or twitter, facebook, google plus and more. this is al jazeera. hello, welcome to the news hour at al jazeera's news headquarters at doha. you soutsouth sudan hundreds ofe have been massacred by rebels. the syrian government announces a date for the presidential election. >> i'm mary ann namazi with all the news from europe.

including. vice president joe biden touches down in ukraine. hammering home some safety message. skin cancer rates soar in the united kingdom. >> i'm andrew gallagher at the tribeca film festival in new york. we'll follow one aspiring film maker as he tries to make it in show business. >> rebels in south sudan have been accused of massacring hundreds of people. the u.n. says it happened last week in the oil town of bentu. some of them back the former vice president riek machar. the pictures you may find disturbing. the first pictures from the scene to be broadcast show dozens of dead bodies and we

aren't even airing all of the pictures simply because they're too graphic. after capturing bentu from government control. 200 were killed and more deaths in a church in a hospital. al jazeera's anni anna, the sces were major the most shocking that he had ever encountered. tell us what you saw. >> yeah, that's right, it has been an unfortunately motif of this conflict that the dead bodies have been seen in every town that has been captured and recaptured from government forces. but what was really shocking about bentu was the scale of it. there were so many bodies we could see them coming to the

land from the air. we really found most shocking scenes. outside that mosque where people had gone to take sanctuary was a pile of dead bodies. whether they were executed on the spot or they were dragged there we don't know. there's a human rights investigation underway and inside the mosque itself is arguably the most horrific scene because 200 people, at least 200 people were massacred inside there, were sheltering inside there when that massacre happened. >> the people who survived that massacre what happened to them? >> well, we're not sure what's happened to all of them. suddenly we saw a lot of them moving from the town of bentu to the u.n. base in the town of repkona a few miles away. we saw strings of them carrying their belongings apparently making their way to the u.n. base to start their lives from

there. presumably from there as happens in most of these situations a lot of people would have fled into the bush to take shelter. there's likely to be fighting and more fighting outside the town. whether or not they will be safe, we can't tell at the moment, can't get to those places. >> even if they survive fighting out in the bush they are not entirely out of danger, are they? >> no. unfortunately not. as a result of this fighting 1 million people are estimated to have been forced from their homes which means that they don't have access to their food stores and they're not able to cultivate their land. so what the experts from the united nations are predicting is that in one year from now, less, by 2015, we're going to see a famine in south sudan on the scale of ethiopia on the scale of the 1980s and wire told no amount of -- we're told no amount of money put in this country by the humanitarian community could prevent this

famine. the only thing that could prevent the famine is the fighting stops and people return to their home. otherwise they're predicting starvation on a massive scale. >> let's give you a little more background on when this violence began in south sudan. fighting began in december between pro-government forces loyal to salva kiir and riek mu machar. on april 17th, armed men attacked a u.n. compound sheltering around 5,000 civilians in the town of bor and at least 58 people were killed there, for instance. joining us live from washington is chil lam. are secretary general of splm.

sir your reaction to events in bentu. >> it is heartbreaking to see south sudanese children and elders as victims. whether it's in bor or bentu, this is heartbreaking to see that occurring. there are a lot of things. today starts the fourth month of the starting of this conflict and therefore there hasn't been any progress made in terms of finding a solution. now the government is the ultimate responsible body in terms of securing civilians, securing the well-being of every citizen in south sudan. the government has been voted for by 93% of the citizens of south sudan. therefore the government ultimately has to go forward and have a forward-leaning position in finding solution. whether it's an inclusive

dialogue in addis negotiations and leasing and definite relieving of the four political detainees. the first few days of the trial had already determined that the four politicians who are currently accused of the current conflict or of attempting coup are innocent. there hasn't been any evidence problem offing that they are part of any coup. and therefore the government has to give in -- >> i just want to come back to -- set this issue aside for the minute, the four detainees and come back to those talks in addis. what has to happen in addis to make this, the government has to ensure the safety of those in south sudan. but the government isn't obviously up to the task of protecting the country from

