s this al jazeera. hello, i am lauren taylor, coming up. a referendum on netanyahu's israel prime minister making a controversial last ditch appeal for votes in one of the tightest elections. amnesty international says syrian government air strikes announce to war crimes. residents say that running out of food as relief teams reach outlying islands hit by clone pam. hundreds of starving sea lion pups are washing up on california beaches.

with all the sport including back in monty car low. are hoping to make champions league history as they take on monaco in the quarter final. >> israelis have two hours left to vote in an election that is expected to be a very close race. already served three terms as prime minister he has put security first condemning any international deal that allowed iran to have nuclear facilities which is made up of the leftist labor party and former foreign minister party. they have promise add renewed push for peace and to mend israel's strained ties with the united states. they have also focused on

rising cost of living which has become central issue for israelis. correspondent standing by at the headquarters the labor party, and the joint list of arab parties. let a go first -- what is the move there like at the moment? >> certainly there is a mood of anxiety as members of the party arrive. they are expecting to hear an address from prime minister benjamin netanyahu but it is all indicated that that there be exceedingly close, the election commission has just announced that it is highest turn out at this stage since 2001. so certainly voters have been flockenning to the polls in the course of the day and this perhap as clear indication, of how strongly contested this election has been. >> there's been a steady

stream of voters since materially morning and it is expected that close to 80% of the 6 million eligible voters will cast their ballots by evening. among the early voters was benjamin netanyahu whose party has been slipping behind. apparently needing support to a number of parties with extreme right wing. and in recent days netanyahu himself has reached out to the right, catching support for occupied territory, and recanting what was already a grudging commitment to a palestinian state. but it appears this was not enough to close the gap on isil zionist union which polled indicate could emerge when the votes are counted. crucially, though, no single movement will get near the 61 seats needed to command an absolutely majority in the parliament. and as in previous elections they are likely to be weeks of

coalition talks before a government is formed p four parties coming together informing the joint list, galvanizing israeli palestinians who make up one fifth of the population. early indications are are that the joint list could bring as many as 14 seats making it a crucial player in coalition building. in all aspects of politics there's a complication, and members of the arab list insisting they will not be part of a government regardless of who heads it. fighting for palestinian rights from the opposition benches. >> and mike there's been a bit of a outcry about an attempt to give a news conference. >> yes indict, he announced the intention of giving a news conference this unprecedented on voting day. and a number of the parties including the zionist union

went to election commission, complained about this attempt to hold the news conference, the election commission upheld that it was illegal that the prime minister could not hold a news conference while people were still going to the polls. and netten yeah's opponents making very clear that this is a sign of desperation by the prime minister, eyeing the large turn out at the poll, and indeed in recent days there has been a somewhat desperate term to many of the statement, and instead went so far as to say that let's have a listen to what netanyahu had to say earlier. >> we are in the middle of a fay that battle. there's a big gap between the labor and liquid party. this gap is result of money being poured in from overseas.

their aim is to change the government to a left government, together with the arab party the head of joint list who supports already says we do not only need to replace me, but also to put me in jail. the fact that i protect the citizens of israel, and the lives of the soldiers of the i.d.f. >> the labor party in tel-aviv so the right to the end quite a bitter campaign how confident are they that he can come out ahead here? well, if you ask me 24 hours ago, i would have said that the union was very confident to back the last week or so the momentum really seemed to be behind this, and more specifically its leader and in the past four hours something seems to have changed. seems to be a shift back towards the prime minister.

you only have the look at the fact that mr. netanyahu carried out what can be best described as a blitz on the radio and the like, and more specifically really weird toward the right. really trying to talk to those right wing voters who formed part of this coalition going as far as saying that there will never be a palestinian state, and that of course would certainly resonate with those right wing supporters of mr. netanyahu. whatever the case, we certainly can't count out mr. heart dog as we have been saying he has led a fairly impressive campaign. still we are hearing there is deep concern. live there with the update, thank you indeed. at the headquarters of the joint list of arab backed parties so there is a bit of a novelty in this election the way they have come together. >> absolutely we are talking about four very ideological

