>> iraq's leader proposes a clear out of top government posts after weeks of mass protests. hello there i'm barbara serra, you're watching al jazeera live from lorched. from london. also coming up on the program, haiti's first elections in years. escaping violence but facing new challenges. the families struggling to find security in yemen. plus a wave of patriotism and celebration in singapore as the city-state marks half a century of independence.

six of iraq's most senior politicians face being stripped of their positions as anger grows over the way the country is being run. two form he prime ministers are among those under threat. protesters have been demanding the government of corruption and incompetence. radical solution has stunned the country. mohammed jamjoom reports. >> prime minister and council of ministers would seek to cancel the positions of some of its top leadership. a decree garnering strong reaction on the streets of the capital. >> translator: this is a real test to the political blocks in parliament. if they refuse the prime minister's proposal, that means they will be the enemy of the

iraqi people, singled out and held accountable. >> reporter: prime minister haidehaider al-abadi's proposal cancels the position he of three vice presidents and three prime ministers. in order to cut wasteful spending. at a time of growing national protests abadi has been and you tack, accused of not providing his citizens with the basic of services. demanding electricity, air conditioning, clean water and most importantly, an end to corruption in parliament. by sunday, just hours after abadi's announcement that sentiment had only grown stronger. >> translator: i like to present a gift to our politicians. those who don't understand the essence of policy. those who have been so corrupt over the past 13 years, just like you've been playing with us like puppets these past 13 years. >> reporter: now protesters

are further emboldened and even more demonstrations are being called. and white the heat may have reached record levels activists are insisting they'll keep coming out onto the streets. the prime minister's cabinet has met for an emergency session and already approved his proposals but it's not clear when members of parliament will take up the issue. while a semblance of hope is still apparent it is cynicism that is in abundant supply, its patience has completely run out. mohammed jamjoom, al jazeera, baghdad. while some changes have been made, some iraqis say they will never trust the government again. among them iraqi christians forced to move from islamic state of iraq and the levant. they are seeking refuge in jordan.

>> reporter: it's been a year since iraq's first group of christian refugees escaped to jordan. they were all expelled by islamic state of iraq and the levant when it took control of mosul. a special service in their hon honor, they and their disabled daughter who fled from karakosh last year may never see iraq again but it's a price they are willing to pay, because they no lorchger trust their government. >> translator: how can we be expelled from our homes and towns where we grow up just like that, without any rights? we served our home land. >> in a letter read by archbishop nunzio galatino head of the roman catholic church, iraq's christians are among the oldest christian communities in

the world. >> muslims christians and we want this religion to stay. that's why we want the christians to stay. we want to save the true identity of the middle east. >> reporter: they prayed for peace but most are not sure they will ever enjoy it in this part of the world. >> translator: my children have been out of school and college for two years. their future is over. we feel we are alive just to breathe and eat. we have nothing to do except wait. >> reporter: the persecution of iraq's christians began well before i.s.i.l. appeared. that's why most here in jordan insist they never want to go back because they say iran is not a hopeful place for christians. they want to leave this region oolg together. thealtogether. they are here to apply for

asylum. >> he cannot move on until he is resettled into a country that he can call home. >> translator: we're psychologically exhausted. a return to iraq is impossible because the government can't protect us. we want out, we want to emigrate. >> reporter: there is a lot of heartache and trauma here but those lucky enough to leave iraq are glad they're safe and their faith remains strong. al jazeera, jordan. throws christians pushed out of iraq by i.s.i.l, and i.s.i.l. offensive northwest of aleppo. at least 37 people died that the tack, in the village of umaloosh. attempting to defend the village before being overrun by i.s.i.l.

haiti's president michel martelly has cast his ballot in the country's parliamentary election. the vote comes after four years of disagreement between political parties. several polling places have been shut down because of violence. from the capital port-au-prince, rob reynolds reports. >> reporter: in the haitian country side life is hard, money is scarce and government services are nearly nonexistent. people here in the village of tomaso, fetch their drinking water from the same stream that their animals wade in. floristile raymond has six children with a seventh on the way. the family scrapes by on the meager earnings of her husband a day laborer. >> government doesn't provide any services for us.

>> reporter: president michel martelly was holding a political rally nearby making promises and asking tomaso residents for votes. decades of misrule, foreign corruption and natural disasters have left haiti a hollowed out state. with military health care and education largely run by outsiders, u.n. agencies or nongovernmentallal agencies or ngos. haitians resent that. >> those guys they cannot help themselves, let's help them. but the mistake is, they always want to think for us to design for us to do things for us. >> reporter: haiti's prime minister admits there's a problem. >> translator: we are conscious of it how it has affected the sovereignty of our country. it is a consequence of a long continuous crisis of instability. >> reporter: this university student says haiti would be better off on its own.

