arrests and allegations of vote rigging casts a shadow over the uganda presidential elect n election. coming up in the next half hour, angela merkel says a deal could keep brittain in the pope speaks out against the suffering of migrants and says donald trump is not a

christian. a report on the industry that is take itting off at the shinning important air show-- singapore air show allegations of vote rigging and the arrest of the main opposition leaders have marred elections in uganda. police briefly detained presidential candidate besigye as he tried to show rigging votes. >> reporter: all over the capital people came early to vote. across the country polling in most stations preceded-- proceeded peacefully. besigye took us to a house that was rigging. >> in terms of the materials, right now we have seen ballot boxes being thrown over the fence. when they knocked on the gate

some people inside ran away and they were found armed. police arrived and gained access inside the house. it was a private home. the police later said the access was barred because it was a crime intelligence facility. besigye was detained and taken to his home for the third time this week. the ruling party is trying to provoke police and cause disruptions. meanwhile, incumbent president museveni has been in power for 30 years and wants five more. >> there will be no violence. the pressure comes down. >> reporter: back in the city at this polling station agents say they were thrown out by police

for complaining about names being added to the voters' register. the agents from the ruling nr m party said the police were just keeping order. >> it is the nr m that is calling the shots. not the presiding officers. they are telling what to do with the help of the police. >> reporter: at many polling stations polling materials arrive six or more hours late. at at least three locations peace fired tear gas at angry crowds. this polling station had tear gas fired here. voting materials came about seven hours late. nobody voted in the end. in 15 stations polling will

happen friday instead. as the people wait for the results, many opposition supporters are skeptical about the polls german chancellor angela merkel says a deal to keep britain in the e.u. won't be easy for some countries to accept. david cameron had meetings with leaders into the early hours of the morning >> reporter: the president of the european council said some progress had been made during these long hours of the negotiations, but move needs to be done. he with the president and david cameron, the british prime minister, will go on through the night taking part in a series of bilateral meetings with the french president, the belgium prime minister and also the czech prime minister. he is a leader of a group of eastern block countries which are assistant to some of the

measures that the british prime minister has put forward specifically on cuts to migrant benefits. david cameron, of course, wants to go home with a deal that he feels he can paracel to the british public. he wants to stay in europe so he wants to get the politicalish public on side before that planned referendum. another issue was being discussed here earlier, at a working dinner, that of migration. turkey - the turkish prime minister was expected to attend this summit but was unable to do so because of what happened in ankara a few days ago. turkey will be involved in a meeting at the beginning of march medical staff in egypt are planning to hold more protests in front of their hospitals accusing police of brutality. two doctors are said to have been beaten last month >> reporter: fewer ee on the streets-- fury on the streets of

cairo mplyt an officer shoots and kills a 24-year-old taxi driver. the pressure on egypt's police is growing. public protests against them are increasing, even though the government has effectively banned large demonstrations. >> the fact that they are protesting shows that there are serious concerns because at this moment everyone who has been protesting has been jailed and the fact that this is an ad hoc random protest should be a signal to the government that things are not good from the populus perspective. >> reporter: only a week ago medics filled the streets accusing police of brutality. doctors were said to have been beaten by police officers in january. the police pulled a gun after a dispute over treatment of an injured officer. medical staff are threatening to

go on strike if the officers are not held to account. on saturday doctors say they will defy the police and government again with large very public demonstrations. rob matheson the turkish government is blaming syrian kurds in which 28 people have been killed. the bombing of a military convoy. pope francis has spoken out for migrants and suggested donald trump is not a christian. he criticized the republican presidential hopeful over his immigration policy. donald trump called the comments disgraceful. >> reporter: it is the latest twist in an election also stirred by donald trump's controversial rhetoric. pope francis had this to say about the wall to be build as

proposed by donald trump. >> translation: a person who thinks only about building walls wherever they may be and not building bridges is not christian. >> reporter: donald trump seemed undaunted by the dressing down from the leader of catholics around the world >> the pope said something to the effect that maybe donald trump isn't christian. okay. he is questioning my faith. i was supplied to see it and i am a christian and i'm proud of it. >> reporter: he fired back as only donald trump can >> a religious leader to questions a person's faith is disgraceful >> reporter: it is a confrontation unlike any other in american political history. >> it pins the needle on unusual. it is as unusual as it gets and it is just another totally unprecedented event in this 2016 presidential campaign. i don't think you could find another case where a pontiff got

involved with a domestic political issue during a campaign let alone getting involved with an actual candidate. >> reporter: the extraordinary face-off has american voters across the u.s. taking sides. >> you can't be building walls with people. what do you do? you reach out to the people that other people don't want to it reach out to. that's a christian mission >> reporter: you agree with the pope in this? >> yes. >> i agree with the pope as well. it is not christian or catholic to put up barriers of any sort >> reporter: donald trump likes anything big, big buildings and feuds, and it doesn't get any bigger than a spat with the pope. he isn't backing down. he says the pope will wish and pray that donald trump had been president. >> reporter: he has repeatedly been surprised in this presidential campaign saying what no other candidate will say and finding support among the