different mostly air rain party whose have come together to run under one ticket, and the first time in israel history, really shocking a lot of people, mainly a lot of palestinian israeli whose always felt ail lenuateed from the process. there has been arab representation in the israeli -- for many many years but it is usually a few members from each one of those four arab parties that i mentioned that have united. so there's a lot of anticipation here. because the people here at the joint list are expecting that after this vote, they could possibly become the third largest political party very significant development for israel's minority palestinian population which does not exceed 20%. now, about an hour ago we understand some sources in the joint list here, voting among the arab population of israel has reached up to 54%. so they say this is still not enough, there were

expectations according to a few opinion polls from the a few days ago the last recent one said that we heard about that voter turn out among arabs which is usually traditionally low may reach up to 65% because so many people want to vote for the joint list. right now, as i said, as of an hour ago, it is only at 54% and people are hoping that this would pick up in the last couple of hours before the polls closed. and most people who haven't gone to the polling stations to cast their votes will do so in the next two hours. so a lot of anticipation here and the people here say that they are polling in opinion polls around 13 seeds. that puts them in a tie with former finance minister. they don't want to be in a tie, they want to be the third largest political party in -- so they feed at least 14 seats to be able to get that

majority. the latest polls were taken on rid, and the final results could be very different but here is how it could play out so a party would have to win 61 to form a government, the left wing zionist union grouping will win 25 seats that putting it ahead of the 21 projected to be won by netanyahu's party both would have to do deals with other parties to form a coalition. the centers party is predicted to win 12 or jewish home party, could get 11 seats. and is predicted to get nine seats while five are projected to be won by the five right party. other smaller parties would

make up the rest. a former aid to benjamin netanyahu, thank you for being with us, just to go back to those polls obviously we don't know how reliable they are, but are they likely to have shifted much. >> well, i was just about to say those polls are old news. those were done last wednesday and thursday and this race has changed dramatically. since the weekend because all the parties are changing their strategy. they are trying to convince the people that were going to vote for the stronger right to come back home, because they could get a maximum number of seats they won't be able to form a government is same with the zionist camp party, they are trying to get those who are voting for others to come to them, at the same time, which is to the left of the zionist camp party is trying

to get people back to their party, so all of the messages is changed. the prime minister has start add blitzive -- some people have suggested that some of these last minute offers are a sign of desperation, particularly for instance netanyahu saying that a palestinian state would point a reality. if he were re-elected even if it was perhaps lukewarm, do you think it is desperate? >> netanyahu shooting in every direction. he is absolutely seems to be giving hysterical messages. he is in a panic you can see it unprecedented he wanted to call a press conference. they were fined for doctors a tape. they are really running in every direction, and at this point, they have a big problem because turn out in the strong holds in the development towns and the

smaller poorer towns is very very low so they know there's a problem. a problem in general the momentum is working against netanyahu. there's a very large vote. anyone but netanyahu is the slogan, and they are afraid that some of those things will set in, and the party faithful the lower class the people of the factor and the lower educated who have always voted feel that the prime minister has not addressed any of the economic issues. any of the cost of living any of the houses issues and they feel that six years is enough. so he is in trouble. >> people clearly have issues they are concerned about but do israeli voters vote tactically? do they know lit come down to horse trading and they have to hedge their bets or do they still vote from their kind of core issues and what they feel is in their heart? >> well in general israelis

vote on the peace or security issue, that's two sides of the same coin. israelis that security and defending israel and defending the land of israel is important, and there is israelis that believe that the peace process should be at the forefront. that's how they usually vote. they talk a lot about economics between elections even in election the fact is that when they get into that booth, they are voting on existential issues like security and peace. now, because the system is really very convoluted and complex, it will turn out in this election that the prime minister, the next prime minister will be someone that only got 25% of the vote, which means 75% of the population didn't vote for the prime minister watches israelis are already thinking of where their vote is going starting tomorrow, meaning once the results are in and the parties start to meet, they are voting or who is sittingsitting in the coalition who

