>> four more people from the ferry disaster are arrested as the south korean president condemns the actions of the crew. >> translation: the conduct of the captain and some crew members is unfathomable. it was like an act of murder that cannot and will not be tolerated. you are watching al jazeera live from the global news center in doha. also on the programme. aleppo burning. more barrel bombs dropped over the beseemed syria city. and handwritten asking the

power of the -- harr yesesing the power of the sun. thailand becoming a solar engineer. south korea's president is condemning the actions of the crew and captain as being like an act of murder. divers are continuing to retrieve bodies. at least 64 are confirmed to have died in the tragedy. >> translation: the conduct of the captain and some crew members is unfathomable. it was like an act of the murder that cannot and should not be tolerated. after the accident the captain did not follow the orders of the traffic center. the captain and crew members left and escaped after telling passengers to stay where they

were. this is legally and ethically unimaginable. >> adrian brown has the latest on the recovering. >> reporter: their anguish is compounded by the release of those transcripts of the final ship-to-shore radio exchanges between port officials and the crew on the bridge of the stricken ferry. during a passage the crew say to the port officials we have lost our ability to forecast and the passengers can't move. it indicates that the vessels in house internal communication system failed, and that's something backed up by survivors who say they never heard an order to evacuate. the captain waited 30 minutes before ordering an evacuation. many never heard that. we can show a promotional video showing the captain saying how

the journey on the vessel is safe. in 2010 le joon-seok promised all would be well as long as passengers follow the instructions of the crew. >> translation: i believe it is safer than any vehicle as long as they follow instructions of crew members. >> ipp decision and confusion occurred as the ship sank. the final decision to evacuate the ship was left to the captain. he was not on the bridge at the time the ferry started to tilt. after his court appearance on saturday the captain confirmed passengers were told to remain in their cabins. opposition acts visits in syria

say barrel bomb attacks in the city of aleppo killed 50 people. the picture, which cannot be independently verified shows the aftermath in the neighbour hood. syrian government forces dropped barrel bombs on rebel held areas in an intense campaign beginning in september. activists say more than 1,000 people have been killed since then. barrel bombs are an imprecise weapon, filled with explosives, shrapnel and causes damage. >> the united nations warns more than 20,000 residents in damascus are in danger of starving to death. the yarmouk camp houses refugees, and is on the outskirts of the capital. it is a battle ground in the civil war. no food has been delivered for two weeks. aid supply has run out. some are eating leaves and animal need. >> the u.n. relief agencies says it needs to deliver 700 food

parcels per day to the yarmouk camp and since the start of the year it only got in 100 a day. conditions worsened in the recent weeks. no food has been able to get in in the past 12 days. >> a spokesman for the u.n. works agency says there's food waiting to be delivered, but aid agencies need secure access to get it to the people. >> it's the zero hour as far as u.n. food supplies is concerned. a food parcel from the u.n. lasts for 10 days, it's over 10 days, and we are down to zero, and people are facing a threat of hunger. there is a very, very complicated situation on the ground. don't forget that we are an unarmed humanitarian agency, one which unprecedentedly among groups in the conflict. we have had 12 members of staff. 12 colleagues killed trying to

deliver aid. it's a dangerous situation. it's ready, we have food in the warehouse in damascus. we can take it in. we need security, substantial access, secure access, and we need it now. people are going hungry with every passing minute. it's back to the security council. we need to see action. if they want to get rid of chemical weapons, they pass a resolution. hundreds were facing the threat from chemical weapons. thousands, and possibility tens of thousands face threats because of a lack of food. we need the council to act. it's logical that they act, and they must live up to the hopes of the family fathers of the united nations that this thing would not happen. succeeding generations would be saved from the scourge of law. that is what the people of yarmouk needs. >> the syrian president made a rare public appearance outside the capital at an ancient town

recaptured by government forces. footage of bashar al-assad inspecting damage in the christian town of malula. troops retook the town from opposition fighters a week ago. bashar al-assad is trying to persuade minorities that the government is their best protection against rebels. presidential elections are scheduled for later this year. >> 50 rebel fighters have been killed in a military operation in central babil. the 3-day offensive was carried out against the islamic state of iraq and levant. in a town. the iraqi government has been battling i.s.i.l. fighters who seized towns in anbar province. we have more from baghdad >> reporter: as the anbar operation commence, many are moving south into babil province, where they regroup go

