whatever happens, madagascar will get a brand-new leader.the former president and his rival, the man who ousted him from power, are both banned from standing. 33 other candidates are running. years up local turmoil have hit madagascar's economy extremely hard. we spoke to those casting ballots to see how they feel about this vote. >> i have waited for these elections a long time because it is a way to secure equality and legitimacy on the international stage. it is very important for us to be able to get out of this crisis. it is quite unusual for transitional governments to complete their terms. >> frankly, i never thought these elections would take place. but today is the day, so i am very happy to be able to vote for the person i choose. i'm looking forward to putting my vote in the ballot box. >> we want to change this transitional government which has lasted for five years. that is why i want to vote for a new president. >> for more from madagascar, here is the u.n. coordinator in the country. i asked about how badly this election is ne

let's go to luke freeman who is a specialist in madagascar policy and elections.ins us from london. both men are banned from running in this presidential election in madagascar, but how influential are they and do they remain in the voting? >> oh, i think they still are incredibly influential, one may be in exile but he still has a big amount of popular support behind him, who remember how he moved the country on in the first decade of this century, and i don't think they will let him go that easily. so definitely he is there if not in person through his proxy. the outgoing president has put his weight behind his foreign finance minister and he will definitely toe the line for the time being at least. what remains to be seen is what happens after the election. >> luke these elections are extremely important aren't they, and not only for the people -- well, the people in madagascar watching them very, very closely, but also the international community. >> absolutely. madagascar has had four years in the wilderness since the unconstitutional takeover in 2009. and th

so does that mean that madagascar will get a fresh political perspective now in >> madagascar needs ton the page. yet as you said, many of the candidates are linked to the former leaders and that was to be expected because of the long crisis that's been going on since 2009. so it would have been hard for anybody to emerge from almost nowhere, have the financial means and have a good program to win the heart of the people, i think it's quite normal that the person who would be elected would be like -- not a transition, but linked to the past. [ overlapping speakers ] >> that being the case. the current leader says he accept whatever the result may be. how close do you see this election being run? >> i think because the [ inaudible ] is fielding three candidates, unofficially and that they are at least three or four additional ones that are linked to his camp, the vote might be diluted in favor of his candidate. whilst the candidate of the [ inaudible ] being dr. robinson, is the only one from -- from that camp. i think there's going to be, no matter what, a second round, otherwise will

. >> reporter: and i'll be reporting on how swarms of locust have eaten crops across 70% of madagascar a new plan to kill them. ♪ ♪ >>> u.s. press barack obama has ordered a review of the national security agency intelligence operations acknowledge that go more constraints are needing. obama is being fiercely criticized over allegations the national security agency tapped german chancellor angela merkel's phone and snoop odd other european allies. white house spokesman jay karen said it would look to to the concerns of other country. here are the details. >> reporter: at the white house, the presidential spokesman refused to be drawn on the reports that the u.s. tracked millions of spanish foal calls but reported the nsa surveillance programs are being examined. >> we are conducting a review. we are mindful that some of these disclosure have his caused tension in our relationships. with new capabilities, we recognize that there need to be additional constraints on how we gather and use intelligence. >> reporter: tensions spikes with reports in germany suggesting that president obama wa

election and we are speaking from madagascar.ds of opposition supporters have turned out in the bangladesh capitol demanding the government stand down. the opposition in bangladesh wants the prime minister to hand power to a caretaker administration ahead of next year's election. the bnp says the prime minister would have unfair advantage if they oversaw the polls and the party has been a feud between the bnp and the lead. the latter won a general election in 2008 with enough seats in parliament to change the constitution which it did three years later by scrapping a constitutional provision for a caretaker government to oversee election and bnp says the government illegitimate after the session ended on october 24. let's speak now to journalist david who is live for us in dacca, could you tell us how is the protest going so far? >> well, the protest has resulted in i think tens of thousands of people conjugating in the court in the park north of here. there have been lots of people marching through dacca and peaceful atmosphere

