al-jazeera. a record turnout in hong kong's elections after months of anti-government protests . comes around you're watching observer live my headquarters here in doha coming up in the next 30 minutes voting for a new president in guinea-bissau where there's been deep political divisions. also blocking the way the difficulties facing rescuers in northwestern kenya after dozens were killed in landslides also libyan warlord cleaver have to declare a no fly zone in the skies over the capital tripoli.

welcome to the program a record number of voters have had their say and hold calls district elections with the polls that to close in about half an hour more than 2 thirds of eligible voters have cast their ballots that's more than 2700000 people the elections follow months of violent protests against the probation government will get an update from bride who's standing by a whole call shortly but 1st this report from sarah clarke. as polls opened to the people lined up around 4000000 have registered to vote in hong kong's district council elections after months of citywide on rest the people want their voices heard i'm up after your country by grief i think teenagers. these batteries nowadays you know always right and if we want to change we have to vote we can have different. pinions isn't that what is important for you to see

this show what your. candidates will face off in 18 districts with 452 seats up for grabs parties currently hold the majority and district councils but anger against a government could a road they support for the 1st time the pro-democracy camp has candidates running in every seat past few months i can't sleep the young people just want to ask for just thank us for us for. 11 the government to give them the chance to live it's. a simple problem pro-democracy activist joshua was disqualified for running in this election he cast his ballot urging others to do the same if they urge to stop police brutality call on free action is high but i'm sure what everybody what well we still have to actually police have been deployed to monitor the polling

birds after months of clashes the city's later has called for calm on sundays but we are facing an extremely challenging situation in all the nice thing this year's elections but i feel is to say that with the concerted efforts of all parties including our laws over $30.00 to settle so many things working today we should have a relatively peaceful and calm and vibrant to fund these elections such as the post i kept my bear the brunt of public anger but analysts say it's unlikely the pro-democracy parties will secure a majority i expect the democrats maybe get a number of extra seats but it will be very difficult for them to really get an overall majority in the district elections are normally a low key affair with campaigns focusing on local issues like garbage collection and bus routes but it's the only election in hong kong which is decided by direct suffrage and a small group of district councillors play a crew. role sitting on an election committee which chooses the city's next later

the protests were initially triggered by opposition to an extradition bill which would have allowed fugitives in hong kong to be sent to the mainland for trial but it's now a wider anti-government movement opposed to china's tightening grip on the former british colony after months of often violent clashes the city's $30000.00 strong police force is on duty for the 1st time in the history of district elections whatever the result of this one it's unlikely to stop further unrest sarah clarke al-jazeera hong kong. well robert broad joins us from roll call and robin to the voting continues for just a short period of time now and the voter turnout as sarah mentioned in that report impressively increased compared to what recent elections. absolutely so here we are in record breaking territory here you mentioned still half an hour to go the polling stations are a bit quieter we don't have the long lines outside but the pictures we've been

watching here still show people are turning up making sure that they cast their vote before the 10 30 pm local time which is when those polling stations close as you mentioned there way record numbers of voters turning out something just over 2700000 people of a record 4000000 people who registered have now cast their votes that is 66 percent which is way more than during any previous district council election and in fact it sets a wreck already these are higher than the previous highest total that was during a legislative council election that's hong kong's many parliament that took place 3 years ago when 58 percent of the electorate voted so 66 percent an hour and a half ago had voted some predictions point to that by by the time the polling stations of close maybe 70 percent of people here will have cast a vote in these local elections you have to remind yourself that this is just

a local election but obviously it is far more than that given the way that all of the voters the population here is being fired up politically because of the times that we've been living through here and didn't vote for just ration did increase in the lead up to this ballot and not could in fact be significant in terms of the gains or losses when the count begins. that's right hundreds of thousands of especially young people have made sure that they are registered in the run up to this there was all sorts of social media chats going on telling people how to vote because people simply hadn't gone into a polling station before so how to vote how not to ruin your ballot paper everybody's taking this very seriously given the significance of it the pan democrats the pro-democracy groups are expected to do well the more conservative pro beijing groups are holding are hoping that they will hold on to more of their