is negotiations with the person who is mandated to form the next government and what type of issue dozen they want to support the prime minister. so it is strategic. and people are not thinking as much about the issues athay should. >> thank you for your analysis of the israeli elections. now high level talks aimed at stopping iran from being able to make a nuclear bomb is said to be 90% of the way there the u.s. secretary of state and iranian foreign minister, are believed to have just one key issue to settle. but the white house says it is 50 very 50 about whether the final hurdle can be overcontrol. in return for relief from western sanctions. from the five other major powers involve redirect examination due to join the discussions in switzerland on wednesday. our diplomatic editor has the latest. >> is certainly they are

making progress, but how much depends on who you speak to. if you listen to the iranian side, they are extremely optimistic. on the technical aspects the nuclear aspects of this, they are 90% there just one remaining issue. the u.s. side not quite as optimistic although they do say they are making progress. they say there's a great deal of work, and remember the deadline is at the end of this month. and at the end of this week, an iranian holiday so the talks will pause at that point, a lot of work still to be done. >> coming up in news hour. devastating and long lasting a new report reveals ebola's impact on it's youngest victims. a new zealand two of his staff get two years hard labor for insulting buddha in an advertisement.

desecrationed lang armstrong causes uproar with his new tour de france plan. suicide bombers have attacked an iraqi army check point. there before four coordinated explosions including a car bomb at the entrance of a neighborhood in baghdad. amnesty international believes air strikes carries out by the government last november, may amount to war crimes. elsewhere, opposition groups accused regime forces of using deadly chlorine gas. the man apparently suffering the effects of chlorine gas is doused with water. this was after an attack in southern province, who monitor attacks like these. in hospital, survivors are given oxygen. chlorine gas attackses the attackses

the respiratory system. we are here to receive the wounded. includes women and children, and we expect more to come, they suffers the symptoms of chlorine inhaling some of them need more med kale care. >> the syrian observatory says six people, including women and children, were killed in this bombardment. opposition activists say it was the second attack of it's type in just two days. babies like this one they say are among the victims. right now the world is being urged to turn it's attention here, and northeast syria. november last year, president bashar al-asaad forces attacked the city, and in a bid to drive out isil fighters. but in a new report amnesty international says the rules of bar were violated. there's damming evidence that

the syrian government forces committed war crimes. the research we have done shows that over 100 civilians were killed, the places targeted were not islamic state bases but busy markets busy mossenings, and residential areas. amnesty says while attention was diverted elsewhere the forces killed civilians relentlessly. at least 60 people were killed in this shelling in one day alone doctors say they know the world is following watching and condemning these crimes, but it's action they say that is needed to stop the blood shut al jazeera one of the cop fielders commanders has been killing in fighting around the libyan city. dozens of families families have been threing the city as they battle militia loyal to the government they are running short of fuel and food.

>> an egyptian police officer accused of shooting dead a female protestor has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. she was killed in january at a peaceful rally at the time, the interior minister suggested the police were not responsible. a number have been charged with holding an inlegal demonstration. rescue workers have started -- for the first time since they were devastate bade tropical cyclone. u.n. says at least 11 people were killed revising down an earlier figure of 24. more than three how people are homeless, and the government says lit take about a week to assess the damage fully. is this wrecks building is one of three that make up the main primary school on the island,

until last week, 160 small children studies here, you can see they won't be coming back for some time. the roof of this one has almost totally peeled away. this is tan that in the far south. and perhaps the island hardest hit by the cyclone. we flew down on ismail plane just eight seats because only those sorts of planes can get in here, what is really need redirect examination the big military planes with aid onboard, just individuals have come to assess immediate needs, and this is what they told us they need most here. the priorities are the roads the shelters, food and medicines. and the tents the foods and medicines at the immediate response, they are really needed. >> believe it or not this school is one of the least damaged buildings. many aren't standing at all totally flattened and on the road, we came across a family sitting in the the ruins of their home trying to salvage

some timber to start building again. >> this house i had it isn't '5. i called my wife, we have to move out now. i just -- the house moving out, and down, my heart was sinking and -- we have to move. this school building as one of the least damaged has become an impromptu place for people to stay. it may be looking a roof, but at least there's space on the floor to thousand down mattresses for those who have lost their homes. the hope is that at those big planes can come in the next day or two that proper aid will arrive, because people all over this island need it. >>

last week, the government controversy lifted the death penalty ban for all offenses. 2000 members of a polio vaccination team have been shot dead. the attack in an at gaffe camp, is the late nest a string of attacks on polio workers who some accuse of straying to sterilize muslims. although there have been major successes in the battle against polio globally pakistan remain as major concern because of a number of cases reports from pakistan. now here in the tribal province the inmovementization program is underway, according to the officer in charged.