how big of a factor are the locusts and the situation that madagascar is facing now? in serious negative impact the country has been suffering and less economic process and less aid and cyclones are impacting the country every year a couple of them and now we have the locusts are impacting the agricultural production. the crop this year was less than last year. we expect that according to estimations it's 21% less rice production this year, 15% less and in the country that is already very poor where almost 92% of the population lives on less than $2 a day and we estimate there is 4 million people living in food insecurity. >> reporter: and most of the people live if the rural areas, don't they? elections are declared free and fair, does that mean that if things are going to be good for madagascar from now on? >> i think there is new hope. i hope and i think also that we are going to be able to get more assistance for madagascar to help them stand on their own feet and rebuild and reconstruct because the last 4 1/2 years has really been talking about the system and str

and i'll be reporting on how swarms of locusts have eaten the crops in madagascar and a new plan to killhem. ♪ u.s. president barack obama ordered a review of the national security agency intelligence operations acknowledging more constraints are needed and he is being criticized over the nsa tapped angela merkel's phone and snooped on other european allies and we have more. >> reporter: the practice of listening in on the phone calls of the leaders of allied countries could be about to end. in an interview president barack obama says that national security operations generally have one purpose, to make sure the american people are safe. but i'm initiating now a review to make sure what they are able to do doesn't necessarily mean it's what they should be doing. this is prompted by reports in germany that president obama was briefed on the surveillance of chancellor merkel's known in 2010. administration officials say it's not true and a white house review only discovered the surveillance of world leaders in the summer and say the bugging of merkel's phone and soon after. a delegation fr

appeal rejected a court in china up holds the sentence against bo xilai and voters in madagascar go to the polls to choose a new president. ♪ new leaks reveal that the united states has routinely monitored the phone conversations of 35 world leaders, the latest disclosure was reported in a british newspaper after germany and france called for talks with the u.s. to limit spying. al jazeera's tim friend reports from the european union summit in brussels. >> reporter: leaders launch in another day of talks over u.s. spying allegations increasing, rather than diminishing. europe wants talks with washington to resolve the issue before the end of the year. a lot is at stake here. the united states and the european union are currently negotiating a big free trade agreement but the president of the european parliament from the germany opposition party has suggested that those talks should not be suspended. when merkel arrived at the summit she hinted long-term damage to u.s. relations, not just in germany but across europe. >> translator: with regards to the national security agency, i have m

. >>> people without food on madagascar. >> first there were the embarrassing disclosures from the former intelligence officer, edward snowden. then, the embarrassin embarrassa merkel phone tapping. barack obama is ordering a,. >> trying to get some answers. they've said that trust needs to be rebuilt. but in a few hours' time the director of national intelligence and the director of the nsa will face congressional grilling. we will talk with our correspondent in washington after this story by bernard smith. >>> this could be about to end. in an interview, president barack obama says that national security operations generally have one purpose: to make sure the american people are safe. but i'm initiating now a review to make sure what they're able to do doesn't necessarily mean what they should be doing. >> this has partly been prompted by reports in germany that president obama was briefed on the surveillance of chancellor angela merkel's phone in 2010. officials say that's not true and the white house only discovered surveillance in the summer and the bugging of merkel's phone soon aft

madagascar's main jail is overcrowded. but the 3000 prisoners are not the only inmates. lack of spacend are causing a major health hazard. here.sease many last year, madagascar had more 256, with the 60 deaths, then anywhere else in the world. unlike the prisoner, the rats don't have to stay in prison. they can take the plague out onto the city streets. thef the plague is in prisons, there could be a sort of nuclear explosion of plague and the town. the prison walls will never prevent it from getting out and invading the rest of the town. so, we need to do something for humanitarian reasons. so, the pasteur institute and the international committee of the red cross are working in the prison to combat the plague. but it is more complicated than simply catching the rack and killing them. which transmit the plague will just move elsewhere, to human beings. the fleas have to be removed and killed as well. rural areas,scar's there is little understanding of the disease and little access to medical care. the bonnet leg can be treated, but it has to be caught early. can benic p

. >>> voters in madagascar are choosing a new president.e first national vote since a military-backed coup in 2009. the election has already been postponed three times in year. tana paige reports now from the capital. >> reporter: these sisterses used to earn $30 a week sellingg baskets but that was before the political crisis now they struggle to earn half that. yet with 11 children between them their need has never been grater. they supplement their diet with vine leafs because food prices are so side. the family has one wish from friday's election. >> we are hoping for a president who can managed country, someone who will help poor people and craft people like us. >> reporter: madagascar has been gripped by eye political crisis since 2009. in a military backed coup and con decembecondemnation. slashing spepg spending pushinge in to poverty it. 92% of them live on less than $2 a day, may going it one of the poorest countries in the world. right across the spectrum from education, access to health character roads and facilities and el mome