>> translator: i think they should go. they brought us cholera. they brought us more misery. >> without help from these volunteers from doctors without borders work alongside haitian physicians the health system would get worse. education too depends on outsiders. 90% of the schools are operated by churches or foreign organizations. one bright spot is policing. the head of the u.n. police operation says the haitian national police or hnp is doing the job of law and order. >> it is a myth to think the hnp is not doing it now, i can tell you i see it every day. my officers are not involved in managing the security across the country as much as the hnp is. >> reporter: officials say sung's elections if successful will be a major step towards haiti reclaiming its

sovereignty. >> we can speak to rob reynolds live for us in port-au-prince. some apology place has been attacked, actually been a violent campaign. how has the day gone so far, any problems? >> well, so far there have been a few problems but nothing like widespread violence and i got to tell you barbara, one thing about a tropical downpour, doesn't matter whether you're a president a pauper a hasn't voter or a clueless reporter, when you go outside you get wet. the skies literally opened up a few minutes ago. the terms of any electoral irregularities at this particular spot, a lot of people complained that their names were not to be found on the list of eligible voters so they were not able to cast their ballots and a lot of people were quite upset about that. haitian national police say there have been 56 arrests across the country, seven weapons seized, 56 voting

centers out -- 26 voting centers out of 1058 voting centers shut down. for a variety of reasons. here in the capital several polling places were trashed by unknown people, the ballots and other voting materials were just strewn about willy-nilly. we did speak just an hour or so ago to elana valensiano, head of the eu electoral commission, and she said in general, things seemed to be going well, good news for haitian democracy, without a stable political environment, very little can be done here to raise the standard of the haitian people. barbara. >> this is first election since

2010-2011, even parliamentary. but the country is preparing for another kind of election, the presidential election. how important will that be? >> reporter: it's actually a very complicated system. there will be these parliamentary elections, there will be a runoff, for most of them, in october and on that same day in late objection, there will be 50 presidential candidates standing for election. that's actually even more than the number of republicans in the united states who are trying to win the nomination of that party. and they will then have their vote and then another runoff in december. so this whole thing is going to last right up until sort of the end of the year and maybe even into 2016. >> rob reynolds from the haitian capital, port-au-prince. rob, thank you. still more to come, including calling for change in the city of ferguson a year

after a black teenager was killed by police. and a message for japan's prime minister as nagasaki remembers the atomic bombing. bombing.

>> now a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. after weeks of protests, the iraqi prime minister says he wants to abolish six top government posts as part of a plan to tackle corruption and improve services. in syria at least 37 people have been killed in an attack targeting the syrian rebel

headquarters close to aleppo. in haiti, michel martelly cast his vote in the first elections in years. a palestinian has been shot dead by israeli soldiers after being suspected of stabbing an israeli civilian. it happened at a petrol station. israeli army says there were a number of attackers and they're now searching the area. security forces have arrested a number of israeli settlers after overnight searches in the occupied west bank. it follows an attack on two palestinian homes in the village of duma. a baby was killed and other members of his family were seriously injured. it is not clear if the arrests are connected to the attack in duma. imtiaz tyab is in jerusalem with the latest. al jazeera have learned nine people have been taken into custody in arrests of what are

known as outposts in the occupied west bank. outposts are different than settlements, in that they are considered illegal under israeli law as well as international law. that lends to what we've been hearing from the israeli government this that they are quote cracking down on what they describe as jewish extremists. whatever the case we understand that these people have been taken into custody. we also hear that some are already in the protest of being released. in the background of all of this, the case of this family which was attacked in the palestinian village known as duma in which an 18 month old baby was burned to death, his father just died a day ago, the other members of his family are is still in hospital we have learned there is no meaningful progress in that case and that does beg the question as though

israel is as they said cracking down on the israeli extremists, they have appeared to make no progress in this case. the city of zinjibar, forces loyal to exiled president abd rabbu mansour hadi, have been bombing the area since march. an influx into jordan's avian province, those who find safety there still struggle to survive. as caroline malone explains. >> people who are living in medea town, have trouble getting supplies, limited access into and out of medea and there's not

enough food go around. >> translator: we call on international humanitarian organizations to accelerate the supply of aid as people are in dire need of the basics including food and medication. diseases are spreading. we need urgent intervention to save lives and stop suffering. >> reporter: among those suffering are the many displaced families who have come from the niche city of aden, living in temporary camps with no resources but they are at least under the guard of local resistance fighters who protect the town. the influc influx into medea iso suffering. >> this is only hospital in the area. we have to protect people in aden and across avian. more people keep coming. >> reporter: the u.n. says 81%

of the yemen's 21 million people need some form of aid. 1.3 million people have also been displaced by the fighting. >> there are thousands of wounded and dead people. there are a lot of displaced, a lot of destruction. but there is also the indirect impact. the fighting also leads to the fact that vaccination programs cannot take place anymore. >> reporter: and then there's the issue of electricity. there isn't any. that is unless you have a generator and can get diesel. it is another challenge for those living in this relatively safe town despite the fighting all around. caroline malone, al jazeera. houthis have released a protest in the capital sanaa. this video was released to demand the release of three women's activates. one of the activates was

