the point is if you have a choice of the kurds or baghdad you will choose to my would guess, baghdad because there is more to be gained in terms of kurdish oil but the whole country, investments and reconstruction and money to be made. so leverage is important for anybody does not have it all wants to have some kind of force to get power. the kurds are sort of -- a lot of tunnel vision. syria has changed everything. no longer claim, as if he really was to my he is not the head of all of the kurds. there is the ambitions for unity that had taken have very serious blow because he did not factor in how his relations with turkey would make him anathema. but if they were anti turkeys they would be pro turkish. so that if you want, correct me if you see it differently. probably the kurds and their issues are more divided than they have been. >> to you have anything to add? i would just add, from anchorage point of view, absolutely correct. good relations with baghdad are more important on a whole host of issues that our relations. and the beauty is its ultimately you choose baghdad it is n

we have this report from baghdad. >> this is baghdad operations command. as the nation suggests they are responsible for baghdad's security. cameras are rarely allowed into this, a reserve center controlling the movements of troops on the ground. as the election is closer. the government understands that it faces security challenges. the enemy is recalls trying to demoralize us by spreading sectarian hatred by preventing iraqis exercising a democratic right to vote. we believe the stalks are high. we feel we have a concrete plan to guarantee security. checkpoints such as this dot the city. you can find them every few kilometres. they are a visible sign of the security plan. soldiers understand the threats. >> we are the spear head of the open war on terrorism in general. we might terrorism on behalf of the reason, especially in iraq and baghdad. the war continues with al qaeda linked groups and we are confident in our plans to secure the city. >> his confidence is not shared by many. >> there are attacks across iraq every day. the damage is clear to see. a

they are completely dependent on baghdad for the revenue. they have a revenue stream and as a result you have to work with baghdad and for the other areas for the separate regions the calls are concerning and they do not materialize to an independent region and the necessity for national reconciliation to the country because you don't want those to be much more dominant at some point in the future that would be easily materialized, and so you have the right government and everybody else and the stakeholders have to work on the national reconciliation it will be knocked in the interest of iraq to have any group event per preceding the marginalization, not feeling fairly treated by the state as you have in iraq at the moment. one last point with these just so we can give the audience and the viewers an idea about these that they not only emanate from the provinces into the majority of the population or iraq and kurdistan but in some places they emanate from basra as well but they feel unjustly treated by the federal government because that mos

tom little joining us there from baghdad. thank you very much. a peace deal for the middle east was to have been reached by today. that was john kerry's land in the latest israeli-palestinian talks. instead, he finds himself at the of problems with israel. john kerry said the word apartheid was ill-chosen. but he defended his warning of the risks if they do not fight a deal. mahmoud abbas has said there will be no peace deal with israel without confining borders as even asked that -- even the deadline comes and goes today, it seems the two sides are as divided as ever they were. washington to jerusalem and ramallah and back again, for more than nine months, john kerry has made a dozen trips to the middle east, hoping to push israeli and palestinian leaders to make concessions for peace. during the process, the u.s. secretary of state believed the two parties and no choice but to negotiate. to gettingrnative back to the talks is the potential of chaos. want this?s israel >> after years of failed initiatives, israelis and palestinians seem unable o

the scene there from a polling station in baghdad.e'll cross back later in the day. >>> more than 32 million in iraq can be divided into three major ethnic and religious groups. politics and power revolve around the shia, sunni and kurdish community. in northern iraq the kurdish makes up a fifth. the semiautonomous area has a kurdistan government. areas further south are a mix of sunni, arabs and kurds in oil-rich kirkuk and mosul. a third of the population are sunni muslims and are in central and western parts, accusing the shi'a-led government of discrimination. baghdad and its surrounding areas have been a mix of sunni and shia muslims. both wrestled for control of districts and neighbourhoods. the majority of the shia population is concentrated in the eastern and southern parts of iraq. including cities like basra. >> so for iraqis heading to the polls, it's not just sectarian challenges, there are regional ones as well. >> iraqi president is showing the rare public appearance at a hospital in germany where he is being treated. th

they drove to baghdad. johnny didn't know the story until we were working on the bok johnny's wife was telling me the story. she and i are sitting in the kitchen and johnny is over there listening and he starts going, interesting. what? his eyes become the size of the space. it was pretty scary. >> yes. speak for me my kids and my wife is all michael life. i ended up with all of these bad things and bad people. when they talked with my wife about these kind of details i freaked out. >> fortunately she is fine and the kids are fine but unfortunately we kind of skipped over a story there where your brother was assassinated. maybe we should tell that story on how your brother came to die. >> so my brother wanted him a chance to work to support his family. anyway i talked to the iraqi army. one day they came to him and they faced him and shot him, three guys are four guys. and knott. >> that was because they couldn't get you. you have to know the story about you and dealing with the story. i think that's your s