. >>> the african island of madagascar is facing an unusual natural disaster. billions of locusts are darkening the skies, destroying crops and grazing lands and leaving millions of people without food. tanya page has the story. >> these farmers were helpless when a swarm of locusts descended on their rice paddies. they left everything leaving the villagers hungry. there is new growth, their animals are also suffering. the locusts ate the food for the bulls, so everything has to be done by hand. >> the locusts came from the south blown by the wind. they blew silently in a huge swarm. we were very surprised. it passed like a huge cloud and it blocked out the sun. >> reporter: at the height of the infestation the swarms affected 70% of madagascar, combined with the affect of the annual cyclones, this year's harvest is down 70%. they say a third of ruler households are hungry with nearly 10 million people at risk. the swarms first appeared in 2009, but a political and economic crisis that's gripped the country since a coup that year left officials helpless, too. >

heading to the polls in the first election in madagascar since the military-backed to -- coup. first, discussing immigration in the wake of the lampedusa tragedy in which 367 people died when the boat sank off the italian island. southern u -- eu countries, including multi-, have asked for more resources to does -- to deal with what they describe as a crisis. the european nations discuss illegal immigration. a study steam of smugglers'boats heading -- continue without let up. the italian coast says more than 700 migrants have been rescued in the last 24 hours. five boats crowded near the island. all were rescued, except for one who reportedly fell into the sea. our rome correspondent has more. >> more than 724. a very significant number. clearly, the people smugglers, as well as those desperate people dying to get into europe, clearly think the weather conditions and the sea conditions are good enough to make the attempt. now you have a situation where all the people were rescued in several different interventions. two boats were rescued by italian navy ships. those navy ships

tony page, al jazeera, madagascar. what a world series so far, huh. >> you hate to see the series end, but it could end tomorrow night. it now moves back to fenway park, where the red sox will have a chance to close out the cardinals in game 6. that would claim the third world series title if they can pull it off. behind the pitcher of john lester, in last night's game 5, given the red sox 3-2 advantage, boston looking to secure its first championship at home since 1918. on the hard wood, it is the opening night of the nba season, as the league tips off tonight, first game, features the two time nba defending champion hosting the chicago bulls who are welcome back star point guard derek rose after he missed all of last season. the heat are looking to become the first team to win three straight since the lakers back in 2002. now coming up later we will have mark spears to tell us who should be considered the favorite. everyone thinks the heat, right, not necessarily. >> all right, appreciate it. the bang before your buc

. >> al jazeera news hour, of course still ahead, madagascar prepares to take its first step back onhe road to democracy, four years after its military backed. also ahead. >> in luxor in egypt, it is the start of the tourist season, but there's almost no one here. >> and in sports batters into submission, pakistan in the face of a south african onslaught in the second half. >> the syrian government has freed a group of women as part of a regional prisoner exchange. among those due to be released is a 17-year-old. author her release is not to be believed to be part of the deal. the three way deal was put into action on saturday when three lebanese hostages were released. and finally on wednesday, the syrian government released 51 female prisoners. she has been in rids since she was 17. this is the website she accused of maintaining. >> arrested in december 2009, spying for a foreign country. most of them manage to return to their home in syria. >> they were discreetly handed over, no families or friends were there to welcome them. a stark contrast that surrounded the release of shiite

madagascar struggled to lure back tourists and investors since their leader swept to power in 2009. we have more. >> this is where the results are being coleated from the polling stations. it's slow going. so far they've only been able to double check the numbers from 275 of the polling stations. the voter turn out is 55%. it's a slow process. 80% of mada gas cans live in rural areas, remote villages. sealed ballot boxes had to be moved on boats, moses -- motorcycles and town. it's hoped this will bring an end to the economical crisis that gripped the country since 2009 when the counter president came to power. neither he nor the man he deposed can stand in the election. voters have 33 candidates to choose from. we'll have preliminary results some time in the next 10 days. if no candidate gets 50% of the vote, the top two will go through to the second round. >> more to come - including the drive for women in saudi arabia pushing to get permission to get behind the wheel. >> reopened for business. why it's taken two decades to get somalia's petrol stations up and running. and in spor

