Hello im Barbara Sarah and this is the news hour live from london thank you for joining us coming up in the next sixty minutes polls close in liberias president ial runoff with voters choosing between a former football superstar and a Vice President the roots of former president. Pleads for forgiveness as thousands of protesters rallied against his release from prison the kremlin says it wants a russian Opposition LeaderAlexei Navalny investigated for calling for a boycott of next years president ial election and driving to a new future we examine the rise in vehicles and ask what it means for the humans who drive from the thing. And im fan of commerce with all the days sport including defending champions qatar staring at Group Stage Elimination from the gulf cup but off the new zing against iraq. Lets start the program in liberia were polls have officially closed in the president ial runoff its the first democratic transition of power in the west. In nation in seventy three years however turnout has been low voter as it were choosing between former football superstar george ware and the experienced political operator and the current Vice PresidentJoseph Mohammad of reports now from the libyan capital monrovia. Thousands lined up to vote in more than five thousand polling stations across liberia arriving long before the stations opened the tunnels however nowhere near that of the foster home held in october that i had been delayed twice of the being contested in court amid claims of a declared it is in the foster round Officials Say the reduction of candidates from twenty two just to may have cost a pretty among voters a kindle four for several. New processors screw or smoke this morning and i hope. This morning the qantas is between a former International Football star dog where im Vice President just what guy the we know would replace africas first female head of state Ellen Johnson sirleaf who came to power after the countrys last civil war told me years ago im not as they were losing him to do this theres virtually no they said to me that im going to wind up work hard to know when the georgia seventy two year old Joseph Walker has served as les beers Vice President since two thousand and six he too wanted in the capital and great beer because of the transfer of democracy we went in one there were during your work and i would use it to. We have gone through the process is that working with the president or do we are willing to live with both where promising peace in liberia and also want an end to corruption in one of the worlds poorest countries if there is also hold it will be the first time in generations that lead videos will witness the transfer of power from one elected leader to another International Observers also praising what they call of Violence Free process and that finally in liberia the ballot box was replaced ballots but this is a big election for everyone is falling to my. West africa the trend has certainly been you know more towards the democratic shift and really rooting them was firmly and i think that is what we will see here in liberia today the liberian people are determined to do with theyre ready to do it. And im very confident they will. Commission has two weeks within which to declare the results its official confident theyll have them ready in four days. Liberia before this lets speak to blair glen course the executive director of accountability lavenir was also an election observer with the e. U. In liberias first round the vote voting he joins us live now from hanging be here in the United Kingdom sir thank you so much for joining us i know that you have been speaking to colleagues and friends in liberia now especially about the turnout which we still dont know the details of the we do understand its less than it was when you were supervising the election and why do you think that is is it really just a case of liberia being overwhelmingly christian and this is the day after christmas so do you think theres other reasons why turnout would be lower but like so much for me and yes i think thats one of the real secrets to christian. Who was very up to christmas but i think there are a couple of other reasons. But its just the election for president the first reaction from the house of representatives there are a lot more to do in the race there were a lot more people writing about a group. Of not just four president s second ball gets round the election the second round been delayed because it can be by my two months because of various procedural issues and issues of alleged fraud during assess repair and so some of the momentum coming into the election may have been lost but it also goes out. And do you have any fears about the sort of handover of power of the next phase because we are expecting a result i guess in the next couple of days but because there had been accusations of irregularities out by one of the candidates you have any worries at all of a what might happen over the next few days im hearing some reports of irregularities already unproven and particularly to say. There is a true or not i think there will be something to go wrong much as they did during the first round. During the first round i would not i think any kind of malfeasance ultimately in the Supreme Court decided it was just very very difficult to organize a an election in a place where we often very little infrastructure during a rainy season this round it is not a tourist season i think the Electoral Commission has more crimes but i do think there will be some issues not least of which is that you know gratian day is generally the sixteenth which doesnt give him very much time to confirm the results to deal with any complaints and to get the next president you know grated without any kind of constitutional