rebels. >> you are correct. we need a full inclusive dialogue. that was the point i was stopped at, the releasing of the four. the releasing of the four currently in nairobi need to be included in this process. the civil society needs to be included. we need to get to a south sudanese process for peace and a solution. otherwise we are in a crisis that we can never go back. the famine is underway in south sudan. the rain seasons is here and the u.n, who has chapter 7 mandate in protecting civilians is really not exercising that right. they need to fully understand that -- >> as far as you're concerned, the release of these four detainees is key to finding peace? >> it is, as fundamental key in finding the solution for the current crisis. because i have stated before, in al jazeera and other news media

that these four and the 11 are a crucial part of peace and solution. also, the government also need to understand that the current crisis cannot be dealt with in war. and so is the rebels, they need to understand that fighting and continuation of fighting will not achieve any fundamental vision that they have. >> as far as events in bentu are concerned. how many responsibility does riek machar lolled? >> it is a war. i can't say whether riek machar has responsibility or has not. fighting can never achieve any goals that we have. whether it's from the government or the rebels. we need a democratic process and a way to cement all these issues. if the process is not allowing this inclusive dialogue of the seven will be at a stage will call for more international

actors to come and help south sudan in fighting the current cries i. >> chil duun many thanks for being with us. >> thank you. >> ban ki-moon, police department haparliament hasschee

>> have become the victims of the civil war. the organization say the

children say that 5 million syrian children are in need of urgent help. more than a million of them are refugees. 10,000 have been killed and one in three children have been either hit or shot at. osama been jaffet reports. >> he had to move here after syrian jets destroyed steroid his house. all three have a disease that stunts their growth. >> he's 13 but looks five years old. >> there are no hospitals nearby and getting to hospitals in aleppo has become too dangerous. >> translator: we used to take them to aleppo for treatment but now we cannot because of war. >> reporter: the civil war has nearly crippled syria's health care system and what's left has

become too expensive. >> translator: i used to buy one group hormone injection for $20. now it costs me $100. i have no marines to pay for my kids' treatment. >> areas controlled by the rebels. the u.n. says the syrian government is using the denial of medical care as a weapon of war. aid agents warn this more than half of all medical personnel have left syria. activists say dozens of doctors have been tortured to death in government prisons because they treated rebels. makeshift clinics, this pediatric clinic looks after south part of the province. >> we perform cesarean sections 24 hours a day. there is a lack of medical

equipment. >> many field clinics are using old clothes as bandages. hundreds of children have died because of frequent power outages. there are reports that patients were hit on the head to knock them out because there wasn't any anesthetic. the shortage of hospitals and supplies has also meant a rise of cases like polio, measles, meningitis. healther future prospects are bleak. >> u.n. has promised to help syrian children in lebanon and jordan. in the jordannian capital aman. also willing to accept more people from syria but expressed her concern by the number of citizens on the ground.

>> we are concerned about the number of dual austin-syrian citizens. it is against the law in australia for a dual citizen to take part in the fighting in syria on either side. it's against the law. and so it's a matter of deep concern for australia, and for other countries. still to come. south korean president condemns the captain's actions in the ferry sinking. the man they call gabo, gabriel garcia marquez. and sports in 30 minutes.

u.s. secretary of state john kerry has spoken to his russian counterpart sergey lavrov and insists that russia shows commitment to bringing the end of violence in ukraine. more from mariam lamazi. >> comments come as u.s. vice president joe biden arrives in kyiv in show of support for the interim government. joe biden is expected to push for all sides to honor the agreement. state department spokesman jen saki on that phone call between kerry and lavrov. >> including publicly calling on separatists to are abandon checkpoints. he also called on russia to assign a senior diplomat to work

with the osce mission in eastern ukraine to make absolutely clear with the separatists that russia sports the agreement and wants the escalation. >> moscow is stepping up the rhetoric saying washington should take more responsible for kyiv's action he because it's failing to stop the violence in the east of the country. this after confirmed a second shooting on saturday. one person was killed during the exchange of gun fire at a checkpoint in the town of davrapulia south of donetske. efforts to end the crisis appear to be fal faltering. rebellion in the east by pro-russian activists.

