allan is speaking to us from guatemala city. onado aguirre led campaign of the high court to annul the rÍos montt genocide and now he is the president of guatemala. amy: will have a few minutes, but i was wondering if you could describe for us to dramatic moments yesterday, what it was like an guatemala city, when the president resigned, when he was brought before the court and the charges were read against him, and if you could tell us, since really have a few minutes, what has been the role of the united at the end of perez molina's reign. >> the news came out that perez molina a quick knowing who is facing arrest at dawn. and starting a 1:00 a.m., people went out to the streets and you could hear the horns of sounding throughout the city. yesterday, as he sat in court, on the tv screen of one of the stations, they had text at the bottom that said "enter this president, will leave as prisoner." you could see him sitting behind a table as the judge was asking him for his personal details. he was undergoing the humiliation that e

daniel schwindler is in guatemala city. sent us this report. >> there is some clarity on the political landscape of guatemala but not much. tv comedian jimmy morales untainted by political scandals. anonymitnot enough ahead to pr. the people have chosen but have they chosen wisely? >> we guatemalans will be a lot wiser and hopefully we're going to have better politicians in the next four years. >> reporter: the man they elected as their last president, otto perez molina will be tried for involvement in a massive cruchtion scandal. massive corruption scandal. >> i'm voiding but at the same time, i don't agree with any of the proposals put forward by the candidates. but the people have spoken and have a much clearer idea of what democracy is. >> translator: the only thing my family asks is that the new president is not as bad as the last one. he damaged us, and i don't want that for my children or grandchildren. >> reporter: the new president will not take office until january. in the meantime, the country's being led by the i

al jazeera, guatemala city. >> and you'll find extensive coverage of the elections in guatemala and, indeed, our entire website split up into regional sections. each comes with countries highlighted there. that's www.aljazeera.com. the stories there about egypt, russia, and the arctic. www.aljazeera.com. without being to be street. >> deconstructing. >> we're giving individuals reasons not to commit this act. >> since april 22nd, took the opportunity to show the bad side. but the young people that i'm seeing they want a chance to turn that around. >> baltimore is my adopted home. i moved m

amy: journalist allan nairn reporting from guatemala city. is covered guatemala since the 1980's. you can follow him on twitter for the latest news on the resignation of the president of guatemala, otto perez molina. and we come back, we go to louisville and lexington, kentucky to cover the showdown, the county clerk kim davis, who refuses to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. we will talk to the man, david moore, who she refused to issue a marriage license to three times. stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. in kentucky, the county clerk who testified the supreme court and refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples is set to appear before a federal judge in just a few hours to make her case for why she should not be held in contempt of court. rowan county clerk kim davis stopped issuing all marriage licenses rather than comply with is a bring court ruling in june that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. on monday, t

daniel schwindler has the story in guatemala city. >> some call him the anti-politics politician. tv comedian jimmy morales untainted by political scandals. he finished ahead but not with the 50% needed to avoid runoff. he will face either manuel desson or former first lady, sandra torres. the people have chosen but have they chosen wisely? >> we guatemalans will be a lot wiser. hopefully, a lot better politicians in the next four years. >> reporter: the man they elected as their last president otto perez molina resigned last week and appears in court on tuesday to hear whether he will be tried for his connection to the massive corruption scandal. >> translator: i'm voting but at the same time, i don't agree with any of the proposals put forward by the candidates. but the people have spoken and have a much clearer idea of what democracy is. >> translator: the only thing my family asks is that the new president is not as bad as the last one. he damaged us, and i don't want that for my children or grandchildren. >> the new president will not take office until january. in the meantim