seats than is the prediction that maybe there is a moderate bloc out there that is scared by this violence and that they won't want to give their vote to the more radical pro-democracy side but having said that it does look as though the pan democrats will make gains that they will point to that as being firm evidence that it's not only people out in the street voting with their feet but hear people voting in an election that supports their very broad aims of this of this protest movement that's gone on now for 6 months and now of course we'll continue to analyze certainly the results from the polls close in the coming hours with you rob for the moment thank you now the polls also in the presidential vote in guinea-bissau are that many hope will end years of political instability president jose omonia of asha's seeking reelection after a 1st term marred by political infighting and claims of corruption the country has faced 9 coups and attempted coups in the past 4 decades the class hack reports from

the capital itself. people come to nurse clementina to talk about their aches and pains but there is something that keeps coming up in her consultations politics is making people anxious. and so she tells them there's only one way to deal with it it's to vote in this presidential election. it's as if politicians forgot about us that what they do actually affects us once they come into office they completely forget about the people they are meant to represent. the santos is disappointed with the president as a mario vosh who's running for reelection he said he would put the country back to work instead elected officials squabbled threatening each other unable to pass laws or approve budgets the government stopped paying teachers and nurses some to us who was left without pay for 10 months her clinic has no running water and it had no electricity until the charity installed solar panels. to get treatment people come

to a hospital run by the west african soldiers stationed here as part of a stabilizing force because of the political deadlock. treatment and drugs are free this is an effort to win hearts and minds because presidential candidates have been critical of the presence of foreign soldiers in their country voters have 12 candidates to choose from each of them promising the end of the political deadlock that has been paralyzing this country for so long it's a promise that's been made before and so among those that are taking part in the vote most of them are 1st time voters they want to see a change in the political culture and the new president that will bring them jobs. but you brewer has a master's degree in political science in a country where half of the population doesn't know how to read and write and yet he couldn't find a job now he works as a caretaker in an empty building site sleeping on a concrete floor. it is you mediating him painful to have gone through this i sleep

on the floor i am not sure why i bother to study what is this country done for me it's a feeling shared by many there is no quick remedy to give me peace i was problems but for still santos expressing yourself can help alleviate the pain and perhaps bring change because hawke al-jazeera. rescue efforts are under way in north western kenya after heavy rain triggered landslides at least $36.00 people are being killed but the full scale of what happened is still clear. has more. these men are assessing the damage caused by saturday's flooding and landslides in kenya's west pockets county rescue workers are still pulling bodies from under the months and rubble at present hurricane yatta has said the armed forces to help he promises that every missing person will be accounted for. with roads and bridges destroyed rescue efforts have been delayed in many parts of the county parties.

to walk as long as 4 hours to just be able to reach the affected religious west because gov has been helping to distribute food parcels you know i. mean i other east african countries have also been affected by weeks of heavy downpours several people have been killed in a few and tanzania and hundreds of thousands of others displaced in somalia and south sudan scientists warn the weather event known as the indian ocean dipole is making the flooding worse this year it happens when the western parts of the indian ocean become significantly warmer than it eastern sides causing increased evaporation and consequently heavy rains across parts of the african continent and they're off it is more of this type of weather is headed to the region so high that

al-jazeera. or staying in the region a passenger plane has crashed in eastern democratic republic of congo killing at least 26 people the plane came down soon after takeoff in a densely populated area of goma the dead are said to include 6 people from the same family who were in the area at the time i was there as producer alan or carney is in many where the plane was headed he says the recovery operation has been difficult for us few teams to access the area. it was a very difficult task because you just wonder finitude not 6 people come to defend family even the right now saying it was 9 people from the same criminally. they did appear not just crushed and this is one of the good. as you say it going to be ready to really depends what people stealing the market and everything and they have been trying to get back to a buddy from the depression as it was always be on fire it was very difficult for

the car for example to access ambulances to access the area so they just like what they could do this why they could not save anyone on this plane nor anyone was saved from the plane 4 because of the typical situation of the location of the area . still ahead here on al-jazeera. while the peace process is going on in the capital situation here at the front line is very different soldiers still die here every week on stuff last report and some follow it take us to the grave. breathing new life into the world's coral reefs how the pacific waters of become a beacon of hope. thanks. hello there firemen took out across more central and eastern areas of china turning