american voters >> i don't think it's un-christian, more just protecting the country. each country is protect themselvess >> reporter: you agree with donald trump? >> in some what. i'm sad to say i kind of do. >> reporter: donald trump will soon find out whether joining a spat with one of the world's most powerful religious leaders come with a penalty at the ballot box obama is to become the first citying u.s. president-- visiting u.s. president to cuba. venezuelan's president has announced that petrol is going up for the first time in 20 years. it is said to rides by 6000% but still the cheapest in the

world-- increase by 6000%. >> reporter: the streets where unregulated paracelers like these offer a rely and cheap supply of produce. finding food that this woman can afford is a daily struggle. when she does, it costs more than the day before. she fears that as petrol prices rise, so will all costs associated, like transporting these goods. >> translation: it was a fair and necessary increase, but the cost of living is going to skyrocket. we will have to work more in order to survive. if petrol costs more, we will have food as well >> reporter: the president said on wednesday what many few have done. faced with one of the worst performing economies in the world, he had no option but to raise the price of petrol. >> translation: we're

installing a new system to charge for petrol. we will charge for it because at the moment we are paying to pump it into cars >> reporter: the president was referring to costs so high that they don't cover the cost of production. for the first time in 20 years the government has decided to raise the price of petrol. it will now cost 6000% more to fill up a tank. it might seem insufficient, this will have a huge impact on the life of the people here. for analysts the measures help, but not tremendously. they could potentially back fire. >> translation: the losses from controlling the price of petrol is more than 10 billion dollars which makes a brutal difference for the country. this adjustment will increase the price of everything. but it will also ease the pressure. >> reporter: more than 25 years ago similar measures spurred a wave of protests that lasted

days and reportedly thousands dead. fear of repeat of that violence has weighed heavily over the leaders over the years, but it is a risk that this time the president could not avoid with the economy still to come here a legal battle sparks a new debate about race relations in south africa. things get a little hairy in australia as tumble weeds blow into town. into town.

you're watching al jazeera. a reminder now of our top stories this hour and voting in uganda has been marred by allegations of vote rigging and the arresting of the main opposition leader. besigye was detained as he tried to show reporters what they claimed was an attempt to fix votes. an attempt to keep britain in the e.u. won't be easy for some to accept. the prime minister can hold one-on-one meetings with individual leaders. pope francis has spoken out for migrants and suggested donald trump is not a christian. he criticized the republican presidential hopeful over his immigration policy. donald trump said the comments were disgraceful. getting on a plane is popular in the asia-pacific region.

passenger numbers are at a five year high. enough well trained pilots are squares to find-- scarce to find pilots. >> reporter: growing middle-classes and new markets are pushing industry numbers up. last year the number of passengers here grew 8% more than anywhere else in the world. a soaring demand for more flights means the need for more airports. industry leaders say if governments remain focused on global standards there's no reason why growth should come at the expense of safety. after the u.s. aviation regulator in december downgraded thailand's rating safety that is in issue. >> there were wake-up calls around the region where the u.s. faa found that thailand and

other countries around the region where they're having to work to step up to the plate >> reporter: many new airlines have taken to the air. that is causing established airlines to rethink how they operate. in financial trouble thai airways is in the middle of reinstruct youring. this is putting them at a disadvantage in the short-term but may be making them more competitive in the longer term >> most of our competitors, they keep dropping the price. >> reporter: the growth of the airline industry here in asia-pacific has been so rapid over the last 10 years there are concerns that the infrastructure is not keeping pace and that airlines are scrambling for experienced pilots and proper training. years ago most airline pilots came from the military. not any more. >> the system works well, but it

has to keep pace with growth and demand. airlines can find pilots but they may not like what they have to pay. >> reporter: a shortage drives up salaries. there are challenges for the airlines. the challenges to expand carefully in this era of thinning profit margins. for the government to make sure that safety standards did not slide as the industry expands and demands new busier airports. the figures show the last five years of commercial aviation has been safer than the previous five. this is a trend airlines and governments will want to maintain we cross to singapore where scott heidler is standing by. how do airlines attract well-trained pilots to work for them? >> reporter: it's a big challenge for them. one thing they're doing is starting their own training centers.

the airlines themselves so recruiting, training and hiring these pilots. traditional traditionally they've had from the military which has shifted because the numbers are smaller. so the airlines are training. to talk about the safety in this region, we are bringing in an airline analyst here in singapo singapore. when you look at the growth here, it's fast. if you look at the pilots and other safety issues, do you think that the industry is keeping pace with this expansion? >> absolutely. the industry is growing and passengers are growing. there is a challenge for airlines to developing infrastructures around that. pilots is close to links that are struggling. they need to make sure that the