in the capital of guatemala city. >> the scandal has been dubbed the lie, going up to the very top. accusing the president of handing over huge bribes to avoid paying the duties of passing through guatemala customs. the vice president is already under arrest. and six members of the cabinet have resigned for their alleged roles in the scandal. the others are on the run. a new vice president vice president has been chosen to serve until january, and whoever rins the elections on sunday is due to take office. this week, the congress lifted the president's immunity from prosecutor. that was by the attorney general, ordering his arrest. guatemala is no stranger to corruption scandals. what's different this time, it's being investigated and those implicated, including those at the very top, are resigning and expected to answer the accusations against them. though the country is in turmoil, some find that very refreshing. with the elections just days away, the guatemalan votes are increasingly being taken to the street, angry at politicians in general. dennis molina said that he's innocent

celebrations on the streets of guatemala city, and the president stripped of immunity. plus... >> dt dot as china's military falls into line for world war ii commemorations, the neighbours promise a never-before scene of fire power. >>> you're watching al jazeera. angry protests outside buddha pests railway station. hungarian police are preventing anyone without a valid visa from entering the station >>> former rebel congolese officer pleaded not guilty. he's facing 18 charges including murder, rape and recruiting child soldiers at the international criminal court. a u.n. report warns that gaza could be uninhabitable less than five years. it blames wars and blockades for record poverty and a humanitarian crisis. >>> guatemala's congress removed president perez's immunity from prosecution. accused of receiving bribes in exchange for lowering taxes on businesses. six cabinet ministers resigned last week. david mercer reports >>> jubilation in the streets of guatemala city as people celebrate an historical decision in a country battling corruption. the president stripped o

. >> reporter: jubilation in the streets of guatemala city as people celebrate an historic decision. president now stripped of his immunity by congress will face impeachment. it's the news guatemalians have been waiting for. >> translator: the results are as follows, 132 in favor, 0 votes against. congressmen not present, 26. now with the majority we approve that they are can take the president to the courts. >> reporter: prosecutors accused the president of being the head of a multi-million dollars corruption scandal. congress voted on an impeachment process a week and a half ago. it was the second time in the past month congress has met to decide the president's future. you can feel the energy on the street outside of congress. people here say they have been waiting for a long time for their lawmakers to take corruption seriously. there is no place these people here would rather be today. from the early morning the president's supporters formed a human chain in an attempt to block entry to congress, but those in favor of impeachment were also present, some of whom handed out white

we are joined from guatemala city. tell us about the candidates running in this election. >> polls opened here just over and hour ago and people when they arrived are going to have to choose from a 14 different presidential candidates. now at the top of the list is sandra torres. she's a former first lady and her campaign has been riddled with scandal. a millionaire businessman and his running mate is under investigation for money laundering. there's jimmy morales, a t.v. comedian with no political experience. that's actually playing into his favor. he has risen in the polls over the last month or so. we've heard from people here that none of these candidates really offers them the kind of real change they are looking for in order to get the country out of this political crisis that it's in now and we're it on a new course. >> having said all that, david, how does this affect the elections taking operation now in guatemala. >> corruption, it's a huge part of life here in guatemala and affects all of political life here

daniel reports from guatemala city. >> reporter: this is a sight of guatemala with repercussions throughn and a few days ago molina was the president of guatemala and now he is in custody in a jail cell being investigated for his alleged involvement in a massive corruption scandal. a growing social movement and regular protests want to get out. >> translator: we have been demanding the resignation of corrupt politicians, now we have seen the resignation of the leader of a band of corrupt officials molina who happened to be the president of guatemala. >> this is the man who has replaced him, the new interim president with a background in the justice system and there are presidential elections this sunday. guatemala has never seen a week quite like it and it's not over yet. it has great hope and expectation here they can put the corrupt path behind them but no clear ideas about the way forward. corruption is not new in guatemala but never before have heads of so many people rolled. >> i think that is what has driven the social movement. for me it's against the corruption of the system and

