no one faces a tough challenge as turkey votes to elect a president with increased powers. fully back to bo this is al jazeera live from doha also ahead russia intensifies as strikes in southern syria as the government continues its offensive to capture rebel held areas donald trump's middle east adviser says the u.s. will soon announce its peace plan even if the palestinians are not on board and from boom town to ghost town how china's government is trying to combat the facts of tourism on the environment.

turkey's president. voted just moments ago in high stakes elections that will complete the country's transition to a new executive presidential system on is seeking reelection for a new five year term with vastly increased powers under the new system and his ruling ak party is hoping to retain its majority in parliament his main rival miree main jay has would voters with an unexpectedly engaging campaign let's go live to al-jazeera soon and any some bold scenario where president are two envoys a short while ago tell us about the mood there and what the president said. fully presidents are going was a little bit late today for golding he came later then he announced to be here there was a crowd here people who came to the high school behind me to cast their votes they retook for president dawn an ad on steam delivered. some toys for the kids among

the crowd his family came here also he had he had some contact with the with the public here he tried to greet them people here just left about maybe ten minutes ago and the crowd has left because they have already been waiting for him but i can say that our quality of the shows who have been coming and vote casting their votes in the school and add on steam they are hopeful they say that they're going to win the election but of course istanbul is a battlefield as we have spoken since the morning the main opposition party is c.h.p. and their candidate and its candidate. has a very strong hand in istanbul to so it's that it's like a knife edge here present are don't we'll be following the election results from istanbul at first and at night after a while he will be flying to ankara for the final result of what's been put in

place to ensure the vote is free and fair i know this was a concern in the southeastern kurdish region about security there will tell us about what else is happening across the country. well security for the ballot boxes have has been has been an important subject since the snap election once it was announced two months ago for now there are more there are more than four hundred fifty international observers who are here to observe the election and the security and whether the election is trustworthy or not from the european security organization they have announced that until now everything is under control they haven't faced anything. anything wrong especially against their own servers but we have been hearing that in a southeastern city or far its border districts or if there was a mass voting. has been claimed but the electoral board said that they have

interfered in the situation and the legal proceedings are under way for this ballot boxes for now the the people who are responsible for the security of the ballot box that ballot box number hasn't hasn't claimed anything hasn't said anything it's an independent issue it's it's only one issue that we have heard today but according to the justice minister and other offices. the ballot box are secure and people are people have been voting since the morning peacefully thank you very much for that simcoe subaru live for us in istanbul we'll continue of course to follow this turkish election with you throughout the day polls close at fourteen hundred hours g.m.t. in other world news now the united states has reportedly told syrian rebels not to expect military support in southern syria near jordan and the israeli occupied golan heights a deescalation zone was established there last year which includes parts of the

provinces of there and connla rebels there are now facing a syrian government offensive and syrian activists report that at least twenty five russian air strikes hit eastern parts of there are overnight. details. this is the first time government forces have used battle bombs in. helicopters struck several villages in what appears to be a major advance to take over the city but this violates a truce that was brokered by russia and the united states in africa to bring an eye and to the seven year war the rebels who are losing ground remain defiant. we don't recognize assad's authority he has destroyed our cities and killed our people he destroyed syria to stay in power we will never recognize him and we reject the presence of the reigning and afghan militias only syrians who should

decide the future of the country. the syrian army is massing troops in the area the opposition says thousands of shia militias are also moving in dar was the focal point of the syrian uprising in two thousand and eleven but in recent years the rebels have been retreating they now control one neighborhood in the city and a few areas on the border with jordan this is a show of force by the free syrian army. for years the f.s.a. was trained and armed by the u.s. europe and gulf countries but that support has diminished over the last. anti forcers are largely outgunned and outnumbered.