sustainable growth is going ahead to pick up. it is a challenge. >> reporter: do these challenges mean that there are concerns over safety? >> i don't think there is a concern over safety. of course, there is a challenge and then a way to mitigate it in terms of airlines are trying to making sure that because officers can train pilots accordingly, they are creating areas of improvement in training, retraining. it is a challenge, but i don't think it is an issue. >> reporter: when you look at the other side of the coin, the governments who have to build the physical infrastructure, the runways, the airports, the air traffic controllers, are they keeping pace, the governments keeping pace with this growth? >> they are having a huge growth, but the challenges is different. each and every country are

trying their best, sticking to their budget, but it is what they have to do considering their priorities and their influence in this part of the world. >> reporter: thank you for that. so there are many challenges that the industry faces, that the governments face. when you have this many more passengers in the air, they will have tows challenges for years to come thank you for that-- those challenges for years to come the u.n. says violence at its camp in south sudan that has killed 18 people may constitute a war crime. doctors without borders say two of their staff members are among the dead. the u.n. had offered shell terrace-- shelters to civilians fleeing. >> reporter: this is one of eight u.n. bases in south sudan meant to provide a safe haven for displaced people since the conflict began in 2013.

but an outbreak of violence between rival groups have left at least 18 people dead and more than 40 people injured, including two staff members of doctors without borders. >> it started between the youth here who started fighting each other. immediately we had the u.n. police who came on site and disbursed the crowd with tear gas. >> reporter: fighting broke out in the base in the north-east region with clashes continuing into thursday >> the violence involved small arms and was every soon controlled. the situation remained very tense and volatile. >> reporter: over 47,000 people live inside the base with 6,000 u.n. peacekeepers deployed solely to protect the civilians. >> i have to remind all the parties, the warring parties, that the u.n. installations are to be respected.

the sanctity of this has to be respected and it may constitute a war crime >> reporter: both the government and rebel sides have been accused of carrying out ethnic massacres and more than 2.8 million people are in need of aid in the world's newest country. in 2011 a political rift between south sudan's president and his deputy sparked violence among ethnic lines. tens of thousands of people were killed and over two million forced from their homes. a peace deal was reached six months ago and earlier this month hopes were raised when the vice president was reappointed. with him yet to return to take up the post, there's doubts whether any real efforts will be made to implement the peace deal between the two sides

south africa's government is considering measures to specifically outlaw racism and hate speech. the issue is in the spotlight yet again more than two decades after the end of apartheid. >> reporter: the civil society group says it is seeking justice. the anti racism action forum has laid charges against south africa's last president and one of his former ministers. it says the two men committed crimes of racism against black men in which dozens are killed. >> reporter: in our genocide. >> reporter: this past january he was attending a public event in cape town when he said racism

slur. he said a woman was responsible for a dehumanizing incident >> i've experienced abuses in the past, but i think generally speaking when you consider the 22 years in democracy, this racism is completely unacceptable. it is sickening to be quite frank. >> reporter: he has lodged a hate speech complaints at the human rights commission which has responsibility for looking into cases of alleged discrimination. the commission has received an average-- many complaints which are likely to increase. the ruling party the african national congress says it can't be tolerated and wants to killise acts of racism. this began after a woman used social media to compare black people to monkeys. calling for the ex-termation of all white people.

this war of word, the organization insists that black people in south africa cannot be said to be guilty of racism and it says any legislation may take that into account. >> it is a natural response to hate those who oppress you and want to do something about it. from our point of view that is a danger. if you criminalise this, you will make sure that when we respond to racism we will be the ones who end up in jail >> reporter: the institute for race relations is unresolved. as they head to local lickss, it seems likely that political parties will continue to use anti racism campaigns as a rallying point for support stairing at our computers is causing a health risk for billions of us a new study on short sitedness says half the

world's population is at risk of going blind. around 5 billion people will be short sited in 30 years. around a billion of us will have a significantly increased risk of blindness if the current trends continue. it is all because we're spending much too long looking at our computers, ipads and smart phones. the ceo of australia's brian holden vision institute. he says the findings came as a supplies. >> it is amazing results. i think it shocked when the final analysis occurred. considering that in 2010 we had two billion miops in the world and we will 50 billion. at that point that will be 50% of the world's population. any public health problem or

issue that affects 50% of the world's population is a catastrophic issue. the worst part is that one billion of those who are affected will have what we have high my open yee a-- myopia. increased risk of conditions such as glau coma and cat road traffic act. -- cater crashings t. we need to respond and we can encourage our children in particular to engage in lifestyle changes and that means spending increased time outdoors. there is much agreement by researchers that at least two hours or more of time spent outdoors is protective. it slows down the onset of myopia, but also slowdown the progression an australian town has been over run with tumble weed. hairy panic covered large parts of a rural town in the

south-east as winds pick up the situation worsened. the pum bell weed piling up in gardens. a quick reminder. you can always keep up-to-date with all the latest news on our website at aljazeera.com thanks for joining us on "america tonight". i'm joie chen. at the presidential race, what could be a major break weekend for candidates, the rhetoric is heating up with imbrings on the front burner. the pope decided some of the latest in his remarks about donald trump. while democratic senator bernie sanders is taking heat for his history on immigration issues. left behind, all of this, are the people at the heart of the debate.