so te tunisia must come out. a staggering improvement from the $400 million that they had two years ago, i think this is great, and we look forward to working more with tunisia. >> and a stark contrast to the disinvestment that is going on in a place like egypt, is that right? >> that's absolutely correct. i think right now just as professor fahmy was saying, the lack of a responsive government is what is driving this sort of polarization, this talk of revolution versus terrorism, and until we can have this inclusive conversation, the region is going to see more trouble ahead. >> thank you all for being with us today. that brings us to the end of this edition of inside story. thanks for joining us. the program may be over but the conversation continues. we want to hear what you think about the issues raised on today's show. you can log on to our facebook page, send us your thoughts on twitter. the handle ag inside story a.m. or follow me at ray suarez news. from washington, i'm ray suarez. >> announcer: this is a

it is that way with many politicians in tunisia. >> there is a lot of division in post-revolution tunisia. you have secularists unionists so leftists -- salafists. is he the right person to unite those groups? >> internation now i -- in tunisia now, i think this will constitute a new government in the next weeks. you will have two main problems. the new government will face the problems of security, because as you know, the border with nigeria and with libya are very insecure. in the two last years, we had many jihadist attacks. so the problem of the security is a very serious one. the other one of course, because the revolution of 2011 was such a social revolution, will be the other problem, because you have more than 600,000 unemployed people, mainly young people in tunisia. the economy doesn't -- is very -- it is not -- it is not really in control now. it is really weak, and has weakened during the last years. so the economical problem will be very important for the new government. they will have to face the economic and social problem. i think this agenda, the agenda of security and a

tunisia's image. that is key to getting the tourism industry off the ground. if you want to try to tackle problems of poverty and unemployment, you do have to do something about getting that foreign involvement into tunisia back. it has a reputation of being an unstable place because of the chaos in neighboring libya. because of the low level jihadist insurgency inside tunisia. this is one of the things that how he positioned himself during the campaign. >> beji caid essebsi will not be guiding the country alone. he will have to form a new government. >> that's right. he will not have the powers of the ousted former strongman of tunisia. the constitution was changed to avoid that kind of centralized presidential cyst. you have a fairly -- system. you have a fairly powerful form of parliament. that will be the key post of running the economy on a day-to-day basis and resolve the issues of poverty and unemployment. whether tunisia succeeds is going to depend on whether a viable governing coalition can b

the strength ha a major roll in where we are food in tunisia -- we are today in tunisia. the political crisis in the past year, between the various political parties. the labour union intervened and brought the parties together and brokered an agreement between the parties. the fact that we have this developed from within tunisia, it should work on promises of the success of tunisian model down the road. it's developed down the road. it's not like others. this makes is promising. i have to caution here that the challenges are out there. i can give you some examples. those adopted by the parliament. we haven't seen any changes. that will need to be implemented in tunisia. this has to be a test for the government. and other challenges about institutional reform. simply that it was able to establish reform. that's great, it's on papers. we haven't seen... >> let's leave it on the positive note. good to have your thoughts. >>> let's go to iraq where security forces have been forced to retreat from baiji, they have been at the center of intense fighting between iraqi forces an

tunisia has won. you are all winners. you are victorious for tunisia.or democracy and for human rights. >> this will be the enduring message of these elections. they mark the end of a long and sometimes bumpy transition to democracy. the wider region may still be struggling with the arab spring. in tunisia, here's the evidence that change is possible. >> in syria, 20 fighters from the islamic state group have been killed. in their latest attempt to take over an airbase. this was the second field jihadist bid in a month. air base is on the border with iraq, where is controlled large parts of territory. the battle continues for the strategic northern iraqi town of sinjar. currently being held by the islamic state group. courage and -- kurdish and yazidi fighters trying to retake the town. hoping to break the line between mosul and syria. let's bring in a journalist in baghdad. the iraqi prime minister has said this victory for the peshmerga, the kurdish fighters, is a victory for all of iraq. that is a different take than deprive mr.'s predecessor. tell u