in a string of attacks against health workers in the region. 26 people have now been arrested in madagascar are, linked to the lynching last week of two europeans. a raging mob attacked the two man accused of murdering an eight-year-old boy. things on the island are once again can't -- calm. close to 800 police and military have moved in on a slum in rio de janeiro. it is part of a plan to install what is known as a pacifying police unit. authorities plan to install two permanent police stations there. that is to better maintain control. the olympic flame has touched down in moscow. it now begins the world's longest relay that will end up at the winter games in sochi, russia, next year. one of its stocks will be up in space on the international space station -- one of its stops will be up in space on the international space station. there have been allegations of corruption and human rights abuses. >> russia is, first of all, let's remember the climate. it is one of the most dangerous countries to work in if you are a journalist. over 60 were murdered in the past year. some journalists have

these are live hissing cockroaches from madagascar. there's a whole family of them.ey're edible. >> [ laughs ] >> [ chuckles ] >> oh, my gosh! >> and you can see, you're completely surrounded by there -- these lovable, delicious, and friendly characters that we call our pets. >> i'm out of here! [ chuckles ] no, really, it was a little creepy. >> well, if you thought that was creepy, i actually got one out earlier. >> [ chuckles ] >> so you can hold it. and i appreciate the fact that you tucked yoursehf into the corner, because... >> i just... >> here you go. >> no, i really don't want to hold it. >> are iou sure? do you want to just pet him? >> i really don't want to. >> hmm? would you mind just petting it, making it feel friendly? >> [ chuckles nervously ] >> go for it. they don't bite. all you've got to worry out is it running up your hand and up your sleeve. <> go ahead. just like this. see? >> okay, i think we're ready for your top favorite exhibit out of all of the exhibits. >> we are. and have you ever heard of mad scientists? >> yes. >> well, mad scientists w

two europeans and one french citizen have been reportedly lynched and burned alive in madagascar are.lice sources say they were killed by rioters on the island of nosy be. an eight-year-old boy was found dead with his genitals and tongue cut off. it is a say the two men confessed under torture and that they were organ traffickers. at least 13 have died in an attack on northwestern pakistan. a car bomb rammed into the camp of a pro-government militant who broke away from the taliban four years ago. another leak at the devastated fukushima nuclear plant hit by an earthquake and tsunami in japan two years ago. the latest trouble was caused by an overflowing tank. officials say the contaminated water spilled when workers overfilled a storage tank. it is day three of the u.s. government shutdown, and president barack obama says he is completely exasperated by the deadlock that is keeping congress from reaching the new budget deal. he is not the only one. many civil servants forced off the job took to the streets to protest. let's listen to a very frustrated barack obama. >> i think i am pr

appeal rejected a court in china up holds the sentence against bo xilai and voters in madagascar go to the polls t

. >> the island of madagascar is facing a outbreak of the bubonic plague. disease is rare but it becomes prevalent in hot conditions. the international red cross is warning it could become an epidemic if proper action isn't take. to the u.n. resolution aimed at helping to end the turmoil in the staff african republic. in january a peace deal was signed but the unity government was short lived. weeks later rebels invaded the capitol and over throw the president. and in the nine months since, the rebels have been accused of murdererring unarmed civil lewding and destroying hundreds of homes. >> at the institute for policies studying so you heard there, what the rebels are accused of doing, the u.n. also very concerned about what is going on there with the reports of rapes and killings and lewdings. the u.n. had pass this, what does it mean for the central african republic? >> toe bring attention to this issue, that really is falling off the radar. the issue of the humanitarian concerns with civilians being targeted, reports of rape and real kind of looting go

cultural infrastructure what this looks like in practice is life expectancy today is the same as madagascar are. age 60 females is 73. the same as saudi arabia. but both members are a decade and a half lower than the governments in europe in the united states. part of the reason is as a function of to the 1990's it is spending more me money on the people. that and a second reason why the demographics are taking is you see a wholesale collapse of the russian family. soviet families stuck together not necessarily because they all liked each other we all know we have members we would be happy to export but because they have no choice in there was the extended family network kept together by political and economic circumstances. today is exactly the opposite. it has the highest divorce rates in the world. 60% interest in the first during the first decade so that means long-term families and as a result the product of long-term families is increasingly a endangered species see you have a family with one child and not four or five or six that is needed to replenish. also a way of bint culture of

