[ ♪ ] and a city state success story, singapore celebrates 50 years of independence hello, the iraqi prime minister says he wants to abolish six top government posts following weeks of protests. haider al-abadi's cabinet approved the move. it still has to get through parliament. the move could unsettle iraq's delicate sectarian balance. here is why. the six posts under threats are three vice presidents and three prime ministers, all of whom represent various political blocks. nouri al-maliki is one of the shia vice presidents, and has been a polarizing fig ur since the u.s. withdrawal in 2011, blamed for stoking sectarian tension. whilst he was prime minister. another former prime minister is alawi and also is a vice president, he is recorded as a moderate, and has been a strong critic of hard line shia politicians inyuding nouri al-maliki. we have more from baghdad. >> the political establishment in iraq shaken up after haider al-abadi's decision to dismiss the three vice presidents and three deputy prime ministers. what is interesting about the decision is that already the cabinet here has approved prime minister haider al-abadi's decision, there was an emergency meeting by the council of ministers in which the action was approved. now it must move to parliament, we were on the streets of baghdad and spoke about many people, normal citizens telling us that they were besistic about the prospect of this being approved, ratified. many believe that rampant corruption exists in parliament, and were glad that prime minister haider al-abadi took the actions, and believes that he's doing everything he can do fight corruption, but believe it's so strong that perhaps the ugly spectre of sectarian politics will raise its head again and the debate on the issues, the decisions could last a while. all that said, it will be difficult politically for anybody to opposed the measures. we are at a time in iraq when there's a record heatwave, when citizens are mobilizing, going into the streets. this past friday there were thousands of demonstrators in baghdad, throughout the country, in various cities, calling for the government to do more to help them, make sure they had restoration of services, electricity, airconditioning, clean water to drink and bathe in, things they need for the families, that are basic human rights and services, that they should have access to all the time. any parliamentarian that opposes this, that will cost a lot politically. one more thing to add, of note - on friday, the highest religious authority in the country talked about guidelines issued by the highest shia cleric, in which they gave their support to prime minister haider al-abadi to fight corruption in any may he saw deemed fit. it's a crossroads for the country and the politicians, trying to prove the people coming into the streets are doing all they can to make this a better country for them. >> now, security forces arrested a number of israelis after overnight searches in the occupied west bank. it follows an attack on two homes in the village of duma. an 18-month-old baby and his gather killed. >> almost a year after the u.s.-backed coalition targeted i.s.i.l. positions in syria, activists told al jazeera that the strategy is not working and it may backfire. the group lost some territory, but it controls the de facto capital of haider al-abadi. zeina khodr reports from across the border. >> these men are from the syrian city, i.s.i.l.'s capital for two years. they are safe in turkey, but hide identities to protect families and colleagues. some have been killed. this has not stopped them and their performers. information suggests that u.s.-led coalition air strikes did little damage to i.s.i.l. in the city. the activists told us that the over all strategy is working in their favour. >> translation: the u.s. support caused anger among arabs. it can push the arabs out. many went south to many went south to raqqa, some say they fear the kurds more than i.s.i.l. the u.s. is trying to put together an army of its own, what it calls the new syrian forces, who partner with modern factions on the ground. there are those that warn against this. >> translation: any force linked to the u.s. and doesn't fight the syrian government will be looked upon with suspicious. there are many powerful groups, but the u.s. will not work with them because they are religious. the new syrian forces is supposed to lead the ground assault. against i.s.i.l. in the northern countryside of aleppo. even before they've been deployed, some of them have been killed and captured by the al nusra front. nusra is not the only obstacle. the force is not strong enough, rebels will not join. because they will not fight the syrian regime. activists say it is men like these that should be given support, syrian groups among them. the brigade considering the government and i.s.i.l. as enemies. there won't be solution if the coalition doesn't target the fight against the regime. the coalition needs to target i.s.i.l. in raqqa, it's a main base. >> the focus is to clear i.s.i.l. from the north-west. if the campaign succeeds, it would end the armed group's presence along the border, stopping the flow of foreign fighters. this will not defeat i.s.i.l. in syria, and the coalition's choice of partners may create enemies on the ground well, the former head of political affairs for the u.n. special envoy for syria and joins me live from the hague. thank you for joining us from al jazeera. what is the united states doing that is so wrong. it doesn't sound promising. >> i think the fundamental issue is for the u.s. the campaign against the islamic state movement is centered on iraq and syria is playing a secondary role. i think they seek to re-establish the iraqi kurdish border. what is going on within syria, they've been changing partners and clients. are for the past year they've been working with the kurds, while tacitly accepting the expansion. of the kurdish economy zone. now they seem so have switched forces and are working primarily with the turkish government. again, with a tacit agreement with the turks, that will basically allow them to fra and present the consolidation. that makes for a very messy and complicated and distrusting situation on the