Pacific waters of pullout are becoming a beacon of hope. And timely harding with sport saudi arabia. Football champions and while there defends his heavyweight boxing title with yet another devastating knockout to win his rematch with. Us. And we begin this hour in hong kong where polls have just closed in local elections the turnout has been the highest in the citys history more than 2800000 people thats nearly 70 percent of registered voters cast their ballots now more than 1000. 00 candidates are running for 452. 00 District Council seats of recorder of the councils are also part of a Large Committee that votes for hong kongs chief executive now this is the 1st election since the antigovernment protests began in june and is seen as a political tests for kerry lands government. In a moment well go live to rob a broad in hong kong 1st though hes got with this report. In a hong kong neighborhood hardest hit by battles between protesters and Police Voters in manchaca cast last minute ballots just moments before the polls closed on a record breaking day for hong kong elections the highest voter turnout ever after nearly 6 months of violent demonstrations the polling was seen as a way for voters to officially take sides in this deeply divided city of 7000000 back the probate candidates and Hong Kong Government or those who support greater democratic freedoms for hong kong in line with the protesters who have been fighting to push back on what they see as an increasing control for mainland china. He said that she needs a lot to hong kong the older generation whose 1st ability but the only generation hopes for change i think more people actually coming out to have a say in what they want rather than. Like some other countries cities that are leaving. Like china to decide what we want for hong kong its usually a sleepy election to select a low level local government positions but many woke up early to vote as there was concern that unrest could mean the polling could be cut short for the prodemocracy camp is about a vote of confidence on no confidence on the carrier government and on the excess use of police force against protesters but a probation camp there was say this is also a de facto referendum on the protests and the violence by 130 in the afternoon more voters had cast their ballots than the final count in the 2015 District Council election there was an uneasy calm during the few days leading up to the election just a week after some of the worst violence in these nearly 6 months of protests thats mainly because both sides view this election is critical to their cause. Funk kongs leader harry lam casting her vote recognize that. Time for the city and the importance of peaceful elections. Entered she has served 3 terms as a District Councillor hes vying for his 4th the prodemocracy candidate was brutally attacked earlier this month parts of his ears were bitten off howard. Can have a very strong and create. The beijing for it and also the International Community thats be home from people as they stand together trying to keep on the fight for freedom and democracy even though more people voted than ever before and this is a significant election much more still needs to be done to mend the divisions in hong kong. Aljazeera hong kong. Broad is live for us now in hong kong we just heard this is a record turnout when are we likely to start to see some of the results coming in. Absolutely stan within the next half hour or so we are expecting to get the 1st of the exit polls to give us an idea of what this election is likely to look at and then as with any election as we go through the early hours into the morning we will start to get the results of the last election 4 years ago it wasnt until about 6 hours or so after the close of polls that we really had the final look of these districts. District boards to find out the results of the election but as you mentioned there this has been setting records the Election Results the actual turnout figures we have from about an hour or so ago as you mentioned that some 69 percent of registered voters had voted which is Something Like 2800000 people but weve been looking at live feeds coming in from a couple of polling stations that were all closing their doors at 10 30 pm local time the allotted time for closing and a couple of the polling stations still had people outside that they seem to stay open for an extra couple of minutes just to allow those people to vote so we could be seeing and remember this is just a local election we could be seeing a turnout of Something Like well over 70 percent by the time the have the final voting figures just gives you a sense i think of how politicized how fired up this whole population is after all of this months of unrest rob just a local election but of course much more than that this year and people have been saying look its a litmus test its a its a referendum on kerry lamb beijing watching on as well and its also a chance isnt it rob for people who are not on the streets people we dont hear from for their voices to be heard to tell us a lot about the mood in hong kong and support for the protests in the pro or anti beijing sentiment. Absolutely and youll have people on both sides will be looking to see what they can gain from this the pro beijing camp will be saying that despite all the predictions that they have the most to lose and they do have 2 thirds of the seats and a lot of councillors will lose their seats way that they set that but they are looking for a moderate bloc that will have looked at the violence and dont want to be associated with it and well see the connections with this protein with the prodemocracy movement and stay with the probate gene camp thats what theyre hoping for but of course people in the pan democratic side will want this to be to send a message to the government here but also to the government in china