a new mission for syrian's chemical weapons inspectors, there to investigate allegations of chlorine use. ♪ hello, there, i'm shiulie ghosh, welcome to al jazeera's global news headquarters in doha. pro-russian separatists storm another eastern ukrainian city. falling before the first hurdle. olympic organizers call the preparations in brazil the worst ever. and will science finally provide

an answer to that century's old, just who is the face behind mona lisa's smile? ♪ the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons says it is sending a new fact-finding team to syria to investigate the allegation of using chlorine gas to attack. tell us more about these alleged chlorine attacks. >> well, we know that the opposition is claiming at least three attacks used by the government where the government used chlorine. the chlorine was dropped from military helicopters in barrel bombs, and they were dropped in

three different areas. the fact-finding mission will be working in very challenging circumstances. it's going to be very risky and very difficult for these members of the fact-finding mission to actually determine what exactly happened. the syrian government says it did not use chlorine, however, they are being to provide a fact-finding mission in the areas they control. >> we have seen more and more attacks inside syria. rue la, what can you tell us about that? >> yes, today there were two major attacks by the opposition fighters, against areas controlled by the government. the first was on central damascus, the capitol. two shells fired hit a school

for islamic studies. it's a very significant attack because it hits the central of the city, and in an area where mostly it's pocket of shiite population. the other attack took place a couple of hours later in the city of holmes. according to the governor, he told us 45 people were killed in that attack, more than 100 injured. he told us that the government expects an escalation in such attacks. car bombs, more tar fire to undercut the government's effort to bring life under control in preparation for presidential elections scheduled on june 3rdrd. >> thank you very much indeed for that. now pro-russian separatists have stormed the regional government

headquarters in lahansk. hundreds of people marched outside the doors unobstructed by police. let's go to donetsks and join hoda abdel hamid. it does seem things are escalating in lahansk. >> certainly. and this comes just a say after they announced a system similar to the people's republic. i have to tell you that building is quite a big building, but as you said, they -- it was fairly easy. police didn't take a stand at all, and it comes in a day where the eu just issued its list of

sanctions, and some of the people on that list are separatist leaders here. so it raises the question these sanctions where are they going to go, and what impact will they have here on the ground? people asked us, they said, okay. we're hearing about sanctions and steps taken by the international community, but what is it going to change here? prices are deepening by the day. yesterday another building was taken in another town and problem tomorrow there will be another building taken somewhere else. >> thank you very much for that update hoda. a deadline for peace talks between israel and the palestinians has passed with no break through in site. the u.s. brokered talks resumed in july after a three-year

stalemate. foreign activists in gaza say a boat they were building to breach israel's sea blockade has been jeopardized. at least 17 people have been killed in a double bombing in the market of an iraqi capitol. it's the latest in a wave of attacks ahead of parliamentary elections. at least 36 people were killed in the town which has a large kurdish population. people have been gathering to watch television where this man cast his ballot. he kurdish leader hasn't been seen in public for two years.

poverty is one of the main concerns for iraqi voters despite the country having some of the largest oil reserves nearly 10 million people live on less than $5 a day. many are skeptical about campaign promises. >> reporter: what bagdad throws away, these people used to build. they call this tin city a sprawling slum where at least 25,000 people live. the locals have used what gets dumped here to build homes. as his children play, this man worries about the future. he not only looks after his own daughters but also provides a home for five orphans who's parents have died in the violence that blights the city. >> translator: this is an oil-rich country, but i have been living like this for 15 years. i don't have anything.

the politicians come and make empty promises. we have fed up. we can't handle living like this anymore. this place isn't even fit for animals. >> reporter: the government in 2010 promised people in this slum it would tear it down and rehouse them. since then the slum has grown and is rarely visited by government officials. one of the first things that you notice here is the overpowering smell. we are surrounded by open suers which means mosquitos. the residents here tell us they are alive but being buried under this rubbish. in recent weeks candidates have tried to canvas here for votes, the residents chase them away. >> translator: when those politicians came here we didn't want to receive them at all. some through stones others

through empty bottles just like their empty promises. >> reporter: the government has promised to help, but after four years of hearing the same promises, they now mean little here. south korea's president has formally apologized for the sewol ferry disaster. she says new safety procedures are needed. harry fawcett reports from seoul. >> reporter: on tuesday morning south korea's president was at the newly opened memorial to the victims of the tragedy. she paid a personal tribute to the dead and later made this apology. >> translator: how should i apologize for the failure to prevent the accident and for the insufficient initial response and the pain and suffering of the victim's families, even for a moment.