issues in that regard. But the good news for liberia i think is its come a long way since the war ended fourteen years ago the process is so far been very peaceful despite all the challenges and i would expect it to continue to be that way as long as the process is transparent and fair. Oversleep between the two candidates there is one there is an that is an obvious superstar george way in a sense went from literally growing up in one of the worst slums in monrovia to becoming a global superstar and you know thief player of the year in the ninetys but he had tried before two thousand and five two thousand and eleven in various roles to get into government do you think that this is going to be the you know the the successful time for him and if so why now. Yes he has also been a senator for the last few years so he does have some governing experience. And he his Electoral Prospects i think improved over the course of the last twelve years or so his party and his movement has become more inclusive i think hes got better at running his campaign his campaign this year was much better organized much better financed than it has been in the previous two times that hes run for president and my sense is having just returned from liberia that people are eager for a change while the Johnson Sirleaf ministration has as done a lot for the country there are still. And people are ready for a change and george wendt resents that change and he represents so once again i have made. No prospects. And i have reached the upper echelons a. Story that i can they can relate seriously to and i think thats what. Glencore sir thanks for your time we are having some issues with the sound the but i thank you for sharing your experience with you with us blair glen course election observer with the bay area as a first round of voting which was back in october. Now former peruvian president ill bet of mori has apologized for the wrongs committed under his government in the one nine hundred ninety s. In a videotaped message from his hospital bed fujimori asked to be forgiven from the bottom of his heart thousands of people protested against his release in the capital lima on monday after he was pardoned by perus current leader in what many believe to be a form of political payback shelob ellis reports. Chaos in lima these peruvians are furious the former president Alberto Fujimori was pardoned by the current president picture a public christian ski a man they believe was trying to save his political career. Ive seen all the people mobilizing the police were following us in circling us they got close to us and threw bombs at us. Fujimori was serving a twenty five Year Prison Sentence for murder is kidnappings and disappearances carried out by a government death squad during his time in office he led from one thousand nine hundred ninety into two thousand. Started on sunday and families of his victims lead the charge. That actually if any im angry because i think its a violation. Of the memory of her family members its a violation of the fight for their relatives for justice and truth a frail seventy nine year old fujimori was admitted to hospital on saturday suffering from low Blood Pressure and haas arrhythmia he responded to the outcry on facebook and think. I am aware that what resulted during my administration on one hand were well received but i recognize that on the other hand i also disappointed other compatriots to them i ask forgiveness from the bottom of my heart. Critics say it was his son cain g. Who secure with the pardon hes a congressman in the majority Popular Force posse thats led by his sister keiko and saved president could be from impeachment by abstaining from a vote last week critics say it was in exchange for his fathers pardon the president has defended the decision saying it was made because of fujimoris poor health. Or says its obvious to all of us that the government he inherited at the beginning of the ninetys the country was in a chaotic and violent crisis incurred significant transgressions of the law as far as democracy and human rights are concerned but i also believe his government contributed to National Progress im convinced that those of us who believe in democracy cannot allow Alberto Fujimori to die in prison going to. The carbon was bet by a silent majority a survey in may found sixty percent of peruvians wanted fujimori free supporters credit him with the defeat of the shining path and saving the economy from collapse. The fujimoris critics the death squad still hold them with a hes imprisoned or not they say they will voice their calls for justice shallop bellus al jazeera. The kremlin says its investigating whether calls by a russian Opposition Leader to boycott next years election break the lol election of ali has asked people to avoid the march vote after he was barred from running as a candidate official say that hes ineligible to take part due to a suspended prison sentence he claims the charges are politically motivated for a challenge as has this update from moscow its no surprise that the kremlin seems sensitive to what looks like an attempt by Alexei Navalny to drive down voter turnout in march the talk has been this year that the kremlin is concerned about voter apathy and want to turn out to be around seventy percent if it dips much below sixty percent well theyve got a problem with legitimacy quite how they will prosecutes in the valley for calling for a boycott that remains to be seen i think this can be viewed basically as a shot across as bows a warning now no one really believes the volley would be able to be boots and if they went head to head in a votes the recent poll suggests that if a vote were taken now we dont get between two and three percent but perhaps factoring into the