in luhansk, calls for the activists to come out from the barricades. violence in easter sunday, notably a shootout of pro-russian check point, pro-russian activists have called on moscow for help and russia is hinting it may have no choice but to intervene. >> translator: there are more and more calls for us to save them from this situation. we are put in a very difficult situation. those heading towards a civil war engaged in criminal policies. we are not just going to assuage them but going to curb these policies. >> a few of them held a rally in the small town of khartsyzk.

wanting to know why a russian flag was flying on top of their town hall. a rival ca demonstration. >> these people see the visit of vice president biden as further interference in the business of ukraine. they want self governance and they trust russia to help them achieve it. jacky rowland al jazeera in eastern ukraine. >> barnaby phillips sent this update a bit earlier from kyiv. >> joe biden's visit to kyiv is a very welcome show of support for a very beleaguered ukrainian government that has already lost crimea and seems in danger of losing the eastern part of the country as well. if you talk to people here in kyiv about what they would like from this american visit well, it is american military hardware, even a commitment for america to send troops here but

there's not the slightest sign that the americans are inclined to do that. they are talking about more economic assistance. they're talking about energy assistance, ways in which ukraine can be weaned off its dependence on russian natural gas which of course is one of the underlying causes of tension in eastern europe. but obviously that is a long term measure. in the short term the americans are talking about non-lethal military assistance and they are talking about a further escalation of sanctions against russia if last week's geneva accord is not implemented. but that geneva accord it has to be said is looking very ropey now with mutual accusations, both sides blaming the other but activists occupying towns in the eastern part of the country not showing any inclination they are prepared to go anywhere yet. >> police station and security

building in eastern city ever krimatorsk. shots were fired there last week with demonstrators were forced out of the building. reiterated there are no russian troops in the rebel held town. after meeting monitors from the organization for security and cooperation in europe, the osce is attempting to urge pro-russian separatists to pollute putt down their arms. i'll have more from europe for you a bit later this hour. now back to adrian. south korea's president has condemned the act of the crew of the sunken ferry as an act of murder. attempting to change course without first slowing down.

divers continue to retrieve bodies from the wreckage. at least 87 people are confirmed dead. more than 200 are still missing. harry fawcett reports from jindo. >> dive teams were hoping to make the most of the improved conditions. among them special forces veteran shin sung vu. >> right now they're wearing life jackets so it's very difficult to bring the bodies out of the ship. we need a knife or scissors to cut the life jackets and just get the bodies out. >> reporter: but on blord the police boat shin and his colleagues faced a frustrating 11 hour shift. allowing more divers in at the same time was unsuccessful. none of this team was able to make it into the ship. if the focus of the emergency crews here remain focused on speeding up the earth, the south

korean president's statement was the captain's actions and that of his crew were tantamount to murder. >> just as long as you follow the direction he given by our ceo tenants i bal -- attendantsi believe the ferry is safer than any other transportation. >> that's exactly what hundreds of young passengers on the sewol did. the captain was the first to be rescued. with the trial still pending, president delivered her own verdict. >> above all, the conduct of the captain and some crew members is wholly unfathomable from the viewpoint of common sense. it was like an acts of murder that cannot and should not be are tolerated. >> approval to add an extra deck to the sewol and extend its

operating life by ten years. back to the site of the sunking ferry divers were having to contend with leaking oil. gained access to the third and fourth floors where they expected to find most of the bodies, as well as getting an unmanned submersible into the deck. the police and divers are well taught bringing the bodies on shore. harry fawcett, jindo, south korea. >> we're approaching the midpoint of this telecast. we'll speak to the father of