daniel in guatemala city. >>> coming up, at al jazeera, cramped and chaotic we will show you the livingtions for refugees that are stuck on the greek island. and a long walk for justice, we meet the women who say chad's former dictator ordered them to be raped and families tortured. ♪ >> al jazeera america, weekday mornings. catch up on what happened overnight with a full morning brief. get a first hand look with in-depth reports and investigations. start weekday mornings with al jazeera america. open your eyes to a world in motion. hello again, you are with al jazeera and these are the top stories taking in tens of thousands of refugees that francois hollande and angela merkel say they want a unified european response to the crisis and warned without it the agreement will collapse. the comedian jimmy morales emerged as a clear leader in the presidential elections but with less than 50% of the vote it's still not known who will join him in the runoff vote in october thousands of farmers marching through brussels protesting about falling dairy and meat prices and this is live as they bur

candidates has what it takes to bring guatemala out of the crisis and offer to restore credibility to the government. what we are seeing now is a big turn out and we have to citytesee whenthe votes r guatemala has a new president or have to go to a second round of voting in late october. julie. >> david mercer there live from guatemala city, david, thank you. >>> now, an independent report has don decemberred the mexican got office investigate in to the disappearance of 43 students almost a year ago saying they may have been killed in a case of mistaken identity by drug smugglers, the student protesters were attacked in the southern city of iguala after highjacking buses during a december trailings last december. a report from the i want americainter americancommissions one of the buses may have contained a drug shipment. >>> a diplomatic effort to end the what are in syria seem to be going nowhere with the rub an and u.s. hardening their positions for and against president is sad. john kerry spoke to his russian counterpart on saturday to express concern about reports of an increased russian military presence in the country. pictures released by syrian activi

allan nairn in guatemala city, journalist, activist, who is covered guatemala since the 1980's. >> guatemalas been in the midst of an uprising that has brought down the president general perez molina and helped bring him to jail. in just a few hours, perez molina will be returning to court or he is facing corruption charges, but he could and should later also be charged with mass murders he committed in the countryside during the campaign of general rios mont, campaign for which rios mont was convicted of genocide against the indigenous mayan population. now this astonishing popular uprising has been temporarily interrupted by an election, the election which was held sunday. there was a mass outcry to postpone the election because it was seen as rigged from the start. only those with backing from the oligarchy or the organized crime gangs, especially the drug dealers, had a chance in the election because those are the only ones with money. the postponement did not happen. the election went forward. two candidates emerged, jimmy marlis and apparently sandra torres in second place. morales is

for the moment, david mercer live in guatemala city for that electi election. thank you, david. >>> the nigerian government is planning to exploit solid mineral resources to offset decline in global oil prices but it says it's losing millions of dollars in revenue every year from illegal mine can and now wants the miners to pay tax on what they earn. a report now from the town in northern nigeria. >> mohammed has been working the minds for seventeen years. he dropped out of school because he says his parents couldn't afford the expenses but soon, he may have to look for another job because the authorities are planning to crack down on illegal mining and he is not amused. >> this is my life. i can't do anything else. if anyone wants to take this job away from me, they must give me a home, a decent wage and all of the comforts of life. >> most of the gold prospecting may be small but the people working is huge. a good day can fetch hundreds of dollars, and those are the dollars the government also wants. for a long time, enforcement against illegal mining has bee

members resigned last week and david mercer reports. >> reporter: stipulation in the streets of guatemala cityle celebrate a historic decision in a country battling government corruption. the president molina now stripped of immunity by congress will face impeachment. it's the news that guatemala has been waiting for and the decision was nearly unanimous. >> translator: the results of the vote are as follows 132 votes in favor, 0 votes against. congressman not presents, 26. and so now with majority we approve they can take president molina to the courts. >> reporter: accuse him of being ahead of a multi million scandal and voted on impeachment process by the attorney general a week and a half ago, the second time in a past month congress met to decide the president's future. you can feel the energy the street now outside of congress people here say they have been waiting for a long time for their lawmakers to take them seriously. this is a historic day and there is no place the people here would rather be. from the early morning the president supporters formed a human chain in at amendment att

