only on al jazeera america. ♪ ♪ fight against isil intensifies. confirmation a french aircraft carrier will be operational in the eastern mediterranean. ♪ hello. i am david foster. you are watching al jazeera. the belgian security chiefs meteorite now. the capitol remains in a state of high alert. in crime a a, a state of emergences see. an e ledge translatesty pile-up leaving millions without power. argentinians take to the polls and gain in their country's

first ever presidential run-off. the word out of france is that it's aircraft-carrier will be operational in the fight against isil monday. the announcement was made a week after the attacks in paris. the nuclear power, charles degaulle is the biggest warship of them all in western europe. planes and helicopters stationed in the eastern side of the mediterranean pretty close to syria. russia's intensifying it's bombing campaign, warships in the caspian sea right away across syria. activists say these strikes some of the heaviest they have been since it all kicked off in syria in 2011. in an interview with chinese television, the syrian president said the russian strikes had helped to improve the situation

in syria and his troops were advancing on nearly every front. mohammed jamjoon has more from paris. >>over whelming support for security measures being put into place by french president francois hollande according to a new poultry leased in france on sunday, stating 91% of french citizens support the extension of the state of emergency by three months. that was passed just in the last few days. also saying 94% of respondents support further border controls. it was anounced the tear craft carrier, charles de gaulle will be in place by monday morning but there will be 26 fighter jets aboard that will be bombing isil targets in syria. >>, of course, in addition to the 12 french fighter jets already carrying out air raids against isil. >> u.s. president has been talking about the fight against isi isil. barracks obama in malacia saying he wants russia to focus on isil

instead of other armed groups in syria. >> their principal targets have been the moderate opposition that they felt threatened assad. our principal goal add appeared to be to forfy the position of the assad regime. >> does not add to our efforts against isil. in some ways, it strengthens it because isil is also fighting many of those groups that the russians were hitting. >> the u.s. and turkey are working together to secure a 98 kilometer area inside syria currently under isil control. in the last few days, turkey stepped up its assistance to the opposition to drive isil away to northern aleppo. defeating isil will take time. more now from the border with syria. >> just having received news her

father was killed in what she said was a russian airstrike inside syria. but because she doesn't have travel documents, she won't be able to attend the funeral. >> we are suffering a lot. i have been away from my family for two years. i just want to get back and say goodbye. >> she is among many syrians who have fled to turkey. mohammed hasry has been here for almost two years. their father was badly hurt in a barrel bomb attack. he and his brothers drove for 20 hours to get to tborder crossin but because mohammed lost his id, he won't be able to cross into syria. >> my father called us and said he would love to see us. his health is deteriorating. as you can see, i won't be able to join him. >> turkey happens increased

security at its border with syria after several attacks for which the government blames isil. turkey's western alleys had been asking for tighter controls for some time. the u.s. is stepping up pressure on turkey to seal off the border areas. flying fighters from crossing into syria and, second, to ensure isil won't be able to smuggle oil into turkey market did. if that happens, the u.s. hopes isil will lose significant revenues and its influence in the region will diminish. >> these are syrian rebels on the move to retain isil territory in aleppo. turkish fighter jets are helping them. but syrian opposition military commanders say more should be done. >> the international coalition is launching airstrikes against

isil but airstrikes won't defeat isil. we need to have boots on the ground. the only way is to give the syrian opposition weapons to lead that fight. >> the u.s. is reluctant to give the rebels advanced weapons, fearing some of them might fall in to the hands of groups affiliated with isil or al-qaeda. back at the border crossing, mufida, her family and other syrian refugees like them will have to wait until war comes to an end to reunite with their relatives. al jazeera, on the turkish border with syria. ♪ >> belgian security officials are meeting to decide whether or not the terror alert in brussels is going to be extended. streets of the capitol have been in lockdown for a second day

according to imminent attacks. people told to a void large crowds. bell jump's prime minister said there is the possibility of a paris-style attack involving explosives and weapons and several -- at several locations. algeria's paul brennan live for us in brussels. the longer it goes on without any kind of attack, in a sense, the more difficult it is for them to justify extending the state of emergency. but the they wobbled right to do so. >> it's a tough call, extremely big dilemma for the prime minister and those meeting in the building opposite behind me. what they have to do is judge, as we enter the working week on monday, whether the dasstruction is work the risk. you have -- you are well wear the threat level is raised to maximum possible. a threat level 4 in brussels but

in the 48 hours since that came in to being, no arrests have been made. n none of any of the real prime suspects they are searching for. they have announced it's not just sulah al-islam. there are a number of acomplaces although they haven't released names. they have to work out whether the metro system and the other shutdown areas that adviseing people to stay away from crowded places, whether they should keep those restrictions in place. a tough call indeed because if they decide to reopen the metro, they are effectively giving the possibility of a soft target to any attack. if they open it and there is an attack, the political consequences would be immense. >> paul, if it's been relatively quite over the weekend, if people have been out and about to public places which this way told to avoid as of the start of the working week, those are going to be shifting to other areas, what you might call as