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>> good to have you with us. adrian finnegan here in doha with the news hour. the united nations is accusing rebels in south sudan of carrying out a massacre of hundreds of people. it happened in bentu in the north of the country. many of the pictures from the area are too graphic to air. a toxic chemical probably chlorine was used in syria earlier this month. washington is are investigating allegations that. >> russia is accusing ukraine from failing to stop the violence in the eastern part of the country. vice president joe biden has arrived as a commitment to the interim leaders. now to iraq where 50 rebel fighters have been killed in a

military operation in the centrally proves, are carried out targeted fighters from the islamic state of iraq and the levant. known as i.s.i.l. the government is also battling i.s.i.l. fighters who seizeed anbar province. shows pleading with his government. the individual yoa video of moh, tecredit. >> al jazeera continues to

insist their journalists peter greste, baher mohamed and mohamed fahmy be released. al jazeera rejects all the accusations against its staff. abdalla al sha shami has been detained since august. he has been on hunger strike for last 91 days. his father has said that abdalla has become a symbol of journalistic freedom. >> i call on the united states of america, now they want to give amnesty to the authority in egypt. how do you now say that you do this and this and the journalists in jail. if they believe that, the situation in egypt will it

change? it can't change and journalists that are in jail, it can't. who will watch this election? and the many journalists in jail. my son now more than 251 days without introducing him to court. without to tell him and tell us what is the crime that abdullah did? abdullah said that what he did is not to him as abdullah, but he now consider himself as a defender of all journalists, all journalists in the world. >> in transnistria, the separatist area bordering ukraine, what the separatists

move could be. we go to london. >> they are holding out hope the transnistria, will be able to join the russian federation. >> ethnic backgrounds here may be complex but the opinions and the language are very much shared. in 111 katofsky street we immediate lydia an 86-year-old grandmother from ukraine and the moldovan are care taker. >> of course i'm used to soviet times. we work, we earn money. today it's a mess.

>> provides cut rate gas prices for transnistria. >> we hope the u.n. would recognize transnistria's independence . >> in a nearby village of tanovka, ethnic russians, ukrainians and moldovans. we met a bulgarian who teaches art and where knowledge classes are taught in russian and moll doafan.

moldovan. people here are living much better than in moldova. >> problem offing very popular here. it says he paid back $400 billion of foreign debt. he hosted the most successful olympics in history. and oh yes, he took back crimea. putin's latest move will also prove popular here. he signed a new law relaxing the requirements needed to get a russian passport. you just have to be fluent in russian or live in the foremost soviet union. dave chater, al jazeera, transnistria. >> simon mcgregor wood has more. >> the british chasing sunshine

whenever it shines. the platest figures is now that skin cancer is the fifth highest, 40 times higher. 1800 in 1975. that's 17 out of every 100,000. compared with three out of every 100,000 back in the '70s. 2,000 people now die of it ever year. the dramaticki dramatic for milf pale-skinned brits. >> we lay out in the sun for hours and hours. people often got really burnt, very, very burnt. i didn't burn very easily and therefore i probably stayed in

the sun longer. to get a teen dan. i was famous -- a deep tan. i was famous because my tan lasted until the next year. >> still recovered but much more careful. frankly the sun didn't seem that relevant. sun cream wasn't that good, or that available. despite that whenever the sun shines here people seem to rush to their nearest park to top off on their uv. >> media pictures celebrities on beaches and having this idea that a tan is very glamorous. this idea of a healthy glow when in fact being sun burned is anything but healthy. >> the public health warnings on the danger of the sun have been loud and clear hav for some tim. a dark tan is for many a thing

to aspire to, despite the increasingly obvious dangers. simon macgregor, al jazeera, london. in his easter message cameron described britain as a christian country but more than 50 prominent public first signed an open letter saying cameron's comments are out of touch. the number of christians in england and wales have dropped by 10% over the past decade to 59.3%. while the number of people without a religion has increased to 25.8%. 4.8% identified themselvesas muz limuslim and are. >> rejecting prime minister cameron's comments.