to stay away from the south coast some good sunshine and some pretty warm air in place so temperatures on the high side 27 celsius in hong kong we have got cloudy skies and just 12 degrees in shanghai and a fair few showers this onshore flow across much of it now over the next couple days and also the philippines we will see a few more showers and its own choose a beginning spec to see some rain and some snow to these high elevations across into who by province so again keeping those temperatures a little bit lower me want to cross into india we'll see if you want to the far south across into sri lanka but it's really the north and the northwest eja pradesh this is a concern continue because when it comes to the air quality it has been very very poor really since the end of october so this is becoming the norm saying people out and about with scarves and mosques over their faces now the good news is a slight change in the weather pattern over the next couple of days not so much on monday at 26 degrees celsius under this rob the stagnant abbott then is a go through cheese day we really should begin to see a change is actually system working its way from the north and the west it will

bring some fabric hopefully some showers and it should bring a change in the wind direction as well so should begin to blow some of that pollution in the skies. i think stories generate thousands of headlines these protests are saying down with the system down with all of the parts with different angles from different perspectives just because we came to prison doesn't mean the right stopped at the gate separate the spin from the facts the western media jumps on stories without taking down the misinformation from the journalism it's about telling the stories of those human beings on the ground with the listening post on al-jazeera.

but the back you're watching are just there with me so rob a reminder of our top stories a record number of voters have turned up calls district elections about 2700000 people have already cast their ballots the elections followed months of violent protests against the pro beijing government. also people in guinea-bissau are choosing a new president for years political infighting in times of corruption of power lies parliament the incumbent president has a body of asha's seeking reelection and rescue efforts underway in northwestern kenya after flooding and landslides hit the region at least $36.00 people have been killed including 7 children. so with africa now in libya where the spokesman for the ward cleaver have to says a no fly zone is in place over most of the capital tripoli the city's only a functional airport is exempt have to forces have been fighting to take the

council for the internationally recognized government of national accord the tripoli administration says any thought to civilian aviation is a crime under national and international law and. today we declare a no fly zone where flying is totally prohibited without prior coordination with the general command of the armed forces this no fly zone is as produce plan no flying is permitted within the parameters of this black square that extends from all nom de guerre a bully then to the south east point then it extends to the west up to i'll repeat a cab up to my own this square area is a no fly zone where flying is completely forbidden. but. more from tripoli. this is a part of the tactics used by the eastern a camp led by the world really for have to specially after he's been losing momentum among the international players remember that the declaration by his

spokesman. last night seems to be ironic because they have been already targeting the only operational airport in tripoli in may to get airport over 30 times since the beginning of the fighting back in april but remember this statement by miss marty imposing a no fly zone in the west of the country comes only a few days after they shut down have to force a shutdown i need talian remotely controlled or drawn and. that belongs to the italian air force as you know that the admitted that they have shut down this italian drawn with italian flag on it but meanwhile the italian embassy according to reports stated that they lost this drawn over tripoli and they're drawn was part of a mission over demitted freeney and sea which is called maddie secord or safe sea

to monitor the activities of illegal immigration and to resume over the course of libya security forces in egypt have raided the country's only independent news publication. stars are being held in the office though it comes a day after police arrested mother masses journalists had these a lot from his home electronic equipment and documents related to his work were also confiscated the iraqi security forces have opened fire on to government protesters in basra killing at least 3 people they were dispersing crowds near the main border or closer protesters burning tires to block the roads across the city more than 70 others or so injured. earlier security forces killed 3 protesters in the southern city of nasiriya dozens of others were wounded at least 320 people of the killed in demonstrations across iraq says early last month there are angry over corruption high unemployment and poor public services. the conflict in