tunisia and its progress flourishing. and love. tunisia is bringing everyone together. >> reporter: the choice was between these two very different men. the doctor turned human rights activist was imprisoned and forced into exile until 2011. he's popular among poorer tunisians, especially in the interior of the country where the revolution started. he's been challenged by essebsi. at 88, he's well beyond retirement age and his political career dates back to dictatorship. but for tunisians, especially in the wealthier, more developed coastal north, he represents continuity. and his team has already claimed victory. >> translator: according to the first indications from the polling stations, we can say that essebsi has won the second round. >> reporter: whoever wins will be tunisia's first ever democratically elected leader, and the vote comes at a symbolic time. exactly four years ago, the country was in the middle of a popular uprising that inspired others in the region to do the same. but for now, only tunisia has managed the tran

tunisia has been at the forefront of change. those that are the forces behind arab spring, they were supporting him. why has beji caid essebsi come out or like willing to come out the victor if the early exit polls are true? >> by the end of the day the discourse adopted by each side appeals to different people. beji caid essebsi is the discourse, and that's why many supporters are in the ranks of the revolution. they use the discourse of consolidating the state, security in the country. many supporters are from the camp that is not pro revolution. there are nuances in between. what we a seen is a lot of people that didn't vote or who voted blank. among those that voted blank are mostly people who are pro revolution in 2010 and 2011 and did not feel represented by either candidate. >> reporter: the role of media is polarizing. people say it plays a huge role, has that affected not only the turn out, but the results and the way people have been voting? >> no, i think the media was perhaps the biggest player in the elections. from

>> >>> beji caid essebsi claims victory in tunisia's presidential run-off. his opponents say it's too early to say who's won >>> hello, welcome to al jazeera america, live interest doha. i'm elizabeth prahran am, also ahead. a city divided - new york's police officer says it's in a state of war after the killing of two officers. >>> going nowhere, heavy fog triggers travel chaos in india's capital. >>> plus, a tide of anger rises in nicaragua, as the government perhaps to break ground for a new waterway. >>> we begin in tunisia where the candidate for the secular tunize party is claiming victory in the historic presidential election. beji caid essebsi's claim has been dismissed by his rival moncef marzouki. the official results are expected on monday. we go to tunis. >> reporter: starting early in the morning, tunisians lined up on the polls, waiting for their turn to make history. for the first time in their lives, people freely choosing their president. on the ballot paper two names - a former minister under the deposed dictator, banally, and moncef marzou

is that we can now expect in tunisia, compromise and moderation? collects absolutely to my think all of the main political parties have understood violence is not the way to go and it does not bring the country forward. there's also a very strong trade union, which has helped to calm things down repeatedly and has had a strong and i can't tunisian politics when needed. -- a strong impact on tunisian politics when needed. there is a lot needed for development of reform, but for the time being everything seems to be on the way. >> thank you very much for that. >> let's check other news making headlines now. kurdish forces in iraq say they are making advances against jihadist islamic state militants. >> a town has been under is control since summer, and this comes just days after they managed to break the siege of nearby nelson just. that -- of a nearby mountain. >> sinjar -- >> while winning back sinjar town would be a major accomplishment. >> two different kurdish melissa's have come together -- militias have come together. inside's and john -- insi

. ♪ ♪ >>> we begin in tunisia where polls have opened in a landmark presidential run off. be the first time tunisians will directly vote for a president since a revolution that overthrew a dictatorship three years ago. two main contenders are a candidate for the secular party. he's 88 years old and seen as an establishment figure from the former regime. his critics say he's too old for the job but supporters point to his experience and a broad coalition behind. he won nearly 40% of the vote in the first round. his opponents is the interim president. he's widely seen as the candidate of the revolution that overthrew the dictator. he is a well-known former human rights activist. he has served tunisia in his interim role for four year old and took 33% of the vote in the first round. let's go there on the pollin lig station. there had been some concern about security after isil leased a video threatening to disrupt elects. is everything going smoothly? >> reporter: so far it is a smooth process here. and it has been a steady stream of people coming in to this polling station i