u.s. person donald trump's son in law and senior adviser jared krishna says the administration will soon present its peace plan for israel and palestine and he said this will happen with all without input from palestinian president mahmoud abbas he made the comments in an interview with palestinian newspaper ziering his trip to israel is quoted as saying that he doubts about is capable of making a deal but added that he is still willing to work with him the palestinian leader cut communications with the trumpet ministration after it recognize jerusalem as a capital of israel now while the details of the so-called deal of the century haven't been released here's what see merge from leaks so far the palestinians would initially control gaza and less than half of the occupied west bank and a palestinian capital would be created from villages surrounding jerusalem these are enemies would retain security control over the jordan valley and have total control over palestinian travel between the west bank and gaza while accord all will be created between palestinian territory n.g.o.s limbs holy sites it appears

palestinians would have to surrender the principle of the right of return of palestinian refugees expelled during the creation of israel and the future of illegal israeli settlements and the final border between palestine and israel would be decided at a later date harry fossett has more from west to slim. well there's very little here that gives precise indications as to what might be in the black and white of the trim deal but what there is in this interview given by gerrard cushion and indications as to the general direction of travel of the united states administration and the way that it intends to approach this two things really stand out he's putting a lot of store by economic incentive saying that palestinians may well care less about the talking points of their leaders than the prospects of better paying jobs for future generations of their people the other thing that stands out and is evidenced in that is the way that he is trying really to bypass the leadership of mahmoud abbas the palestinian president appealing directly through this interview

which is being read by palestinians to the palestinian people themselves saying that perhaps the promising leadership is scared that palestinians might actually like what was in this deal and saying that mahmoud abbas perhaps doesn't have the ability to take the lead take the leap rather towards a compromise but there are also things which are really obvious by that absence in this interview no mention of settlements of occupation of the very controversial decision by donald trump to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital and indeed to move the u.s. embassy there so the fact that that hasn't been addressed for many palestinians these aren't just mere talking points of the leadership these are very much core principles and as far as leadership is concerned it has reacted with pretty restrained fury to all this the palestinian president's spokesman saying the united states is trying to create false history has been falsified in facts the p.l.o. second general side erica has accused them of trying to separate gaza and the

palestinian authority even further and indeed undermine the palestinian authority leadership in the west bank so no prospect at this stage that the palestinian leadership has and wants anything to do with the united states admin. or its plan even ahead of its publication. iraq's prime minister hyderabadi and cleric locked out all sides are entering into a political alliance which they say will cut across sectarian and ethnic divisions satirise a room party won the longest number of seats in the disputed election in may a body's victory alliance was third both leaders say they're open to other parties joining them not in on all of our book we are notes across sectarian cross ethnic alliance to speed up forming the next government a strong new government that serves the interests and aspirations of the iraqi people and how do you see in the scheme how the we are keen to form this coalition

and call upon all other political parties to join us also we call for a high level meeting with all of the political blocks north to rid the country of its current crisis zimbabwe's president has escaped unhurt after a grenade exploded close to him at a campaign rally on saturday. i miss an angle go wasn't hurt but several others were including the vice president says the attack won't affect next month's presidential election the first since longtime leader robert mugabe was ousted last november. and. this is just. this. is the jobs exchange but this is. zimbabwe and sphere further attacks as our correspondent reports from neighboring south africa. right on social media people talking about

how safe is it to obtain these rallies what if there's another attack so people are concerned about that of course they're also asking who could have been behind this could it be a specific individual is it a group of people are these attacks lakita increase as we head up to those elections so far the campaign has been relatively peaceful so people are quite surprised as actually happened they also surprise how this individual managed to get so close to the president and throw that grenade so a lot of uncertainty right now but again the president telling the keep calm the security officials have things under control people much as prepare for these elections which he sees will happen at the end of july still ahead on al jazeera as european leaders prepare to discuss their migration divisions we speak to refugees who have reached a dead end. welcome

back let's look at the weather across asia now in northeastern areas we've still is frontal system just flirting with the southeastern parts of japan we have seen some very large rainfall totals from this stationary weather front and it's likely that the rain is beginning to clear away now but as you can see this or totals indications into renshaw rain in places we've also got another frontal system up across north eastern parts of china into the far east of russia that's going to be giving some heavy rain but certainly through monday that frontal system is clearing away brighter conditions for tokyo thirty two degrees the high is fine across the korean peninsula and it's pretty hot for beijing but there is a chance of your charity in the course of the day heavy rain then coming up from the southwest during the course of choose day so for north korea could turn to be very wet indeed that rain push into sales career later in the day still fine across much of japan still pretty warm for both beijing and for the south in shanghai looking at the weather across more southern portions of china it's looking a bit dry at the moment still the chance of some rain for hong kong and still very

