from a field of 30 candidates, voters in the central african republic go to the polls to choose a new precedent. >> reporter: a long day, the election is hope to bring an end to sectaria to sectarian violencd to sectarian violence this is al jazeera. i'm laura kyle. also ahead on the program. u.s. military says an i.s.i.l. fighters linked to the paris attack has been killed in air strikes in syria. an indonesian court throws out a

case in relation to a company that has polluted south-east asia. this fight for health hazard for villages in india. voters in the central african republic are at the polls in long delayed presidential elections. the country has been marred by violence since the overthrow of the president in 2013. he governed for a decade and has been barred from standing. another is unable to run who was put in power in 2013 by fighters who over threw the previous president. another is also not allowed to stand. that could all change if george

wins. he is a former prime minister to whom he has support. if he is elected, he says he could return to car. the other leading candidates, another former prime minister, of accused by some of having ties to fighters and this man, a former foreign minister and most prominent will yous limb canned-- muslim candidate. have you seen many people coming out to vote? >> reporter: people have been coming out to vote, but we've heard reports from across the capital here that many of those polling stations are opening up late, that the staff there aren't ready. this is an extremely important day for central africans. people tell us everywhere we go

they are looking forward to this vote. they are looking to a fresh start. it has been delayed five times. some logistical concerns that the polling station staff pity been properly trained. some allegations of fraud by some of the presidential candidates in the build up. of course, that over arching constant threat of violence. at the last vote the referendum a couple of weeks ago, there was a flair-up of violence here in the capital. it is always there, that threat of violence. with me to talk further about this is the special representative of the u.n. secretary general. lots of delays, concerns that it has been a bit of a rush. is this country ready for this election? >> the country is ready. the people are saying "we want to vote". you might have witnessed this on 13 december. people from pk5 walked to the

u.n. gates with demonstrating and polling for the-- calling for the u.n. to assist them so they may be able to cost the ballot for the referendum. this time they will be voting for candidate, presidential candidates. when you see, when you go around and see the enthusiasm of the people, you understand yes, indeed, these people want to put an end to long years of violence and they want to move forward for reconciliation and unity. this is the message that we are getting while talking to people around the country. >> reporter: it has been relatively calm in the build up, but there are still armed groups out there. there are almost a million people living in camps. so people are waiting to see what happens, aren't they? >> the challenges are huge. this election will not put an end to the sufferance of people in this country. on the contrary, it will be a

new beginning and it is hoped that people are so enthusiastic, that we know whoever is elected will be a very hard ship because it is not going to be easy. you've gone around the country. the challenges are many. it will be the responsibility, of course, of the africans themselves, but also with the support, this will be the time for the international community to come and support this country so that the plight of these i.d.p.s. could be lifted and the country be given a chance to move forward how much of a fresh start could be with all the five candidates have served under the previous and another allowed to come back to the country.

>> whatever the case, it will be for south refusery cans to decide. i have been-- africans to decide. i've been listening to them and they do want a new start. they will elect someone who will be able to carry their inspirations for a new beginning. >> reporter: that government will have to be under mined. >> i believe this is what i'm seeing. i don't believe africans, two millions, over, are rushing, going to the polling station just to replace one set of leaders with another one. it is definitely a very strong message for transformation. what these people want is a new governance, a new way of

handling this country, rule of law, democracy. they want their leaders to be accountable. this is going to be a very, very difficult course for whoever is elected as the president of the central african republic. >> reporter: thank you for joining us thanks very much for joining us there. we will be catching up more with you throughout the day. in other news, the u.s. coalition air strikes have killed ten senior i.s.i.l. leaders in iraq and syria this month. washington says some of them are linked to the paris attackers. the iraqi prime minister has been emphasising that the recapture of ramadi was an operation. a report from washing than tonne dc >> reporter: this is an alleged

i.s.i.l. lead with ties to abdel hamid abaaoud, the mastermind of the recent paris attacks, and with plans of his own to attack other targets. he was killed in an air strike somewhere in syria on 24 december and that he was just one of ten i.s.i.l. leaders targeted this month. >> our ability to dismantle the facilitation networks, our ability to dismantle our ground commanding control, our ability to take away some of their enforcers, that eats away at their mood and instills fear. >> reporter: the obama administration has long talked about the need to attack i.s.i.l. on many fronts, financially and through social media, but it is the military campaign that has captured the most attention. indeed, the u.s. has spent much of the spoofed few days-- spent most of the last few days in

driving i.s.i.l. out. the troops to retake the oil injury and sinjar home to both minority sunnis. >> translation: we will chase i.s.i.l. and go after them from one neighborhood to another and we will raise this flag from the last member of the i.s.i.l. we tell the people that we are coming to liberate them and i.s.i.l. will be defeated and flee as they were defeated in the ramadi. >> reporter: analysts say the body's failure to mention the u.s. wasn't an oversight >> i think what the prime minister is trying to say, this is iraqis taking control of their own designee because if it looks like this was more u.s. operation than an iraqi operation, this again would would feed into the narrative that it is the west to struggling with groups like i.s.i.s. >> reporter: while iraq and the u.s. are celebrating what they