daniel schwindler joins us from guatemala city. the polls are closed, are we getting any results yet? >> translator: well, we are richelle, i'm in the main center in guatemala city where the votes are being scrutinized. , we have had 19% in so far. this is where unless the 14 candidates get more than 50%, the vote will go to a second round on october 25th with the top two candidates. at the moment, the ant antantipoliticspolitician, jimms got something like 25% of the vote so far. it then looks like a battle for second place between the man who lost the election in 2012, manuel baldeson and the former first lady sandra torres. still some way to go before we have clearer results but that's the way things are looking at the moment. >> there are a million guatemalans gives or take who live in the united states, who care about this election, even though they can't vote in it. tell us what that means for them? >> well, i think they'll be watching very closely to see what the result of this election might turn out to be. and one of the r

daniel schweimler joins us live from guatemala city. given all of this controversy, what has the turn out been like. >> the turn out is very high. at the moment, as you may see, it has begun to rain in guatemala city. people are enthusiastic about voting, if a little syndicate about the 14 candidates on the paper in front of them. those doing the best in the opinion polls, apart from those being investigated, jimmy morales, distant from politics, who has not been tainted by the scandals that we see here in recent months. they are doing well. people want to see the electoral process go forward and someone emerge from what has been a mess here in the last week or so, and are putting their faith in the process, though they don't always talk to the people, have a great deal of faith in the people they have to choose from. >> on that night. it's a crowded field. what are the candidates offering? >> well, first and foremost they are offering honesty and they are free of corruption, which is not surprising given what has gone on. this is what

daniel schwindler joins us now from guatemala city. daniel, are there any early results trt votin from the voti? >> reporter: not yet, richelle. i'm here in the main voting electoral center in the heart of guatemala city. up to 7 many 5 million guatemalans cast their vote across the country. we should get our results in two or three hours time. the top two candidates might have to go into a run off election on the 25th of october. the people here hoping whoever that is will help to bring stability on what has been a dramatic and turbulent time in the last two weeks. >> there are more than 1 million guatemalans who live here in the united states. this crucial election what does it mean for them? >> reporter: well, unlike in some other countries in latin america, they are not able to vote in these elections but they obviously will be watching and waiting very, very closely for the result here. they have a big problem here in guatemala in migration, people leaving up thru through mexico. their main destination generally being united state

we are joined from guatemala city. tell us about the polls we understand have now opened. >> that's right. that's right. voting has just started here in guatemala. there's 14 candidates vying to be the country's next president for the next four years. amongst the top of an does a torres, a former first lady, and her campaign has been touched by scandal. there's manuel bogozan, a milliona businessman. his vice presidential running mate is accused of money laundering, jimmy morales is a t.v. comedian who's lack of political experience has shot up in his favor. from those we've spoken to over the past week, they say none of the candidates really offers a definite solution to this political crisis that this country's facing right now. >> so this really comes at quite a challenging time, david, in guatemala's history. talk us through how these elections have actually been affected. >> well, that's right. that's right. >> corruption is a common theme here in guatamala politics. people are keen to keep a sharp eye out on the c

david mercer joins us live now from guatemala city., from where you are, does it seem like a lot of people have boycotted the contest? what is the turn out like? >> reporter: well, we are about midway through the day of voting here in caught mall a at this particular voting station where we are right now, there has been a really steady stream of people comi through here. in fact, it's only noon and already more than 40% of the voters who are registered here have shown up to vote. so that's a pretty high turn out. it's a very high turn out, especially considering the changes, the political development over the past week, over the past couple of weeks hear in guatemala. there was talk -- there were a number of people protesting calling for the elects to be canceled or at least pushed back to allow some very needed electoral reforms to be pushed through congress. a lot of people were saying that they would society no or refuse to vote whatsoever as a form of protest against an election they say they are not ready for, the system is not re