what's wrong with describing britt ann as a christian country? >> doesn't achieve much. in the sense there's a state religion which i don't think is a good thing, i think most people in the country believe that the state and government should be neutral between religion, should not provide favoritism or privilege or discriminate in favor against any religion. there should be complete religious freedom for the citizens. there are publicly funded schools that you can't get into because they discriminate in favor of certain religions and against others. which is not correct. 59% say they're christian. if we are a christian country we are a white skinned uncountry, a female country a heterosexual country. >> what was the prime minister

referring to christian values universal at the same time -- >> but they are university at the same time -- >> why don't you let me finish. >> you're asking a question. if you brought me in here -- i'm just making the point if they are universal then they can't be christian exclusively. >> if he is talking about the importance of tolerance, the importance of charity, the importance of making a difference to people's lives. these are principles that hindus might have -- >> nonreligious people. why single out christianity? if these values are valid particularly with christianity, people of other religions are lack in some way those values? i don't think he meant to say that and i don't think he should have implied that and he certainly shouldn't have implied as he said in his article that a religion is important to give you morality. because you can have --

>> wasn't it more about using christianity or talking about christian based values, things like charity, tolerance. >> these are not christian based values, these are universal values. >> they benefit everyone in society. >> that's why i argue, saying they're christian based, i don't think he intended to do that because that would have been even more controversy. but it's very clear that many people do not require religion to be moral. for example, in a country where people are taught that there's heaven and hell. i personally don't require the threat of hell or the promise of heaven to do the right thing. i can work it out for myself. indeed i would say it could be argued that it's more moral to do the right thing when you're not threatened or promised. >> saying anything -- >> he said in the letter that religion was important for a sense of morality. he then went on to say, of course if you are not religions

you can't be moral -- religious you can't be moral, what's the point in saying it? in the geopolitical world a little less religion would be better don't you think? >> it was good to get your take on it doctor, thank you for coming in. that's it for london, back to adrian. >> many thanks. a memorial is to be held for the leader gks. are gabriel garci gabriel garci. al jazeera gabe allesandro are joins us from credit the town. gabe. >> what he captured in his words, aracataca.

the home where he was born and he lift until he was eight years ol ld. people are celebrating his life, playing traditional music from the caribbean coastal community the region he was from. there are songs about him, whether people are young or old in his home town one thing for sure, they all have been touched some way or another by the famous writer. >> she's 97 years old and her memory is fading but magdaleno can still remember when she was a toddler with a nanny and gabriel garcia marquez. >> he was an envious kid. if he saw another child had something he wanted he would try to get it for himself. >> marquez was born in a caribbean town of anacataca, are

where sisters are starting to be tour guides and represent the younger generation who are most curious about the writer from their town. marilee said she started reading parts of the famous author's book when she could barely walk. >> i saw my father reading a book when i was three years old. i was curious about the book, everybody said gabo was good and i wanted to see how good he was. >> reporter: the sleepy town might not look like much at first glance but it was here that was the inspiration of macondo, the inspiration of the author's are are epic novel "100 years of ol attitude." there was a push to officially change the name to macondo but it never happened.

>> this place meant so much to him, aracataca was the place where he found between reality and nostalgia all the raw material for his work. >> whether it's young kids in the home town who now believe they can perhaps write about the next macondo, or ms. balono, who never was able to see marquez after he left the town, produced one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. >> gabe, there seems to be a festivivivive atmosphere in ala. what is going ohappen later in the day? >> nothing compared to what we expect in a couple hours when people from the town are expected to come here in front of his home, pay tribute to him. there's going to be music, they're going to be reading

chapters of his book. we're told it's going to be incredibly fes festive. people are sad he's gone but this is the chance to celebrate his life. stopping at various points here that were either mentioned in some of his books or he used to live or his family used to live, as part of the continuation of the life of garcia marquez. the man who really put this town that he was born in, are on the map. >> gabe, live if aracataca in colombia. time now for sports here's sana. >> the club's american owners have been meeting to discuss his future. so far they've declined to