those that voted for him say he's the only one capable of moving tunisia forward. even though he's 88 years old. >> i voted for beji caid essebsi, because he has a lot of experience and we have a lot of faith in him that he will fix our country. >> reporter: tunisia is the only count ray that came close to being a success story of the arab spring. all disagreements have been resolved democratic lu, it is this that supporters say they want to safeguard - the former human rights advocate turned politician built himself as a unifying figure, galvanising support from cross the political spectrum. >> translation: the reason i voted for moncef marzouki is i want to ensure that no single party has all the power. >> translation: the reason i voted for moncef marzouki is to have a political power share in the country. >> reporter: sunday is the third time tunisians go to the ballot box, resulting in a large percentage of people not voting this time around. with the polls closed in tunisia, people are waiting to find out who will be entrusted with the young democracy. regard

intu tunisia a rose in a democratic fashion.ou can get those stories and all others on bbc. see you in half an hour. bye bye. the thanks. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] fedex® has solutions to enable global commerce that can help your company grow steadily and quickly. great job. (mandarin) ♪ ♪ cut it out. >>see you tomorrow. ♪ ♪ these ally bank ira cds really do sound like a sure thing but i'm a bit skeptical of sure things. why's that? look what daddy's got... ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!! growth you can count on from the bank where no branches equals great rates. m so glad we could be here for larry. . >>> hello. this is bbc news. two bodies recovered from the airasia plane wreckage. the recovery mission is still in early stages. >> we are narrowing the search. they are feeling more comfortable that they are beginning to know where it is. there's no confirmation of them. no sonar, nothing. >>> a ship carrying 700 migrants is docked safely in italy after being rescued

in tunisia we had the labor union.civil society playing the role of a bridge between the two polarized sides. so i think this history and realities of the tunisian society made things quite different from the -- >> there are certainly some differences, but perhaps also some same lairties when you think about the president himself, he's 88 years old, a veteran of politics. he served in the government of the former president in the 60s. there are fears that his presidency could prove to be a setback for tunisia. how fragile a moment is this in the country's democratic transition? >> yes he served -- served actually in the ministry of interior, which was for years the main threat for liberty in this country. he also served the former regime, but on the other hand we also served the revolution and he worked as prime minister right after the fall of [ inaudible ], and he had some oppositions where he disagreed with the autocratic regime. so we have the two problems. the risk is there, we have seen also some behaviors that w

that is what happened in tunisia.the ben ali era, there were five television stations today there were 17. many are owned by political parties and businessmen with close ties to the parties. >> to deal with that the government set up a new regulator, the high-end authority. it set new recommendations for media coverage during the electoral campaign but struggled to assert authority. two of the three privately owned channels refused to comply with the new regulations and are, in effect operating without licences. >> translation: it's not hiker against journalists or freedom of speech. that's not what we are about. this is between a minority of media owners that had privileges during the rein of ben ali and wanted to act outside the regulatory framework. >> ostensibly the conflict boils down to money, influence and what many see as a sense of entitlement of media that exists under ben ali. hiker says it's trying to separate media and politician by removing the money. they can't own, fund or advertise on television. in a

the important thing now is to keep making progress in tunisia as it is today.ur present efforts will determine whether we have really been successful. >> reporter: the challenges facing tunisia's next government will be to try to restore the hope born in the arab spring. nhk world, tunisia. >>> it's time now for the weather. people in northeastern areas of the u.s. are being hammered by a storm, seeing heavy snow and rain. here's more. >>> it's not rare to see a nor'easter or the northeasterly winds take shape across the northeast. it 's bringing the snow a cumulation and travel is behindered. look at the video from new york city. this is what's happening there. the intense northeaster is bringing hazardous conditions to thousands in up state new york. in syracuse the snowfall became so heavy at interstate 81, a busy highway. in the area it was forced to shut down. the state governor warned residence dents not to travel unless it was necessary. the power outages have been reported due to the heavy snowfall and high winds downing tree s and power lines. advisori

one stand out, tunisia. today people are going to the polls to freely elect a president in a run-off election. we are joined biar cronn. has the voting been peace. so far? >> it has, indeed. it's been a smooth process until now. there has p been violence at the polling stations and whilst the turn out is relatively low, it is picking up. there are a few more hours left. people we spoke to expressed their enthusiasm and delight because this is the first time this they freely elect the president andst is something that many are cherishing regardless of views. they have a choice. >> what is tunisia doing differently? >> well, the numbers are from one perspective the the role of the army in tunisia is not like that, what we see in syria or egypt where it's dick tatterial army that controls the people. here the army chose to stay away from politics, and leave the contesting of power to the civilian section of the country to civilian countries. tunisia is a small country and is not important. geographically or pol