but about 740,000 are to be given those drops the story is not so good, a number of deadly attacks on polio workers has brought that program to a grinding halt. the government will have to gear up to meet this challenge, otherwise there will be travel restrictions to pakistani that wish to go overseas. >> they are in the the field they are trying to reach every child, we are et mooing all challenges facing the security situation as well. the weather challenges as well and beare trying our boast to satisfy not only the international community but the local community as well. >> also there has been criticism of the way the government has handled. millions of dollars of vaccines have been wasted because of neglect. the government will have to

really get up and meet this challenge. in order to eradicate this deadly disease. the ebola outbreak has disrupted the lives of millions of children, and will have a long lasting impact. that's according to a new report it says 9 million children are living in areas effected by ebola and an estimated 5,000 to be effected which is about 20% of total cases and at least 16,000 children have lost one or both of their parents or care givers to ebola. more on this, live to geneva, and speak to unicef spokesman thank you for being with us, so give office little bit of an indication of the scale of the problem in terms of children. >> yes, thank you. as you say the one out of 5 ebola infection hit as child. that means over the 24,000

people who were infected 5,000 were children. 16,000 children in the three most effected countries lost a father or mother, or a primary care giver or both. you have 5 million children, that suddenly could not go to school any more the school ever were closed to no education. some of them had no -- limited access or no access to healthcare and in general for the 9 million children while living in this area, they heard terrible stories. it was and refine for them. >> do they mainly catch it from their relatives from their parents? how is the infection spread. >> well for children, they mostly contract the disease at

home. from infected parents just imagine just a child who the taking care of his father, his -- the mother. who is infected and the child contracts the disease and gets infections himself as well and that's why we have worked a lot with communities to make sure that they send out a strong message that children should not take care of their infected people at home. but they should call the clinic or call someone who can deal with that. >> tell us about those that have been or fanned by it. what happen had to the or fans. >> there is something positive to say about that. 16,000 or fans in the 3,000 country but we found out now

that these children are not they are not -- most of them are not in institutions but they are just in families. and yes for unicef, the best thing there is -- a child should prevail and the best place for a child is a family. so in this country, there is a solidarity and they are kinship ties that prove to be very very solid. thank you very much indeed for talking to us. >> thank you. >> still to come this hour. u.k. oversees aid is it helps that ease who need it most or just big business. >> flooding innage tina is being partly blamed on these sports.

>> if herdesses dug gain, a few seats more than netanyahu two, if a lot of the smaller parties including the racist party, including the old new parties and perhaps -- if the smaller parties don't cross the threshold, don't make the% then all of these are going to the bigger parties which means that more votes and some of the parties are getting more votes and more parliament, and that might just might change some of the calculists by the end of the night tonight. joe wise as you would say it probably will be neat with some of his old allies on the right.

what about the issue of palestine, or the palestinian issue, how much does that play in these elections. >> it didn't play much, two years ago when they went to election, the air rob world was in upheaval, there was new movements coming into the region. and that was threatening. guarding the security in the occupied territory and many of the leaderses are basically not enemied president of egypt, and hence a lot of these issues did not turn out to be central, they tried to make it about the security general in general. not the economic inequality

that has residenten in a phenomenal way over the last decade. that has become value to the voter, and perhaps it's upon that that netanyahu may lose the election. >> okay, thank you have much indeed. >> plenty more of all of this, the candidates and is issues on our web size. just click on the links for the latest news and in depth analysis. a new zealand bomber and two of his staff have been sentence 2 1/2 years in prison for insulting religion. an image of buddha for a drinks promotion. lawrence lee reports. guilty over insubstituting religion. their offense using an image of buddha with headphones for an on line flier to promote drinks at the bar. it was withdrawn shortly and angie issues. but the men have been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison.

