into systems. traveling store children return to. w. this is steve every news live from berlin delays and allegations of fraud mall congo's a long awaited presidential election votes are currently being counted in what could herald the country's first peaceful transfer of power since independence opposition leaders say they will be consequences if the bush calms isn't it also coming up. in bangladesh prime minister shake you know wins

a record third consecutive term by a landslide back to their rivals say her victory was a fraud. and the force is with us again as we look back on the highlights of two thousand and eighteen to visit a stall war school in moscow way students on torch how to save a fight. i'm christine window welcome to the program. a tense wait for people in the democratic republic of congo as votes are counted following sunday's presidential election millions cause they ballots in the land while votes which could see the first feasible transfer of power in decades but questions over its fairness on monday with accusations of delays and irregularities is specially in opposition areas.

eager voters thwarted at the ballot box election day is over in the democratic republic of congo but by nightfall many had yet to cast their vote frustrated by turmoil at overburdened polling stations and it was scenes like this one in the limited district of ten shots that were not uncommon long lines stonewalled by malfunctioning machines. as it we've been here since this morning and its stock already but we're here and we will vote no to was it it was we called the technician he came but. the card is missing the memory card come up. as vote counting gets underway across one of africa's largest and poorest countries the significance of the election is palpable. longtime leader and strongman joseph kabila is stepping down after eighteen years at the helm. this could be the d.-r. sees first peaceful transition of power since it gained independence from belgium

in one nine hundred sixty. in the run up to the election opinion polls put this man not terrify you lou at the top he lead president kabila as preferred successor by an overwhelming twenty eight points. was there it's done it's over for mr. just yet opposition candidates like fi ulu allege that rigged machines voter suppression in opposition strongholds and general mismanagement have marred the vote. says he did. all these irregularities will certainly have a negative impact on the election process his coalition will make sure that there are consequences when the time comes. because it goes. despite for you lose warning holding the government accountable could prove difficult and victory is anything but certain for the. her opposition. already

has landed but she is in kinshasa and has been following the elections in the d.r. see for us the morning to you wendy so we have to be seen in our report there were some irregularities at some polling stations was this a say election. hi everyone the election yesterday was really complex and in some places because as i say there were places where the machine didn't work and vote was. very very many years so i don't know if i can say that the nation was fair use was really. complex and cows and there was there was a few hours yesterday. just especially. at windy and in the in the run up to this lethal a lot of support strong support for the opposition need to march in for you knew that he'd stand a chance against president campaign is putting emmanuel shadowy if de lay hidden

is fair and the result is was the. result is what the people who vote for i think might them for you and maybe felix to see katie have chance to stand in front of emmanuel has ensured that but you see the only way to know is. if the result is what people ask for but we don't know exactly and yesterday people was starting talking about fraud and there was a saying that maybe the results won't be was there as king for and was the fourth force so we have to wait on the announcement of the official results in this in a few days ok wendy and so you've been talking to verses at polling stations what they've been telling you about what they want from their next president. people are dating they want change i remember a woman told me we are very. very security and

the. condition good they are waiting for change and the one does need to be very improve in social and. change men in the country. ok so we are anticipating that result as you say in the coming days that steve is wendy bash reporting from kinshasa thank you thank you now to some of the other stories making news around the world iraq's prime minister has hinted iraqi forces will play a bigger role fighting the so-called islamic state militants in syria the softer u.s. troops withdraw adela said security officials met with syrian president bashar al assad in damascus on sunday assad authorized iraqi forces to at attack in syria without waiting for permission to. call it is extending form an essential him and.

pretrial detention for a further ten days due to the latest allegations of financial misconduct made against him the order tycoon has been detained in japan since november on allegations of falsifying financial reports. bangladesh's prime minister sheikh hasina has secured a third term in office after a landslide victory in the country's general election change has seen his coalition took two hundred eighty eight of three hundred seats in parliament but the election was tarnished by violence as well as accusations of vote rigging and first suppression opposition leader kamau sign has called for new elections both the ruling party and the opposition reported attacks on their supporters and candidates over a dozen people were killed in violence on the day of the election. our correspondent michelle swell is standing by for us in the capital dhaka hi michelle so prime