hello and welcome to the news hour, i'm elizabeth in doha, ahead in the program, claims victory in tunisiad mark presidential runoff but opponent says it's too early to say who has won. lundz of -- hundreds of muslims are trapped in central african republic, meeting homeless community living in sewers and tunnels. and ten years off from the indian ocean tsunami we meet a victim who is changing lives for the better. ♪ we begin in tunisia where the candidate for the party is claiming a victory for the country's historic presidential election. but the claim has been dismissed by the rival and says it's too early to call a winner and official result is expected later on monday. let's go to our correspondent jamal joining us from the tunisia capitol tunis so abdel-fattah el-sissi is saying one thing and the other saying it's too early, what is the mood the capitol tunis, jamal? >> well, elizabeth, great anticipation, essentially people are waiting and hopes to find out who will be the next president and it is a significant election to say the least, obviously not at least because for millions o

also ahead, tunisia gears up for runoff elections. we look at the struggle for democracy in the country that gave birth to the arab spring. and it's friday, mark shields and david brooks are here, to analyze the week's biggest news developments. those are some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> lincoln financial-- committed to helping you take charge of your life and become you're own chief life officer. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: president obama said today that the united states would respond proportionally and at time of its choosing to the cyber attack on sony pictures entertainment. the f.b.i. confirmed this morning that north korea was behind the attack on the company. mr. obama spoke

>> who will run tunisia? an activist from the arab spring takes on the minister who served in the old regime. you're watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up on the program, confronting isil. thousands glock ove flock over the border. >> find out how these machines are setting new records for final records. >> welcome to the program. we begin in tunisia, where polls have closed on an historic presidential vote. for voters it's the final step in full close, an democracy. here they can. essebsi, a man who represents the former regime. his opponent is seen as the candidate for the revolution. marzouki is a well-known menu right. jamal, good to see you. when are we going to find out who has won because one of them has declared victory already. >> reporter: that's right. one of the candidates have come out, falling short saying they are the winners. we are standing outside of the commission here. it is their word that matters and they're still counting the votes. it is a round about the mid 50s. there

he is a symbol of the dictatorship in tunisia -- his opponent is a symbol of the dictatorship in tunisia. >>'s opponents accuse him of being -- >> his opponents accuse him of being -- >> has been on the political stage for 30 years and on the human rights international stage further -- for years. he has a real project for the country that is based on power-sharing. >> at political rallies and during tv interviews, he wants to prove he is relaxed and close to the people. >> he has worked towards finding a solution to an important problem, which has become one of our slogans the fight against poverty in tunisia. he is an upright man and intellectual man, but has opened the doors of the presidential palace to everyone, young and older people, to everyone. >> he wants to be seen as the protector of the revolution's advances, but he now has to convince voters. >> a reminder of our top stories. vladimir putin has been shrugging off the effect of western sanctions and the plunging value of the ruble in his -- ruble. in his three-our address he insisted he wasn't to blame for tensions over ukrai

polls have opened in tunisia's presidential election run off.irst time people will be able to vote directly for a president since the revolution three years ago. >>> hundreds of rallies in the u.s. city of miami against president obama's decision to normalize relations with the cuban government. many of the protesters were cuban exiles who think it em bowers a government who they see as repressive. >>> and u.s. president barack obama says economy dealt the murder of two police officers who were am bucks on patrol? brooklyn the shooter fled to a subway station where he then killed himself. >>> now china expanding its influence by you understand taking a number of large infrastructure projects around the world, part of a strategy to gain access to the natural resources the country needs to help sustain its rapid growth. adrian brown takes a closer look at china's international portfolio starting with a major waterway rog in nicaragua. >> reporter: the businessman behind this high-profile deal tends to keep a lee public profile. he made his fortuna

