now to zena hoder. >>> rakes have been taking to the streets since -- iraqis have been taking to the streets. maliki has been increasingly isolated. iraqi politician he even the shia parties are no longer willing to back him. the long time iraqi leader has lost the support of the international community and close ally iran, a country which wields influence in iraq. nonetheless, maliki remains defiant. >> the current government continues and will not be changed until changed by the courts. it is a constitutional democracy, we cannot night a constitutional breach. >> abadi is the man who has been charged with saving iraq. he has a month to put together an inclusive government. he faces many challenges. not only does very to ensure that iraq's communities, sunnies, shias and kurds are represented, they have to feel that they have a say in governing the country. a eunt iraq is needed to counter a growing threat from the islamic state group. the government has all but collapsed. the u.s. air force has been targeting that group but resources are limited. those attacks are not enough unless

first zena hoder has a report. >> now that nouri al-maliki has relinquished control to a new prime minister. there are bombings nearly every day. people are hopeful that a transition of power will help bring back security. >> handing over the post to haider al-abadi is significant indication that nouri al-maliki is keying for the safety of iraqis and iraq. >> the cleric ali al sistani, now all eyes are on haider al-abadi, a new prime minister would has less than a month to form a new government. it will be a challenging task. maliki has been accused of consolidating power and aliena alienating sunnies. prominent sunni tribal leaders hold sway on the ground. they welcomed maliki's departure but says it will not prove to be the solution. >> translator: we are ready to cooperate with the new government. only if sunnies have their rights. our priorities is to stop government attacks and to disarm shia militias. they are more dangerous than islamic state group. >> to protect the entrances of baghdad from the islamic state group. that group took control of much of the sunni heart land, the iraqi

zena is one of italy's richest towns. in years it was hit by a mainly yore banking scandal, and economic prizes. and yet when it comes to the palio, no expenses a paired. residents donate to the district, and a good jockey can cost as much as 250,000. not bad for a 90 second race. >> but the paleo is worth a lot more than money, it's a religious experience. horses are blessed in local churches with a traditional parade and more hymns to follow. all in the hope of this. in the end the race was done. they invaded to celebrate victory. this is what it has been. >> another fascinator known for his footwork is usain bolt, getting ready to run in an section race. he's in brazil. have a look at his samba moves and looks like he's in need of a bit of work. beach football looks to be in app advance state. he'll run later on. of course, more at the website. ana ivanovic's progress into the sin sin afty masters. more on aljazeera.com/sports. >>> back to brazil, where 13 inmates escaped from prison by digging a tunnel under their cel

zena hoder, al jazeera, guer. >> u.n.ount of votes, now unclear if either candidate will recognize the results. jennifer glasse has more. >> reporter: the ballot review process was briefly halted when representatives of candidate abdalla abdalla failed to arrive at campaign headquarters. the ghani team agreed. >> until the abdalla team comes back to the proa process. >> there's a deadline. the inauguration is scheduled. the 70% needs to be recounted and ghani says it needs to continue. >> we should not succumb to threats, there are many ups and downs. and the groups that threaten us because they are losing power, their threats will be short livid. >> reporter: the uncertainty is stagnating the economy. >> the impact on economy and security is devastating. taliban attacking in several provinces and they are making progress. >> outgoing president h presided karzai. >> whatever the outcomes some afngafghans feel whoever was eld is elected unfairly. jennifer glasse, al jazeera, kabul. >>> cuts in the police force more than 25

zena hoder has the latest. >> it is a slow and difficult process but there seems to be progress. this is according to a delegation of muslim clerics who have tried to mediate the situation. holed up in that border town they also held talks with the army command. according to the army delegation, the armed fighters have agreed to withdraw from the town of arsel and its outscirs. there will be a 24 hour ceasefire will which will end friday evening. tomorrow the delegation will return to the town and hopefully ensure the release of some 30 lebanese security forces members who are -- have been held captive for days now. the armed fighters belong to the self-declared islamic state group as well as syria's al qaeda nusra branch. this has really been a very dangerous and deadly conflict. many civilians are strapped inside. more than 150,000, many of them are syrian refugees. we don't have to cite the number of civilian casualties but we do know that civilians have been caught in the cross fire. they're hoping that this agreement will end the confrontations but many politicians in lebano

zena hoder, can you tell us what's happening? >> well, a delegation of sunni clerics are holding a press conference as we speak. they are announcing details of an agreement they have reached with fighters in the town of arsel. before the press conference they were in a meeting with the army command. still no statements from the army on whether or not they agree with the terms. i can tell you some of the details. a 24 hour truce will be in place. until tomorrow, 7:00 local time. during these 24 hours, the armed fighters holed up in arsel in the town will withdraw. they will withdraw to the outskirts of the town which really is a mountainous region that lies on the border with syria, almost a no man's land really. they will withdraw. what we don't know from these are people is whether or not the fighters are ready to release more than 30 security officers who have been held hostage really, kidnapped for the past few days. they have said that they are well and negotiations will continue. so as well as the army has made clear, they'r

notice known artists and on them it in general preferred not to notice their generally i would say zena for good nature or all of the new or thought of so it was very surprised when a civil war started in eastern ukraine and when the crimea decided to secede from ukraine. i am very puzzled when they hear from the western media that the wall has become unpredictable no the wall is very pretty much the same it used to be the problem is that the gap between their western coverage and their reality has got so much wider their western readers and television viewers are always possible because what happens is in direct contradiction with what they have been told by their own media when really you know i'm a child of the cold war looking at you i think it's fair to say the same if this is binary it's very simple good bad or ukrainians good russians bad putin bad. yes. good because he's a friend of the americans and the european union but you know those of us that have studied ukraine know it's a very complicated country and always has been rather fragile but western media just likes a black an