call progress against i.s.i.l., there is a split on the way forward. al of abadi says 2016 will be the year i.s.i.l. is kicked ou . concerns in relation to jib discriminate air strikes. kerry criticized the leader of jaysh al-islam. meanwhile, this is the aftermath of heavy shelling said to have taken place near damascus. it is not clear whether russian or syrian regime forces carried out the attack. >> ngos have reported the air strikes in syria have killed hundreds of civilians, including first responders, medical facilities, schools and markets and led to the dismerriment of

over 100,000 syrians in the first half of november-- displacement. we are concerned about these reports of high civilian casualties. in particular, we have seen a marked in troubling increase in reports of the civilian casualties since russia competency the air strikes there flooding in south america. people are poorly equipped to handle more rain. it is the worst floods in 50 years. >> reporter: this woman is hoping to go back home soon. she has been living in this tent for days. since her house was destroyed by the floods. the recent rain is complicating her situation even more. >> translation: i have nothing left. my children have no shoes, no

clothes. i'm not sure how long i'm going to live like this. we're told it will be weeks before the water goes down. if it continues to rain it will only get worse. >> reporter: she is just one of the thousands of argentinians who have been forced out of their homes because of flooding. it is happening in concordia. this river is not far away from here and the authorities built this wall over a decade ago, to prevent the flooding of this area. this time the rain and the amount of water coming from paraguay and brazil were so intense that it flooded over parts of the city. authorities are monitoring the gates and trying to being organized in case the water continues to go up. >> translation: the current situation could continue until march, so we need to be ready. that doesn't mean that

everything will be under water until then. we hope not, but the weather is changing. we are seeing a lot of rain everywhere. >> reporter: the city is trying to cope with thousands of evacuees who are scattered in different shelters around the city. many here have lost it all. they're facing heat, humidity, bugs and disease. the local government is trying to distribute food, water and mattresses, but it is not an easy task. there are thousands of people in need. >> translation: this is not something that happens all the time. parameters have been broken. we are receiving help from around the country and trying to reach those who meet it the most. we have to learn from this so we can be ready next time. >> reporter: for now, people like this woman say they're trying to get by for the next few days, but they know they could be months before they can make it back home flooding continues in the

u.k. a 300 year old bridge has collapsed in north yorkshire. it broke up and fell into the river wharf. the bridge had been shut due to structural concerns. locals were hold to leave the neighborhood in fear of a gas leak. hundreds of residents have been moved from their homes in the u.s. state of m isouri. at least 13 people have died after 14 days of storms. rivers have touched record levels closing hundreds of roads and halting shipping. the governor is calling in the u.s. national guard to help deal with the wild weather. coming up here on the program, they may feel unwanted, but refugees are giving a boost to the economy of one of greece's biggest cities. biggest cities. bring your family and friends together

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everyone's talking about. >> don't miss the world exclusive undercover investigation. only on al jazeera america. hello again. you're watching al jazeera. a reminder of our headlines. voterss in central africa after a long awaited presidential election. the country has been marred by violence after the throw of the president in 2013. the u.s. says coalition air strikes have killed ten senior i.s.i.l. leaders in iraq and syria this month. amongst them are the suspects in marissa tacks with one having links to the master minds abdel hamid abaaoud. a court in indonesia has thrown

out a company, a form that is suspected of burning thousands of forest to make room for its crop. more now on this story. our correspondent. why was this thrown out? >> reporter: the ministry of environment and forestry brought this action against a company, accusing it of deliberately starting fires in 2014, fires that affected 20,000 hectares of land on an island in indonesia. the court has rejected this case saying there wasn't enough evidence presented and it has found in favor of the company. ministry officials who spoke to us before the court had delivered the verdict had been very confident that they would be able to win this case. now they say this verdict is a

huge disappointment to them. they were seeking 570 million dollars in damages, making it a case largest of its kind. they said it was a simple open and shut case. they pointed to the fact that the company is one of the companies that had its licence suspended this year in relation to this year's forest fires. this shows how hard it is to hold anyone accountable for such fires. these weren't the worst on record, but the resulting hayse had spread to southern thailand and philippines. schools had to close and flights cancelled. more than a dozen people died, more than 500,000 people fell ill from respiratory illnesses because the smoke and the pollution. people say small-scale farmers

are to blame, but others say it is the big plantation companies that are using flash and burn methods on huge scales to peel large tracks of land that is causing this problem thank you for that court case in indonesia. hundreds of thousands of refugees have arrived in greece this year. many of them fleeing war in syria. tourism is under decline but some are getting a boost from the arrivals. >> reporter: it is greece's second largest city with a population of more than a million people. the city's coastline is the major tourist attraction, but it is also an hour's drive to the border of macedonia which is the main crossing point for