>> well, it looks like tunisia is a peaceful transition compared to other countries mainly because tunisiaas from the start chosen to go down the path of non-violent transition, using democratic means towards this transition. unfortunately, in other countries it looks like violence has been one of the main, let's say, modus operandi for those who did not win election, or those who wanted to seize power. from the beginning in tunisia we thought that we have chosen some right decisions. one of them has been to--to not use violence, and from the beginning not to ex-slide many people from the transitioning of tunisia. >> this post 2011 experience after the unrest has been won of consensus. it's been much more inclusive. what are the obstacles to preserving this democratic experience, if you like? >> well, one of the main challenges to this experience is that we cannot do it by ourselves. we hope that other countries of the region say--choose the path of democracy, choose the path of non-violence and start a momentum of transition in libya, egypt, syria, and also in other countries that maybe n

a man who served under tunisia's dictator becomes the country's treely elected president. this is al jazeera, live from london. also coming up, an angry north korea, to skip a groundbreaking security council meeting about its confident of a price recovery first we start with break news. heavy casualties after an explosion market incident. the right now, i was ... we understand that so far there has been no claim for responsibility. are the fingers pointing to them at this stage. >> absolutely. this is not the first blast for the day. for now, the state of gombe which is, this town of gombe which is some 114 kilometers from bauce ask targeted, targeted by a bomb that was placed inside one of the vehicles inside the station. and last night there was, last evening there was an attack in the neighboring state of yobe where several people are thought to have been killed by the attack. and from what eyewitnesses are saying, that these are people, suspected members of boko haram who have been operating largely in that area northeast of the country came into the town in 15 differe

the run-off election is the final step in tunisia's democracy.oters are choosing between two candidates. 88-year-old is seen as an establishment figure of the former regime. critics say he is too old for the job, though. supporters, pointing to experience and a broad coalition that stands behind him. he did win nearly 40% of the vote in the first round. his opponent is interim president marzouki, widely seen as the candidate of the revolution that overthrew the decktator. he is a well-known former human rights activist. he took a third of the vote in the first round. joining us live from tunis, a landmark election in many ways. how do people view this election? >> well, mariam, as you point out, polling stations close their doors just over an hour ago now, and the initial figures we have just got from the election committee is that there is a turn out of just over 50%, roughly 53%. >> number could change maybe by a few % more, but it was never really expected to be a huge turnout. 53% is still considered successful, particularly when you compare

what went right in tunisia that went wrong in libya?oes come down to the importance of the institutions. tunisia, like egypt, had a rich set of institutions going into the last four years. tunisia and egypt where the so-called arab spring first began. tunisia had good balanced institutions and it's on middle-class. unlike egypt, the military overwhelmed the other institutions. tunisia has managed this transition so far on much better than other countries in the region. the problem into asia is that they face -- in tunisia is they face tough economic circumstances. >> what are the hot spots and how would they impact your opinion as states -- europe and the united states? >> europe with its vast mediterranean coastline, a huge state geographically, look at the map and see that it is gigantic and extends down into the african continent. potentially, it is extremely helpful for the economic development and prosperity of western europe, helping to reduce the dependence upon other energynd supplies. can be important for the arab region and af

so he will fix our pant pri. >> tunisia is the only country close to being a success story. there has been little violence and political disagreements have been resolved. it is this that supporters say they want to safeguard. the former human rights advocate billed himself as a unifying figure, galvanising support from across the spectrum. >> translation: the reason i voted for moncef marzouki, is i want to ensure no single party has all the power. >> translation: the reason i voted for moncef marzouki is to have a political power share in the country. >> reporter: sunday is the third time tunisia has gone to the ballot box. some say it created terms of fatigue resulting in a large percentage of people not voting this time around. with the polls closed in tunisia people are waiting to find out who will be entrusted with this democracy. regardless, tunisians will hope the new found freedoms will not be short lived >>> saudi arabia's oil americans said the country will not stop oil production despite the biggest price drop. the u.a.e. oil minister urged the oil producers not t