in capital baghdad. and in the north of the country. first of all, these elections overshadowed by violence and the fear of violence. >> reporter: they are, indeed, tim. even some of the cities up north and in the majority sunni areas, we have seen or heard reports about the mosques after the noon prayer calling for people to go in numbers to the voting station and not give in to the threats of violence as they say those who are perpetrating violence would aim to achieve. but here in baghdad, there is security going all around. the curfew is still applicable. although in some of the southern areas, the curfew has been lifted and the operations are going as normal. >> you're in abil. 22 million iraqis eligible to vote. what has the turnout been like there? >> reporter: well, it was a slow start to the day. but more people are turning out to vote in the afternoon. for the kurds, this is another chance for them in post saddam hussein iraq to serve the role of politics in the country. the past few years were not the best in terms of their r

it continues with al-qaeda-linked groups. >> his confidence isn't shared by many in baghdad. there are attacks across iraq every day. the damage is clear to see along with people's frustrations with their politicians >> reporter: according to the united nations, over 2,700 people have died as a result of violence in attacks like these since the year began. >> grim statistic will likely have an impact on people as they visit the polling booth come april 30th. imaran k. ahn, baghdad >> a strategic win for syriaw regaining an area on the border with lebanon. >>> plus, britain celebrates the 450th birthday of its greatest pl playwright william shakespeare. >> we pray for the children in the womb >> a divisive issue >> god is life , so it's his to take >> see a 10 year old girl who's pregnant, and you tell me that's what god wants... >> a controversial law >> where were you when the babies lives were being saved? >> are women in texas paying the price? >> who's benefiting from restricting access to safe abortions? >> fault lines... al jazeera america's hard hitting... ground break

we are at a polling site in the capitol, baghdad. two and a half hours left until voting ends, what has the turnout been like where you are? >> there are 3,500 registered voters here and i'm told that at least 1500 people have voted here. that's not an official figure but an election monitoring group looking at the figures for baghdad suggest the turnout could be as high as 60%. in 2010, the turnout for the whole of iraq was 62%. one of the reasons that turnout is going to be seen as being very good is this unprecedented security operation that's been mounted across the country as particularly here in baghdad. >> the prime minister looking for another term it is that voting today is a chance for citizens to fight back against terrorists. is security the number one issue for iraqis today? >> that's one of the number one issues, the other poverty, another corruption and clearly oil. there's a real fear in society of car bombs, suicide attacks. 7,700 people have died in the last 12 months alone and that's a huge figure. that's really th

tight security across baghdad as iraqis cast their ballot. two people on their way to vote were killed with a car bombing. >>> in oklahoma an execution went very wrong last night. the 38-year-old convict the murder died of a heart attack rather than experimental drug. there have been a string of similar incidents. severe storms are moving up the eastern seaboard. he'll have a string of deadly tornadoes. we've been hearing a lot of antibiotic resistence. something that everyone should be concerned about. >> it revolutionized medicine. for furthers i diseases that kie for years suddenly became treatable. but we've taken antibiotics too often, now it has made deceases resistant. no new antibiotics are being produced. >> we've had resistence over many decades, and there is a harsh truth in all of this. the more you intensify the pressure on the organism such as antibiotics, the more quickly will emerge resistence. that's the fundamental principle of natural selection. we can't get away from that. we have to live with it. that means we have to sen

reporter jane arraf is in baghdad. she was covering the rally for the newshour and spoke to us a short time ago. a warning-- some of the images shown during this interview may be disturbing. jane, welcome. how close were you, and tell us what happened. >> reporter: well, we were at a rally, quite an important one for new political party, the league of the righteous, and it's a very hard-line iranian-backed party that actually has a militia attached. as the main speakers -- and they're doing a reenactment of the martyrdom of hussein -- and there's a huge explosion where everyone hit the ground or started scattering. there was absolute panic because when car bombs go off in baghdad, security forces immediately respond by shooting randomly, in many cases. and there was the sound of the explosion, a huge thud, gunfire all over the place, and then there was another car bomb and a suicide bomb. so altogether, three of them. it was absolute panic, as you might expect, in between the car bombs, explosions, the security forces,

for baghdad's security. cameras are rarely allowed into this - the nerve center controlling the movements of the troops on the ground. as the election gets closer they realise there are security concerns. >> the enemy is trying to demoralize us, spreading hatred to prevent iraqis to exercise their democratic right to vote. stakes are high, we feel we have a concrete plan it guarantee security. >> checkpoints such as this dot the city. you can find them every few kilometres and they are a visable sign. the soldiers understand the threats faced. >> translation: we are the spearhead of the open war on terrorism and are fighting on behalf of the region and iraq and baghdad. the war continues with al qaeda-linked groups and we are confident in the plan to secure the city for elections. >> his confidence is not shared by many. there are attacks across iraq every day. the damage is clear to see, along with people's frustrations with politicians. >> reporter: according to the united nations over 2,700 died as a resu