protesters have been calling for him to resign for months, daniel schweimler sent this update from guatemala city >>> fast-moving events in guatemala, tuesday the congress voted to lift the presidential immunity of president perez molina. a couple of days later the attorney-general issued an arrest warrant and the president said he would continue to run the county and take the accusations, and decided that situation was untenable, and he'd have to resign. this comes three days before sunday's presidential elections, but he was due to be in office until the winner of those elections was going to take over in january. a vice president was to be appointed. the current serving vice president in prison. implicated. six of the presidents, cabinet ministers resigned. along with leading business people. other politicians, and others on the run. this is a corruption scandal. called the line. in which business people, importers paid bribes to allow goods to be brought into the country without paying the full duty, millions involved in that. tens of thousands of guatemalans on the streets on a regular basis

daniel schwindler, al jazeera, guatemala city. >> and just time, to id remind you you can find most of these stories on aljazeera.com. aljazeera.com. it's not the verdict most expected, not the one that the al jazeera three and supporters wished for. the 3-year prison sentence handed down to mohamed fadel fahmy, peter greste and mohammed badr, and another six al jazeera journalists convicted in absentia. it was another twist. repeated postponements, charges that defy belief, unthwarted by convincing evidence it hearings. peter greste, at least, is out of the gaol after being deported back to australia in february. mohamed fadel fahmy and mohammed badr are back in toura prison where they have spent more than 400 days. the story unfolded in the context of a geopolitical struggle. the case is about more than al jazeera. many consider is to be a trial with a target audience including other journalists and the international news reader and bloggers, critics and activists. telling the egypt story, too many of whom are behind bars, accused of being enemies of the state, even terrorists, for f

we report from guatemala city. >> reporter: this is a sight that rocked guatemala. just a few days ago he was the president of guatemala. now he's remand in custody in a jail cell. there is alleged involvement in a massive corruption scandal. a growing social movement, regular protests want him out. >> we have been demanding the resignation of corrupt politicians. now there is corrupt officials. even the president of guatemala. >> reporter: this is the man who replaced him. the new interim president with a background in the justice system. and there are presidential elections this sunday. guatemala has never seen anything quite like it. it isn't over yet. there is great hope and expectation that they can put their corrupt past behind them but no clear ideas about the way forward. corruption is not new in guatemala, but never before have so many heads of such senior people rolled. >> i think that's what driven the social movement. for me it's pretty clear, it's against the corruption of the system, against this system, that is built up for politicians to steal and st

when we come back, we go to guatemala city. the president of guatemala has been stripped of immunity by the guatemalan congress. that means he could be arrested at any moment will start unless he resigns -- he could still be arrested, even then. stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: "son de la catarina," luis juÁrez quixtan. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. to guatemala city where the legislature has voted , unanimously to strip president otto perez molina of immunity from prosecution, clearing the way for his impeachment. -- his arrest. the ruling echoes the decision by the country's supreme court last week and makes it possible to prosecute perez as part of a corruption investigation that has sparked protests calling for his resignation. carlos herrera, an official of the guatemalan congress, announced the results of the vote. >> votes in favor, 132. votes against, zero. dip is absent, 26. and so having majority, approved the measure advancing the pretrial process against otto p

president has been sworn in as interim leader head of elections on sunday and we report from guatemala cityeporter: this is a sight that rocked guatemala with rewere cushions through the region and a few days ago molina was the president of guatemala. now he is in custody in a jail cell being investigated for his alleged involvement in a massive corruption scandal. the growing social movement, regular protests once again out. >> translator: we have been demanding resignation of corrupt politicians and now we have seen the resignation of the leader with a band of corrupt officials molina who happened to be the president of guatemala. >> reporter: this is the man who has replaced him. the new interim president with a background in the justice system and there are presidential elections this sunday. guatemala has never seen a week quite like it and it's not over yet. there is hope and expectation here they can put their corrupt past behind them but no clear ideas about the way forward. corruption is not new in guatemala but never before have so many heads of such senior people rolled. >> i thi

