i'm richelle carey. the news continues next live from london. keep it here. ♪ if you are just joining us here on al jazeera, you will see that live shot there from fifa headquarters in zurich, the votes have been counted and that is the fan -- man is going to be taking over as president. there was a surprise upset, actually in that first round of voting. gianni, infantino is now the new president of fifa. he has a very big job ahead of him indeed. let's pick up with lee wellings live in zurich. so we have got our new

president, lee? >> reporter: yes, gianni infantino is the new president of fifa. this is not the result we were expecting, coming into this sheikh salman looked like he had the votes he needed, but those pledges didn't all turn into the support he needed, some of the 207-voting nations would have broken ranks, and not gone on their advise of their leader in the federation and voted the way he wanted them too. he has worked tire resly to get the support he needed to win this election. he was not originally standing. it was towards the end of last year, when michelle platini was banned from football, he was infantino's boss at uefa. he said i'll stand in until

michelle platini is cleared. he wasn't cleared, and infantino stepped forward. now he has this huge job on his hands for a new cleaner fifa. >> lee, we're just seeing some pictures. he's standing up there at fifa headquarters in front of everybody. everybody obviously clapping, and i suppose this could be the start of a new journey for fifa. some reforms of course were announced today, but the hope is that fifa will be able to put its past and corruption scandal behind it, but it is going to be very difficult indeed. i think perhaps he is going to go to the podium and start speaking. yes. stand you over now to the new fifa president. gianni infantino.

>> translator: i accept this election, mr. president, thank you. [ applause ] >> translator: gianni is officially president of fifa for the period 2016, to 2019. congratulations mr. infantino, gianni inguaranty know, congratulations. >> translator: if you have something to say to the congress, please proceed. how many hours do i have to express my emotions, mr. president? as you wish. as you wish. sigh of relief. [ cheers and applause ] >> translator: dear friends,

et cetera, et cetera, -- >> i cannot express my feelings in this moment. i told you i went through a journey, an exceptional journey. a journey which made me meet many fantastic people. many people who love football, to live and breathe football every day, and many people who deserve that fifa is highly respected, and we will restore the image of fifa and the respect of fifa, and everyone in the world will applaud us, and will applaud all of you for what we'll do in fifa in the future. we have to be proud of fifa, and everyone has to be proud of fifa, and we have to be proud of

what we will do together. i would like to thank all of you, all of you, all 209, all of the other candidates, with a sporting competition, tokyo said it one can win and four will not win, but we had a sporting competition, and it was a great sign of democracy in fifa, and i want to be the president of all of you, of all 209 national associations. i travel through the globe and i will continue to do this. [ applause ] i want to work with all of you together, with all of you in order to restore and rebuild a new era in fifa. a new era in fifa where we can put again football in the center of the stage. >> translator: it is the time,

ladies and gentlemen, to return to football. fifa has had sad moments, moments of crisis, but it has ended. it is now ended. we must go forward. we must apply the reforms. of course we must apply transparency and good governance, but we also want to have respect, be respected. the respect which the whole world owes to the world of football. we will concur this respect through work and dedication, and we will ensure that we will finally concentrate on this magnificent game, which is football. i feel too emotional. and i thank you all once again. thank you very much. [ applause ] >> let's check in with our correspondent lee wellings in zurich for us.

when he first stood up, he seemed genuinely at a loss for words. but he said he will rebuild a few era of football. >> he did. he said the crisis was over, didn't he at fifa. and that is something that is not strictly true. because he really has so much work ahead of him now. first of all the u.s. and swiss authorities continue to closely watch what is happening at fifa. he has got reforms at fifa. he has got a future. he has got people behind him. he has an unblemished record himself. but there are other areas that fifa still need to convince people with. and infantino has a really big job. and the other is in finance. he said he was going to pledge

$5 million to each of the federations. they don't have the money to do that. so how is he going to find that money for him? maybe he feels that broadcasters and sponsors will now be reassured. maybe he is making a nod to the fact that sheikh salman would be a much more controversial choice. but it is a hard road ahead. it is stunning that he has managed to get himself in that position so quickly. >> and i guess, lee, one of the main tenants of this job won't be just to change the surface, the outside, the image of fifa, but to really change it as an organization. and i'm guessing that is a much longer process. >> it is. in that famous, or infamous fifa image. nay have had an incredible few years. over half of the executive committee found guilty of corruptions.