that this is very much in support of this whole protest movement yes we have 2000000 people out on the streets voting with their feet if you like it makes a big difference when you have people going through a poll like this and actually seeing those numbers in an election like this across hong kong. Rob thank you now as you say half an hour until we see the 1st of those exit polls watching those very very closely thank you the people in guineabissau are voting as well to elect then next president many are hoping that sundays vote will end years of political instability in one of the worlds poorest countries president. Bush is seeking reelection after his 1st term was marred by infighting and accusations of corruption the house faces a strong opposition including 2 Prime Ministers that he dismissed during his 5 years in office we go live now to nicholas hike in the capital itself that says everything doesnt nicolas when you look at this this election 2 Prime Ministers that the president had sacked and now contesting this election against him and this is the 1st time that a president has been able to see out his term it tells us a lot about the political debate the divisions and the potential stability of the country doesnt. Thats right and in fact you know where im standing right now as were just a few 100 meters from the president ial palace thats just behind me just moments ago we saw west african soldiers are here part of a stabilizing force patrolling the streets to ensure that this is a peaceful election because theres been so many coups so Many Political assassination in as you mentioned this is the 1st peaceful transition of power still let me just show you what where people are voting this is the main polling station in the country in the capital this is where the president of getting. Voted this morning its under the shade of a mango tree and its outdoors this is to show how transparent the vote is taking place most of the people have voted the voted started early this morning at 7 oclock theres just a few hours left before the polling stopped there has been no major issues some of them open late one of the issues has been with the ink used here when someone voted to put their fingers in that ink seems to be coming off so they want to ensure here people that know no one is voting twice now the counting of the ballots thats here will take place this evening at 700 g. M. T. And theres a lot at stake here its the future of his country its the functioning of this country take a look at this report. People come to nurse clementina to talk about their aches and pains but there is something that keeps coming up in her consultations politics is making people anxious. And so she tells them theres only one way to deal with it its to vote in this president ial election. Its as if politicians forgot about us and what they do actually affects us once they come into office they completely forget about the people they are meant to represent. The santos is disappointed with the president as a mario vosh whos running for reelection he said he would put the country back to work instead elected officials squabbled threatening each other unable to pass laws or approve budgets the government stopped paying teachers and nurses some to us who was left without pay for 10 months her clinic has no Running Water and it had no electricity until the charity installed solar panels. To get treatment people come to a hospital run by the west african soldiers stationed here as part of a stabilizing force because of the political deadlock. Treatment and drugs are free this is an effort to win hearts and minds because president ial candidates have been critical of the presence of foreign soldiers in their country voters have 12 candidates to choose from each of them promising the end of the political deadlock that has been paralyzing this country for so long its a promise thats been made before and so among those that are taking part in the vote most of them are 1st time voters they want to see a change in the political culture and the new president that will bring them jobs. But you brewer has a masters degree in Political Science in a country where half of the population doesnt know how to read and write and yet he couldnt find a job now he works as a caretaker in an empty building site sleeping on a concrete floor. It is you mediating him painful to afghans to do this i sleep on the floor i am not sure why i bother to study what is this country done for me its a feeling shared by many there is no quick remedy to get the peace i was problems but for a nurse still santos expressing yourself can help alleviate the pain and perhaps bring change. Theres a real sense of anxiety among the people who are voting here because theyve seen so much political instability and most people that are going to be voting today are 1st time voters theyve only experience instability some of them have only experience. President s and so theres a lot at stake for these people who want to see a change in the political culture and were just in a few hours time right behind me are the election observers from each Political Party because theyll be keeping a close watch on how this is going to be counted the fear is that after the vote is being counted that some of the candidates will question the results and thats why the west African Forces the United Nations and others are here to keep a close watch and to mediate any efforts for people who are trying to question the result of the vote stand back to you nichols thank you at least 26 people have died in a plane crash in eastern democratic republic of congo the passenger plane carrying 17 people came down soon after takeoff in goma city it crashed into a residential area killing several people on the ground beyond. Restraint with my family when i saw the plane spinning 3 times in the air and missing a lot of smoke between