minister sheikh hasina is aligned managed to secure all but twelve of the three hundred seats in parliament does this result come as a surprise. actually does not surprise not only because the few by fools that were held predicted a landslide victory for sheikh hasina but because of the campaign leading up to which now the opposition that came together to fight the ruling government with paul who together the last minute and then the three weeks of campaigning leading up to the elections there were repeated allegations by the opposition that it supported as well as its candidates were being dogged did while and the and all through the rest of the allegation was that even the parties were cracking down on the opposition and even outside observers said that they did not see this as a level playing field the surprise would have been

all right emissions so i mean you're alluding to you know some of the allegations that have been made about voter intimidation and and vote rigging having said all of that michel how how credible is this election. ok so it appears we've lost our connection to our correspondent emissions she was ill she is in the capsule dana for us we'll see if we can get her back at some point later in the hour. all right it's been almost eighty is since the outbreak of syria's civil war the conflict which began with praise his siggins. has killed some four hundred thousand people and displaced millions assad's government is now in control of nearly two thirds of syria after a string of victories one of those was seen off some of the most vicious fighting and humanitarian crisis reconstruction is now underway but the city's children bear the scars of war. they chant god syria

bashar bashar al assad's government is now in charge of the city and. this footage was obtained under the supervision of governmental authorities two years since the battle for aleppo the memories remain vivid. it was raining bombs on the buildings and on to the streets you couldn't move around here you had to stay at home there were some friends around and sometimes we'd be together but once a bomb fell close by and i got hit on the arm. the twelve year old lost his father in the conflict he his family and his home were collateral damage in syria's vicious war. it's a common story among the children my returning to school. like that many have lost several loved ones not just a parent or a brother but several family members there were

a lot of casualties the deaths in this area. remind us of the trauma are everywhere this teacher did not want to show his face afraid that islamist fighters may still be lurking. but he points out the ruins of the neighboring school and says that jihadi he's imprisoned their opponents their. ideological divides have shattered syrian society but staff want the school to be a place where children can be children again. involved in politics if we did it could bring about conflicts. we're not trying to find out who was on whose side by the one. the children study in clubs and coats it's cold in the school so has no electricity for heating much of aleppo a stint in marion's the government wants the world to see a graph paper turn to normality but for these boys the wounds of war will take longer to heal. and the year is coming to an end and it's time for us

to take a look back our correspondents have filed many exciting response reports from all over the world about people's personal fates political crises wars and disasters but also stories that encourage and touch us and perhaps make us think such as in moscow where the force seems to have been taken strong that's right we're talking about straw was the russian capital is home to the world's first saber fighting school. in a galaxy not so far away a group of jet i warriors are honing their lightsaber skills students at moscow's saber fighting school train every week for performances and even take part in official fencing championships. daria has been training here since january and is preparing for her first duel with the nineteen year old has loved star wars since she was a child. that could be it up to my it's

a great hobby because it's very physical it increases your insurance even your immunity plus of course we're all big fans of star wars. don't know if this is his name or in the this is the world's first lightsaber fighting school it was founded in the year two thousand around fifteen august come for lessons regularly and kids get taught for free loving the star wars films isn't a prerequisite for the sport but it certainly helps the difference is that the russian people are supervising. it's very popular because by taking a lightsaber in your hands and trying to imitate the movements of the characters in the films you can live your dream and become them. is the reason i devoted crowd has gathered for the school's performance at the moscow comic convention even though the star wars films weren't officially released here until the final years of the soviet union many russians say they consider them classics. there are a lot of reasons why i love the films it's memories from my childhood in many ways

for me star wars is a symbol of who i've become i misplaced the best universe in the world no one has come up with a better one. i've loved star wars since childhood my parents watched it my uncle everyone went crazy for it should be. i adore it. they go through with all my heart. the members of moscow saber fighting school have taken their love for the film franchise to another level daria and her jet i partner have been training for this performance since summer. these fights are exact reconstructions of scenes from star wars. i guess they were fighting helps distract me from everyday problems in my studies with my parents and so on. i just dive into this amazing world of fencing into the world of star wars.

daria is still in initiate in the jet i order but patience she must have until then she and the others from the school hope the force will be with them. all right you're watching. live from berlin wall coming at the top of the al and don't forget you can get all the latest news and information on the complex and all we have site dot com see you next hour. and for. fun which of course a. video. anytime anywhere. w. messenger.