fighters die at the border of tunisia.nd south sudan one year on, we report from a city slowly recovering after a civil war that killed thousands. >> we start this news hour in australia's largest city sydney. where the time is 4:00 in the morning on tuesday. police say 16-hour hostage crisis is now over. in the last few minutes they stormed the cafe in sydney central business district where an armed man was holding several people hostage. these are live pictures coming to us live from sydney. >> reporter: hostages take the moment and run for their lives. moments later police stormed the central sydney cafe. one officer appears to throw a stun grenade. in the crack what was either gunfire or explosions. per madics were already there and quickly ran towards the building. one woman could be seen carried out. the seen began monday morning rush hour. >> shpolice arrived very quickly, and she was telling hem that she had gone it go inside the cafe, and the automatic glass sliding doors that normally allow you to go in the cafe

it is the final step in tunisia's transition in to a full democracy. they're choosing between two candidates. the first is an 88-year-old seen as an established figure from the former regime. his critics say that he is too old for the job, and opponents point to his experience an. the other a well-known human rights activist. he served tunisia in an interim role for four years. we go to jamal for all the latest. how close of a race is this? >> reporter: it is a very close race. there were over 20 candidates in the first round, and now it has come down to only two. it's representative of how polarized the society here is here, divided in many aspects. you have on one hand as you mentioned someone who served on the previous two regimes who have been in politics for 40-50 years, and then you have on the other hand, human rights activist, a politician who is the current president. throughout the day we have been speaking to the different sides in this political spectrum. we heard voices from each campaign, and although we were unable to get an official spo

the run-off election is the final step in tunisia's transition to full democracy. voters are treeing between two candidates. cray i didn't-year-old asepci is for the tunnis party, an establishment figure he is shown as the revolution. he is a well-known former human rights activist. he took a third of the vote in this update. increasing throughout the days. this is the third time tun easeians take to the poll in less than two months. there is a bit of prestige related to the turnout. however, there is still strong feelings for those supporting both sides. issues relating to, to the economy as well as freedom. tunisian politics are at the top of the agenda. those who are supporting the almost 90-year-old regime, they are doing so because he has a lot of experience. experience that. >> he is a liberal. his politics and has managed to win over both secularists and islamists. when you come to speak to the young people in this country, those who are the forefront of the revolution, the revolutionary forces, they believe he is the candidate of the revolution. regardless

tunisia, unlike other countries of arab strin spring has been relatively peaceful and stable there antd conflict like in libya. they have closed the board we are libya during the election period in order to insure that security is maintained. and people are hoping that even though there is that kind of division politically speaking in society, that regardless of the results of the election that there will remain peacefulness here in tunisia. >> okay, thanks, jamal. >>> egypt's president has dismissed his security chief. it's unclear if his removal signals a change in policy, but he was regarded as a hard liner loyal to president el-sisi. meanwhile sisi has held talks with qatar's deputy prime minister. it's described as an attempt to start a new chapter in relations between egypt ask qatar. egypt has opened the rafah border crossing with the gaza strip for the second time in two months. a bus has crossed from gaza to he gyp. only people in need of medical aid and egyptian vehicles as were allowed in. it's the only passage in to gaza that is not controlled by israel. so far no one has t

>> reporter: well, jane, as you say, in the southern part of tunisia violence broke out. angry supporters took to the streets, angry that essebsi has announced victory even though the counting of the votes have not you finished. things subsided after police came but the police did arrest several people. violence has broken out again today. families of those arrested by the police are angered by the arrest of their loved ones. >> why has essebsi declared the winner? and how are tunisians reacting to that possibility? >> well, leading up to the election he was the frontrunner, he did have the major newspapers, tv stations backing him, and the hype around him was pretty great leading up to the polls. he said based on the observers of his political party that he's confident that he has won. that's why he came out with that confidence to essentially set the record. there is nervousness, definitely not excitement, maybe a bit of fear of the unknown, so to speak. this is an historic election. this is the first time that they will have chosen their president. the hope is that thi

let's take you to tunisia. mr. official announcement? >> reporter: in the last couple of hours, we've actually also had some news from an independent organization, they're putting mr. essebsi ahead. they're putting him between -- they think he managed to score between 53% and 58%. we are expecting these results to be announced either later today or tomorrow. >> many people must be asking around if world right now, why has tunisia managed to succeed? it was the first country that kick started the arab spring, but other countries have so dramatically failed. >> reporter: yes, that is the mlg doll million-dollar question. i think a what a lot of obser r observers will say is that the country has always been committed to dialogue, even at times when it seemed that the political process was about to fail, their senior political leaders, including mr. essebsi, the leader of the key islamist party, actually agreed to sit at a table and come to an agreement and be inclusive. i think that's a very important aspect that need