>> pretty disappointed actually. >> the accuse redirect examination quickly whisks away. the mother of one of the defendants directs her anger at one of the monks. the action was brought again the three men after some monks complained about the flier. >> i want to talk about our religion. it is someone insults religion should we accept it? is it right. >> human rights grouped accused the authoritying of bows to pressure from radical groups. there are some who point to this verdict as an example of the rising influence of a group of hard line buddhists morks. and the concern is that these views are allowed to gain more prominence it could deepen the religious conflict. since 2012, violence related to religious tensions particularly between buddhists and muslims has killed more than 200 people, and displaced tens of thousands more. last year, a group of monks

proposed a set of laws which they say aimed to protect race and religion. the bill which is are being debated in parliament, would among other things restrict interfaith marriage and religious conversion. back at court, the lawyers of the three defends suggested he was not surprised by the verdict. >> are you angry. >> no, i am not angry. disappointed. it is not like america or france or australia. >> the men could appeal, but are not allowed bail. lawrence lee, al jazeera. >> ukraine's parliament has approved a draft law that will grant special status to rebel controlled regions. self-governance for rebels was a key part of the peace deal in february lawmakers also approved an appeal asking the u.n. to send peace keepers. overseas aid budget is expected to stay untouched when the government unveiled

it's latest spending plans that may sound like a good thing, but critics say much of the money helps big consider rangeses strengthen their presence. lawrence lee explains. >> watching t. v., hardly a luxury, but in the capitol you can't take anything for granted. >> the blackouts happen all the time, and it isn't just t.v. that is effected. >> light is more expensive you cannot have food, basic food things in the freezer billions have been spent trying to provide basic power in a country that is full of oil. half a world away, the british

government has been watching this with interest. it's ministries with responsibility for aid hire add company to help sort out the energy problem. >> but rather than offer aid they proposed that nigeria's sector should be sold off. to private investors. >> the whole series were acquired buttability 100 billion-dollars is required to expand the system, and that can't come from the state even if there were capable of spending it without there being massive corruption, so that only alternative is to bring it in from private investors. the case against it, is that aid has no place in helping big corporations. get their hands on africa. >> what happened in the minds of some politician i think is well actually now we have this budget let's use it for the things we believe in. so if you look at the aid today, it is being used to

support big corporations taking over, land systems energy systems. is being used to build luxury apartments and hotels. of all the money the country makes but the question is, if any of that money goes to advising foreign governments on what might be construes as political initiatives, it is actually aid. the other question is whether it is better value supporters of the privatization scheme say it should make electricity cheeper for people that rely on candles orray tors. privatetized electricity has

proved to be more expensive than it was before. lawrence lee al jazeera london. >> massive deforest station may be to blame. >> this is the sound in the central argentine province. and every house is ruined all of it's residents evacuated. for now in the community center. there were similar scenes across the north of argentine yeah earlier this month than normally falls in weeks. >> when the water goes down, i don't know what we will do. we will have to borrow but i don't know if they will give us loans. >> the crop that now covers

more than 60 million hectors of argentina, fetching more than 270 u.s. dollars a ton on world markets. boosting the country's unstable economy. but to make way for it, huge sways have forest had to be cleared. this is all very green but it is not natural. for one, where have all the trees gone? these vast and very lucrative fields some say only exacerbate the flooding. causing great suffering for many, for the benefit of a few. sawyer production in argentina rose 126% in a decade. most of it for exports of cattle. >> in the last 16 years lost 300,000 heck tears of native forest which is a outrage. only got 4% of the forest left, add in the consequences of climb change, and you are creating a cocktail of condition which is will only get worse.