about 10,000 gathered at a baghdad stadium. they planned to announce candidates for upcoming elections. many worry whether the government can secure bbaghdad >> this is baghdad operations command. they are responsible for baghdad's security. cameras are rarely allowed into this, the nerve center that controls the movements of troops on the ground. as iraq's election gets closer, the government understands it faces security challenges. >> the enemy is trying to demoral eyes us by spreading hatred to prevent iraqis to exercise their democratic right to vote. we believe the stakes are high, but we feel we have a concrete plan to help guarantee security. checkpoints such as this dot the city. you can find them every few kilometers, the most visible sign of the government's secure plan. the government understands the threats they face. >> we are the spearhead of the open war on terrorism in general. we are fighting on behalf of the region and especially in iraq and baghdad. the war continues with al-qaeda-engli al-qaeda-linked group

five people were killed in an explosion in western baghdad. we have the latest now. >> there is an unprecedented security operation going on in baghdad. i've spoken to senior military commanders and ministry of interior. they won't tell us officially how many extra troops check points they're placing in baghdad. they're playing the cards very close. off the record they say they know they face quite serious challenges in dealing with security. let me give you some figures. there are over $7,000 polling stations. there are 22 million registered voters here in iraq. now, now the military state hee in iraq have threatened the election campaigns. there have been multiple suicide car bombings which have killed 31 people and we've seen a number of incidents throughout the day. also the kinds of incidents we're seeing, suicide bombs, we're seeing gun attacks. so they are certainly making good on their threats to trying to disrupt their elections. having said that, i've seen the atmosphere, certainly when the military, the army and police were voting t

imran khan is covering the elections, joining us from baghdad. >> nouri al-maliki is hoping to win a third term and we understand he's been speaking ahead of the vote. >> reporter: that's right. before we get to prime minister nouri al-maliki. i'm at a polling station. this is normally a school during term time. it's been turned into a polling station on april 30th. there has been 3,500 registered voters here. there has been a slow trickle of people going through that door down there. to get into here, you have to pass through two heavily manned security checkpoints and security has been a theme of prime minister nouri al-maliki's speech. he gave a speech on state tv and one of the things he said was this was a chance for iraqis to fight back. to be able to take their own destiny into their own hands. let's take a look at what else he's been saying. >> translation: i call upon all iraqis to go to the ballot boxes and participate in the election because those who will take part will have a right to monitor and ask questions. god willing, we will celebrate a successful election, defeat

suggests, they are responsible for baghdad's security. cameras are rarely allowed into this, the nerve center that controls the movements of troops on the ground. as iraq's election gets closer, the government understands it faces security champ he knochal. >> the enemy is always trying to demoralize us by spreading sectarian hatred to prevent iraqis to go exercise their democratic right to vote. we do believe the stakes are high but we feel we have a concrete plan to help guarantee security. >> reporter: checkpoints such as this dot the city. you can find them every few kilometers and they are the most visible sign in the government's security plan. the soldiers understand the threats that they face. >> we are the spearhead of the open war on terrorism in general. we are fighting terrorism on behalf of the renalon an especially in iraq and baghdad. the war courts with -linked groups and we are confident in our plan to security the city for e elections >> his confidence isn't shared by many in baghdad. there are attacks across iraq every

imran khan is standing by live in baghdad. we have heard a lot about the fighting going on in anbar. clearly this is an offensive that has many fronts across the country. >> that's right. what we are seeing is that offensive in anbar province, getting to a point where i.s.i.l. fighters are under a tremendous amount of pressure. they are coming south into iraq. where they are using safe havens to rest, recup rate and go back into anbar province. the iraqi army says it was an intelligence-led operation, they knew the fighters were there, they mounted an operation against them, and they say they killed 50 of the i.s.i.l. fighters. i have to say this is coming from the iraqi army, and there are many politicians in baghdad that will poor scorn on this, saying it's another way for the government to show sectarian divides or differences. there has been no proof that they were members of i.s.i.l. expect to see more as we come closer to elections due on april 30th. prime minister nouri al-maliki promised to be tough on security, which

so i came and st- stayed in baghdad and worked in baghdad, instead of working embedded with us military. >> it used to be that you could do a mix of both. i tried to keep it 50/50, so that i saw the war from the soldier's point of view, and i saw the war from the local iraqi's point of view. >> journalists play this vital role as sort of an outside presence, an independent person to sort of see how this war is being conducted. >> if you want to get to some of these stories, you have to take the risks of the people who are living through the same thing, and sometimes that means risking torture, risking kidnapping, risking death. >> i faced tremendous amount of danger. i was shot at several times. my car still ha-- bears the marks of uh. of bullets. i was chased several times. i got messages, uhm. letters were taped on the outdoor of my house. >> kidnapping was, and is, a very real problem in iraq. criminal gangs, militias are roaming around, finding ways to extort money. this is why we've had doctors, academics, lawyers, a- a whole lot of iraq's intelligencia just flee the country, becau