ukraine has been in the headlines for its and things to the u.s. president's impeachment inquiry but away from the diplomatic wrangling fighting still rages in both the east and west where the ukrainian army and russian black separatists are blaming each other for the violence so they're asking reports from near the front line. europe's forgotten war fought in old style trenches to show support for peace both sides agree to pull back one kilometer to where a new front line is being dark because of this catherine if a village a 150 people has ended up caught between the ukrainian army and the russian backed separatists they can only hope they won't be caught in the crossfire care for her. i mean even scared to go down to the basement to get potatoes because i'm afraid i won't get out so i stay in bed close my ears and pray. the ukrainian army says it's ready for peace but doesn't trust the other side the spokesman does not want his

full name to be used. photo because with her history teaches us and has a sense of trash as an enemy and you can trust now it's right to trust them again and proves that we are civilized countries which sticks dark criminals. but observers say both sides break agreements in the frontline donmar inka we witness a ceasefire breach it's not clear from where. this is something that happens every day even if the telling us here as soon as the sun goes down the shelling. from the quiet you can actually hear at. this town has been and have under heavy attack like for many years already here. they fear me and me as well. the war in donbass which started in

2014 has not only left a deep impression of destruction it has ruined economy and frozen the lives of many now a new ukrainian president zelinsky is pushing for peace but these old people who travel for a whole day to collect their pensions from the other side of the front line are far from convinced. she resists i'm sitting here for a few pennies i worked 45 years for ukraine and nobody can solve this not pushing car not selenski nobody is solving my problem by plane in person so he's guilty but posing as a fine fellow person helps us. you. wait while the war has become a daily routine for many in this local community center children are focusing on their future a future without war but to end this war trust is needed on both sides and while

troops have some balik lee retreated fresh attacks can happen any time step fasten al-jazeera solo to eastern ukraine. britain's political leaders are on the campaign trail with less than 3 weeks until the december the 12th election prime minister boris johnson is launching his conservative party manifesto intel 3rd in the west midlands the party says it's the only one that can deliver breck's it on his promise to negotiate a trade deal with the european union next year the main opposition labor party is that it will get better deal with the e.u. if it wins the vote. colombia's president has pledged to begin what he calls a national conversation to a days of unrest protesters are angry about proposed changes to tax and pensions. reports. god protests will dawn for a 3rd consecutive day against the government of uganda as hundreds of demonstrators

took once again to the streets across the capital thanks to. the demonstrations were peaceful with people banging on pots and pans and chanting we are not afraid anymore yet as they try to block roads and march towards downtown they were attacked by the police rolling in and motorcycles and dispersing crowds with tear gas. but protesters kept coming back that is why the 3 days 4 days 5 days are not enough it will continue until the government listens to the people no more policies that make us work until we're 80 years old without a pension for a 3rd day protesters were met with stun grenades and tear gas by the police in this case as they were trying to block this avenue one of their main tera fares from the north to the city center. clashes in confrontations continued throughout the afternoon and into the evening one protester was critically injured by the

police president said the army will remain the ploy to cross the city saturday there were no reports of looting and vandalism and the overnight curfew imposed on friday was lifted but what the mayor. said that the looting was coordinated by criminals to spread panic but if this isn't about some young people who are having spontaneous demonstrations there is a plot here a high level organization with those who are interested in destabilizing the country. president duke announced he will begin a national conversation with the leaders of the protests next wednesday but some fear it may be too little too late this interesting that he spoke about a conversation not a dialogue i believe the president has not yet understood the dimension of public discontent and i really don't sense that he is genuinely interested as of

yet in sitting down and discussing with different sectors of time in society about the multiple sources of discontent that are driving this but it is without a real dialogue many colombian say they will continue to defy their government in the streets like so many other protest movements across america alison and. coral reefs around the globe are dying as the oceans warm and become more acidic because of climate change but the corals of palazzo in the western pacific are proving to be resilient to both the heat and the acidity and that holds the possibility of a solution that could save the world's wreaths of ali reports from the seabed off barrier reef. plough seas are teeming with life most of it concentrated here on the country's barrier reef stretching over 500 kilometers it's one of the planet's few remaining pristine coral reefs but this