. >> reporter: this is the moment zena waited all year long, it's been a tradition for 500 years. jockeys ride bare back along the terms in front by euphoric audience. each represents one of the city's districts. the price is invaluable. the pride and glory of beating your neighbours much an achievement worth risking the next hole. sergio has watched his whole lane. >> lapaleo is not a horse race, it's a war. each district has a captain and lieutenant. they meet in secret to steel alliances and plots against then miss. >> it is one of italy's richest towns. it was hit by a banking scandal and the country's economic prizes. when it comes to the race, no expenses is spared. residents donate to the district and a good jockey can cost as much as 250,000. not bad for a 90 second race. but the paleo is worth more than money. it's almost a religious experience, horses are blessed in local churches with a costume parade and hms -- hynns to follow. the district who won celebrate the history while the others are living in disappointment. this is what the paleo has been for 500 years, a hors

zena hoder, al jazeera, kirkuk. >>> placing itself in position of a possible loins wit alliance u.s. warned that any air strikes against the fighters inside syrian territory must be coordinated with damascus. rula amin has more. >> on the ground in syria the islamic state group is getting stronger. after a week of intense fighting, its fighters took over the ta qu tab qua tabqa area. syrian government is hoping soon it will have new support to fight the islamic state group. officials in damascus believe the growing threat of the armed group will shift the priorities of the west, led by the united states, from fighting president assad to fighting his enemies, the islamic state group now seen by some as the worst of two evils. >> translator: the resolution reaffirms that it's quite impossible to deter terrorism without an approach where all countries and all international and reefnl regional groups put d to the terrorism. >> the message is clear. without critical support from syria the battle to defeat the islamic state group in iraq will be lost. the foreign minister warned any milita

joining me more is zena. >> you would think this -- the main story was the exact opposite. during a 30-minus cast, on the 20th manipulate there was a mention of the alleged confrontation. they say there's no military convoy in ukraine, no surprise there, the security service saying there's no russian troops. but what the russian media is focusing on is what they call a humanitarian catastrophe in ukraine against russian speakers there. there are russian speakers living in many countries in the world, not just in ukraine, so them using that as a guise to go into possibly to intervene is scary stuff. >> really playing up the humanitarian side. immediately moscow sudden ukraine was trying to sabotage the delivery of aid. >> the russian media is focusing on saying, like, we want to invite interinitial journalists to examine they humanitarian convoy sis,ened a the second thing is they're saying that the ukrainian military is killing their own people. they want during the newscast. this phosphorus bombs are being dropped on its own citizens, they say. so it gives us a taste of si

zena hooder, al jazeera, southeast of mosul dam. >>> displaced iraqi yazidis that crossed into syria are being trained to fight the islamic state group. about 55 are getting weapons and tact tal training at a military camp. the kurdish people's protection unit is running the camp. they say about 15,000 yazidis sought refuge in syria with the border of iraq. >>> the u.n. is distributing food for the displaced yazidi that escaped the group. many are children among the 24,000 refugees who arrived in the town in the north. the u.n. says several thousands yazidis still remain trapped on the mountain. how much progress is being made? joining us from d.c. is al jazeera security contributor j.j. green. good to see you, j.j. >> thomas, how are you? >> i'm doing well. at this point is there a clear understanding of the u.s. mission in iraq? >> yeah. the u.s. mission in iraq is designed to support iraqi and kurdish fighters. it's also designed to help them to push back the advance of isil. they're there to stop encroachment on things like the dam you were talking about and to protect u.s. fa si

. >> reporter: zena is a rich town, it was hit by a banking scandal, and the country's economic prizes. and yet when it comes to the palio no expenses is spared. residents donate to the district, and a good jockey earns as batch as $250,000. not glad for a 90 second race. it's almost a religious experiences. horses are dressed. all in the hope of this... >>. >> in the end the race was won by the district. the fans and residents of the district invaded the track to celebrate the victory while the others are living in disappointmentment this is what the palio has been for 500 years, a horse race with the power of uniting and dividing this med evil town. >>> animal rights activists called attention to the paleo known as the most dangerous. more than 50 horses have been killed in that race. >>> in bolivia pet owners holding a parade for furry loved ones. this celebrating st roche, the patron saint of dogs. residents carry the dogs to be blessed by a priest. and they were treated to extra love and affection. this pup enjoying a distance in the town square. rain continues throughout the midw