his confidence isn't shared by many in baghdad.here are attacks across iraq every day and the damage is clear to see along with people's frustrations with their politicians. according to the united nations over 2,700 people have died as a result of violence in attacks like these since the year began. >> grim statistic will likely have an impact on people as they visit the polling booth come april 30th. imiran kahn baghdad >> tomorrow night on the week ahead we will talk more about the challenges facing iraq as the voters go cast ballots. tomorrow at 8:30 eastern. five nato troops have been killed in a helicopter crash. the british chopper went down in kandahar prove incide p /* pr p in afghanistan, top two contenders for president are gearing up for another round of voting. early results show neither won a majority. there will be a run-off in june. stefanie dekker has the details. >> we are satisfied with the result >> there isn't a new president just yet. but he will be chosen from one of two men. former foreign minister abdullah

military arrives in baghdad, with heavy looting under way, marines protect iraq's oil ministry.ion of other critical iraqi government buildings and institutions. >> we let the museums go. we let the art and culture go. we let the telephones go elsewhere. we let the administrative office go. ministry of the interior, ministry of justice. we let all those things go and we protected the oil ministry. >> the perception that the u.s. has launched a war for oil is further stoked when the u.s. army's 101st airborne division crosses the border into iraq and establishes two refueling stations in the iraqi desert. the army names the two desert outposts after exxon and shell, unbeknownst to the companies, themselves. >> presumably some colonel in the planning cell thought that this would be an easy designation for american soldiers flying helicopters through dust storms to bear in mind, find on a map, but it did kind of undermine the pr campaign. >> as coalition forces roll into baghdad and topple saddam, the general selected by the pentagon to stabilize the situation and quickly turn over

as the name suggests, they are responsible for baghdad's security.amera's are rarely allowed to the nerve center. as the election is getting closer, the government understands it is facing a security challenge. >> the enemy is always trying to dem demor demoralize. we do believe the stakes are high. we feel we have a plan to help guarantee security. >> check points such as this throughout the city, you can find them and the most visible sign of the security plan and the sold a -- soldiers are understanding the threats they face. >> we are fighting on behalf of the region. the war continues with al qaeda linked groups and we are confident to secure the city for the elections. >> the confidence is not shared by many. there are attacks in baghdad every day and the damage is clear to see, along with the frusations with the poll situations. according to the un, thousands died as a result of the violence in the attacks like these since the year began and it impacts the people as they go to vote on april 30th. >> and tomorrow night we talk more about the ch

two of which in baghdad.wo cities are very troublesome as far as security is concerned due to the fact there has been a lot of confusion and conflicting interest in the city between the government and various groups. basically that is likely to affect the turnout amongst the police and army? very unlikely. most this voting now should have been finished or winding up at least. >> okay and what is happening there? >> reporter: well of course in the relatively safe a tutonomou region in iraq. no bombings or attacks. there were chaotic scenes in the polling station i visited this morning. they are doing what authorities are doing this time around in elections, imposing strict identity check processes at this base with electronic devices. that's taking time apparently. people are getting late. i was talking today about the special voting day. that's the day the military and police services are voting. but again, the attacks were not very far away from the safety of the region. cities are right across the border be

both sunnis composed who returned to baghdad, both who cut deals.d in the past have said very unpleasant things about the kurds, and the kurds remember the. the sunnis don't like them selling out going back and forth all the time either. so where is the leadership? you can sort of guess where this is going to go. the last thing, i'm not going to happen sooner, iraq breaks up. not going to happen. now, what will washington do in all this? i think what you have to keep in mind that if you look at our policy towards syria, how we are shaking our fists at the russians and doing a lot of talking of -- what wasn't winston churchill said? we don't do anything. iraq probably falls into category as welcome in this sense. we've made commitments to help the iraqis. we recognize that counterterrorism is a top priority for them. it is for us as well. not our only priority but close to it. there's a danger in making counterterrorism here only priority. it brings you unpleasant friends and unhappy issues that you might not want to deal with. but what the u.s. has