refugees. many of have passed through greece in 2015. many of them went through this city and that has brought much needed cash to the economy. >> translation: some of the refugees came here with money to get by. as far as the economy of the city is concerned, all restaurants, cafés and boutiques, all shops. >> reporter: cheap hotel rooms have been in demand. the hotel association says more than 25,500 syrian refugees have booked a room for a night or two in the first half of 2015. that number is expected to rise because there are other refugees from different nationalitys staying at cheap hotels. the cheapest room you can finds costs about 20 euros. the city says greece is not after the refugees' money >> many syrians which have economic immunity, they stayed

in certain hotels for up to four days, but this is just a passing point. there are some people who make money. i understand that they make money, the turks make money when they pass them through. who knows how much money they get >> reporter: at the special station at the border with mass dough macedonia, refugees are stranded. it could be days before police allow them to continue their journey. that means they spend more money to eat and drink, boosting trade for local shop owners >> translation: it is very big. it has become an industry. they ask for products. >> reporter: demand for transport has also picked up through the normally quiet winter months, but as being--

this driver tells me he transports about 200 people a week. greece says the refugee crisis in 2015 is costing its hundreds of millions of dollars, but the refugees are helping some greeks and their businesses flourish a man has been alleged as the mastermind of the opposition leader. the kremlin man was gunned down in february. a panel investigating the murder says it was ordered by a military soldier. investigators have been accused of a cover up. a north korean leader has died in a car accident. that is according to state media. he was the secretary of the workers' party and head of the department in south korea.

he was 73. rescue workers in eastern china have found eight survivors from a collapsed mine. they had been trapped with nine other workers for five days. the crews are trying to send food, water and other emergency supplies to the men who are 220 metres below ground. they're drilling their way to try to bring them out. over a million people die in india each year from indoor air pollution. the reason, many people burn toxic materials to make fire in their homes which produces poisonous smoke. it's a widespread practice despite other clean fuels being available. >> reporter: life is simple here in this village, as is the cooking. this woman begins her morning to make food. she sits like this twiss a day

for every day and it isn't pleasant. >> translation: i start coughing sometimes because of the smoke. the coffee and smoke makes my eyes water too >> reporter: it is a similar picture around india where cooking is done in around around the home. most use dirty fuels. smoke gets into the home and lungs. there are villages all over india where this type of stove is the only option. when there is an alternative available, the preference is still for these. in this village some also have a natural gas stove in the corner of the home, but it is rarely used other than for making tea. >> translation: food doesn't cook quickly on the gas stove. we don't like the taste either. this is better. >> reporter: but researchers say that preference for the old ways is hurting their health. the stoves are placed in a courtyard or outside the home but the smoke easily travels

into the nearby home where it is breathed in by everyone in the family. >> translation: burning cow dung or wood produces different sizes of particles. the smaller particles get deeper inside the lungs and has a more effect. the smaller the particle the worse health problems it causes >> reporter: experts say switching to other stoves would have an immediate and noticeable effect >> translation: the amount of smoke that is created and the amount of time that a person is in front of it cooking affects them. if you use a gas smoke, there is little smoke. with an induction stove, you won't see any. the lesser the smoke the lesser the health effects >> reporter: changing habits is hard. wood or chore coal or dung are easily available and costs less than regularly buying a nature gas cylinder. governments and ngos have looked at finding cheaper alternatives

and to distribute them. they have not reached many independencian villagess in 2016 rio de space janeiro will be in the spotlight hosting the olympic games. the games are likely to cost in excess of 10 billion dollars >> reporter: in a stay familious for its beaches and carnival, having a good time is a way of life. the city also has experience hosting an international sporting event. it hosted world cup soccer matches in 2014. add to that the pride of making history. this is the first olympic games to be health in south america. >> translation: it is going to be wonderful and rio is going to welcome them with open arms. >> reporter: more than hassle of the budget comes from private money. the city is taking full advantage of using existing

venues from previous sporting events like the world cup. the city says construction is on time and on budget. unlike the world cup, when some stadiums were finished, only days before the games began. >> translation: there are two kinds of olympics. games that take the benefits out of the city and the city that takes the benefits out of the games. we're taking full advantage of having the olympics in rio. >> reporter: in 2015 the city held 20 test events, including the triathalon. here athletes may have to compete while smelling raw sewerage and seeing garbage floating by their boats. the city promised the olympic committee it would clean up the bay significantly, but now officials admit their efforts may not come close to the satisfying the athletes.

the sailing events may have to be held elsewhere. on the periphery, graffiti is here. a woman initially refused to leave even though the city offered her a flat and money. now that most of the 344 families who used to live here have taken the buy out she has decided to move but feels a sense of loss. >> translation: it is not that anyone is against the olympics. it's that they destroy people here. the community, everything. >> reporter: another big concern is drug gains and spill over of the violence inside the city. officials say things were calm during the world cup and they expect the same with rio 2016. if you're thinking about going to the biggest sporting event on the planet, seven and a half million tickets are available. more than half cost $30 or less

george pattaki has dropped out of the race for the u.s. presidential nomination. the former u.n. govern near said he would drop out-- governor. on america tonight, hospital hoax. an incredible story of id theft and how it nearly ruined this young mother's life >> her meth addiction was in my records lisa fletcher with a story you won't believe. the serious questions about protecting your identity from risks you've never imagined. thanks for joining us.