monday 7am eastern. have a great weekend. election day in iran where voter turn out was high, in the first election since international sanctions were lifted. hello and welcome, i'm laura kyle. also ahead, syria's opposition says armed groups under its control will respect a two, week trust. tens of thousands heed a call from a prominent shiite leader to protest government reforms. and one an -- candidate

pulls out of the fifa presidential elections. iran's president says there is a high voter turn out in the country's first elections since the lifting of international sanctions. people are voting in two polls one for parliament and one for the body of experts. a large number of hopefuls have been banned from running, around 12,000 people wanted to stand for the 290-seat parliament, but only 5,000 were given the go ahead. >> reporter: all sides appealed for a high turnout, and it looks like the voters have listened,

throughout iran polling was brisk. the supreme leader cast one of the first ballots. >> translator: reports indicate a massive turn out. >> reporter: rouhani, standing for reelection in the assembly of experts is hoping for a turn out similar to the 72% that made him president 2.5 years ago. turnout like this should favor the reformists. they are hoping to make a big dent, enabling rouhani to encourage more investment in this economy. >> >> translator: we want our country to consider the

situation in the region and around the world. >> translator: there are economic problems, unemployment, people are a bit tired of hard-lined policies, to get rid of these policies they want to vote so that god-willing they can meet our demands. >> reporter: conservatives formed an alliance to take on what they call their candidates list of hope, and the conservatives warn that foreign investment could endanger foreign independence. voters are hungry for a way out of recession. andrew simmons. al jazeera, tehran. syria's opposition has announced that armed groups fighting the forces of president bashar al-assad will respect a two-week truce, but it is conditional, they say the syrian government and itself allies

must not launch any attacks on them under the vail of fighting terrorism. fighting against isil and al-nusra may continue. >> none of us are under any illusions, we're all aware of the many potential pitfalls and there are plenty of reasons for scepticism, but history would judge us harshly if we did not do our part in at least trying to end this terrible conflict with diplomacy. david jackson says it's unrealistic to expect russia to do anything different at this stage of the conflict. >> there is a fanty, and frankly expressed by president obama's unbearable term the world is watching, that is meaningless.

what is required is for the world to intervene, and in this case the world that supports the kind of stability we want to see, and there can be no future for syria under president assad. it is inconceivable to expect the people that have been butchered by this by this man in the hundreds of thousands to expect him to succeed in the future. but we're not standing up to this iranian-assad-russian ak axis to say this cannot happen. and that would be the kind of situation in which one can begin to talk about the end of the fighting in that particular war to conclude it in a way that is acceptable. a prominent shiite claire

rick has called for a large rally in baghdad. he criticized the deteriorating security situation with the armed group isil still controlling parts of the country. >> translator: it is time for a serious reform, and if those in the government refuse to listen to these demands, they must know it is time for them to step down. enough injustice. enough corruption, the iraqi prime minister has an obligation to conduct swift reform. the prime minister is on the edge, especially after the people took to the streets. this is a r-- ref lugs. >> joining us live is a senior director for the north and former advisor for the iraqi government. great to have you with us. a huge turn out to this rally.

why are so many people drawn to him. >> i think he gave space for the iraqis especially in baghdad. he articulated their strong feelings that they have no confidence in the politicians; that they are fed up. they think we country has reached a dead end, of course with the financial crisis, and the dropping oil prices, the people are feeling the pinch of what is happening. so they do not see a shift. they do not see a message other than what he has done. he has taken a very bold move. he articulated people's anger, and pointed directly at the government in the green zone, and i'm pretty certain that all of the iraqi politicians now, are really very concerned, and they ought to do something quickly, otherwise this popular anger can really turn into

action. it's a very fragile system. it's a very fragile system. they are very exposed. >> what is it that they need to do? >> i mean, the reality is it's way beyond the prime minister east capacity. he has been given a mandate to carry out reforms. he hit a system based on quota and sharing power, politicians most of them with their political parties are deep in corruption. so it's not a question of what program you devise or you simply sack a minister and bring another one. the system is so rotter, i think people are looking for a fresh start. the difficulty is, where do they begin with? how can you do it in the midst of war against isil, a bankrupt economy, and as i said a very fragile political block ruling

the country. >> so what power does he himself have to upset the government and take iraq perhaps in a different direction? >> well, he is a populous leader. the fact he managed to rally this fraction of a million people in central baghdad who just responded to his call. notice nothing but iraqi flags were raised in that demonstration, so he is adopting a nationalist position, a populous position. we adopted all of the calls for civilian democratic laws. he was articulating a national call. so he is a populous leader who is now challenging the politicians who are in the green zone. >> but what would he do with that populism? what would be his next step? >> he has put forward a vision.