kremlins thinking was the potential damage the valley could have done if hed been allowed say on state t. V. With his Anti Corruption message so in around he will now have to do his appeals and also go back to doing what has been very successful actually for him over this year which is his online videos his anticorruption message reaching out to particularly younger russians and calling them out on to the streets in parts of the country where you do not normally see political protests. Coming up on this aljazeera news hour heavy attacks in rebel held as opposition groups fear its the next syrian city to be targeted in a Bombing Campaign we meet the kenyan parents grieving the loss of their baby daughter who was killed in Election Related Violence and the head of russian football takes a drastic action as he fights an olympic ban for state sponsored doping details coming up in sports. Syrian state t. V. Is reporting a government jet has been shot down over Hama Province it says the military jet was downed by rebels in the north of the area and the pilot was killed in the attack how much has been subject to heavy airstrikes by russian and Syrian Forces throughout the six year civil. War turkey reportedly wants to use a Syrian Military base in the rebel held province of idlib as an observation post it already has some troops deployed there as part of a deescalation zone deal as though thats having little impact on fighting on the ground civilian areas have reportedly come under heavy airstrikes by Syrian Government forces and their allies in the hall there is more now from beirut in neighboring lebanon. Those who were killed in this airstrike were internally displaced syrians a woman and her two children their new home has been destroyed whatever belongings they had now rubble they moved to tell it to convolute in the southern edges of the rebel controlled province of idlib and search for safety but in recent weeks the region has been the target of heavy airstrikes. The displaced from came here the planes came and hit them theyre targeting civilians there are no unfortunates here where do you want us to go or i its not clear if the bombing raids are being carried out by Syrian Government planes or those of its ally russia but what is clear is that the strikes are only increasing. They are putting pressure on the civilians the civilians would pressure the rebels not to fight because the regime has made major advances on the ground. They want people to hazed arrivals and the regime is trying to pressure the rebels to agree to a political settlement. The stepped up airstrikes coincide with a ground offensive by progovernment forces who have been advancing from the northern countryside of hama and the southern countryside of aleppo towards. They entered small parts of the province advancing into the administrative borders for the First Time Since the rebels forced them out of and two thousand and fifteen an all out assault on. Many of whom were other areas seized by progovernment forces its still not clear whether the government intends to. The whole province or whether its just. Control of some areas in the countryside. What is clear is that the government wants the airbase back it is one of the Largest Military airports in the north turkey reportedly wants to use database as an observation post already its military is deployed in some areas of it live. As part of a deescalation deal. It is supposed to be a safe area under that deal. The opposition now fears the presence of Al Qaeda Linked fighters and it will be used by the government as an excuse to step up the Bombing Campaign they also fear that progovernment forces are no longer busy on other fronts and are now turning their attention to adlib. Beirut. Well its five months now since i saw fighters were driven out of the northern iraqi city of mosul it was devastated and there i saw during the iraqi governments fight to retake the city but this week residents have been able to celebrate christmas for the first time in years and there are signs that mosul is businesses are beginning to recover part of the phillips reports. In parts of mosul it seems a city is coming back to life the people relieved the economy reviving. Mahmoud a tailor saw all his equipment destroyed during the shelling somehow he must start again. I cannot resume work simply because im short of materials i need textiles and all the requirement business is an tradesman must join hands to bring back life to decision the state and the people must come together and this has not happened yet. Mosul famous for its markets selig projects from the surrounding countryside now the crowds have returned the people hope the city has left its darkest days behind of how to quit the journey. With them or youre making swift progress at all levels industry commerce the movement of people we had not expected things to go so fast we are confident the residents of new know and most will want to help the federal and local governments. But all the streets west of the tigris the tangled debris of war has barely been moved this all that remains of the Old Commercial center the reconstruction of mosuls buildings and its peoples confidence will take many years Barnaby Phillips aljazeera. An Israeli Court has extended the detention of a palestinian teenager her mother and cousin they were arrested a week ago after this video was posted online it shows sixteen year old. Me pushing and hitting an israeli soldier the incident reportedly happened after her relative was shot in the face by Israeli Forces and critically injured i head has appeared in several other videos challenging israeli soldiers. Well the u. S. This isnt to recognize jerusalem as israels capital has been criticized across the world palestinians are demandi