all bodies are recovered from the south korea ferry accident as new tapes reveal the chaos and indecision when the alarm was raised. hello. the world news from al jazeera. also ahead, conflicting claims over who was behind a deadly shooting in eastern ukraine. pro-russia activists say they came under attack. the u.n. says palestinian refugee camp under siege in syria has run out of food. police of peace, pope francis calls for an ends of conflict in

syria, ukraine and africa during his easter address at the vatican. the new tapes reveal confusion and indecision of the rescue operation as a ferry went down in south korea this week. 58 people are confirmed dead. another 244 are still missing. the tapes were made public after families of the passengers were involved in an angry confrontation with the police. they tried to take their complaints to the government. harry fawcett reports from the island >> on a day when christians celebrated resurrection, this was the east ever sunday service at the water's edge on jindo. >> salvation army volunteers used a campaign where they have been praying for the dead. the dead are being brought ashore in greater numbers than the previous four days.

for the first time they have been able to pull bodies out of the ship, it's itself. the pace gateway accelerating. >> the guiding routes for us to enter the ferry have been established. we will have 563 divers on this concentrated search operation. >> they are put up with marker pin on white board. these are how families are havi having a onizing bereavement >> there is a growing level of acceptance among the parents that their children are dead. but among many, there is anger at the authorities. in the early morning, dozens of parents confronted police near the bridge to the mainland. they said they wanted to take their complaints about the rescue mission all the way to the president in seuol. where. >> where do i find the body, said this man whose wife gateway missing? let us get her out and take her somewhere warm, not in the cold

water. >> al jazeera's obtained this video of what happened earlier in the stand-off with relatives stopping the prime minister's car from crossing the bridge. also on sunday, the coast guard released previously unheard audio of fraught exchanges between the ferry and port authorities just before rescue boats arrived. ♪ >> as night fell on sunday, there was another service. this time, in a tent next to the sports haul that hall, the bin town near seuol delivered the easter message of eternal life seeking to comfort the parents of children whose lives have

been cut so short. harry fawcett, al jazeera >> audiotapes have been released between the services and the crew on board the ferry >> it's impossible to broadcast now, even if it's impossible to broadcast, please take out as much as you can and let the passenger's wear life jackets and put on more clothing >> if it evacwaits, will you be able to rescue them if this ferry evacwaits, will they be rescued right away? >> don't let them go there. make them escape >> harry fawcett

>> is facing charges of breaking maritime law. he gave apologies but said he was wary of simply telling people to jump off of the boat into cold fast-flowing waters, unsure of their fate, unable to see any rescue craft at the time. as well as that, we have been seeing more and more bodies brought ashore.

the operation to dive the wreck appears to be gathering. they appear to be getting greater access inside ship. for the first time, the number of people brought out from the ship gateway climbing rapidly. so people here at the sports hall waiting for so long to get confirmation of what's happened to their children. some are getting confirmation. but at least it's extremely grim. great grief gateway already here it's going to get worse in the next few days. ultra nationalists have denied playing any role. it happened at a makeshift checkpoint on the outskirts of slovyansk. russian's foreign ministry con democrated the incidents which happened after easing tension in eastern ukraine. jesse roland gateway there and files this report >> reporter: local people are calling it the easter massacre, although what took place at this makeshift checkpoint in the early hours of sunday remains

unclear. villagers say unknown attackers drove up and opened fire on the pro-russian activists who were manning the barricades. >> they came in four jeeps, lit up the barricades with their headlights and started shooting. my neighbor got a bullet right between his eyes. other people from slovyansk came to help us. if they hadn't come, the attackers would have slaughtered everyone like chickens >> the interior ministry says three pro-russian activists were killed. local people say the other side also suffered losses. the attackers took the dead and wounded with them. there are a lot of unanswered questions here. for a start, where did the two cars come from? and secondly, if there was a shoot-out between the men at the checkpoint and the vehicles, how come there are bullet holes in the back of the second car? how did it happen that the two vehicles ended up completely burned out?

forensic experts are trying to answer some of those questions, but with the cars torched, the evidence they can gather gateway limited. they found shell cases, bullets and some dried blood. whatever the truth behind the incident, it plays into the hands of those who do not want a negotiated solution to the crisis in ukraine. local rebel leaders have declared a curfew and are calling on moscow to send in peace keepers. this may be the wreckage of the political deal reached in geneva only a few days ago. jackie roland, al jazeera in eastern ukraine >> pro-russian separatists say they have declared a curfew after that shooting. abdel hamid sends this report >> they followed the same line that came out of moscow and pointed the finger at an ultra nationalist group called the right seccor. they played a key role in the protest in kiev that led to the ousting of victor yanukovych.