i'm pretty sure his advisors gave him that position, where he announced a committee that he wants to form the new government. he is asking for a committee to establish technocrats to take over without political influence. i'm not very sure if this is going to salvage the country, but it is forcing the politics to take a different direction. >> just quickly, there is a lot of talk months ago about how they recaptured ramadi and they were going to move on to mosul. in that seems to have quieted down now. what is happening on that front? >> well, don't forget the fight against isil has its strategic depth inside syria, so there is a lot of movement going around and a lot of consolidation. the real question is not pushing them out. the real question is the day after. who fills the vacuum?

is it the iraqi army, the militia, the tribesmen or the local forces. so there is a lot of politics that goes behind, and isil benefits from that, let's say hesitation or the squabble that takes place the day after. that gives them more time to stand ground. but militarily, yes, it is costly, but they can be kicked out of these areas. that is not the real challenge. >> thanks for joining us there from washington, d.c. a court in paris has fined an oil giant $825,000 for corrupting officials in iraq's oil for food program. they were found guilty after initially being cleared of all charges in 2013. under the program, iraq was allowed to sell oil in exchange for goods that met basic needs,

but they found that baghdad used the trade to ill us it is charges. victoria gatenby reports, these men still face trial next month. after 92 days behind bars, this was the moment the two were freed. turkey's constitutional court has ruled that their detention was unlawful and violated their personal liberty and safety as well as their freedom of express. but this is a first step in what is likely to be a long campaign to clear their names. they still have to answer charges of spying in court next month. >> translator: this is a trial of press freedom. we got out, but more than 30 colleagues are still in prison. i hope this ruling will pave the

way for their freedom as well. we'll continue to fight until this concentration camp that you see behind me becomes a museum. >> reporter: they were involved in publishing a report in a newspaper which allege that trucks were used to carry weapons to syria. it said the trucks were carrying aid. the president filed a lawsuit against the newspaper. the two were arrested last november. the media rights group rank turkey poorly. >> translator: we are getting out, but this does not mean the dispute of jailed journalists is

over. we still have friends in prison. our unity against pressure on the media should continue. >> reporter: he described the court's decision as historic. both men will start preparing for their trial next month, when once again the issue of press freedom in turkey be in the sport light. still to come here on al jazeera, bogus beef and pretend poultry, the food products of the future that taste like they should but are missing the usual ingredients. i'm in los angeles, home to the film industry, but it seems diy is in at the moment. ♪

♪ hello again, i'm laura kyle, here is a kick reminder of our top stories. iran's president says there is a high voter turnout in the first elections since the lifting of international sanctions. voters are selecting members of parliament and clerics for the assembly of experts. several thousand people have come out to hear a prominent cleric in baghdad, calling for reforms in the government. and syria's opposition has announced that arms grouped will respect a two-week trust. the conditional ceasefire is to come into effect at midnight in damascus. many of those displaced inside syria are wary of

international efforts to end the war. thousands are fleeing the fighting and making their way to turkey. >> reporter: in northwestern syria, not far from the border with turkey, a new wave of refugees reaches the town of azaz. these civilians hundreds of mainly women and children escaped the government's offensive in aleppo in recent days. for many here, the idea of a trust or ceasefire is meaningless. >> translator: this truce is an open game. the world is conspiring against us. this is a deal between the russians and americans. >> translator: what is this talk of a truce in since when have ceasefires worked? okay, so if these people here went back and got hit, who is going to be responsible. we are not going back. >> reporter: the complexities of syria's war are overshadowing the possible pause in fighting.

the main rebel groups have expressed deep mistrust of the plan. while other field commanders doubt it will be work. >> translator: the fact that nusra is not included in this agreement, allow russia and assad forces to continue attacks under the pretext their will attacking areas controlled by though al-nusra front. >> reporter: five years of heavy bombardment and air raids have harden these people. >> translator: russia is a war criminal, so is bashar al-assad. who do we rely on? the international community? we don't trust the international community. slep -- aleppo is being destroyed. >> reporter: there is little hope that the cessation of hostilities will bring peace. it is objecting to russia being

a garenner to of the trust. voting is underway in switzerland with the fifa delegates electing a new president. it is hoped the man will rebuild the damaged reputation. the front runner is the bahrainy royal, the current president of the asian football federation. his biggest rival is expected to be a 45-year-old swiss. prince ali is the member of the jordanian world family. he infinished runner up to sepp blatter last year. outside candidates include this