arrested by houthi gunman,. police in pakistan april punjab region say nearly 300 children were sexually abused and assaulted by a gang of 25 men for a number of years. so far seven men have been arrested avid yoas of their crimes emerged. the families of the victims are calling for a full judicial inquiry. nicole johnston has more on the story. >> pakistani police are saying that some 280 children were sexually abused and assaulted buy gang of 25 men over a number of years. so far seven have been arrested. reports of 400 videos were made and thousands ended up on the local markets selling for as low as 40 cents each. they could have ended up abroad in the u.s., u.k. and europe. reports are coming out from the parents and the victims saying

children had been drugged and the families forced to pay money and jewelry to these gangs, essentially they were blackmailed by the gangs. the families of the victims are calling for a full judicial inquiry. they say that they don't trust the police to properly investigate this. they are also calling for military courts to hear any cases of the accused. this is created a great controversy in pakistan, a great deal of outrage and disgust amongst the public in a country where the protection of children's rights is very poor and many people have little faith in the judicial system which they say is rife with corruption. >> reporter: the italian coast guard has rescued a total of 671 more people from the mediterranean sea on sunday. there were five separate rescue efforts, more than 200 people were taken to the italian island of lampedusa. so far this year more than 2,000

refugees have died trying to reach europe by boat. it's been a year since a white police officer shot and killed unarmed teenager michael brown. demonstrations have been held to remember brown. debate about race and alleged police brutality in the united states. well, let's go live to ferguson and talk to al jazeera, kristin saloomey, a year since the killing of michael brown, kristin. some would argue, not enough was changed since last year. what's the mood for this anniversary to be commemorated? >> reporter: i think you're right barbara, the mood today is somber. of course this is anniversary of mike brown's death so it's a difficult time for the family. leslie mechanic spadden his --

leslie mcspadden his mother has cevmen kept a low profile. some of the services will be gettingetting underway soon. what we have seen is a sense of defiance underneath this somber tone. lots of people ended up for the service at the site that michael brown was shot and killed, hundreds of them and they were of -- they we're diverse group, lots of families were there, there were black people white people young and old. and also a sense however that justice still hasn't been served for michael brown. as you said. and that is due in large part because the police officer who killed him was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by both local and federal investigations. and a lot of people here feel that that is not justice. and while there have been positive changes, that many people in the community point to

in terms of race relations and policing, that that is still an open wound. so the mood here today yes, it's somber, it's serious but also a renewed call for action to address some of the issues that have been raised by michael brown's death. >> and kristin, briefly if you can just walk us through how this anniversary will be marked. i think kristin saloomey can't hear me anymore. we will cross life to her reporting live from ferguson on the day sunday that marks one year since unarmed black teen teenager michael brown was shot by white police officer in ferguson. man killed during the looting of several grocery stores last month in caracas. the past week has seen more

report of looting in supermarkets as the country continues to suffer from food schornlings, theshortages. japan's commitment to pacifism is at risk. that's the warning from nagasaki's mayor who spoke at a ceremony marking 70 years since the u.s. dropped an atomic bomb on the city. the government recently introduced new laws which could involve japanese troops in conflict for the first time since world war ii. >> currently there is a debate in parliament over laws that will change the nature of our national security. there is also growing worry and concern that our resolve of 70 years ago, the idea of our peace constitution is starting to waver. i ask that the government listen to the worries and concerns about the people and use their concerns in a careful and

sincere manner. >> north korea crop yields have been destroyed, two-thirds of the people are facing chronic food shorms. government mismanagement and abnormally warm weather. fireworks lit up the skies aas singapore celebrated its 50th anniversary. singapore is now a global business hub but di discontent s been gathering. sahil raman reports. >> onward, singapore is the signal of the nation day. nearly 3,000 square meters of led screens high tech

projections and a spectacular light show while the lucky 50,000 spectators who managed to get tickets to the venue. a trip down memory lane, encompassing singapore's unity and identity. on it went, the army and navy on the ground while the air force treated the crowds with some precision flying. civil society and school groups paraded past the assembled audience. many wondered how the leader would cope without his father, lee quan yew. his vision created a vibrant economy and respected internationally and the envy of some who aspired to achieve the same. those who gathered for the celebrations had time to reflect on a moment of history. >> i think general sense of

singapean pride is there. >> the view that national labor event or real, the fire works. >> reporter: there was plenty of pageantry but plenty have said, the situation will not last long. there is plenty to take care of in the coming weeks. >> the ruling party has announced the retirement of several mps so i think we are going to see an election sooner rather than later. >> reporter: and this is the electorate, young, educated, tech-savvy and aspirational. ex pats who have come back to say thank you to a country, a system and a vision, an island that transformed itself to a first world economy.

they know that the atmosphere they live is reflectant of the past. while they soak up the atmosphere for now the party goes on. sahil raman, al jazeera, singapore. >> you can find out much more on our website, aljazeera.com. ra.com. i'm ali velshi, and i'm devoting the show to the trafficking of children as sex workers, a crime most think happens somewhere else. it's happening here in the united states. tonight - we bring you the story of a 15-year-old girl sold for sex online. hundreds of times. and the website that listed her for sale. mary snow has the story. >> we did everything with the kids. that was our philosophy as being parents. trouble. >> reporter: tom was a stay at home dad, his wife nicole a