beauty comes with the fragility of a one of the most pristine reefs in the world but the entire ecosystem here is under threat around the world coral reefs are disappearing at an alarming rate it's estimated over a 3rd of all reefs will be destroyed or seriously damaged within the next 10 years climate change is warming season which has a devastating effect on corals forcing them to reject the colorful algae that normally lives within them and bleaching them white much of the reef here in palau has been spared and that's in part because the geography of the region water trapped by the lushly forested limestone clips forms a sort of lagoon and warms in the sun but instead of getting bleached the coral here has adapted to these extreme conditions and remains healthy these are so-called super corals and they only exist here in the western pacific and that makes them fascinating for scientists who hope they can be used to repair damage

reefs around the world even the forests of the lab and then we. stress them increase the temperature of the water that they're in and we'll see which of them are surviving and those will be on it. the efforts that scientists are making here show the healthy reef supports millions of species and on the edge of the reef in the fast flowing currents sharks there are but that there is a shot of rain in the water here off the coast and over that goat are endangered have in order to protect them well outwit the world's 1st factory has their strict laws at play and a wildcat fish for sharks and rays places that offer you. however it's a lucrative business shark fins fetch big money in the markets of asia where there used in shark fin soup we've only been in the water for a few minutes when we come across this a gray reef shark missing its dorsal fin. is illegal fishing vessels catch sharks

hack their fins off and then toss the rest of the fish still alive back into the sea the prospects for this shark a bleak without a fence keep it up right it will soon tire sink to the bottom of the ocean and die as climate change decimates coral reefs and fish bear the scars of humans greed ploughs turquoise waters and the secrets they contain are a small beacon of hope in a vanishing underwater world all of the vanni on ploughs barrier reef the head of the roman catholic church has called for a world without nuclear weapons saying they decrease security waste money and threaten humanity pope francis has been visiting the japanese cities of hiroshima and nagasaki which were devastated by nuclear bombs in august those 145 is paid tribute to the victims calling the bombings an unspeakable horror. you know he don't mean the use of atomic energy for warfare is immoral and so is the possession

of atomic weapons we will be judged on this future generations will rise to condemn our failure if we spoke of peace but did not act to bring it among the global population how can we speak of peace as we build terrifying new weapons of war. as a road means the whole realm the reminder of our top stories a record number of voters of turned out the whole goals district elections with polls closing about the vote follows months of violent protests against the pro beijing government robert bryant has the latest from whole goal. record numbers of voters turning out something just over 2700000 people have a record 4000000 people who registered have now cast their votes that is 66 percent which is way more than during any previous district council election and in fact it sets

a wreck already these are higher than the previous highest total that was during a legislative council election that's hong kong's many parliament that took place 3 years ago when 58 percent of the electorate voted. people in getting bizarre are choosing a new president for years political infighting and claims of corruption have paralyzed parliament the incumbent president jose maria of seeking reelection rescue efforts underway in northwestern kenya after flooding and landslides hit the region at least $36.00 people have been killed including 7 children and a passenger plane has crashed in the eastern democratic republic of congo killing at least $26.00 people the plane came down soon after takeoff in a densely populated area of goma. and iraqi security forces have opened fire on into government protesters in basra killing at least 3 people they were dispersing crowds near the main port and more than 70 others were injured. earlier security forces killed 3 protesters in the southern city of nasiriyah at least $330.00

people have died in demonstrations across iraq since early last month. a spokesman for libyan ward cleaver hafter says a no fly zone is in place over the capital tripoli except for we take the airport after his forces have been fighting to take the capital from the internationally recognized government of national accord the tripoli administrations says any threat to civil aviation is a crime and a national and international law and prime minister boris johnson is alone launching his conservative party's manifesto intel for the head of the british general election on the 12th of december he says the stakes the u.k. have seldom been high and is promising a radical agenda for change all of those stories in half an hour in the news for me but i feel. in china cancer drugs can be pretty bit of leaks pensive some desperate patients travel to india to buy cheap generic versions but what cost when i went

east follows those smuggling to survive on how does iraq. can. really air strikes. right. now. hello i'm richard burton you're at the listening post here are some of the media stories we're covering this week cause and effect there are high stakes electoral politics playing out in israel and palestinians are paying the price yet again do you tubers chronicling and powering the protests in algeria pulling the plug on the internet in iran the authorities there impose one of the biggest blackouts anywhere and americans living under donald trump. are yearning for the sound.