back into anbar. the iranie army says they -- iraqi army says it mounts ground troops to kill 50 i.s.i.l. fighters in babil. saying they are the hard core elements of the i.s.i.l. this is coming from the iraqi army. we have no other sources confirming it. and it's being poured scorn over in parts of baghdad. amongst opposition politicians, who say this is yet another example of sectarianism, that no proof has been gip, that the fighters were members of the islamic state of iraq and levant. now, as we get closer to the elections, expect to hear announcements of praises like this. this works well for prime minister nouri al-maliki, who said he will be tough on security. that is a big issue for the iraqi election campaign.

>> al jazeera demands the release of its journalists imprisoned in egypt. mohamed fadel fahmy, baher mohamed, and peter greste are falsely accused of providing a platform to the outlawed muslim brotherhood. they have been behind bars for 114 days. their case has been adjourned until tuesday. al jazeera rejects all the accusations against its staff. abdullah al-shami, the fourth journalist in detention has been held without trial sips august. he's been on hunger strike for 9 91 days. >> in ukraine three were shot dead at a checkpoint manned by pro-russian activists. kiev says it was so-called outside provocateurs. we have this report from jacky rowland. >> local people call it the easter mass anger. what took place at the makeshift checkpoint on sunday is unclear.

villages say unknown attackers drove up and opened fire on activists manning the barricade. >> translation: they came in four jeeps, lit up the barricades with their head lights and shot. my neighbour got a bullet between his eyes. others from slovyansk came to help us. if they hadn't come the attackers would have slaughtered everyone like chickens. >> the interior ministry said three pro-russian activists were killed. local people say the other side suffered losses, but the attackers together the dead and wounded with them. there are a lot of unanswered questions here. for a start - where did the two cars come from. 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, and how did it happen that the two vehicles ended up burnt out. >> forensic experts are trying to answer the questions, but

with the cars torched, the evidence they can gather is limited. they found shell cases, bullets and dried blood. whatever the truth behind the incident it plays into the hands of those that do not want a negotiated solution to the crisis in ukraine. >> local rebel leaders declared a curfew and call on moscow to send in peacekeepers. >> this may be the wreckage of a political deal reached geneva, a few days ago: >> over the scope in moscow, they are waiting for a news conference to start. we'll hear from the russian foreign minister, sergei lavrov. we'll bring you that live when it happens. >> plenty more ahead on al jazeera. including... >> illegal fishing - one day the people of guinea passau will no longer be able to fish in their

waters. >> guinea passau's fish stocks are being depleted by foreign trawlers. and - it's banned, illegal, but the pakistan black market gambling industry is doing a roaring trade.

hello again, the top stories this hour on al jazeera. the president of south korea compared the actions of the captain and crew to an act of murder. four crew members have been arrested as divers retrieved

bodies from the wreckage. more than 200 are missing. opposition activists in syria for the latest barrel bomb attacks in aleppo kill 50 people. government forces have been dropping barrel bombs on rebel held areas in the city in an intense campaign that began in september. u.s. vice president joe biden is due to arrive in ukraine. forensic experts investigate a shooting in slovyansk. three were gunned down at a chaek point manned by -- point manned by pro-russian activist. on the western ukraine border there's calls for president arseniy yatsenyuk to annex the region. david chater looked at whether the territory could become the next crimea. . reporter: a celebration of the miracle of easter in a capital

the world does not recognise. it is a country of half a million soul, in a thin sliver of territory on the ukrainian western border. they have urged vladimir putin to recognise them as an independent state. it seems the kremlin has been hearing the prayers of his russian speaking breath ren. >> translation: this is nothing else but an exercise in democracy, if we let the people do what they want. >> in the capital, the symbols of the old soviet union have pride of place. at the end of the cold war, it led to a civil war, as the region broke away from moldova to protect their language and links with russia. more than 1,000 people were killed in the bitter fighting on the eastern banks of the river. it was only quelled when moscow ordered troops to intervene. the kremlin soldiers remain as

peacekeepers, and politicians would like them to stay as defenders of a new sovereign republic. >> people in crimea voted for it. to some extent there is a jealousy in our situation. >> and witched between a casino and a shop selling soviet memor a billia. two breakaway regions of georgia, unrecognized by the world, and now hosting russian troops. the american senator john mccain visiting moldova made clear his views of the russian strategy. >> russia is a gas station masquerading as a country and i apologise for that, actually it's a mafia-run gas station masquerading as a country. >> on the banks of the river, established by the bedouins, taken by the ottomans in the