david mercer, al jazeera, guatemala city. >>> close to the turkish border, morea is within a proposed safe zone put forward by turkey last month. if the rebels lose the town it will be harder to clear i.s.i.l. from the area. >>> u.s. secretary of state john kerry said that, discussing reports that moscow is basing its military involvement. kimberly halkett has more from washington, d.c. >> the secretary of state did express the enhanced military buildup that has been taking place in recent days. the concerns expressed by the state department is if in fact these reports are true, that this is troublesome in that it would escalate the conflict in the view of the united states, it would also lead to further loss of life, and it would also increase the refugee flow, a concern that is expressed by the united states. now we do know that in fact, the secretary of state has articulated that it is his wish that there can be a further discussion about this at the united nations general assembly meeting that will be taking place later on this week, in new york. this is an annual meeting and alwa

on thursday, an estimated 100,000 packed into guatemala city, central park. and organizers say the protest continues and remains out of the office. the president says he should not be um judged prematurely. it's amid the crisis lara guttans head to the polls. for many, their faith in politicians is gone. >> the body of a woman who died in sierra leone tested positively for ebola. it's a set back. sierra leone announced in august the last confirmed patient with a virus had been discharged from hospital. 28,000 have been affected. more than a third died from ebola >>> in kenya five suspects are due in court for a second time in connection with the attack in the north-east. the men were charged in june for the april 2nd attack in which gunmen targeted students. 158 were killed. >> al-shabab fighters overran an african community base. local residents say al-shabab claims to have killed scores of troops. a similar raid on a base in june killed dozens of troops in the same province. >> royingy forces have retaken the desert area west of i.s.i.l. >> troops chased ou

daniel with al jazeera, guatemala city. >>> columbia's president is at the border with venezuela after crossings and deported thousands of colombians and he says venezuela president madura is using the route to distract attention from his country's economic problems. >> translator: the entire world knows perfectly well the shortage of goods in venezuela is the result of an economic policy that has failed resoundingly, something neither columbia nor any colombians have anything to do with, those are problems made in venezuela. >> reporter: and as we report now from the border town where the colombians are forced out of venezuela have to find refuge in special camps. >> reporter: lunchtime in one of the 12 borders set up where hundreds of colombians that recently returned or have been deported from venezuela get in line for their meal. and she is one of them after 23 happy years in neighboring country she says the climate there for colombians has chained so much she took her entire family and ran. >> translator: they are saying colombians are smugglers, thieves, para military and i'm sur

. >> jubilation in the streets of guatemala city, as people celebrate an historical decision. president otto perez molina, stripped of his immunity by congress will face impeachment, the news guatemalans have been waiting for. the decision was nearly unanimous. >> the results of the vote are as follows. 132 votes in favour. zero votes against. congress men not present. 26. now proving that they can take president molina to the court. prosecutors accused the president of being the head of a multi-million corruption scandal. congress voted an an impeachment process pushed forward a week and a half ago, the second time in a past month congress met to decide the president's future. you can see the energy on the street, people say they have been waiting for a long time for the lawmakers to take is seriously. this is an historic day. there's no place these people here would rather be >>> from the early morning, the president supporters formed a human chain in an attempt to block entry from congress. those in favour of impeachment were present. some of whom handed out flowers, a symb

daniel schweimler is live for us in guatemala city. where does this leave the government, the country now >>> that's a great question. it's the first time that has ever happened in guatemalan history. the culmination of a series of investigations started several months ago into a corruption scandal involving the customs office. normally you might expect the vice president to take over. she is in prison, implicated in the same scandal. six of the presidents, ministers have resigned, also involved in scandal. there has been huge demonstrations by guatemalans, in designation of the president. he could fight his own defense and run the ship at the same time. he was saying on wednesday, now it seems as though he decided his position is untenable. of course, there's elections in guatemala on sunday. he was due to stay off until january, when the new president - he wouldn't be standing in the elections, when a new president takes over in january, now it's a case of guatemalans finding out, looking at the constitution and finding out what the