>> the removal of vegetation leaves the soil less able to absorb water so enwith it rains the water simply flow over it. >> what we'd are long term policies and not allow ever more deforrecitation which ends up prejudicing the whole society. >> local authorities say this abiding by a national law designed to protect and regenerate the forests. but the flooding continues. with greater frequency. >> we have lost everything. the freight crops who is going to help replace all of this. >> and despite the warnings the deforest station continues. >> daniel shimmer al jazeera argentina. >> hundreds of young sea lions have washed up along the west coast of the u.s. 1,700 pups have been found since january scientists are battles they say low fish

stocks could be to blame. >> hundreds of starving sea liian pubs are watching up on the beaches. rescue years are finding them under piers on docks and in people's yards. >> and they are working hard to try to save them. >> our facility as well as the others in southern california are at or nearing capacity. we are doing everything we can to work with the rescue agencies to bring in as many patients as we can the fact of the matter is this year, because of the inordinate numbers we won't be able to save every animal on the beach. >> marine buy i don't understands believe a old mooer year has driven away the fish that see lions eat. the lack of foods near the breeding grounds is forcing the mammals to go out further to hunt. for whatever reason, whether they have overrun the food supply, or whether the food supply is out from under them, apparently the mothers aren't finding enough food to sustain

the pups and probably abandoning them. abandon and hungry they are trying to hunt for food themselves and watching up onshore exhausted and starving. we are seeing underweight animals. they are coming in a frac of that. >> the u.s. agency that monitors the atmosphere, says the increase on the number of pups washing ashore is still a mystery. it is warning that california should brace for more of them. >> al jazeera. >> coming up, sport including the tennis hot shot who is still going out of the indian wells tournament. and we will get a glimpse of the hi-tech future which is currently on show in germany. >>

>> as reports from inside the second, they have a

>> the circuit say they don't want to host the race, scheduled for july the 19th after germany's other major truck will bring -- pulled out they made big losses on the race last season, and the due to hold been next year, formula 1 season has now been reduced to 19 races. top nfl player is retiring early, not because of injury but due to concerns over concussion. after recent high concerns about long term head injuries. more than 70 former nfl stars have been diagnosed with neurological disease after their deaths.

they have an injury doubt over their key bowler who sat out their first net session. all three vina williams, but surely none of them could top this from argentine. the scale monaco still lost to the third round match. >> very unlucky. that's it for me. >> thank you very much indeed. the world's greatest fair is on in germany this week. used by small businesses and multinationals alike to showcase their latest invasions.

as dominic cane reports this is on how to control every day items online. it is renowned as a venue for engineering at this year as fair, many companies are looking at how to use the internet to run our lives more efficiently. a trend called the internet of things linking cars and other accessories under one intelligence, and allowing this emto talk to each other the energy market is dramatically changes because everything is connected, every help in the world is connected by internet, every device, every decent generation aspect is connected with the internet it is about empowering individuals and giving them cot over every day items at their fingertips.

through mobiling thenology. >> what you can do is here is my car. you can see the speed and mileage, you can also see how far you can drive on this fuel. so this car has a module, that produces data, and that we can control over an app. and so what it does with this app i can check my engine data. but also i can see when i leave my car on friday afternoon, i need to point it on monday morning i can do it over the app. >> for almost 30 years sea bit has showcased fast moving technological change to the german audience. and this year, the pace of that change just got faster. al jazeera, hanover. >> and plenty more for you any time on our website. that's it for me lauren taylor, but barbara sara will be here in a minute. do stay with us for happen p

>> sunday. >> you're taking "if" i have kids and you're changing it to "when" i have kids. >> a life-changing choice. >> it is wonderful to have children, but i think you can have a happy life without children. >> follow a very personal journey. >> after the age of 45 to get pregnant... is one percent. >> i'm a bit nervous. >> from the best filmmakers of our time. >> it's not traditionally what broadcast journalism does. >> the new home for original documentaries. al jazeera america presents "motherhood on ice".

sunday, 10:00 eastern. only on al jazeera america in a tight election battle against the resurprised subsequent opposition. hello there you are watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up on the program activists accuse the syrian air force of carrying out a gas attack killing six people. relief teams start to reach outer islands to survey the damage from a massive cyclone. and why flooding in argentina is being partly blamed on these crops.