iraq is tunisia. examining the factors to the rise of young tunisian men joining the forces. as the article reported, the moderate islamic government elected after the revolution granted religious freedoms. , andther displays of piety veils were banned. they began recruiting in mosques and online. i raise the issue of tunisia to highlight the attraction of inad for use -- four youths what would be considered modern countries. the borders give fighters returning home the ability to exploit disablized populations. a terror cell claiming allegiance to isis has launched attacks in egypt. there are over 500 foreign fighters from lebanon. a country suffering from the sunni in conflict. must counter isis before it grabs hold in tunisia, france, australia, and at home. government and religious leaders must speak loudly to the muslim world about isis's brand of religion. pope francis encourage muslim leaders to issue global condemnations of terrorism. muslim all leaders must condemn the terrorism and violence,

on al jazeera america >> elections in tunisia, beji caid essebsi is declared the winner in the presidential ballot. hello, we have the latest news in doha. a series of executions expected in pakistan after the ban on the death penalty is lifted. the government is set to hang dozens o. >>> arab oil forces are confident that price will recover soon after the fall over the past six months. >> beji caid essebsi has won the tunisian presidential election. defeating moncef marzouki. he is the first president to be freely elected since 1956. we have this report from tunis. >> reporter: the country's first democratically elected president. the results coming out announced by the election commission, and there was roughly 10% difference in votes for the 88-year-old essebsi and marzouki. there were parties who did not put their full weight behind any specific candidates have been calling on people to remain calm. this is a moment that people should be joyful. the tunisian people once again have demonstrated the ability to transition to democracy regardless of who the tee nissantunisians wanted to win

election results are in for tunisia. beji caid essebsi is declared the winner. >>> the government is set to kill dozens with terror-linked charges. >>> some say that the government is not doing enough in afghanistan to keep the taliban out of their town, forcing them to confront the fighters. >> a tough story. beji caid essebsi has won the tunisian election. he has won the run-off vote with nearly 60% of the vote. essebsi is the first fole freely elected president since independence from france. they have declared essebsi as the winner. are we likely to see his rival, marzouki to challenge the results? >> reporter: it's not likely that he'll challenge the results because the gap is so big. it is around 10% difference. however, marzouki did try to hang on to the elections. we heard from him last night essentially rejecting the pre- premature declaration of victory. now that the results have been announced, even though there is the ability to contest them, it is unlikely that that will take place. >> fighting has taken pla

. >> the political transition in tunisia is now almost complete. new president was sworn in today. the first time since independence that the country was able to democratically elected leader. he has a tough task ahead -- shoring up the economy and reconciling rebel factions. charlotte hawkins has more. >> a historic moment as the interim president hands over power to the newly elected head of state. the handshake between them, and tunisia's first democratic transition. winning with 56% of the vote, the new president wreck -- committed himself to reconciling the population. >> as head of state, i pledge to be the president of all tunisian men and women. i will be the guarantor of national unity. [applause] >> central to the public's concerns is security, particularly the fight against militant extremists. >> terrorism is a major national and international issue. we should all unite and work together to fight against it. >> terrorists have taken advantage of the situation in our country. stricken by poverty and the high on planet rate -- unemploymen

behind me you see the new president of tunisia. he's got a few hours to wait. if you're watching in new zealand, you're already celebrating because 2015 has arrived. these are pictures we've got. as always reasonably impressive. sidney will follow suit. people are gathering in thousands already in anticipation what is normally a show stopping performance from those that put the fireworks together. if you're watching in new zealand, thank you very much indeed for your company. >>> as promised let's talk about the newly elected president of tunisia. she's sworn in the country's parliament. he's 88 and will be the first president with a democratic man day. we should remind ourselves how they got to this point. four years after the start to the arab spring. in 2011 a man died after setting himself on fire. mass protest continued over unemployment and political restrictions. in june that year the president ben ali was sentenced to 35 years in prison. he had fled the country months earlier. and the party won elections in october but fell short of parliamentary electi