military arrives in baghdad, with heavy looting under way, marines protect iraq's oil ministry. other critical iraqi government buildings and institutions. >> we let the museums go. we let the art and culture go. we let the telephones go elsewhere. we let the administrative office go. ministry of the interior, ministry of justice. we let all those things go and we protected the oil ministry. >> the perception that the u.s. has launched a war for oil is further stoked when the u.s. army's 101st airborne division crosses the border into iraq and establishes two refueling stations in the iraqi desert. the army names the two desert outposts after exxon and shell, unbeknownst to the companies, themselves. >> presumably some colonel in the planning cell thought that this would be an easy designation for american soldiers flying helicopters through dust storms to bear in mind, find on a map, but it did kind of undermine the pr campaign. >> as coalition forces roll into baghdad and topple saddam, the general selected by the pentagon to stabilize the situation and quickly turn over power

directed towards the elections here in baghdad today it's fairly quiet on the streets. cars have been banned. in an attempt to bolster security as 21 million iraqis head to the polls. we've been speaking to some of those voters. >> translator: if you look at a map of the world you would see iraq at the heart of it. we need a change in the country. there is serious work to be done. iraq is a strong country. we will see progress and prosperity in the future. >> translator: it's not good. we are begging in the streets. we have no money, no jobs. my son was arrested just because he is a sunni. we don't know where he is. i'm begging in order to provide for his children. we don't want this government. they are thieves. they are killing us. >> some of the voices, quentin, of people who can vote. tell us about parts of the country where polling is just not possible. >> reporter: that's right, geeta. you mentioned anbar in the west of the country. there is in effect a war going on there. most of the world hasn't been paying much attention. it's been focused elsewhere in the regi

except for the capital baghdad on sunday prompted a bag that has lost its the it's all a entrances and nobody is allowed to comment or you can leave it the couples like that at the iraqi airspace has been walked pass and said two days ago on no one is allowed to leave the country or even enter the country but separate ration for the ad for the digital elections they were supposed to be today or tomorrow. today according to the left moral standards the candidates have talked to ed did not have to attend a lot to maintain contact their the fourth. i mean up things at the same time abby to the iraqis to the force's as i mentioned even though with the iraqi air force are taking the part in the security of the moscow i mean the electoral process in the country. we see a ruckus duty forces is the big yes. the had the right. yes you read this before says the state to have actually act fast to their ballots under with a porch addition of more than a million dead iraqis could be personal but to be allowed out to be actually to be able to maintain the security during the election date via iv app

let's go the latest live from baghdad. i know you've been to a poling station and to see the kind of security in place to prevent these sorts of attacks from happening, hopefully. >> that's right. there is unprecedented operation going on here in baghdad. we've tried to get details of how many troops will are out on the streets and the iraqi authorities are playing their cards very close to their chest. off the record they know that they face challenges. and they know that they face threats from groups like the islamic state in iraq and they have said that they will target these election campaign and the vote itself. that's exactly what they've done. they've made good on that promise. three days ago there was a bombing at a campaign rally which has killed 31 people. there have been a number of incidents in mosul where six journalists were killed in an attack at a polling station there. there are 22 million voters had a have been registered. there is an active army of operation going on in anbar province which accounts for

they drove to baghdad. johnny didn't know the story until we were working on the bok johnny's wife was telling me the story. she and i are sitting in the kitchen and johnny is over there listening and he starts going, interesting. what? his eyes become the size of the space. it was pretty scary. >> yes. speak for me my kids and my wife is all michael life. i ended up with all of these bad things and bad people. when they talked with my wife about these kind of details i freaked out. >> fortunately she is fine and the kids are fine but unfortunately we kind of skipped over a story there where your brother was assassinated. maybe we should tell that story on how your brother came to die. >> so my brother wanted him a chance to work to support his family. anyway i talked to the iraqi army. one day they came to him and they faced him and shot him, three guys are four guys. and knott. >> that was because they couldn't get you. you have to know the story about you and dealing with the story. i think that's your s

at least 17 people were injured in two bombings in baghdad. the violence has risen since iraq fighting in anbar province and there are concerns that security will not be able to prevent violence. >> reporter: people in baghdad take advantage of the holiday declared for the elections and try and relax despite the violence that has hit this city in the last few days. massive security operations are under way. the air space is closed flights, shops are shut and there is a 10:00 p.m. curfew. despite that, people say they will vote. >> i'm optimistic for two reasons. number one, i think people will vote for change. the second even people who don't want to change will vote because they don't want to feel cheated. >> reporter: baghdad is relatively safe. in anbar province, though, the army has been involved in an intense conflict with fighters and many say they are afraid to go out and vote. politicians say without security the vote will not be full and fair. the army insists it has secured the area. >> this since the first of april we have mounded a

