>> null and void - a court in thailand says february's elections were invalid. >> the ruling is the latest blow to a government facing an opposition campaign to push it from power. this is the world news from al jazeera. also ahead - the corruption claims that will not go away. turkey takes down twitter. >> shoot-out at a 5-star hotel. the taliban get through the security at kabul. >> finding the missing airliner. planes from the u.s. and

new zealand join the search for objects spotted on satellite. >> thailand's constitutional court ruled that last month's general election was invalid. the vote was unconstitutional because elections were not held. opposition supporters prevented candidates registering in these areas. the government was called on to step down. their campaign started in november over plans for a new amnesty law. the bill could have allowed former prime minister thaksin shinawatra to return without punishment. he's the brother of current leader yingluck shinawatra. by november there were demonstrations by pro and

ain't-government protesters. that month elections were held, but the protesters boycotted them. there were thouses of demonstrations outside polling stations. zeina khodr joins us from outside bangkok. how has the court come to this decision? >> the constitutional court ruled that the election was invalid, unconstitutional because according to them it was not held across the country in a single day. you mentioned that the elections were by supporters. the government called for elections in order to try to resolve the crisis. it said that if you want to resolve the crisis, let's do it through the ballot box. they believe the government should step aside and an

unelected council take power, and that reforming the political system. this is a blow to the government. it's more pressure, really, and it prolongs the political stalemate. but others believe that the decision could provide some sort of opportunity for both sides to start talking to each other, reach a comprom. >> and possibly we may hear the opposition agree to take part in it. so far the position has been "we are not going to solve this through elections, but we have to wait and see." >> where has thailand been politically since the election in early february. has there been any dialogue between the two sides. has there been any movement politically. >> no, there's not been any dialogue. the prime minister themselves hasn't been able to operate in bangkok. she has spent a lot of time in

the north of the country. the government operates in a caretaker mode. they have limited powers and cannot agree or approve, and there's a lot of unrest in the country. thail land is in a political stalemate. last night grenades were thrown at the home of one of the judges of the constitutional court, but really a message that not all is well. we have seen supporters of the government take to the streets and ral ris in wares areas, but they have not done it in bangkok. >> what is going to happen. i believe the electoral commission said there's two possible ways of going forward here. >> yes, the election commission is going to hold meetings as of today. they are expected to set a date for a new election. they are going to be consulting with a different political

parties. some suggest that the elections would take place in a few weeks or month. a lot of uncertainty. the red shirts, supporters of the government will hold a rally tomorrow. there's a lot of tensions on the streets, but no end to the political crisis. >> zeina khodr joining us from bangkok. thank you. >> turkey's telecoms watchdog confirmed that twitter has been blocked by the court. btk said it was in response to complaints from citizens that the social networking site was breaching privacy. >> on thursday, prime minister recep tayyip erdogan threatened to shut access to the site. >> can you imagine the international conspiracy. twitter - we have a court order. we'll wipe them outline out. the international community can say this and that. i don't care.

everyone will see how powerful the republic of turkey is. >> recep tayyip erdogan's fight has taken off after audio said to be from him to his son about disposing cash were released. recep tayyip erdogan says it was unsafe. it was after the government was targeted. since then more allegations have come out. through a twitter account called "sons of thieves", which appears to have access to secret documents from the corruption probe. our correspondent is joining us from istanbul. omar, firstly, why is the turkish government blocking 2002er. on what grounds, what are the court orders on which they have decided to block the site? >> well, they say the management

of twitter, the social media website ignored and remained indifferent to some courts in turkey, calling on twitter to remove some links that are hurting some turkish citizens. this is very vague. we don't know who they are referring to, but it's widely believed that this is to do with the corruption scandal and the leaks used on twitter and other social media website. now, the statement from the prime ministerry went on saying that the government called on twitter to remove the links. twitter didn't do that. then, as a last resort, the twitter social website will be stopped and blocked. now, i have to also say that the - there is wide spread stoppage of twitter.

there are some reports that it is still working. the major could have difficulties. >> twitter, of course, played a big role, hasn't it in the organization of protests against recep tayyip erdogan's government. how are people reacting to this? >> we are expecting some rehabilitation. i think it could be angry reaccess from the youth. there are millions of twitter users in this country. and, of course, the social media website as a whole. as you mentioned, those websites were instrumental in organising protests, attacking or calling on supporters of the opposition or different groups who are anti-government to reveal what the current government is doing. there is a wide debate here in turkey about the social media websites - how they have turned into a battle ground between the

pro and anti-government population of this country. bear in mind all of this comes at a sensitive time. everyone is polarized. there are local elections in about nine days, there is wide corruption scandal investigations, and you have all sorts allegations, rumours, leaks, corruption, allegations of leaks of wire tapping implicating the prime minister. the governor says it's a smar campai campai campaign -- smear campaign aimed at him and his family and to topple the government. >> nine people have been killed in an attack carried out by the taliban in a luxury motel. four gunmen opened fire in the serena hotel. despite the high security afghan