now, this mayor says that a refer endsum will be held on may 11 11th. the authorities have said that they agreed in principle over a refer endsum. it's a referendum but it should be held on the same day as the presidential e elections which are may 25th a lot of the pro-russian supporters said they didn't trust that. they thought the presidential e elections would be rigged in the first place. it has to be said that the mayor gateway new. until al few days ago, the mayor of slovyansk was a woman. she had clearly den oujsed the appearance of men in fatigues. she had at the time said they were either russians or getting their orders from moscow. she has since disappeared. we vint heard from all of the other pro-russian protesters who have seized buildings in other cities and towns across eastern ukraine, whether they agree or not on that date >> reporter: the u.n. gateway

warning that residents of a besieged district of damascus are in danger of starving to death. it has about 18,000 people in it. there has been no food delivered there for more than a week. aid supplies have run out. some of the people are eating leaves and animal feed. the u.n. says it needs to deliver 700 food parcels per day to the refugee camp. it has managed to get in around 100 per day since the start of the year. and in recent weeks, conditions have worsened. no food has been sentence there in the past 10 days. the government demands that rebel groups inside surrender. chris gunes gateway a spokesman for the u.n. relief agency and says there is food waiting to be delivered but aid agencies need secure access to the camp. >> it is the zero hour as far as u.n. food supplies in yermouth

gateway concerned. a food parcel lasts for 10 days. we are now to zero and people are now facing the serious threat of hunger. there is a very, very complicated situation on the ground. we are an unarmed humanitarian agency, one which unprecedentedly, among other groups in this kind of work in this conflict, we have had 12 members of staff are 12 of my colleagues have been killed trying to deliver aid. so, it's a very, very dangerous situation. we are ready. we have food in our warehouse in damascus. we can take it in. what we need gateway security. we need substantial access. we need secure access. and we need it now because people are going hungry with every passing minute. it's about back to the security council. if they want to get with the chemical weapons, they passed a resolution and the chemical weapons are being eliminated because hundreds of facing the threat from chemical weapons. it's thousands and possibly tennessee of thousands who are

facing threats because of the lack of food. we need the council to act. it's logical that they should act and they must live up to the hopes of the founding fathers of the united nations. t the people of yermouk need >> al jazeera gateway continuing to demanned the immediate release of its journalists imprisoned in egypt. they are falsely accused of providing a platform to the outlawed muslim brotherhood. they have been behind bars for 113 days. their case gateway being adjourned until tuesday. al jazeera rejects all of the accusations against its staff. abdullah al shami has been held without trial since last august. he has been on hunger strike for the last 90 days. he has sent a letter from prison describing his feelings as he

handles his 250th day in jail. he writes, "i have a responsibility on my shoulders. it is to complete documenting stories of people here as much as possible, and stay steadfast." details are from all egyptian cities. everybody talks about injustic . they have suffered indiscriminately. >> now it's not all about football, beaches and summer in brazil. still to come in the program, we will tell you how the government gateway trying to use this card to change perceptions about brazilian culture. plus, home at last, four journalists held in syria for more than 10 months are back in france.

>> the debate that divides america, unites the critics, a reason to watch al jazeera america the standout television event borderland, is gritty honesty. >> a lot of people don't have a clue what goes on down here, the only way to find out, is to see it yourselves. >> taking viewers beyond the debate. >> don't miss al jazeera america's critically acclaimed series borderland on al jazeera america also available on demand

. so available on demand welcome back. the top stories on al jazeera: families affected by the south korea ian ferry sinking have been involved in angry confrontations with police. officials are facing criticism. 58 people have been confirmed de dead. >>. >> the interior ministry says three people were killed. on the western ukraine border, cries for russian president

putin are getting louder. the region gateway separated from maldova after the collapse of the soviet union in 1991. david chatter gatewis there. the celebration of the miracle of the easter. in a capitol the world does not recognize. a country of some half a million souls on ukraine's western border. they have just urged president putin to recognize them as an independent state. it seems the kremlin has been hearing the prayers. >> in the capitol, the symbols of the old soviet union still

have pride of place. at the end of the cold war, led to a civil war as the region broke away from maldova. more than 1,000 people were killed in the bitter fighting on the eastern bank of the river. it was only quelled when moscow ordered troops to intervene. >> the kremlin soldiers remain as peace keepers here to this day. many politicians here would like them to stay as defenders of a new so far written republic. >> there is sort of a gel sus in our situation >> sandwiched between a casino and a shopselling soviet memorabilia, the embassies, two greataway regions of georgia, equally unrecognized by the world and now hosting russian troops. the american senator, john mccain visiting maldova last

week made clear his views of the russian strategy. >> russia is a gas station masquerading as a country. and i apologize for that because actually, it's a mafia-run gas station masquerading as a country. >> on the banks of the donesta, a 40 rest taken by the ottomans 16th century and captured by the russians in the 18th century >> for eight centuries, this has been an out post of empires guarding trade routes. it is set to be a battleground between a resurgent russia and an exup and downing europe >> set on a critical fault line between the east and the west, history has a habit of continually repeating itself on the banks of this river. david chater, al jazeera, transmistria >> in iraq, a military operation against fighters linked to al-qaeda is threatening to

disrupt general e elections. many residents in the city of falluja are questioning whether the vote set for april the 30th will even take place >> reporter: the bombed out buildings in the center of fallujah indicate just how ferocious the military operation has been here. the iraqi army has taken positions on the out skirts of the city in attacks with art i will ery shells and other heavy weaponry. it's an operation the military says is designed to root out fighters who belong to the islamic state of iraq. the operation began in january and shows no sign of stopping. parliamentary elections are scheduled for the end of the month. unlike in the left of iraq, there is no electioniering here there are no posters or campa n campaigning how. >> how can we cast votes when they are shelling us? our houses are being destroyed.