wet across parts of indochina the far south of china north of vietnam and the way towards me or mars some extremely heavy rain is likely the monsoon rains are certainly in full swing at the moment i'm afraid for me and my does mean as likely to be for the flooding. candid testimonies from libby knees women who are staying single longer. what's causing this cultural shift in a society already be set by religious and social tensions. and are there implications for the arab group of the hold. on al-jazeera.

welcome back our top stories on al-jazeera turkey's president has voted in high stakes elections that will complete the country's transition to an executive presidential system type and once main live m r m n j cast his ballot in his home city of. his own would voters with an unexpectedly gauging campaign. activists in syria say more than twenty five russian air strikes hit the province of overnight as a government offensive continues the u.s. has reportedly told syrian rebels there not to expect their support and u.s. president donald trump's son in law and senior adviser jared kushner says the administration will soon present its peace plan for israel and palestine but the top palestinian negotiator says the plan tightens israeli control and accuse the

u.s. of dipped big tating instead of negotiating. back now to our top story and turkey's elections priyanka gupta explains the numbers the candidates and why the changes to turkey's political system are so significant. these elections have many firsts including one that's expected to make lasting changes to turkey's presidency and its politics for the first more than fifteen million tells us can vote for new members of parliament i'm depressed and on the same day what in fifty six million of them are intel and if you stream million more in sixty countries abroad the elections will end the existing parliamentary system of governance and replace it with an executive presidential one after it was approved in a referendum last year the office of the prime minister will be dissolved and the new president who would have first time can have ties to a political party will be the head of the state with the last executive powers like

the power to prepare the and with budget issue decrees and declare a state of emergency let's take a look at how the numbers stack up in the parliament the governing party has three hundred sixteen seats followed by the main opposition republican people's party all the c.h.b. is hundred thirty one seats the d.p. with forty seven the mh be with thirty five the controlling six and two for independent the parties are fighting for a majority in a parliament which is now increasing in size from five hundred fifty members to six hundred and this time but it's a good parties have been allowed to form alliances which could offer a counterweight to a stronger presidency the uk party is part of what's called the people's alliance for others including the republican people's party a part of the national alliance these alliances good help smaller parties get a foothold in the parliament if their coalition wins over ten percent of the vote now there are five men and one woman in the presidential race there's of course the

current president of the gun who's running as part of the people's alliance the other parties have put their own individual candidates like more injured for instance who's from the c.h.p. party he's our gods the us is opponent and a strong contender. from the party is the only female candidate in the fray and sell out in denver tosh is running for the pro. who's been leading his campaign from prison after being accused of having links with the outlawed kurdistan workers party or the p.k. k. one of them needs to win more than fifty percent of the vote to become a precedent if not it will head to a runoff or carrots make up seventeen percent of the electorate in turkeys and h.t. piece performance could have a decisive impact on the outcome al-jazeera smom involve reports from one of the party's biggest strongholds in the southeastern city of diablo care. supporters of the pro kurdish people's democratic party h d p cheering their

presidential candidate from his prison cell. chose the last minutes of the election campaign on saturday to give his final t.v. address through every duty call to toss it on the table i congratulate all our people who will stand for democracy by going to the polls i hope the results of this election are going to be for the good of the country i invite all voters to respect the ballot boxes and the will of the people de matteis ran for president in two thousand and fourteen with a nine point seven percent of the votes he came third after president of the one and then opposition leader. but in two thousand and sixteen he was thrown in jail for allegedly next to the band called the stand workers party or p k k which turkish authorities consider a terrorist organization now many kids look up to matusz as a symbol of their political aspirations then the question is it's not going to be