frenchman, and the south african who has pulled out of the race just ahead of the vote. lee wellings our correspondent in zurich is live now for us. lee the voting has been going on for a little time now. what do you know about what is happening? >> reporter: well, the first round of voting is taking place. it has been going on for around 90 minutes. they will start counting the votes shortly. we have been given a time of 27 minutes. if one of the candidates, and obviously most likely salmon, were to get two thirds, they would be the new president. in that is unlikely. it will most likely go to another round, and we'll see if he can hold off that challenge and become the new president, replacing sepp blatter who was

here for so long. lee choosing new president is just the start of fifa trying to restore its credibility, isn't it? what else do they need to do? >> reporter: the president is not as big of part of this as some might be lead to believe. some of the presidential powers are going to be taken airway. the 89% of the delegates voted for reform. they desperately need to reform this organization, they have a plan, but they are being watched so closely by the u.s. and swiss authorities. they want to make sure that fifa gets its house in order. so they will have a very difficult first few months of the job. >> they did have a reforms package. what did that involve? >> reporter: these were expensive reforms because they

have had to deal with the crisis that has beset the organization. there are things like term elements for the president. but really it's a division to make sure there is a group dealing with the money, and the executi executive committee will deal with other things. so there is less potential for conflict of interests and corruption. >> all right. we'll leave it there. thanks very much, lee. indian activist and journalist has ended his three-month long hunger strike. he went without food after he was detained by israeli forces. he will remain in custody until may, but his administrative detention will not be renewed after that. the u.s. and china have agreed on a draft resolution that would expand sanctions on north korea.

these measures would be the toughest in two decades. the jamaica labor party has narrowly won the general election there. the prime minister's party took 30 seats. a group of harvard educated chileans are proposing a new way of using plant-based foods. lucia newman reports from santiago. >> reporter: some say we are what we eat, but what if what we ate changed dramatically. a chilean food tech start-up is making plant-based foods that replicate the taste, texture and even smell of animal based products by copying their

molecular structure. >> what is this? >> this is not milk. >> what is it made out of. >> mushroom species, you are going to see chia, yen seed, and sesame seeds as well. >> reporter: this biochemist insists it has the same nutritional data as regular milk. this computer reconstructed the molecular structure of food. >> it is trained to learn patterns happening in these molecular components that create the special perception of flavor on every product. >> reporter: vegetable-based

products resembling meat are not new. >> if we were to start from scratch and we wanted to figure out the best way or most efficient way to deliver nutrition to the 7.1 billion people in this planet, the answer wouldn't be animals. >> reporter: our own taste test that the not milk tasted like a slightly sweeter creamier milk. the products which will soon

include not hot dogs should be on shelves in chile next month. >> we'll, you know, improve climate change. climate change will determine our lives from here to 30 years from now. >> reporter: perhaps, but in the short-term, the determining factor will likely be the taste of consumers. films made by movie fans used to be low-tech and amateurish, but now they are getting more polished and as phil lavelle reports from los angeles, the studios are not happy. >> reporter: fans love to make films. take one favorite movie, add your own twist. but cheap and cheerful, not anymore. that is alec director of a star trek fan film.

the movie was go popular, he started making a full-length sequel with cash from fans. but this production has come out of warp speed because of a legal battle with star trek's owners. >> it has given fans the opportunity to fill in holes of their favorite franchise that they have never been able to do before. i think people are amazed at the quality of most fan films these days. i have seen fan films that are five minutes long that look as good as any tv or movie. >> reporter: lucas film holds awards every year to honor the best fan films, in a nod to the importance of this genre. . >> getting a fan film out there these days is so easy. first is the funding. but who needs the bank manager. you have social media, the crowd funding, you get the crash and the sky is the limit.

then broadcast quality gear is readily available these days. everyone is a potential filmmaker. you get a crew. and then you have the internet immediate transmission and immediate feedback. >> just because people have the tools doesn't mean they are necessarily going to use them correctly. >> reporter: he has directed many fan films, we made his own version of the punisher, and his adult take on power rangers has had more than 17 million views so far. >> what i try to do when i make fan films, is i'll try to infuse some sort of big idea into the mythology. >> reporter: for most fans it is a just a hobby.

whether hollywood agrees, well, that is another story. almost better than the reel thing. you can always keep up to date with all of the news on our website, there is it on our screen, aljazeera.com. do go and take a look. a shooting ram paige is kansas, police now say they may know why a man opened fire at his job, killing at least three people. donald if you want to be liked in washington, that's not a good attribute for a president. >> righting up the front runner, donald trump on the defensive as his top two rivals take aim. >> reporter: and voting in iran, the economy and reforms on many minds after sanctions were lifted. ♪