arrests. dawn raided. it was poisoned. it was poisoned under sepp blatter. that doesn't mean he was the godfather of this whole thing, but he was in charge of an operation that was infamous the world over and has been absolutely torn apart with the fbi and the u.s. attorney general playing a huge role in that. the public don't trust fifa. the world were bewildered by blatter. this man in his mid-40s, who comes on stage with a clear record, and says look, crisis is over. we have got reforms. you can kind of see that working. but it will take time, so much damage has been done in the past. >> lee wellings joining us live with the news that gianni infantino is now the new fifa president. ♪

we're just hours away fm the time set for a cessation of hostilities to come into force in syria. it's to begin a pause in fighting and allow humanitarian aid to come in. the al-nusra front has rejected the truce calling on opponentings of president assad to intensify their attack. there has been no letup in fighting on the ground. the syrian observatory for human rights says the town of duma in damascus province has been targeted in russian air strikes. rescue workers say at least eight people were killed. government forces were also reported to have struck hama. the goal of the plan is to have a nationwide cessation of hostilities between the syrian government and the opposition. now it specifically excludes isil, al-nusra front, and other

groups designated as terrorist organization by the u.n. this allows fighting against those groups to continue. syrian president bashar al-assad says his forces are ready to respect a pause in fighting. and the vast majority of syrian rebel groups said they will take part. but the opposition says the government mustn't exploit the agreement to attack them. let's speak now to jamal live in the turkish town close to the syrian border. jamal it sounds very fragile indeed. we know the al-nusra front, for example, they are not taking part in this pause in fighting. >> reporter: they are not at least according to the comments made by their leader earlier today, where he spoke of this

planned cessation of hostilities as amounts to nothing less than a conspiracy against the syrian revolution, as he put it. he said that the syrians had finally found their voice to try to secure their freedom after four decades of dictatorship under assads father, and now bashar al-assad, and that they should not give up on this struggle for freedom. now why is al-nusra front significant? and why is the opposition different than isil? >> because nusra front, albeit, yes, bay that connected and linked to al-qaeda, they fight on the ground alongside some of those rebel groups that western and arab governments deal with, and they are very effective and proven very efficient in the push against bashar al-assad's army. isil, however, nobody deals with them, and everyone sees them as an enemy to their own country and their own national security.

but what is significant is reading between the lines julie, because under the pretext of fighting isil is why russia got involved in this war, and although they claim they are bombing isil positions, we have scenes videos in due and other places where russian air forces have bombarded civilian and opposition areas held by the so-called recognized opposition groups, and that's why a lot of people are skeptical. it can allow anyone to mount any attack. >> jamal currently what is the situation with regards to fighting on the ground. well, as you mentioned there was those latest air strikes in duma. there have been a renewed push to recapture towns in and around

aleppo governance near the main city of aleppo. significant, because it is the largest city closest to the turkey syria border. it is the last major strong hold on that side of the country that the opposition has been able to maintain, despite the russian air strikes, and it is also one of the main lifelines and supplies, not only for the opposition in terms of weapons and other strategic things that come to them, but also in terms of food and other aid that goes to opposition-held territories. >> reporter: jamal, thank you for that update. polls are scheduled to close shortly in iran. it is the first election there since the country negotiated its nuclear deal and international sanctions were lifting. polling was extended by two hours because of a rush of

voters. they are voting for parliament and the assembly of experts. the parliament is currently dominated by conservatives, but that could change, given the success of the progressive president in securing that all-important nuclear deal. many were also banned from the election, some 12,000 people wanted to run for a seat in the 290-seat parliament, but just 5,000 were cleared. let's go live to jonah hull. polls are still open, but when are we expecting to get those results? >> reporter: well, that's a bit of a mixed bag to be honest with you. i'm in the election results center in the basement of the interior ministry here in tehran, it is fairly well populated with journalists waiting for early results to start trickling in, perhaps tonight, but more likely on

saturday, during the course of the day on saturday, and the tehran district, 8.4 million eligible voters reporting perhaps on sunday. now that won't be the end of the story, by then we will have a final result on the assembly of experts, a smaller body, much more important, one that has the right to appoint the next supreme leader. there will be a definitive result there on sunday. but there will be districts when no one gets a seat in parliament. but we'll have a pretty good idea by sunday which way things are going. >> and jonah by all accounts turnout seems to be pretty high. does this give us any clue to the result? >> reporter: it certainly affords us a clue, julie just a moment ago, in fact, the president's chief of staff

popped in to say turnout was so high they were keeping the polls open even beyond the couple of hours that they announced earlier on. it takes an awful long time for people to cast their votes in this election. each voter has 46 possible votes that each voter can cast. 30 for the parliament, 16 for the assembly of experts, and all of those names are handwritten, so it's going to take an awfully long time. in the capitol that would tend to favor the reformists and moderates. they will be hoping for a strong unified with block in both of these bodies with which they can begin to influence change. i don't think anybody is under any illusion that they will likely to win any sort of majority control.

>> jonah hull live from tehran. jonah, thank you. still to come on al jazeera, hundreds of thousands iraqi shiite turn out in baghdad, demanding reforms. and heated exchanges among republican presidential rivals, find out what was said or justed rather, in just a few minuted.