i apologize with a heavy heart to the nation's citizens that so many precious lives were lost due to this accident. >> reporter: the initial response has only by heightened as the captain stepped off of the ship more than 300 others were left to die told to stay put on board. there are questions over though cost guard's response as well as the delays on getting drivers inside the ship once it went under. >> reporter: the president recognized it wasn't just the initial response, but the conditions that allowed such a tragedy to happen in the first place. she promised a new national safety ministry as well as a government effort on safety to remodel this country from the ground up. in the meantime the investigation continues to expand. all under intense scrutiny harry

fought seth, seoul. way off track, organizers describe preparations for the olympic games in rio as the worst ever. and massive spending cuts are looming in france. >> our current system has gone very far awry... >> there's huge pressure on the police to arrest and find somebody guilty >> i think the system is going to fail a lot of other people. >> you convicted the wrong person >> i find that extraordinarily disappointing... >> to keep me from going to jail, i needed to cooperate. >> the evidence was inaccurate >> they still refuse the dna >> somebody can push you in a death chamber >> it's not a joke >> award winning producer and director joe berlinger exposes

the truth. from the inside... >> a justice system rum by human beings, can run off the rails. >> some say there's justice for all, but they're not in the system.. >> it shouldn't be easy to just lock somebody up and throw away the key >> ...nightmarish [ ] of reality, sometimes you can't win... >> an original investigative series. al jazeera america presents the system with joe beringer only on al jazeera america

♪only on al jazeera america welcome back. i'm shiulie ghosh, the top stories on al jazeera, the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons is sending a

new team into serry to investigation whether chlorine gas was used against civilians. hundreds of people amassed outside of the city hall unopposed by police in your next question. and south korean's plt has apologized for the ferry accident resulting in the death of more than 200 people. preparations in brazil to stage the olympic games in two year's time are being described as the worst ever. the vice president of the international olympic committee says the situation is critical. the ioc also says there is no plan b. the games will be held in rio. [ cheers ] >> reporter: this is the moment brazil's olympic dream was given a reality check. five years ago it won the right

to host the summer games in 2016, but its preparations are badly off course, and they have been criticized by the vice president of the international olympic committee. >> it's the worst i have experienced, but we have to make it happen. >> reporter: so what is the problem? brazil's preparations have been beset by lengthy delays, rising costs, and poor communication. >> we haven't had to as an ioc send people in like this before. we -- we have been struggling to get them to understand the problem. test events are starting this year, and yet in the test event department there's two people working. ♪ >> reporter: it all started with so much promise. the rio de janeiro olympic games would be the first in south

america. but there were workers strikes at the main olympic park, and construction of second venue has not yet begun, and it has to get through hosting the football world cup. fifa has criticized its preparations. john coates said rio also has social problems. there have months of unrest with fighting between the police and people who live in slums. here people demonstrated against brazil holding the world cup. >> the worlds will come together as never before. >> reporter: the international olympic committee says it has no plan b, to find another host. instead it is putting the pressure on brazil to lift its game quickly. lee wellings, al jazeera. the united nations high

commission for human rights has condemned the death sentences given to more than 600 people in egypt. basic rights egypt are being trampled. >> restrongly condemn the shocking dead penalty ruling on over 60 -- 600 individuals. this is the second time the court has imposed the death sentence on huge groups of defendants after prefunding torie trials. al jazeera continues to demand the immediate release of its journalists. they are falsely accused of providing a platform for the outlawed muslim brotherhood. the fourth al jazeera journalist

in detention has been held since august. al jazeera rejects all of the charges. $70 million worth of cuts in state spending are being proposed in france. the second biggest economy in europe is trying to cut its debt, and simultaneously boost growth. >> reporter: the french government sames to bring the budget down to the europe-wide target of 3% next year, which is optimistic given that the deficit currently stands at 4.3%. the prime minister has now gone into detail. >> translator: for almost 40 years france has spent more than it has made. and when we live beyond our means we can't embrace the future with serenity.