on thursday an estimated 100,000 people from across the country packed into guatemala city central park. the protests will continue until the president is out of office. but the president said he should not be judged prematurely. it's amid this crisis that they head to the polls. on sunday millions will vote for a new president. but their faith in politicians is already gone. >>> the lawyer for the jailed al jazeera journalist fahmi called for canada's prime minister to intervene in his case o saturday fahmi along with two others were given a three year jail term. human rights lawyer says she's had support from canadians on the ground, but believes the government can do more to help. >>> two british journalists and a producer have been charged by a turkish judge for being members of isil. they were arrested on august 29. they have been filming fighting between security forces and youth members of the pro curdish pkk. all will be kept in jail. >>> there's been an explosion at a chemical plant. one person is believed to have died. local media says the single blast was heard shortly before

on thursday an estimated 100,000 people from across the country packed into guatemala city central park. organizers say the protest will continue until the president is out of offers. but he said he should not be judged prematurely. on sunday millions will vote for a new president but for many, their faith in politicians is already gone. >>> we have got a lot more to come, including los angeles becomes the largest u.s. city to equip its officers with body cameras. >> i'm simon mcgregor with paris, a city which is struggling to control its pollution crisis with the introduction of tough new measures. >> the show's called "third rail". we'll be talking about topics that you wouldn't ordinarily touch. people are gonna be challenged, we're not gonna take sides... an approach that treats every single player in a particular story equally. it's something fresh and something new. >> hello again. these are our top stories at al jazeera. the hungarian authorities are stopping all trains from leaving the main train terminals in budapest, part of an effort to prevent refugees toward heading to aust

daniel schweimler reports from guatemala city. >> reporter: this judge gave an intimation during his address that he thought there was ample evidence for the former president molina to go to trial. charging him with criminal association, taking bribes and customs' fraud. and ordered him to be held in cpreventative custody. the former president resigned last week after an arrest warrant named him in a massive scandal. in which businesses gave bribes to avoid taxes on the imports. they were elected in 2011, promising to tackle corruption. there's not one shred of evidence. nothing solid that should allow the case to move forward. >> reporter: corruption in guatemala is not new. what changed is a successful campaign to end impunity. just a week ago president molina was the president. today he is under tight security. a sign to reform the country, but nobody is above the law. >> reporter: his down fall was swift. coming after months of protests which grew as details of the case he was involved in came to light. >> we are fed up with corruption in the government. that was something that u

on thursday an estimated 100,000 people from across the country packed into guatemala city central parkzers say the protests will continue until the president is out of office. but the president said he should not be judged prematurely. it's amid this crisis that guatemala people head to the polls. on sunday millions will vote for a new president but for many they are faith in politicians is already gone. david mercer, al jazeera, guatemala. >>> the u.s. president barack obama says climate change is a problem and needs to be addressed now. he just had begun a historic three-day visit to alaska and patty has the details. >> reporter: u.s. president barack obama is dragging the national spotlight to a place it rarely goes, the far northern state of alaska. >> over the past 60 years alaska has warmed about twice as fast as the rest of the united states. last year was alaska's warmest year on record. just as it was for the rest of the world. and the impacts here are very real. >> reporter: he will tour melti melting glasiers and talk to people dealing with climate change and a chance to rea

daniel schweimler takes up the store from guatemala city. >> reporter: guatemala lives a turbulent history. for the second day prisoning, former president molina appeared in court on corruption charges. the judge suspended the proceedings on tuesday, remanding him amid fears he may flee the country. the interim president sworn in on thursday is getting to grips with the country that he'll be governing for 133 days. he stands down in the middle of jrn. he took type of out from his busy schedule to talk to al jazeera, and told us he'd try to ensure all members of the governments were free of the corruption that plagued guatemala in recent years. when you woke up monday, tuesday morning, did you in your wildest dreams end the week thinking you would be president of your country. >> the truth is the president told me about his intention to resign before going to court. it was only a question of hours until that medicine was taken. i was ready. this is not the outcome i wanted. i only agreed to be vice president to smooth the constitutional transition, it was a change i had to take. >> you had

