the first and second steps taken. >> patty culhane al jazeera. >> joy over the departure of former president has quickly given way to violence in central african. widespread looting in the capital bangy. 13 have been killed in the city over the past two nights. >> barnaby phillips reports.

>> in the backstreets, fire is installedering. armed mobs came into this mosque in plain dilt, smashed it up, wounded several people and took whatever they wanted and promised to come back to ransack it a second time. >> the people that live here won't run away >> we are from here, from the central african republic. >> around the corner christian youth destroy a car. it was driven by a general from the muslim-led seleka militia. he says it's not over yet. >> we understand that on this occasion the people who were inside this car managed to get away safely. you can see yourself how the central african republic is caught in a vicious cycle of reveping, sectarian violence.

>> for now it's these young men who feel in the ascendency. the christian anti-balaka militia, some well armed and relying on charms and amu let's. even in this leek situation, there are voices of san itty, like abdel karim abdel-karim zakaria. the seleka came into his hospital last month and murdered 10 people. is abdel-karim zakaria afraid to come to work? being human is natural. being a muslim could cause problems here. but i'm a health worker by profession. that is the job i chose. i help people in distress. >> the government has not paid abdel-karim zakaria or his staff. they function with help from the aid group. it's guarded around the clock by

african peacekeepers. pity the people of this country where the sick lay in fear of attack. >> still to come - the latest on the funeral held for former israeli prime minister ariel sharon, the u.s. vice president joe biden has addressed the memorial service. >> a once thriving town reduced to this. in south sudan fighting left utter devastation.

[ ♪ music ] >> the top stories on al

jazeera, thai anti-government protesters are out on the streets of bangkok trying to blockade the capital city, they have barricaded major intersections and plan to mark on homes of ministers. the u.s. secretary of state is confident talks will be attended. the friends of syrian group have been meeting with him in paris. >> iran will scale back its nuclear program in the coming days after an historic deal was reached. iran promises to limit its program and allow inspections in exchange for an easing of sanctions. >> a state service for ariel sharon has begun in jerusalem. it's being held in the plaza outside the knesset. shimon peres delivered a eulogy.

tom ackerman is live in jerusalem. what is being said about this? well, this - you are hearing the concluding remarks of u.s. vice president joe biden who is describe his personal acquaintance with ariel sharon, as well as the relations with the united states, the importance of u.s. relations with israel, that ariel sharon had placed great importance upon, and also he mentioned the fact that there were profound political differences betweenize ral and the united states. but bomb om line, his statement that america is committing to the security of israel, unquestionably, and also at the same time calling - recalling instances in which what he called the political courage of aerial ariel sharon providing an example of what might be possibility in the middle east. earlier prime minister binyamin netanyahu in his yulo any --

yulolgy made reference to his feelings that the challenge of iran at its nuclear program is the greatest threat, even though he had never made this a single issue. he left office eight years ago when this was not in the headlines or the height of israeli conscience notice. binyamin netanyahu made it a paint in his eulogy. the israeli president shimon peres recalled his long friendship with sherryn in his words calling ariel sharon the shoulder of an israel security and the man whose fingerprints are on every diplomatic situation and royalty outpost in the country. >> what happens next? >> in an hour or two hours from now, the military convoy will

take ariel sharon's casket on a road journey to the farm. his family farm. it's called sycamore form, in the northern stretches. and burial will occur there later this afternoon. it might be mentioned that that farm is not very far from the boarder with the gaza strip. there was talk of heightened security because of the possible exchange of fire across that border at the same of the funeral. israelis are taking the security situation seriously. >> tom ackerman, thank you. >> south sudan's government says it is in full control of unity state after forces recaptured the capital bentiu. there has been heavy fighting between government troops and forces loyal to former vice president riek machar. >> we have this report from

bentiu, and a warning viewers may find some of the pictures disturbing. >> in the town of bentiu, we see signs a battle was fought here. it appears of the human cost of that violence was high. last month the division commander defected, joining forces loyal to the former vice president, the man accused of planning a coup in south sudan. government troops recaptured the capital from riek machar's followers. >> the rebels ran towards the south, and this is where they are. we are chasing them. we have to secure the whole state. >> bentiu is usually busy. in south sudan and north it is

quiet. some parts are unrecognisable. >> this was a busy market. it's been destroyed. when the fighting started people ran to the base. the government is not in control, but people are afraid to come back into the town. >> many shops and homes have been looted. property belonging to aid agencies was not spared. many humanitarian organizations have relocated. there is fighting in some parts of the state. the army says it's in control of the capital. however, a rumour the rebels could be planning a counterattack makes people nervous. we woke up this morning and have the - and we know they are coming. i stay in the house. if we die, there's nothing i can do. >> government officials are telling people not to listen to

who they call propaganda. >> they are our houses. you have norred heard sounds of guns. why are you running away. >> taking a break from the fighting. troops talk about winning back territories. the state is still under rebel control. the security situation makes it difficult for the humanitarian workers to access town and know how bad things are over there. >> fighting between political factions in bangladesh claimed three more lives. student activists were killed in the chittagong university. the victims were believed to be opposition student activists. >> dozens of houses have been destroyed by bushfires in western australia. one person is believed dead. most of the residents near perth

fled their homes in time. a blazes tore through the area on sunday. the incident happened on a day when textures sored to 34 degrees celsius. there has been an earthquake striking 6km out to sea at a depth of 27km. no tsunami warnings have been issued. >> hundreds of vigilantes changed fire with a drug cartel. members of the self-appointed defense group entered the town on sunday. they say they want to liberate the area from a drug gang known as the knight's templar. the state government asked for military help to stop the violence. >> six have been shot dead in el salvador. the group, who were members of an angelical church were found

shot dead in a town. >> now, in italy they say it's knoll over until the fat lady sings, she appears to be losing her voice as the financial crisis hits the country's opera tradition. we report from rome on whether the final curtain is falling for italian opera. [ singing ] >> they are the heart and soul of the opera, the chorus of rome's famous opera house. pava rotty and others have performed here. the opera house is in trouble, owing around $50 million. the management can receive a bailout, but on the if they cut jobs. >> the opera is one of italy's prestigious institutions. on a par with the colosseum or any painting. it should be protected by the

state and the constitution guarantees that. >> the financial crisis in italy is forcing the government to slash funding for the arts. >> the government has to save billions in the next few years. theatres and opera houses are state funded. some had no choice but to cut performances or close down. >> this is one of rome's oldest theatres founded in 1727. the last official performance was in 2011. campaigners are raising money to keep this place open. the italian government spends billions on culture, most renovating ancient colosseum. >> they have to manage the administration more carefully so

the tradition can survive for years. it is my duty above all to respect the profession of these people. it would be difficult to imagine a future where culture is not at the heart of things. >> in rome's opera house a performance of "swan lake", when the musicians went on strike, the orchestra was replaced with a cd track. the artists are back, and say the show must go on. it's not clear for how long. >> 12 years a slave has picked up the golden globe, winning best film trauma for its tale of an african american sold into slavery in 19th century america. other winners "gravity" starring

sandra bullock. the mexican it film maker was acclaimed for the sky fi movie set on a space station. "american hustle" picked up best comedy, actress and best supporting actress. those are the headlines. >> i'm lisa fletcher and you are in the it stream. no question olympic hopefuls endure gruelling training. many say they are enduring psychological and sexual abuse at the hands of their coaches. we discuss the dark side of the road to the olympics.