comment. premier league last season but this campaign has seen them lose 11 times, and they failed to qualify for next season's championship. speaking on sunday after a 2-nil defeat at everton, he was still happy with the progress his team was making. >> i think that everybody knows that we're on track to make changes and do some different things. we've not changed, we're rebuilding, we'll get things we want to did but i think that today, there was things that were not good but there were some things that were good. >> facing concerns ahead of the first leg of their champions league, missed their final training session, has been battling an injury. will miss the match with a knee injury but petr czek is expected

to play. four point clear at the point of la lige, but conscious they haven't won any silverware just yet. >> it is a reality that the team has grown and it keeps growing match by match. we still haven't achieved anything and we will be valued for only what we do in the end. i don't know if there are any more with enthusiasm and passion. >> in argentina, veteran striker says he has still something to off. the efforts of the full time argentinian footballer, securing a 1-nil win. 6,000 runners have taken part in this year's boston marathon.

second largest race in history. abe kafelski became the first american winner, and the female win are defended her championship. entire coaching staff, comes after his side missed out on the nba playoffs with a 37-45 record. meantime the players continue with two games on monday. the oklahoma city thunder will be looking to take a 2-0 lead against the memphis grizzly. two time defending champions miami heat, gets off to a winning start against the

charlotte cats. miami 99-88 win. >> rafael nadal knocked out during the course of finals of last week's monte carlo meases, his earliest exit since 2003. >> most important 500 of the year. it's always exciting to be back here. and i am focused on improving to the level that i play in monte carlo and i got right. i am work hard for that and always moderation is going to be very, very high here. >> gambling on sport is very important this many countries but in spain it's been banned since 1947. reporting from karachi.

>> pakistan's major pastime. whenever there's a cricket match, pakistanis watch wherever they can. some place bets in hopes the national team will win big. >> translator: i was really confident pakistan would do well. but it's not looking so good. god willing, i won't lose the $50 bet i made. >> reporter: there are hundreds of gambling places across karachi, they rake in millions of dollars in illicit proceeds. al jazeera was given rare access to these book makers who are based outside the hotel room, we have hidden their identities, once the match is over they will pack up and leave easily make hundreds of thousands of dollars.

pakistan was partitioned from british colonial india in 1947. given the relatively lax punishment and poor enforcement illegal betting thrives. so much so the police have been accused in being involved in or protecting gambling dense or book makers. senior police officer admit it is a problem. -- >> the conestablishes are badly paid and find it difficult to make ends meet. some get involved in illegal activities, not all but some. >> clearly it's not enough to prevent illegal book makers like these from make big profits. al jazeera karachi. >> since the fall of the regime

of mohamed gadhafi, sailors took part in the tournament in tripoli harbor. once famous sport after years of neglect. like many water sports in libya, funding had stopped during gadhafi's argadhafi'sgadhafi's . >> we had these tournaments before, we plan to gather together and start again. >> hand it back to adrian. >> thanks very much indeed. the tribeca film first of all is underway in new york. organizers received more than 6,000 submissions this year. al jazeera's andy gallagher has been following one director who's looking for a break-through.

>> reporter: it's opening night at the tribeca film festival for a movie you have probably never heard of but for producer omar takel, he is the create and star of summer of blood, a low-budget romantic comedy about a neurotic 40-something with a vampire twist. many of the actors and crew working for free. >> i'm in new york, made a couple of films, i haven't had wild success, we're getting appreciated and played. the fact that it's in tribeca is a feat in itself. >> reporter: playing at a major film festival could make all the difference. it's a hard industry to get into. >> it's becoming more of a

rarity these days. i think festivals provide that experience that producers have been hoping for. >> means he has been invited to other film festivals around the world. for this producer, it is not necessarily winning awards but doing what he loves. >> i do want to find a way to make some money at this so we can make bigger, better movies, more ambitious movies i guess. >> in a city that often looks like a sound set,. >> small cameras using social media to get some kind of audience. but without the tribeca film l festival these potential stars of tomorrow may not have a start. andy gallagher, al jazeera, new york. >> thanks for watching, i'll see you again, bye for now.

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>> [gunshot].