you just did, a soft target. so, the threat does the remain. in fact, in many ways, more people in more crowded places. >> well, i mean the grand plaza was like a ghost town on saturday night. people basically stayed away. there were a few bars open, a few people out and about, but very, very few. much fewer than would in orderly be expected on a saturday night. people have stayed away. but it is the weekend. the offices are all closed. businesses are shut. the working week gets under way in little more than 12 hours time, people are going to be wanting to use that metro system to get in to work. it's a very crowded system. i have used it myself, last week. the impact of denying that to the working people is going to be immense. but, of course, politicians have to weigh the risks. in the absence of any progress from the security services in arresting any of these people that they are chasing, then they

have to weigh whether the risk is worth it. >> it is a difficult one. we will bring the details of that meeting as soon as we get them. i am sure you will keep your eyes and ears open. thank you, paul brennan almost 2 million people in crimea are without power after pylons were blown up. a state of emergency has been declared in the peninsula annexed last year by russia. this is likely to heighten the already tense relationship between russia and ukraine. >> circulated on social media, images of the 4 damaged' electricity pylons, crimea was annexed by russia last year. ukraine still continues to supply the peninsula with electricity. overnight, crimea's largest city was plunked into darkness.

thousands of homes left without power. at this city hospital, back-up generators were used to keep the lights on and keep vital equipment running. rescue teams have been put on high alert, a state of emergency declared. >> absolutely. all services have been mobilized. all generators have been checked. we have 217 in the city. they are mostly located at social installations, schools, hospitals and kindergartens. many of these will have electricity >> two of the power pylons in curzon were first damaged on friday. the israeli activists including crimeans tried to stop attempts to repair the lines and were pushed back by police. ukrainian officials believe the pylons were blown up. russia hasn't said who caused the damage. the state media reported the

pylons had been attacked guy ukrainian nationalists. if the true, the blackout's likely to further increase russia between ukraine. it's expected to take up to 48 hours for power to be restored. al jazeera. >> stay with us if you can on al jazeera after this break. the funerals held for opposition figures who have been executed in bangladesh. the epa journalists in fear of their lives with the country's government defending media controls. ♪

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running through the top stories, russia is pounding isil target did in syria in one of the heaviest bombardments. aircra aircraft-carrier is preparing to start its campaign against isil. the capitol in a lockdown after warnings. execute officials meeting to decide whether to extend the alert in brussels. a state of emergency is being declared after pylons were blown up. those countries that belong to acean, the so, of southeast asian nations have agreed to create a new trade barriers being lifted, people within the bloc will be able to move around more freely. a report on the last day of that summit from kuala lumpur.

>> the hope is the agreement signed this weekend will improve the lives of 620 million people who live in the 10 ascean member states. >> we have to ensure there is a truly single market and production base with freer movement of goods and services with common standards and greater connectivity and the removal of the barriers the block which concluded this meeting the aims of the new ascean new community agreement known as the aec is to create a single economic market, one that is competitive within the region but will attracted more foreign investment. it plans to make it easier for professionals to get work per metz in all member states.

since the blueprint was pinned in 2007, it was invisaged greater economic would be the goal. the blocks combined gdp group by 4.6 and foreign investment increased by nearly 16%. much of the success has been in small and medium enterprises. cdow supplies employs people at this tie tire factor. it's annual turnover is $3.5 million. he has plans to export more if trade barriers can be removed. savvy entrepreneurs like tan has begun to trade past asia. the appear has been downlated by those the six countries where it operates. this is the start of economic

integrate i think ascean will continue to move forward. it will be correct as you said. that's the reason why it has the problems the eu is face. as governments keep that goal in mind and make it into a single market, there will be huge gains. ascean is no rush. analysts say its steady cautious approach has been a defendant strong point in a world of turbulent global finance. al jazeera, kuala lumpur. >> two hanged bangladeshi opposition leaders have taken place under tight security. the secretary general, the first foreign minister to be skooultd for war crimes for independence. correspondent mohar sutar in

daka. >> behind me, over the years. protests calling for the execution of war criminals. in a little bit, there is going to be another gathering over there this is going to be a celebration rather than a protest. that's because two of the most high profile ones were hanged on sundays. the mood across the country is not entirely jubilant because the two men were hanged were influential politicians and their supporters say their trial was about himmedering the offzition rather than justice and have taken to the streets in the past resulting in hundreds of people killed in political violence. the government has taken extraordinary measures to prevent further violence from taking place. they defy tens of thousands of security personnel. police, border guards, para

military units have been deployed in other major cities across the country. they have clamped down on social media, with twitter -- sorry -- facebook and vipir locked for a while now. however, despite this, there has been one incidence of violence with journalits with a tv van fired at by unknown attackers and at least one journalist has been wounded as a result. so, the possibility of further violence is certainly there. >> final phase of egypt's parliamentary election has begun. voter turnout expected to be very low. countriy the country has been without a parliament for nearly three years by court order in 2012. rob mathson reports. >> reporter: the egyptian president cast his ballot in the latest round of voting in long-delayed parliamentary elections. voting stations in egypt have now opened.