ground, doesn't it. >> well, it is a messy and complicated and distrusting situation on the ground. precisely. and i think it's going to get even more so. i mean, there's the whole issue that - the set of issues that your correspondent mentioned. for example, seeking to train syrians not to serve any syrian agenda, but rather to serve an exclusively american agenda, of taking on the islamic state movement or not engaging in confriend stations with the government, about the syrian government. which is a priority, or with the kurd, given all the reports and accusations that the kurdz have been engaged in ethnic cleansing. >> i'll jump in here. is it fair that emphasis is put on the united states to try to balance the conflicts and the groups. >> i wouldn't say that the united states is balancing the conflict so much as it's primarily responsible for the emergence of the islamic state movement through its invasion and occupation of iraq in 2003 and subsequent delivered and premeditated dismemberment of the iraqi states and the state's institutions. this is very much a crisis of america's own making. how should is it fix it then. if it's their making, how should they go about fixing it. >> if you create a problem by bombing a country to smith reens, it's probably a reasonable conclusion that throwing more bombs will make it worse rather than better. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> polls hoped in haiti where people will vote in the first elections in four years. there's concerns over security and violence, and fears that a low voter kun out could harm the election's legitimacy. rob reynolds reports. >> in the haitian countryside life is hard, money scarce, and government services are nearly non-existent. people in the village fetch their drinking water from the same stream that their animals wade in . families scrape buy on the meagre wages of her husband, a day labour. >> the government doesn't provide services for you. >> the head of the government. michel martelly was holding a rally, making promises, asking residents for votes. decades of misrule, corruption, foreign intervention and natural disasters left haiti a hollowed out state. with functions like the military and health care run by outsiders, u.n. agencies or non-governmental organisations, or n.g.o.s. many haitis resent this. >> why those guys, let's help them. they always want to think for us, design for us, to do things for us. haiti's prime minister admits there's a problem. we are conscious house it affected the sovereignty of our country. it's the consequence of instability. this university student said haiti would be better off on its own. >> translation: i think they should go. they brought us cholera and brought misery. >> reporter: without foreign help, from volunteers like doctors without borders, working alongside hatian physicians, the health system would get worse. >> education depends on outsiders, 90% of schools operate by churches or organizations. a bright spot is policing. the head of the u.n. police operations said the hatian national police or hmp is doing the job of law and order. >> it's a myth to think the hmp is not doing it now. i can tell you. i see it every day. my officers are not involved in managing the security across the country as much as the hnp is. >> reporter: officials say sunday's elections, if successful will be a major step for haiti to reclaim its sovereignty still to come on al jazeera... [ bell tolls ] ..a memorial for the victims, 70 years after the u.s. dropped a nuclear bomb on nagasaki. hello, welcome back. a reminder of the top stories from al jazeera, the iraqi cabinet approving a plan to abolish the post of three vice presidents and prime ministers. prime minister haider al-abadi's proposal needs to be approved by parliament almost a year after the u.s.-backed coalition targeted i.s.i.l. physicians in syria, the strategy is not working and it may back fire. the group lost territory, but is firmly controlling the de facto capital raqqa polls have opened in haiti, where people will vote in the first legislative elections in four years. 139 seats are up for grabs, with 189 candidates looking to fill them. >> pro-government forces have taken the city from rebels. forces loyal to exiled president used tanks provided by the saudi-led coalition to launch an offensive on the capital of the province. pro-hardy forces retook the southern port city of aden last month many people supermarket moved to southern avian province in order to escape the violence. local fighters say they have kept houthi rebels away from towns and villages. as caroline malone report, people are struggling to survive. >> people living in the town have to travel long distances to get water. there's a limited supply from tankers, but it's 10 times the price. fighting in the southern region of yemen into and out of modea, there's not enough food to go around. >> we call on the international humanitarian organizations as people are in need of the basics, including food and medication. diseases are spreading. we need interventions. >> reporter: among those suffering are internally displaced families, who came here to escape fighting places, including the city of aden, they are living in camps, with no resources. they are under the guard of fighters who protect the town. they are putting pressure on a struggling system. >> translation: this is the only hospital in the province. and we have to take care of cpeople that have come from aden and across. the hospital is full. more people keep coming. then there's the issue of electricity. there isn't anyway. that is unless you have a generator, and can get december 'em. it's a challenge for people living in this safe town, despite the fighting all around. child protection workers in pakistan demonstrateded an investigation into what is called the biggest sexual abuse case. hundreds believed to be abused. nicole johnson is live from islamabad >> so far we are waiting for reports and confirmation about the case. police are saying some 280 children were involved. this was coordinated by a gang of 25 men. the children were forced to perform sexual acts, that they were video taped, some 400 video tapes were made and sold on a local market. thousands of copies