hoping that experience will prime. >> and of course throughout the weekend we'll have the eye on tunisia, following events there during those presidential elections. it's time now to check the top business stories. we'll start with a fresh round of protests in belgium, several thousand people demonstrating near the european commission headquarters but no one was inside the building, kate, by all accounts. >> that's right. european union leaders was supposed to hold a two-day summit and they wrapped up early and went home thursday evening. the crowds were demonstrating a proposed free trade deal between the united states and the union. it was supposed to cut tariffs make it easier for the u.s. and e.u. to do trades. >> protesting before an empty building, hundreds of farmers and activists gathered near the i. headquarters in brussels friday but leaders ended their duty meeting early and gone home. that didn't stop protectors from -- but their real target was austerity and the trans-atlantic trade and business partnership. >> you hear support the farms that is sustainable in the future. th

fighters intensify near the border with tunisia. this report is by kim vinnell. >> smoke rises over western libya. the sound of air strikes echos for kilometres. the battle is most feaierce, cle to the border with tunisia. the group aligned. not sided with the former general. on the other side the forces of libyan dawn, a loose coalition of militias, associated with the military-based government. >> today we lost 14 fighters, that they targeted a residential area, we managed to repel the ground forces back to the area >>> with the country awash with powerful militia, and rival governments in tunisia and tobruk, likia is in a state of law -- libya is in a state of lawlessness. the militants are advancing on the biggest oil terminal. fighting in this region forced the nearby terminal to close. >> translation: the attack on the oil region shows that libyan dawn wants to be in charge of oil resources that it needs to sponsor terrorist oppositions, just like other terrorist groups have done in other parts of the world. >> complicating ma

where the battle is fierce, close to the border with tunisia. the tribes army, aligned but not formally sided with the general. on the other side forces of libyan dawn. a loose collision of militias. >> today we lost 14 fighters, and 23 injured in the air strikes. that they targeted a residential area and a quarry. we took the forces back to the area. >> with the country awash with militia, and rival governments in tripoli and tobruk, libya is in a state of lawlessness. at the heart of the fight is oil. in the east libyan dawn is advancing on the biggest oil terminal. fighting in this oil-rich region has forced the nearby terminals to close. >> translation: the attack on the oil region shows that libyan dawn wants to be fully in charge of oil resources that they need, in order to sponsor terrorist organizations just like has happened in other parts of the world. >> reporter: complicating groups is a council of the city has been formed, and plans to over help to libyan dawn fighters >>> nine members of the iraqi police force have been killed in r

however, tunisia's young, mostly educated population has struggled with unemployment and tunisia does not have libya's oil resources to keep the country afloat. so despite tune vienne-- factor contributing to the rise of young tunisian men. as the article reported, the moderate islamist led government granted new religious freedoms after a half century of harshly enforced secularism. unfortunately, that freedom was exploited by extreme restrest -e new government has struggled to maintain a balance between security and religious freedom. and i raise the issue of tunisia to highlight the attractation of many youths even what should be considered moderate countries. easy trance skit to the continue innocent and the porous borders give radicalized fighters returns home give my opportunities to exploit populations. a terror cell claiming al liege jennin -- shiite populations in saudi arabia have been attacked by isis aligned groups. there are over 500 foreign fighters from lebanon, a country already suffering the effects of isis. we must counter isis before it grabs hold of youths in tunis

some people say tunisia is divided between secularist and islamists. but the economic division between the richer coastal regions and the poorer interior areas like here. this was the birthplace of the revolution more than four years ago. but it had one of the lowest turn out of voters in the election. many tunisians are frustrated by what they call the broken promises of the revolution. something that the new president says he wants to tackle. >> there is no future without consensus among political parties and members of civil society. >> reconciliation is important. the party needed and also won the parliament election, but it does not have enough seats to form a government alone. there is talk of coalition with its rivals. for democracy campaigners the tunisian people are the real winners. there has been a change of president and government without the violence of other april spring countries. for the first time in so many years tunisians are hopeful about their future. al jazeera. >> well, expressing hope that tunisia will remain stable during it's