a fair election since our leaders. is not free but even with him in prison we're going to do our best to win. for decades the kurdish parties struggled to get the ten percent of seats that's needed to enter parliament it finally reached that goal in the two thousand and fifteen general elections now the kurds say that the least they can aspire to achieve is to preserve that success at the headquarters of the party there was only one expectation parts from serbia curators and so we expect great results from this election you've seen the last rally of our party and how excited people have been even more so than in twenty fifteen i think care has given its final word a big victory on sunday. there are more than three million kurds living in the region of the but the total kurdish population in turkey is about fifteen million about seventeen percent of the electorate. other candidates are courting their

votes including the president who campaigned earlier this month just of recognition of the kiddush vote could be decisive in this election and if a second round will be needed carrots could be the king makers. turkey. a rescue ship with more than two hundred refugees and migrants aboard remains in limbo in the mediterranean after italy and malta refused their permission to dark the german vessel lifeline picked up the refugees and migrants between libya and the talian island of lampedusa on thursday if this new government has banned migrant rescue ships from docking ports and called on malta to take the boat in but malta says it's not responsible. this is a moment it's wonderful because there are two hundred thirty four people on board of the libyan coast fortunately we don't have any pressing medical condition so the situation is stable right now the full babies and mothers are all she relatively

well it appears with politics being carried out on the back of these refugees rescuing people in danger it is not a crane litigation gaited. and returning them to libya is against it you need a refugee convention women in saudi arabia are now officially allowed to drive for the first time this video is from just a few hours ago when the ban was lifted at midnight local time some saudi women use simulators to take lessons in advance of the new law change the decision is expected to both economy with a rise in car sales but cell outspoken supporters of women's rights were arrested just weeks before the ban was lifted some of them are still in jail. spain's coast guard has rescued nearly eight hundred refugees and migrants trying to cross the mediterranean sea for from north africa they were in afraid of around twenty five small boats sailing between the moroccan and spanish coast see you leaders are having an emergency meeting on sunday to discuss tensions about migration policies

or as europe's leaders prepare for sunday's meeting many of the refugees and migrants trying to make their way across the continent are losing hope or insley reports from the great border with macedonia where people have travelled from turkey found themselves at a dead end dogs live better than this stinking piles of rubbish the thick with mosquitoes the mostly afghans and they know full well the north even germany will take them in now a days their war has been deemed less importance than the syrian woman so they're stuck with people going to stay here but the system is trying to move rules known to stay here do you hear but there's no camp they're not going to go there stay there because of all this would be some who have lived in the half built car park nearly a year so-called mohammed had arrived the day we turned up he thinks he would like to risk the crossing through albania which thousands have already tried this year

but how to afford it you have money for this or not i have one month in one year no one euro yes. spanish everyone in person just to stay here for money is the northern poles to greece from turkey over the wide of ross river the route revealed by al-jazeera several months ago that is causing this new humanitarian crisis everyone we spoke to would come this way and the total lack of hope in greece is forcing them to consider any route out. if you have any money you can get a bus from thessaloniki to a port and try your luck on a boat to italy but most don't have the luxury of this option until a couple of years ago it was full of tents and journalists before the so-called balkan routes was closed by macedonia the media's all gone now but we'd been told dozens was still attempting this route every day and so it proved we found them up

a shepherd's track in a forest right on the border all of them pakistanis many of them teenagers where do you go do you know macedonia serbia since a german you this way. trying to do what hundreds of thousands managed a few years ago but europe isn't the same anymore according to the united nations there are now getting on for ten thousand more refugees and migrants in greece than the were when this border was basically a refugee camp two or three years ago and frankly these people have got absolutely no chance of getting asylum in any western european country if anything germany's likely to tell greece to take more and more people back this place has become a complete trap and surprisingly the new waves of refugees coinciding with the new hostile european environments make local officials nervous about making

a push to get it done there are many happened because they wanted to fulfill their dreams and go to europe things that were done a traps that. phrase but we hope there will never again be an informal camp of refugees and migrants. for the refugees living rough in greece there is not even war so let alone hope they may as well pray because no country in europe will help them now largely al-jazeera not in greece. protesters in the u.s. state of texas have stopped a bus carrying migrant children. in the latest show of anger against donald trump's vera tolerance policy on immigration police were called to a reception center near the border with mexico the bus was allowed to continue its journey border patrol agents didn't say where it was going president trump has ordered an end to the separation of migrant children from their parents but many remain in detention. now lake eyre high is one of the most popular