16th century and captured by the russians in the 18th century. >> for eight centuries, this has been an outpost of empires guarding the trade routes to the east. it's a background to a resurging russia and expanding europe. >> set on a fault line from the east to the west, history has a habit of repeating itself on the banks of the river. . the chinese government is meeting environmentalists in budget to look at how to tackle chronically high levels of pollution. a year-long study released shows that a fifth of china's farmland is contaminated. a draft law could give the government more power. it's expected to be finalised this year. it is in a polluted city.

the laws are necessary to make factories accountable for their role in policing the environment. >> the hot spot is about whether people can have proper information disclosure, and also how far and how harsh the punishment to the polluters can be. also for the environmental pop interest, lawsuits. we have legislation, because when we put the economy in the priority state, so enforcement to punish the polluters, and in this way they vow - the public engagement and information, disclosure, there can be no enforcement to speak of. >>

a... can protect fishermen here from what he calls unfair competition. >> venezuela's national guard fought with protesters in the capital caracas following a peaceful rally. >> protesters responded by throwing rocks. >> activists in brazil are calling for the legalization of cannabis for medical use. fake marijuana years were

display on copacabana beach in rio de janeiro to mark international cannabis day. drug use for personal use is not punished. security has been increased for the boston marathon sips the bomb attacks last year killing three people. alan fisher reports. >> reporter: the memorials from the boston marathon are not hard to find. some simple, some emotional. images from a year ago are seared into the memory. two bombs ripped through the crowd. three died at the scene. hundreds were maimed and injured. the city was gearing up for the event. a celebration of unity and recovery and an attempt to banish the recovery. there'll be twice as many guards as last year, 500 undercover. there'll be thousands of

volunteers dealing with crowd managements. this will be a different boston marathon. there'll be more surveillance cameras and people watching for something unusual. >> the standard has been changed. there's no doubt that security around large events, we are seeing more officers deployed, more cameras, more command and control, more communication capabilities. i expect that that will last for some period of time. >> the manhunt for the bombers losted days. it's alleged two bombers did it. one died in a shoot-out with police. experts that analysed the bombing say boston is a lesson for other places. you start with the way the event is going to work, how it will operate. and then you add security. you add the security in a way that does not disrupt the event as you wanted it to be. >> there'll be around 36,000

runners this year, more than normal. many ran last year, more wanted to be here for this. >> right there on the ground. >> katherine swit zer was the first woman to run of the boston marathon and covered the event for four decades. she said what happens here changed events around the world. >> there's more security. it's annoying, you go to the start, you have to have a clear bag and throw the bags away. we run to be free, we run to be fearless. >> boston will never be the same again. when the runners cross the finish line this year, it won't just mark the end of the race, but the end of what has been a difficult year. >> live now to moscow to the press conference we mentioned earlier, where you can see the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov talking to the press

after meeting the mozambique foreign minister, interested in any comments he might make on ukraine. let's listen in. >> translation::..energy infrastructure, seed development. there'll be industrial discussions that will take place tomorrow, with the - in the sphere of russian capital in mozambique. we are going to stimulate the interest of business development as well as the possibility of developing our friendly relations. we are interested in this also and confirmed by the development in the technical fields, in particular in the involvement of our country in humanitarian

development as well as partnership as well as the russian party which has increased against its quote in development of infrastructure in the number of mozambique citizens studying in higher education institutes. we had virtual coincidence or close figures concerning international problems. this concerns problems of peace, construction that we need to ensure a democratic fairness,justice in world policies in organizations, including united nations, through collective approaches in order to settle any problems through peaceful means. we are counting on close cooperation with mozambique, concerning the development of the situation on the content of

africa, as well as solving conflicts that remain our position, is absolutely clear we want the africans to determine themselves the way to solve these problems through the world community... >> dadu, southern pakistan, just