security officials say the government were able to sneak in weapons hidden in their socks. jane ferguson has the latest. >> the four attackers made their way to the restaurant of the serena hotel, after 9:00 pm on thursday night. they opened fire on diners, killing nine people, including three women and two children. of the in my opinion, four were foreigners. five were injured, including an mp. the attackers were believed to have been carrying small weapons, snuck into the hotel. it is meant to be the next secure in the country, it is a target because lots of diplomats and high-end officials stay there. as a result security at the hotel was tight. it's part of taliban attacks stepped up ahead of the presidential elections. the taliban said they'll sustain such attacks to disrupt anything

to do with the elections. >> syrian troops say they have recaptured a meade evil castle. it's on the border with northern lebanon. stefanie dekker has more. >> government soldiers raced the syrian flag in triumph. the pictures broadcast on a proregime tv station reportedly show the troops offered a fierce battle to take over 900-year-old citadel. government forces say 40 rebels were killed. the syrian observatory for human rights said at least 60 were killed or injured as they fled for the border. this was built during the christian crews aids and is one of the best preserved medieval castles. it had been a popular tourist destination, but since 2012 has been the scene of fierce

battles. >> this footage appears to show military jets targetting the area around the castle in february. in october air strikes are said to have hit the fort, leaving parts of it damage. it's unclear if thursday's battle ruined part of the structure. it's one of many sites that fell victim to the 3-year-old still war. >> the news that the syrian government is in control of the surrounding town is the latest in a long stretch the victories along the border. you can see the medieval castle in the distance behind me, and it's part of a major push by the regime to secure its border with lebanon. >> lots more ahead, including the crimean crisis gets personal. the presidents of russia and the u.s. impose sanctions on each other's close aids. >> i'm in venice where residents of the region are voting in a

referendum to break free of italy and become an independent state.

>> it's good to have you with us. these are the top stories on al jazeera. thailand's constitutional court ruled that last month's general elections are invalid. the court ruled that the vote was unconstitutional because they were not held in several constituencies. demonstrators prevented some from registering in these areas.

>> turkey blocks twitter in response to complaints that they were breaching privacy. prime minister recep tayyip erdogan on thursday promised to shut down access to the site. >> nine people, including four foreigners are dead after the taliban attacked a hotel in kabul. hotel seb rennet is popular with the staff working on the election. >> back to thailand and the elections joining us from bangkok is the national security visor to the thai government. always good to have you with us on al jazeera. your rehabilitation to the constitutional court ruling, that the elections are invalid? >> well, it's a little bit expected. because the court ruled this

decision, based upon the fact that the election was not being held on the same day today, but, as you probably know, that democrats and p d.r.c. used supporters to disrupt elections on registration, on the election date itself, all over the south, in 28 districts, and now with this ruling we don't know where we are headed to in the future. >> well, of course the protesters weren't taking part. the opposition was not taking part in this election, because they want major reforms in place, they want a proper unelected council in place before elections can take part. will this ruling then force you to talk to the opposition now, because if you are to go ahead with another election, so far the position is saying that they will boycott another one.

>> the government has made every effort to engage pbs c and democrat in every witch which, but within the constitution currently, the way it was constructed, we have to be - the government still, and p d.r.c., last night, has specifically said that they will not participate in any new election, upcoming, and this is a situation that the government expected, so from our perspective, until they - until such an event, there has to be an elected - there has to be a care taking government which the government will hold the position until that comes up, at the same time we have proposed that we have a short mandate of one year election after this, and then we would accept all

pdfc proposal, and then be would dissolve the government, and so we would have another election. so far the pbs c and democrat have not considered this at all. >> how long can your government afford to carry on like this in this paralysis, with its political, with its economic commences. for the country? >> well, we - by legal mandate, we have stay until there is next election. the pdfc and democrat always wanted a neutral candidate appointed by section 7, which is not acceptable to our - to most who vote for our party, because it's beyond what is sitting in the constitution. but we also want to engage -- >> looks like the stalemate will

sustain. we'll have to leave it there with the national security advisor to the thai government joining us from bangkok. thank you. >> now, u.s. president obama has signed off a longer list of russians, hit with sanctions because of the take over of the ukraine's crimea region, including top aids of russian president vladimir putin, and businessmen thought to be close to him. moscow responded with sanctions on close officials. >> before flying out of washington for an event in florida, president obama stopped to send a message to russian president. his closest friend could pay the price for russia's annexing of crimea, adding a total of 20 russians, and a bank to the sanctions list. >> most are politicians, a few friends made the list.

