars. >> food is a good analogy. the vinyl person is one who enjoys maybe good wine, good food, a certain lifestyle. the digital consumer is the more fast-food animal. >> of course, vinyl in 2014 has more competition than the vinyl of the 80s, downloads, cds and so on, but for the real audio files, nothing comes close.

this return is quite literally music to their ears. phil lavell, al jazeera, london. >> remember, you can keep up-to-date with everything we are covering on our website. the address for that is aljazeera.com. >> i'm steve chow, malaysian borneo, where villagers are restoring one of the world's oldest rain forests. >> i'm omar khalifa and i'm in the philippines, where the humble coconut is leading the fight against environmental disaster.