our hospitals are full of dead and injured. our children can't go to school. no electricity. no water. we can't even sleep at night. how can we vote? >> fallujah is predominantly a city city. many have condemned the government's actions as illegal. they say they are designed to fuel sectarian violence and weaken the sunni vote here the government, for its part, says its fighting a war on ter error. some support the isil fighters who they say are standing up for sunni rights. others say they support the government's operation. the government claims that parts of fallujah have been overrunned by armed men. >> remains the focus of the operation. >> am bar prove vince accounts for around 17% of the vote. now, the election commission has said they will be setting gallup polling stations on april 5th here it will allow them to vote. the politicians say they vint been able to campaign.

in the result will be flawed. al jazeera baghdad >> dozens of suspected al-qaeda fighters have been killed in an airstrike at a training camp in yemen. it's the second drone strike in two days as the u.s. steps up a campaign against al-qaeda in the air rabian peninsula. 13 died on an attack on their car in saturday. the yemen state news agency accuses the group of planning attacks on civilians and the military. teresa williams traveling were also killed >> fournl soldiers have been killed during a patrolteen sold killed during a patrol east of the capitol. they were ambushed in the city of tiziuzu in the north: fighters are said to be behind the attack. it's the worst violence against the military in years. a few days before the president was elected for a fourth term. >> four french journalists held

hostage in syria for nearly a year have arrived back home. they were found hand cuffed and blindfolded on the border on saturday. more from paris >> reporter: back on french soil after 10 months in captivity into the welcoming arms of family and colleagues and a french president and foreign minister. >> translator: it's a day of great joy for france because france is proud to have come patriots with such values and proud they could work for the freedom of the press and france is proud to have them free today. from one of franings's most experienced war reporters, a sense of enormas reliefce's mos experienced war reporters, a sense of enormas relief >> it's a great joy and an immense relief to be out in the open air. i am saying it again but we vint

seen the sky for a long time. breathe fresh air, walk freely. it was a long time. but we never lost hope. >> reporter: it was 10 months in which they had been moved around, kept underground and sometimes mistreated by their captors. they were released near the turningish border on denied.

this election process is better than the last one. >> we are halfway in the process, and we will be monitoring the rest of it. at the moment, there are some concerns about parts of the contacts by the election complaints commission, their provincial offices. we have concerns in that,

complaints in that regard. but hopefully, the necessary correction in regards to the fairness of the process is made in the coming days. but as a whole, my view about the elections has been that it's this time around, election has been much better than the elections in 2009. there is no doubt >> pope francis has called for an end to kong conflicts around the world during his easter mass address. more than 150,000 people turned up at saint peter's square in the vatican. in his speech, pope francis called for the international community to end the conflict in ukraine, syria, and central african republic. in croatia, one family has a very different tradition. for years, the family has celebrated by turning their property into an easter extravaganza. this year, they used 1.5 million

lamps and 10,000 easter eggs of different shapes and sizes. it's becoming a growing tourist attraction, which is probably just as well as they spend almost $14,000 a year on electricity. now, brazil is best known for beaches, bikinis, music and football but the they want to draw attention to their artistic culture. rob reynolds has a story >> reporter: anyone who has seen dancers in salvador move to go african-inspiredrithims or strolled among uropreto will realize brazil is a country with a deep and vie brants cultural heritage? >> people are hungry for culture and brazil has such a diversity of culture that you don't see anywhere.

we want to go beyond football and beaches and samba. we want to show ourselves >> under a new government program, low-income workers can get rechargeable cards likely this with credits worth about $20 a month. employers provide most of the funding and get a tax break in return. the cards can by anything broadly considered cultural, books, movies, concerts, plays and more. isbell used her card to buy a set of opera cds. >> i appreciate it a lot it's a nice opportunities to have more access to culture >> some think the government's plan is poorly conceived and wonder what kind of culture people will by with their new culture cards the average brazilian reads just four books a year. 85% say their favorite leisure

activity is watching t.v. so, critics fear people will spend their culture credits or trashy romance novels, sexy music videos or worse >> they would say, how come they would be able to buy these magazines, pornography? are you going to let them buy pornography? i said, why not? people start reading rose anna says brazil must spend more on art education. >> people need to get a good education from the beginning. for example, samba is never going to die because people have a conscience of how precious that is. they need to do the same thing for literature, for architecture, for heritage, for history >> more than 350,000 people are using culture cards so far.

the government homes millions will sign up in the future. the better to enjoy their country's vast cultural riches. rob reynolds, al jazeera, world preto, brazil >> there are plenty more news goodies on our website. just click on aljazeera.com.