>> they include: >> the u.s. president promised they would feel an impact. they warned the russian military would move into southern and eastern ukraine, and the russian economy would be next. >> this is not the preferred outcome. the sanctions would have a significant impact on the russian economy, but also to the global economy. >> that could include the mining, financial services and defense industries. economists say individuals probably won't hurt puttin, but threatening the economy might have an impact on the thinking. >> that creates the uncertainty, it shows unwillingness to do this, and that would have further sanctions - would have the potential this materially damage the russian economy. >> russia responded by banning

nine americans from travelling to russia, including speaker of the house. two aids, dan fiver and dan rhodes. and senators. all of them brushing off the tit for tat. the president ruled out using military force, downplaying the likelihood that the u.s. will provide assistance to the country. he is sending a warning. any moves by russia threatening the countries is a different story. >> we have increased our support for the eastern europe een allies, and we'll continue to. >> diplomacy can work, but russia has to stop at crimea. >> well, diplomatic pressure on russia grows. the european council imposed travel bans on 12 more people, and frozen their assets. the president of the european council warns more measures may

follow. >> we are also cancelling the next e.u. russia sim it and member states -- um it and member states and bilateral summits. we make clear that failure to settle the the crisis peacefully and steps by russia to destabilize ukraine will have far-reaching consequences. and by that we mean consequences on relations in a broad range of economic areas. >> ban ki-moon is travelling to kiev on friday in an attempt to set up talks between russia and ukraine. he met russian's president on thursd thursday. >>... i can't discuss what the president said, but i expressed my serious grave concerns about the current situation.

the attention is going on. the political emotions have been hardened. >> china is sending three warships to join the search for the missing malaysian plane after images of two objects were found. five aircraft from australia headed out on friday to comb waters, through the waters west of perth. flight mh370 went missing on 8 march with 239 passengers on board. >> we have been throwing everything we've got at that area to try to learn more about what this debris might be. now, it could just be a container that's fallen off a ship. we just don't know. but we owe it to the families and the friends and the loved ones of the almost 240 people on flight flight mh370 to do everything we can to try to resolve what is as yet on

extraordinary riddle. >> andrew thomas has more from sydney. >> australia prime minister tony abbott called the sighting of these objects in the satellite imagery the first tangible breakthrough in the search for flight mh370. strong words from australia prime minister. of course, until human eyes get up close and look at the objects, identify them, it's hard to say whether they come from the missing plane. on thursday, poor weather, rain and low cloud meant the four aircraft september out from australia didn't spot the objects floating on the surface of the sea. it's important to say the images were taken on 16 march, and it's taken that long to analyse them. in the meantime the sea has been moving and the objects will have been moving. although the haystack, if you like is smaller, it's a needle in a smaller haystack that is being looked for.

on friday five aircraft will depart on location from australia searching the area 2,500km away. there's a commercial ship on site. that is looking at the water close up, and an australian naval vessel is on its way. that will arrive on saturday, if it can find the objects or a plane can direct it to where they are, and if it has anything to do with flight mh370. it's that boat that will bring them on shore. >> 17 people that took part in a demonstration in cairo have been sentence. they'll spent 14 years behind bars. the group, supports of deposed president mohamed morsi were demonstrating in the university in may and demanded on investigation into a mass food poisoning at the campus. it is 83 days since three al jazeera journalists had been held in a cairo prison.

correspondent peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy, and mohammed badr are accused of having links with a terrorist organization and spreading false news. the next court appearance is on 24 march. abdullah al-shami, from the al jazeera arabic channel has been in custody for more than six months. al jazeera rejects all charms and continues to demand its release. the public inquiry into the most serious allegations made against british soldiers stalled. lawyers representing iraqi families withdraw their claim that the troops had killed unarmed civilians, those representing relative of the dead say there's insufficient evidence that anyone was kld by the soldiers. the japanese company behind the first bullet chains is relocating its global rail headquarters from tokyo to london. the company won is $2 billion contract to make britain's next generation of high-speed trains.

750 jobs are expected to be created in the north of england. into people in venice and ven eto are voting in an unofficial referendum on breaking away from italy. the result will not be recognised by rome, but a successful outcome would be the first step of independence. >> this man is a true vep eeshian, and his ancestors had lived here for more than 500 years. that's why he flies the flag of the former maritime of venice rather than the italian colours. >> the city used to be the empire, it's undeveloped and wealth is in the hands of the state. he's one of hundreds of thousands of residents of venice and the surrounding region of ven eto who voted in an unofficial referendum of italy.

>> venice was the heart of a powerful republic that lasted is thousands of years. resentment has grown towards rome. >> tourism has made is one of the wealthiest regions. the network of independencent movements that organised the vote are tired of seeing taxpayers' money being watched away. >> we are victims of an open-air robbery. >> 20 billion are stolen by the italian state because they don't come back in any shape or form. >> not etch everyone in venice wants to break free. >> we live in the european union, why would we want independence. >> my family is asking me to vote for independence.

but i'm not sure it's the right thing to do. >> it's not binding or recognised by the government. organizers say they'll appeal for the right to self-determination and to keep the lion's share of the wealth. >> all our news is on the website, aljazeera.com. >> it's the inside story. hello, i'm ray swarez. with each passing year, the toll from alzheimerss rising. more americans die from