at least 17 people were injured in two bombings in baghdad today. nearly 9,000 candidates are vying for 328 seats. >>> pro russian activists are trying to control eastern ukraine. hundreds of activists stormed into the capital today. the u.s. and it's allies are pushing back with sanctions pressuring vladimir putin. and the european union unveiled the latest measures today. but critics say that they don't go far enough. >>> donald sterling will not be attending the clipper's game tonight or any other games. he has been banded for life from the nba. sterling did make racist comments on tape. and sterling has been hit with a $2.5 million fine, and the possibility that the team owners will force him to sell the clippers thank you. >> racism in sports is around the world. in spain this week, someone threw a banana onto the field during a soccer game. soccer player picked up and took a bite. and he said that humor is a good way to handle racism. it's a good way to show support for the italian prime minister, fletcher is a broadcaster for the seattle socc

operations command, as the name suggests they are responsible for baghdad security. cameras are rarely allowed into this, the nerve center that controls the movements of troops on the ground. as iraq's election gets closer the government understands it faces security challenges. >> translation: the enemy is trying to demoralize us by spreading sectarian hate red, preventing iraqis to vote. stakes are high. we have a concrete plan to guarantee security. >>> checkpoints such as this dot the area. soldiers understand the threats faced. >> translation: we are the spear head of the open war on terrorism, fighting on behalf of the reason, especially in iraq and baghdad. the war continues with al qaeda-linked groups and are confident of securing the city. >> his confidence is not shared by many. there are attacks and the damage is clear to see, along with frustrations for politicians. >> according to the united nations over 2,700 people decide as a result of violence in attacks like these since the year began. that grim statistic will likely have an impact on people as they

and it's being poured scorn over in parts of baghdad. amongst opposition politicians, who say this is yet another example of sectarianism, that no proof has been gip, that the fighters were members of the islamic state of iraq and levant. now, as we get closer to the elections, expect to hear announcements of praises like this. this works well for prime minister nouri al-maliki, who said he will be tough on security. that is a big issue for the iraqi election campaign. >> al jazeera demands the release of its journalists imprisoned in egypt. mohamed fadel fahmy, baher mohamed, and peter greste are falsely accused of providing a platform to the outlawed muslim brotherhood. they have been behind bars for 114 days. their case has been adjourned until tuesday. al jazeera rejects all the accusations against its staff. abdullah al-shami, the fourth journalist in detention has been held without trial sips august. he's been on hunger strike for 9 91 days. >> in ukraine three were shot dead at a checkpoint manned by pro-russian activists. kiev sa

sunnis are north and west of baghdad and pale blue. the kurds we have in the north in red. no stranger tois extreme violence. we were talking earlier about the peaks of violence in 2006 and 2007, but at that point there was not a mixed regional factor, which is syria. this war is having a major impact on iraq today with jihadist groups coming in and trying to destabilize the situation. fromther big difference the last parliamentary election is that u.s. forces have withdrawn. architect along with sunni tribal chiefs along with resurgence against al qaeda in the west of the country. that policy is basically dead. there were a couple of new , really an opportunity for much more open-ended instability. >> thank you for that. gunmen have stormed the forcingnt in libya, lawmakers to postpone a vote for a new prime minister to take on the lawlessness gripping the north african nation. the libyan parliament attacked again. this is what the assembly's hallway looks like after a group of gunmen stormed it tuesday after opening fire. >> we were taken by surprise. told us that the gun

many of the poorest have no faith that anything will change. >> baghdad goes away. these people used to build. they call it tin city, a slum in the north-east. at least 25,000 people live. from all over buildings and other tradesmen drop trash. the locals use what is dumped here to build homes. as children play this man worries about the future. he not only looks after his own daughters, but provide a home for five orphans whose parents died in the violence that blights the city. >> translation: this is an oil-rich country yet i have been living like this for 15 years. i don't have anything. the politicians come and make empty promises. we are fed up. we can't handle living like this any more. this place is not fit for animals. >> the government, in 2010, promised people in the slum that it would tear it down and rehouse them. since then the slum has grown, it's rarely visited by government officials. >> one of the first things that you notice is the overpowering smell. we are surrounded by open sours, that means mosquitos. for the residents, it's a nightmare. they

>> we went to most of the iraqi cities and towns and at the end i ended up in baghdad. >> and baghdad was like going to miami at the time. they loved you? >> that time it was like a huge fire fly between the extremist and several of them trying to blow up at that time and they c cannot do anything by themselves so they needed the seals to protect them and we started targeting the bad guys. ... i want to ask my kids who is going to be sunni and who's going to be shia. so i told my wife -- and who is going to be sunni and who is going to be shia. she said i'm shia so they'll raise their their hand and they said i'm shia. [laughter] >> interesting thing is that not only before the american war but before the sunni awakening you lived in mosul and welfare were sunni and shia and it happens to be an area where there is more sunni. there wasn't religious animosity there weren't people shooting at each other because they were sunni and shia. unfortunately what was the situation? >> it looks like the continental divide by sunni sheik -- cities and shia cities and kurdish bases. >> basically n