>> a key question now is how many people will cast their votes. in october, turnout was over 22%. there are worries numbers will be low an few believe their vote matters. >> there are parties that have joined forces with the currents regime. that's my opinion. for me, this means parliament is not something i recognize at all. in my opinion, it means parliament is the return of the nvp symbols. mubarak's regime, political return once again. >> in 2012, the turnout of roughly 46%, mohammed more situate and the freedom and justice party won but were regarded free and fair looeksdz. a little over 12 months later, morsi was deposed in a military coup which dissolved the freedom of justice party. promising toed hold parliament looeksdz within months.

it's taken two years for that to happen. tens of thousands of activists are still in jail. dozens of journalists are behind bars. the media are tightly controlled. several parties are boycotting this latest vote claiming there is little chance for them to play a role in egypt's politics. one of the key reasons is a w e widespread since of frustration and a cynicism this upcoming parliament will have formed any serious role. the dominant feeling is that the president wants a parliament that's going to support him in all of the decisions he is going to make. >> president sisi has faced entered national criticism for cracking down opponents. this vote is unlikely to change the face of egyptian politics. the level of turn out may goive some indication as to how many e job descriptions are behind their president and his policies. rob mathison, al jazeera. >> voting underway in argentina's historic

presidential run-off, choosing between the conservative mayor and the country's ruling party camp. whoever wins will have major challenges, in particular, the economy. >> there are winds of change in argentina this sunday. as for the first time in 12 years, the opinion zils has real chances of winning the presidency. the former president of boca junior's super club is the current mayor. he promises to open the economy after years of protectionist policies under christina krishner. he wants a clean breakfo from those policies which include heavy trade and currency controls. >> translator: argentinians, we are ready to live in a marvelous era in our history. i want each of you to go home today knowing he has gun, that it's true that the it is now. let's go. let's go, argentina.

change. christina's hand-picked successor. he promises to maintain her welfare programs while pushing economic policy in a more orthodox die recollection. >> i gar an teen the undecided and independent voters if they join this cause will mean a great cause for argentina's development to reach victory for all arrange intinians. >> the news has intensified attacks. when this country defaulted on foreign debts. they say it was linked with the monetary fund, with the united states government and hedge fund for the government suing argentina for debt. in october's first round, beat by three points. latest polls show, this time, macky has the lead.

>> it's been a campaign full of aggression because of what is at stake. appeal to go hope and change and cioli says change could be chaotic. no matter who wins, argentina will be different after this election. i think we won't see the level of confrontation we have seen in the last decade. >> the opposition has expressed fear about the possibility of fraud. the director of the electoral commission says they have taken every measure to prevent anything from going wrong. >> the process is controlled by armed forces by political parties by us, by justice. it's impossible to break our system. the. >> the possibility of change has appealed to many argentinians after 12iers of kirshnerism. there are many who are afraid about what that change could bring. al jazeera, bonus aires. >> bali's president has been to see some of those injured in friday's attack on a market

hotels in this country's capitol. ibrahim went to a hospital to meet survivors. 41 people were killed in the siege at the radisson blue including two of the attackers. a state of emergency still in force as police are looking for suspects. >> one of the fastest growing economies in, if anything, the government says it is determined to reforms ethiopia into am. when it comes to media freedom, it has one of the worst reputations of all. >> reporter: hilu and his fellow blogger and journalist say they live in fear. the terrorism charges against them and seven other bloggers and journalists were dropped after they spent a year in jail. kardu describes what he says was 75 days of often violent interrogation in a windowless

cell with only a mattress on the floor. >> i was forced to do sit-ups. i was slapped a lot of times. i sometimes think that my leg was going to be from the government to allow me freely express myself. >> an ethiopia state broadcaster, reporters without board evers says the ethiopian government has forced many media companies to close in recently years according to the new york committee for the protection of journalists, ethiopia is the fourth most censored country in the world. ethiopia has one. fastest growing economies in the world. it has grown on average by more than 10 percent a year over the last decade.

foreign investingment is coming in. >> this is the recently opened light rallyway that costs $475 million to build with the help of achises ease loan. it's projects like these that help tom highlight the rapid pace of development here in ethiopia. the government kalthoff gorily denies accusations from critics here and abroad but ideas of democratic change and freedom of speech are being sidelined for the sake of economic development. >> the government said it is determined to beat poverty. an avenue gdp of around $550, ethiopia remains one of the poorest in the world. the country has been protected by attacks from al shabaab fight frerdz neighboring somalia. the government says there has to be statementy if it is to achieve its goal to reforms ethiopia into a middle income. they say the freed i can't are free to criticize but there are

limits including what it called inciting riots but it does add military mistakes. >> overnight, we are a learning country, a learning process. we will make errors. that's it. the principles. >> reporter: if evidence is presented, would the government allow a transparent investigation into allegations of torture? >> they have come with concrete things, yes. the journalists and bloggers, words and deeds are sometimes very different things. charles stratford, al jazeera. >> covering the world in a way

that no other news organization does, aljazeera.com. we have the headlines. we have pictures behind those headlines. here you see what is happening in aleppo in syria. aljazeera.com. more. [ ♪ ] hello i'm richard gizbert, and this is "listening post". here are some of the stories we are looking at. the attack in paris, a story of