me fleet and after that we saw the plane crash into this house. Was plenty more ahead on the news hour including more deaths in iraq 2 Security Forces continue their crackdown against the protest. Delivering bricks at Britains Conservative Party unveils its election manifesto. And well tell you about copper celebrations in brazil that have been 38 years in the making thats coming up with lia its. Iraqi Security Forces have opened fire on antigovernment protesters in basra killing at least 3 people they were dispersing crowds knew the port of. Protesters burned tires to block main roads across the city earlier Security Forces killed 3 protesters in the Southern City of nasiriya dozens of others were wounded at least 330 people have been killed since demonstrations began last month people angry about corruption high unemployment and Poor Public Services so you dont is a middle east analyst and he explains why iraqis continue to vent their anger against the government the breakthrough shows us that the more violence the more escalation is going to happen and that is actually how the protest movement escalated from focusing on Economic Reforms to focusing on the downfall of a regime or the ethnic sectarian quarter that we have in iraq today busser was actually the capital of the protest Movement Last year in 2000 summer 2018 the protests that were triggered by the poor Electricity Services and it seems like the government doesnt mind having that city being the leading city alongside its neighboring city nasiriyah and leading the protest movement against the government the way the slow acts of the Parliament Today in baghdad is a very typical act of parliament for the past 16 years the parliament havent been able to push or convince or. Politicize the government in a certain way to provide the Public Services the poor to develop the already existing Poor Public Services in the country that were the main reasons that triggered those protests at least 37 people are dead after heavy rains triggered landslides in kenya where the conditions are affecting rescue efforts and relief teams are yet to reach some of the worst hit areas syria carrot reports the full scale of the damage is still unclear. These men are assessing the damage caused by saturdays flooding and landslides in kenyas west pockets county rescue workers are still pulling bodies from under the months and rubble but for a president who will kenyatta has 70 armed forces to help he promises that every missing person will be accounted for but with roads and bridges destroyed rescue efforts have been delayed in many parts of the county parties. To walk as long as 4 hour us to just be able to reach the affected religious west because gov has been helping to distribute food parcels here i mean i other east african countries have also been affected by weeks of heavy downpours several people have been killed in a few and tanzania and hundreds of thousands of others displaced in somalia and south sudan scientists warn the weather event known as the Indian Ocean Dipole is making the flooding worse this year it happens when the western parts of the indian ocean become significantly warmer than its eastern sides causing increased of operation and consequently heavy rains across parts of the african continent and theyre off it is more of this type of weather is headed to the region so high that aljazeera. The United Nations humanitarian chief mark low caucus made his 1st visit to sudan since the Transitional Government was formed in august more than 8500000 people are in need of humanitarian assistance as advance Economic Situation worsens over 300000 people have been affected by behavior rains and severe floods across 17 states since september at least 11 people have died in an outbreak of rift valley fever which is a water Borne Disease now the rains of also caused the rising cholera in blue nile and sanaa states 300 people have for well lets talk to mark local now who as you mentioned is the u. N. Undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and its emergency relief coordinator he joins us live from its nice to have you with us were talking about here is really a perfect storm isnt it it is conflict it is economic collapse and it is Natural Disaster as well where do you begin to approach a humanitarian crisis such as this. Well i think the starting point is that we have a new situation in sudan a new government your thirtys i talk to them during this visit but theyve inherited an extremely difficult situation of you as youve just described to me know your headlines are exactly what were seeing a 1000000 people food insecure disease outbreaks conflict and so on some really big important things a change in the new government is giving all the aid agencies much more access to deal with these problems they want to work in a different way with this they want to normalize their relations with the wider International Community the past behind them and i think they interested me and he really now needs to step up and to seize this opportunity for my particular responsibility i would like to say more humanitarian assistance all over the country but also foster humanitarian assistance so all those people who came out onto the streets demanding change start to see some improvement in their lives things changing with the new the new government but fundamentally i think youve identified this in your report is that at the heart of this is an economic crisis youre talking about a country that is strapped for cash it needs billions of dollars if it is to avoid an outright economic collapse so without that economic infrastructure without being able to put to put something underneath that economic collapse how do you move forward. Well you know right. I have a message the last 15 years will say what people are being focused on here in sudan is the conflict the Economic Situation