tourist spots in southwest china attracting up to forty million visitors each year but its popularity has only cause its downfall businesses have been asked to shut shop as part of an attempt to save the lake and as adrian brown reports that's also upturn the livelihoods of people living in the ancient city of dolly. china is rich in tradition and this is a relatively new one posing for wedding photos before the big day. and the high lake in union province is a popular backdrop it's one of china's biggest freshwater lakes and one of its most beautiful. almost forty million people visited in two thousand and sixteen now that rapid growth in tourism. is taking its toll on these once pristine waters. last april the government told the owners

of almost two thousand hotels and restaurants near the ancient town of darlie that they'd have to close for a year the order had followed a visit by president xi jinping who'd urged action to save the normally these narrow streets which are such a feature of the old village of dolly would be teeming with visitors but since april two thousand and seventeen this place has been like a ghost town and the owners of these businesses simply have no idea when they'll be able to open again a sign of desperation rent contract expiring will sell for low price says this note yearling owns two hotels and says there closure has cost around one million dollars and this incident that you doing i'm from and i know the reasons why people come here because they're looking for somewhere beautiful but the closure of the hotels and the restaurants it has resulted in big damage to the local tourist industry. it

is though the damage to the environment that is the bigger concern to the president there's been a proliferation of new hotels and restaurants discharging untreated sewage directly into the lake. workers have also been kept busy by an outbreak of al green exacerbating the pollution. but more than twelve months on some people like this local farmer complain that there's been little change in the water quality. common close hotels around the lake so they can't discharge waste water this has improved the water quality in our high lake but not by very much work is laying pipes for a new water treatment system inferi all hotels and restaurants would eventually be connected to these pipes only after that happens will they be allowed to open again and for many businesses that day can't come soon enough the lake is what draws so

many people here but environmentalists warn that the measures taken so far to try to save it may have come too late adrian brown al-jazeera in darley southwest china . hello again i'm fully back to go with the headlines on al-jazeera president better one has voted in high stakes elections that will complete the country's transition to a new executive presidential system or two on is seeking reelection for a new five year term with vastly increased powers under the new system and his ruling ak party is helping to retain its majority in parliament his main rival myron n.j. has voters with an unexpectedly engaging campaign. activists in syria say more than twenty five russian air strikes hit the province of overnight does the

government offensive continues the u.s. has reportedly told syrian rebels there not to expect their supports u.s. president donald trump's son in law and senior adviser jared cushioning says the administration will soon presented speace plan for israel and palestine but the top palestinian negotiator saya barack and says the plan tightens israeli colonial control and has accused the u.s. of dictating instead of negotiating. iraq's prime minister hyderabadi and cleric. entering into a political alliance which they say will cut across sectarian and ethnic divisions saad a party won the largest number of seats in the disputed election in may the bodies victory alliance was third both leaders say they're open to other parties joining them a rescue ship with more than two hundred refugees and migrants aboard remains in limbo in the mediterranean after its lee and malta refused permission to dock the german vessel lifeline picked up the refugees and migrants between libya and the

tally an island of lampedusa on thursday italy's new government has banned migrant rescue ships from docking at its ports and called on malta to take the boat in but malta says it's not responsible zimbabwe's president has escaped unhurt after a grenade exploded close to him at a campaign rally on saturday. am a sonangol wasn't hurt but several others were including a vice president among god was says the attack want effects next month's presidential election the first since longtime leader robert mugabe was ousted last november you're up to date with the headlines here on al-jazeera coming up next it's inside story too serious.

it's an election like no. better ones popularity put to the test as voters go to the polls. the defaces real challenges as he seeks to tighten his grip on the pa he's held the sixteen years to could there be a surprise and what that means that his future this is inside story. hello and welcome to the program dennis turks go to the polls on sunday for what are being seen as the most crucial elections in modern times for the first time in presidential and parliamentary votes will take place on the same day and whoever takes the top job will be assuming in hans palace.