we have reports now from baghdad. >> cameras are rarely allowed no this. the government understands that it faces security problems. >> preventing iraqis to exercise their democratic right to vote. we believe the stakes are high but we feel we have a concrete plan to help guarantee security. >> check points such as this dot the city. you can find them in the security plan, and soldiers understand the threats that they face. >> we are the spearhead. we are fighting terrorism on behalf of the region. the war continues with al-qaeda linked groups and we're confident in our plan to secure the city for elections. >> his confidence didn't shared by many in baghdad. there are attacks across recognize every day and the damage is clear to see. along with people's frustrations with their politicians. according to the united nations over 207 people have died as a result of violence in attacks like these since the year began. that grim statistic will likely have an impact on people as they visit the polling booths come april 30th. >> more to come on the news hour. fro

troops were removed. 7 people were injured in baghdad. sectarian violence has risen since fighters have been driven from anbar problems. there's concerns security will not be able to prevent the violence there. imran khan reports. >> reporter: people in baghdad take advantage of the holiday declared for the elections and relax, despite violence that hits the city. a massive security operation is under way. shops and offices are shut. there's a 10:00 pm curfew. despite that people will vote. >> i'm optimistic for two reasons, number one, i think people will vote for a change. the second. even people who don't want to change will vote because they don't want to feel cheated. >> baghdad is relatively save. the army has been involved in a conflict with fighters from the islamic state of iraq and levant. locals told al jazeera they are afraid to vote: iraqi army struck oil tankers that they say cop taped ex -- contained explosives to be used in attacks. anbar accounts for 17% of the vote. without security the vote will not be full and fair. th

and that was an eight year old scary mistletoe here in baghdad ay ay ay ay. some people in south korea have harsh words for the country's present there are angry over the way pot could now offer an apology for the government's handling of the country's ferry accident. two weeks have passed since the cell wall sank off the country's southern coast. two nd of all people have been confirmed dead many of them students from the same high school many people are still missing. kak meter first apology for the accident during a cabinet meeting on tuesday she said the government failed to prevent the disaster and its initial response was insufficient. officials were repeatedly provided inaccurate information including the number of passengers on the ship and the number of those rescued representatives of the families affected by the disaster said the president to speak to the people not to the cabinet some newspaper editorials are saying the president did not make any remarks admitting her own responsibility. the asa said she should just make a more heartfelt apology a

in the capital baghdad voting without incident, but across the country there were a landful of of--a handful of attacks. check points increased in number. here is the polling station in central baghdad people, particularly the elderly, found it tough to walk to polling stations, but walk they did to cast their votes. >> we came to vote. the only thing we can do now is choose the right person for the right job. i wasn't scared to come despite the dangers. i wanted to come out and vote. >> no one party strong enough to win a majority, so coalition also have to be formed. the three main blocks incurred among themselves and against each other. it took nearly eight months for iraq to get a government, and the political climate back then was very different than the one now. back then there was a coalition block. this time around most diplomats, analysts, and politicians will tell you that iraq faces a number of months without all that negotiation. >> that comes later. now iraqis celebrate a day that many thought would never come, an election free of violence. >> of course the united states

iraqis also shut down in the biggest prison in our brave outside of baghdad and all the prisoners had been transferred the country has also closed its peace until the voting finishes on wednesday afternoon. four security personnel have been deployed at the point of the seas nt government organs around the capital. despite all the security measures some of which started weeks ago the election has been overshadowed by a racist the two creation in the situation. police say the least thirty five people have been killed in separate attacks and clashes on tuesday and fifty were killed in attacks around iraq. on monday. russian activists to see several more state buildings including the regional government headquarters in the eastern city of bangkok the activists are seeking a referendum on granting greater authority to ukraine's regions. on tuesday dozens of me and the sun in green camouflage and holding shields walked into the government building. d while others smashed windows and raise the russian flag the activists are seeking a referendum on granting grade on forty two ukrainian region

and they are investing fighters who seize towns in the neighboring province and we have more from baghdadorter: as the operation progresses against isil fighters many of them are moving further south into places like bobo province where they group to go back in and the iraq army says over the last three days they had an operation using helicopters and ground troops to kill 50 isil fighters in the province and say the fighters were more hard core elements of the isil however this is just coming from the iraqi army and no other sources confirming this and it's being skorn over in parts of baghdad among opposition politicians who say this is another example of sectarian and no proof these fighters were indeed members of the islamic state of iraq. getting clean to elections there will be announcements of operations like this and this works well for prime minister who said he is going to be tough on security and clearly security is one of the very big issues for the iraqi election campaign. >> and al jazeera continues to demand the immediate yirelease those in prison of greste and fahmy and mo