stains from topsoil bleeding from the hills of madagascar color the indian ocean.s of smoke billow from man-made fires in mozambique. perhaps it is but the scale of our impact on earth that has changed. perhaps we have yet to learn that out of the past the mistakes of our ancestors do echo into the future. and if we listen closely, we may know they are speaking to us all. [ thunder ] captions by captionamerica, pittsburgh, pa. funding for this program was provided by... for annenberg media ♪ by: narrador: bienvenidos a otro episodio de destinos: an introduction to spanish. primero, algunas escenas de este episodio. hola, raquel. i¿luis?! sí, raquel, soy yo. ivaya sorpresa! ¿y qué haces aquí? ¿has notado cómo se miran raquel y tío arturo? sí, hacen una buena pareja. arturo: ¿ud. también es méxicoamericano? no, soy mexicano. pero vivo desde hace muchos años en los estados unidos.

billions of locusts bearing down on ma madagascar leaving millios without food. >>> game six of the word series less than 24 hours away. the red sox have a chance to clinch at home. town-hall on america tonight nine eastern. only on al jazeera america. determining using some sort of subjective interpretation of their policy as to whether or not your particular report was actually abusive, because if it doesn't contain language that specifically threatens you directly or is targeted towards you specifically, they may not consider it abuse. they may consider it offensive. and in that case they just recommend that you block that person. >> i don't want to minimise this, because i mean, there's some really horrible things that are on line, and it's not - it's not just twitter, what has happened through social media and the anonymity of the net is that you see websites, hate-filled websites targetting all sorts of groups, popping up. there has been a huge number of those that exist as well. (vo) friday night ... >> does the nsa collect any type of data on millions of americans? >> no sir. (vo

practice is like expectancy, medium expectancy for russian males today is the same as it is in madagascar, it is age 60. life expectancy for russian females is better at 73, the same as saudi arabia. both numbers are a decade to decade and a half lower than they are for their analog governments in europe in the united states so part of the reason for this is as a function of russian gdp, health care expenditures in russia have remained constant since the 1990s. the russian government is not spending more on the welfare of its people and it shows in the numbers. the second reason why russia's demographics are taking is you are seeing a wholesale collapse of the russian family. during the cold war soviet families by and large stuck together not necessarily because they all like each other because we all know we have members of our family we would just as an export to other cities but because they had no choice, populations were left in place and there was an extended family network that was cohesive and kept together by a political and economic circumstances. it is exactly the opposite, acc

. >> i saw "madagascar iii." such is my life. >> as you should. >>> coming up, u.s. special forces targeting terrorists in two weekend raids in africa and top al qaeda operative is now in custody, but will this operation trigger more terror attacks against the united states in nic robertson will join us live next. >>> bringing terrorists to justice. u.s. special forces conducting a pair of raids in africa and this was this past weekend. top terror targets apprehended. the dramatic details on the strike. >>> congress is playing with fire if they don't extend the debt limit. >> playing with fire indeed. the administration lark out at congress. the debt ceiling battle really just beginning. this as the government shutdown continues into a second week. >>> drugs, guns, chemicals all available at your fingertips. a 1.2 billion dollar online bust last week alone. but how are these web market pushers already back in business? some relaunching. only a few hours later. >> this is fascinating. >> it's than incredible story. stay tuned for that. >>> welcome back to "early start

madagascar still needs to raise about a quarter of the $41 million needed for the three year plan. >> this is the best time of year to start the program, because the insects are on the ground reproducing and laying eggs. >> the reduced harvest means staple foods are more expensive, so there's more demand at feeding programs like this. w.f.p. feeds nearly a quarter of a million children a day. it could be their only decent meal, a brief reprieve from a life made harder because of things out of their control, natural and man made. >> food insecurity to families who are already struggling to make ends meet. 92% of the population have to live on less than $2 a day. while nothing like that, parts of the plains here are going to be dealing with more severe weather today. for more on that, we turn to nicole mitchell. >> hope everyone's having a great morning today. the system we were watching on the west coast is now pulling out into the midwest, causing problems here. you can see the wide area of moisture, everything from snow to heavy rain in missouri, and the northern end of this, you're