. >> david mercer with the latest from guatemala city, david, thank you. >>> thai police say that neithere two men that they've detained in connection with the bangkok bombing is the lead suspect. this man was arrested six days ago in a bangkok suburb with what police say was bomb-making equipment. his dna and that of another suspect do not match samples from the person the police think is the bomber. >>> an unprecedented number of shark attacks off australia's east coast have reignited a debate over whether culling is the only way to make waters safe for swimmers. the new south wales say government is reviewing new control measures after 14 attacks between sydney and brisbane over the past year. in the latest incidents a man was knocked off his surfboard by a shark and then mauled. andrew thomas reports now from new south wales. >> reporter: on the morning of july 31st, just 20 meters from shore former boxer case was mauled by a great white shark. sat on his surfboard with the shark trying to rip off his leg, he imagined to fight back. >> i went who can, who can, who can, four files. >>

let's get more from david mercer who is live for us in guatemala city. pretty eventful few days for the former president. what went on in court? >> reporter: that's right things have been going on at break neck speed. he was president on tuesday, on wednesday an arrest warrant was issued for him. later that day he put in his resignation. on thursday he was brought before a court for a preliminary hearing. last night he spent the night in prison, today he's back this court. he's expected to make his first declaration. now, meanwhile alejandro maldonado has been sworn in as the new president of the country. now, maldonado is a lifelong poll tipping, a manage station in the constitutional court, the highest court in guyed mall a. one of his first requests is for all the cabinet ministers who served under otto perez to submit their resignations, he wants to form a new cabinet. he's trying to restore credibility in the government and says significantly he has called upon guatemalans to pressure political figures in an attempt to bring more transparency to the

things moving very, very fast here in guatemala >>> daniel schweimler reporting from guantanamo city >>> the white house addressed the political crisis in guantanamo, expressing hope about the upcoming election this weekend. >> evidently you expect, not just the vice president, but the next government that is elected in the september election, will continue to implement the kind of reforms that we believe are in the interests of the people of guatemala. particularly when it comes to fighting corruption and impunity >>> latin american organizations have some unfortunate injury, of leaders forced out of office. the president resigned in december, in 1992. before he could be impeached. he was accused of financial fraud, impeached and removed from office, august 1993. the president was impeached for physical and mental incapacity after serving for six months in office. in november 2000. peruvian president was impeached for weren't moral incapacity. in april 2005. the equadorian president was forced out by congress after six months of political conflict. joining us is ambassador who serve

an unusual situation in many ways politically here in guatemala. >> thank you very much from guatemala city. >>> morocco's ruling party has made big gains in the country's regional elections. they're likely to be in charge of most of morocco's big cities. >> he's at the height of his political career. the leader of a conservative pgd. a small opposition party just a few years ago. now it's one of the country's most popular and well run. >> we run an efficient government, the local councils are the best. we were honest with the people. we told them about the problems that we faced. we asked them to help us. this is why the results have been good. >> but for others the votes have been a disaster. he felt that the vote was rigged, accusations dismissed by the pgd. >> our rival is widely known for rigging votes. our rivals should have a sense of responsibility. >> pgt's main rivals may have no other options but to reinvent themselves in order to win the trust of the general electorate. >> pgd has what i would call a symbolic capital. it is a relatively recent party. people do see for the time b

and now live from guatemala city, a reading off of that, it seemed rather confusing to me.resigned, but apparently he can't officially resign until the parliament says yes, you can. give us the summary if you could. >> well, we have just heard that molina is the formal president, and as you say, there's a process. later wednesday, he resigned shortly after that, but then had to be escaped by the official committee, a new president, alejandro mold anado, the former vice president, will be chosen as the indirum president until january. and they say that it's corruption, after months and months of protest around the country. tens of thousands of people. and they're now celebrating and they will be voting in sunday's election, hoping for cleaner politics here. and glad to see mr. perez being tried in a court of law, but really, it is a confusing situation. they think that they know what's going on. and they say things are happening here in guatemala with thousands of people involved. exercising the political process. >> it's more confusing than certainly fascinating, daniel, th