went out, and there's reports that they could have ended up as far as europe. some of the victims and their families started to speak about what they allege happened, and they were forced to pay money, jewellery, bribes. so we are waiting for more information. this is creating a huge controversy in pakistan, a country where the protection of human rights is week. it's not here where we hear stories of this scale making it up to the government. saturday marks a year since a white police officer shot and killed michael brown, an unarmed black teenager. his death sparking protests. this report from ferguson. kristen saloomey reports. >> reporter: it was a year ago since michael brown was shot by a white police officer. >> we have not had a chance to mourn. >> reporter: the 18-year-old is remembered as a typical kid, friend and martyr. the family stings from what they see as him being painted as a trouble maker. >> standing up and putting up the truth, little it be known that his backbone was strong, he was aren't what people were putting up to make him look like a bad guy. >> after visiting the memorial, supporters marched in the hot tonne, the highway patrol and county police handled security yip. law enforcement extended an olive branch. >> the march ended at the school michael brown attended. it is one of many events scheduled to recall the life of the michael brown, and the issues that his death raised, and the national movement that he helped inspire. >> there was a brief moment of tension between police and marchers, showing how quickly emotions can player. overall the message of the day was positive. >> too often we are out giving tickets. i remember going to a popsicle truck and a policeman buying pop sickles for kids. >> things are changing, getting better. it starts with healing. it's a healing event. >> a tribute for a young man whose death revealed divisions not just in ferguson, but around the country memorial ceremonies have been held in japan to mark 70 years since the u.s. dropped an atomic bomb in the city of nagasaki. 70,000 people died in the attack. which took place three lies after the atomic bombing of hiroshima. . >> embracing nuclear technology. as harry fawcett explains, the 2011 tsunami termed public opinion against it. 70 years ago nagasaki was the second site of an attack. 70 years on, nagasaki's recover ri it mirrors japan's remarkable transformation, one that saw leaders embrace technology. technology that tweeted the country. >> japan suffered, and suffered. we have a right to say - we have a right to promote, to change. >> it was a policy coinciding with us president dwight eisenhower's atoms for peace initiative. it was harder by nuclear weapons testing. in particular when a boat was doused in the fall out for a test at bikini atoll. first, they thought it was a strange snowfall. symptoms came later. >> my face turned back and skin started to fall off. i concealed it from everyone. i did not want my family to face it. >> reporter: renewed fears manifested in cinemas. godzilla, raised by the deep from atomic testing brought destruction on japanese cities. as japan built nuclear power plants in the '60s, a different figure emerged. astro boy, the epitomy of moral science, a saviour robot powered by a nuclear reactor. his creator denied he was a pro-nuclear sim bomb. but they used his image, where it went to a far off jungle, surviving earthquakes and tsunamis. the economy soared, factories fuelled by nuclear energy exported products and know-how to the world. those promotional messages chined with what many experiencedment. in 2011, nuclear power designed to ensure safety was shaken to its core. >> reporter: in the aftermath of the fukushima, every one of japan's nuclear reactors shut down. the majority of public opinion is against restarting them. shinzo abe made it clear as in the '50s, concerns are drummed by the energy covered to the resource-poor nation. >> opinions are split. those who have not thought about nuclear power started to after the incident, and they realized the dangers. >> this week a reactor at the power plant is due to become the first restart. with it japan's fraught 70 year relationship with the power of the atom. singapore is celebrating 50 years independence, tens of thousands gathered. the island city state is a leading economy. we have more he's lived through all of singapore's history. born in 1934, built over this comic book store. in his day, he was at the forefront of a changing singapore, an assistant superintendent of a police force. he was parts of a team, and fought communist ideology. >> as a security officer, i had no doubt where we would get to, where we are today. i knew our former prime minister was capable of taking us to where we are. >> the former prime minister was lee kuan yew, singapore's founding officer. father who retired from office. not before transforming the island nation from a small colonial beginning to one with a growing economy, flourishing tourism industry and center for commerce. shiny skyscrapers sit side by side with predecessors. there's room for bother with a country proud of age, history and achievements. young and old are enjoying the shows on offer. the weather is not putting off thousands who decided to share the 50th anniversary of independence. for some, like this historian, remembering the past is a humbling experience. >> they don't have safety. they don't understand what we went through. they didn't have electricity, safety. i came home. areas were linked to the national grid. it was electricity. that's the life we went through. >> for many, the past cannot be forgotten. the death of li and what he achieved has less speculation that a general election may be called in the coming months, an election would determine the future direction that the island cnation moves towards. back at the shop, he's proud of medals he's earnt for long service and dedication. he's one of many eager to make sure history doesn't forget the sacrifices of many during the world war ii and independence. for now, they are happy to join the party and don't forget, there's more on the website. all the latest on events taking place in iraq - aljazeera.com.

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