abu ghraib is located 9 miles out of baghdad between baghdad and anbar province, and it has been overtaken by al qaeda and militants, and they have controlled the city of fallujah since january and parts of hamadi. and because of that, the ministry described abu ghraib as being in a "hot" area. so they can't guarantee that the security of the situation surrounding the prison complex. last year, there was a mass breakout and shootout that resulted in over 50 people dying, and the justice ministry said that it continue guarantee the security and the environment of the prison, they are be abandoning it. >> why wasn't it closed sooner? >> did you know, that's interesting, because once we had the scandal with the american soldiers in 2004, later on, i think a year later, president bush wanted to have it demolished, and they were talking about getting it torn down, but there were also talks about having it become some kind of a museum. but ultimately, they needed the space, and they needed to house the prisoners and detainees, and they cannot afford to destroy buildings when they're still trying

trans pacific partnership ppp presents and other issues explosions targeting a political rally in baghdad was killed and wounded dozens of people. the suspected radicals trying to disrupt next week's common connection but the kind attack unsecured debt is ctmh and the amount of capital out of any financial or political position. it seems that seeking people were killed and ninety one did. current bomb exploded near the industry. the stadium another explosion caused by a suicide bomber. people think it should be seen as a test and when they try and stabilize the qt and proceed with the construction of islamic extremists to become increasingly active in the rump to cause me to this into more things to korea any museum in hongkong is dedicated to the nineteen eighteen nine chinese government crackdown on pro democracy protests test and tenements playing wii tennis in hong kong in nineteen eighteen. he said many of today's cnn. it includes an estimate. cole's nineteen east ninety two percent tennis open fire on pro democracy demonstrators causing many deaths and serious injuries. the seventy

i don't mean to live in baghdad had green tea. vicki and i have to fight the police had been expected for a bbq that the mother of these. they have done that all i get the ball to kenya and the dvd ever busy and good performance between the sudanese to keep it that a good build up. the problem that is all you'll need any miracle it didn't get all conceived instalment of money on this thing kind of problem seems to be in books. they are the days that you can compare to the show apart from the date given this high up but didn't know it'll be different when compared to that in too many lives. are you going to go in the days when we have checks and balances has been in it. i'm going to check and balance some new thing in my living human. he texted me. we have tremendous respect the different that i can get back to deserve this or that is we who with everything step one that invests in iraq want them to be written things they are used in integrating the wedding twenty thirteen matches and my initials on sunday has established for youth

they had been fired in eastern baghdad three years earlier. tomorrow marks four years since the video titled collateral murder was made to twenty weeks. in sanchez the killing of words journalist his driver and several companions the american troops in a us apache helicopter spots were insurgents. after the initial shooting in an armed group in a minivan drivers who seem to help the wounded day of fire upon his plow. much has happened in the four years its collateral murder first hit the internets. it is you know neil brings us more from life. sunday the fifth of april marks the four year anniversary of the repealing of the silly and love of murder video. i tweaked the stitches but each in two thousand and seven of eight u s air crew minus sixty been wanting a firefight in mike dodd and then there seemed to be adopted over the bodies of more than a dozen people killed in an airstrike the art tried following the release of that video essence the pro looks into muscle attention to the finder up with the leaks to the end of sons. it also brought

. >> we went mostly to iraqi cities and in the end i ended up in baghdad. >> baghdad at that time was kind of like going to miami. it's a really nice place. >> at that time there was a huge firefight between the sunni and the shia. the government is not able to do anything by themselves. they needed this s.e.a.l.s to protect them and we started targeting bad guys. >> just explained, in islam i think a lot of people know and not necessarily everyone you can make a lot of different divisions and one of the major divisions is between sunni and shia. what are you and what is your wife? >> i am sunni and my wife is shia. one of the days we sat and i came up with it crazy idea. i asked my kids who is going to be sunni and who's going to be shia? i asked that my wife and it dreamed that night. my kids came and i said hey guys where democratic family and we can vote who is going to be sunni and who's going to be shia. they said daddy are you sunni or shia and i said sunni and they said mom? and she said the shia. they raise your hand and they all said shia. >> now before the sydney awakening

as in more violence in baghdad this morning ahead of tomorrow's general election. a bomb attack on an outdoor market northeast in northeastern baghdad has killed at least eleven people will add just at that scene from a range of messages coming in the d still still sketchy this was yesterday fined and swim in it and started putting stations across much of the country kidding the sports he seeks out people is as good a day she got underway for peace and security forces ahead of tomorrow's general election it will be the first the general election held in iraq since the withdrawal of american troops. a peace deal for the middle east was to be reached by state that was john kerry's plan as he kicked off the latest round of israeli palestinian talks last summer instead. the mac is actually a state finds itself embroiled in a rout with a set of allegations that he wanted risk becoming an apartheid state. john kerry has said that the word apart it was guilt isn't all that he defended his warning to israel of the risks it faces if it doesn't try to deal with palestinians.