>> the only live national news show at 11:00 eastern. >> we start with breaking news. >> let's take a closer look. ♪ welcome back, a breaking story here on al jazeera, reuters news agency are reporting a witness saying a

large blast and gunfire have been heard in the somali capitol. we'll keep you up to date on that as we get details. italy's geovany infantino has been voted the next president of football's governing body. the al-nusra front has called on rebels to intensify strikes on president bashar al-assad and his allies, just hours before a cessation of hostilities is supposed to come into effect. the hundreds of thousands of supporters of a prominent shiite cleric have rallied in baghdad. the square in the iraqi capitol was packed with people calling for a end to corruption.

he says a technocratic government should be formed. >> translator: it should be known that not implementing these terms is considered a betrayal to iraq and its people, especially as all of its conditions fall under the applicable legal regulations. the poll and the press of the iraqi people, therefore, our withdrawal from politics would become a duty if the reforms is not implemented quickly. republican presidential hopefuls have taken part in heated exchanges in the last televised debate. 12 states and a territory will hold primaries and caucus votes next week in what is known as super-tuesday. alan fisher sent this report from houston in texas. >> reporter: with a series of crucial contests days away, this was a key debate. marco rubio went on the attack

from the first moment, front runner, donald trump the target, and in a border state, immigration the first topic. >> you are the only person on this stage that has ever been fined for hiring people to work on your projects illegally. >> no, i am the only one on this stage that has hired people, you haven't hired anybody. >> we can't risk another four years of these failed obama policies, by nominating someone who loses to hillary clinton in november. >> reporter: marco rubio went aggressively after donald trump from the first moment of the debate. he knows he has to try to stop his momentum if he has any chance of winning the nomination. but donald trump still holds the lead in most of the states that will vote on super-tuesday, and remains the favorite to secure the republican nomination. there was a discussion on the

economy, isil and the middle east. [overlapping speakers] >> reporter: but this was a debate where few will remember details in policy but will remember the anger. >> i think that he had no choice but to be aggressive, same thing with cruz, because they are way, way down, rubio is losing by 22 points in the state of florida, and he is the sitting senator, even though he never shows up. >> reporter: everyone has been waiting for the meltdown the moment his campaign falls apart, but it hasn't happened, and no one has yet worked out how to beat him. alan fisher, al jazeera. a palestinian activist and journalist has ended his three-month long hunger strike. he went without food after he was detained by israeli forces and held without being charged or a trial. he will remain in custody until may, but his so-called administrative detention will

not be reviewed after that. our correspondent is in west jerusalem and has the latest. >> reporter: well, this agreement reached between mohamed, his lawyers, and the israelis effectively puts to an end a more than three month ordeal, in which he refused food for 94 days, surviving only on liquids. this hunger strike from his point of view was in protest to his administrative detention, which is basically imprisonment without charge for up to six months possibly indefinitely. at one point the israeli supreme court agreed to suspend his administrative detention in light of his hunger strike, but he refused that and carried on with his hunger strike, saying that he was not guilty of any crime. he had not been charged with any crime, and therefore, he should be released. it would seem a compromise agreement has been reached

again. he will be released unconditionally on the 21st of may, and he will be treated in the northern israeli hospital where he is now receiving treatment and we have been told has been given nourishment, which he hasn't had now for many months. but his case has really attracted an extraordinary amount of attention. the use of hunger strikes is only -- the only form protest prisoners have. and it is certainly something the israelis try to prevent from happening. the french oil giant has been fined more than $800,000 for corrupting foreign officials. it overturns an earlier acquittal of those charges which relate to their role in the u.n. oil for food program in iraq.

iraq was allowed to sell oil in turn for humanitarian goods, but investigators found money also illegally found its way to saddam hussein's government. a group of harvard educated chileans are proposing a new batch of plant based foods. >> reporter: some say we are what we eat, but what if what we ate changed radically. using artificial intelligence, and state-of-the-art technology, a startup is making plant-based foods that replicates the taste, texture and even smell of animal-based products. so what is this? >> so this is actually not milk. >> reporter: what is this not mitting made out of? >> mushroom species. a couple of seeds over here.

chi that, zin seed, and sesame seeds as well. >> reporter: this biochemist insists it has the same nutritional value as dairy milk. this man is responsible for the team's most important silent partner, a computer that reconstructs the molecular structure of food. >> it is trained to learn patterns happening in this molecular components that create the special perception of flavor and texture on every different product. >> reporter: vegetable-based versions of mate products are not new, but the software has no registered match. they argue that plants use less land, less water, and fewer row sources than livestock. which according to united nations is a major contributor to greenhouse gases.

>> 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. science would tell you to do something different. >> reporter: but what about the no small matter of taste. our own taste test determined that the not milk, which will sell for half of the price of almond or other alternative misks is lightly sweeter and creamer than dairy milk. the cheese, i think you can work on the cheese a little more. [ laughter ] >> reporter: the company's products which will soon include not hot dogs should be on supermarket 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. lucia newman, al jazeera, santiago. you can find much more on our website, aljazeera.com. new clues as to the motive of a man who opened fire at his job in kansas, killing three people. bernie sanders returns to south carolina a day before the primary, in a last-minute attempt to gain ground on hillary clinton. marco rubio and ted cruz team up to take on donald trump. and all eyes on iran has voters head to the polls to choose a new parliament. ♪