we have lost faith in our country. >> reporter: the budget savings break down like this. the government plans to make those healthcare savings by reducing the number of operations, using more generic drugs, and reducing the time a patient stays in hospital. to complicate matters the french president has promised to cut taxes on business in an attempt to encourage job creation, so the government is caught between cutting taxes on one hand, and cutting the deficit on the other. it's hard to see how it can deliver on both. the unions are firmly against any policy changes which they

fear would undermine france's welfare state. for example, plans to freeze some pensions and benefit payments. the time is trying hard to avoid the word austerity. france's european partners are already going through austerity. germany anounlsed $110 billion in budget cuts over five years, and pledged to balance the books by 2015. the uk promised $140 billion in budget cuts. so why has france finally decided to go down this path? >> everyone else on average has got their deficits down. even the countries that really struggled during the crisis are on the right track. france is the outlier. it hasn't done enough. >> manuel is under pressure from the right-wing of his own party. he is also under criticism from the opposition, which accuses

him of having no new ideas. france delayed taking the painful medicine, but it may be out of time. police in india have arrested what they call trouble makers on the eve of voting in india's national election. more than 600 people were arrested. the volatile region has been the center of a decade's long separatist movement. in central india many young people have been forced from school, because they are caught in the cross fire when left-ring rebels and the government. but special colleges are giving some students another chance to be educated. >> reporter: these students are learning practical skills that they hope will open up a world of opportunities. they are being taught at the livelihood college.

it is an area where left-wing rebels have been fighting the indian government. thousands of people have been killed in their decades long conflict. youngsters like these have either been approached or know of someone who has been forced to fight for the cause. 90% of the students here come from rural backgrounds. this man is on a electrician course. he travels here from a remote tribal area. >> translator: that's the soul breadwinner. he is away weeks at a time by himself. >> reporter: when he sees a future for himself, those watching the scheme have different ideas. >> the colleges seems to be [ inaudible ] the agenda. [ inaudible ] we could have these colleges but focusing on agriculture. but focuses on these livelihoods

they are not in place or in places not established. >> reporter: this woman is making clothes that are sold nationally. it is one of the success stories. >> translator: even after school there were no employment opportunities. now that is different. i have worked away from home, but i'm glad to be back. >> reporter: six colleges have been established across the state. it's rare in india to find a college that has done so well in such a short period of time. now youngsters don't have to pick up a gun, all they have to do is pick up a needle, a screwdriver or a spade to change the course of their life forever. as some breaking news for you from libya. gunmen have stormed the libya parliament in tripoli and

started shooting, and forced lawmakers to abandon a vote on the next prime minister. several people have been wounded by the shooting, and according reuters news agency, the gunmen were part of a party from one of the candidates. this has now disrupted the vote on the next prime minister with several people injured, and we'll give you the latest on that as we get it. anti-corruption investigators in indonesia say this month's parliamentary elections were the most fraudulent in recent history. steph has the report. >> reporter: others prefer to do it secretly, but this parliament member is caught on camera,

handing out money during a recent campaign rally. he denies it is vote buying because he says he did not make an agreement that people receiving the money should vote for him. >> translator: my religion says to help each other. there is nothing dangerous about this. i always have a lot of money in my pocket, and i am not campaigning now. i give this to parking attend danths, security guards or whoever needs money. why am i not allowed to help poor people for religious reasons? >> reporter: the elections held earlier this month were considered a success because of the lack of violence, but the allegations of vote buying and cheating have more than doubled since the last elections. this man says he'll vote for a candidate who gives him money. >> translator: i will definitely vote for the person who gives me

money and food. because i feel sorry for that person if he has already spent so much money. >> reporter: official election results won't be known until next month, but the party of the presidential candidate, says she thinks she lost her seat because she refused to buy votes. >> translator: i'm very sad of course because i worked very hard. but my efforts to change the mind sets of the voters to accept social aid instead of money clearly failed. >> reporter: reports of vote buying and cheating have raised questions about the validity of these elections. many fear it will now only get worse. according to indonesian law, vote buying is punishable by four years in prison, and a

$4,000 fine, but election officials rarely punish those who do it. >> translator: this is dangerous for our democracy, especially for our effort to eradicate corruption. one of the root causes of corruption can be seen during elections. >> reporter: a recent study shows only one third of members of parliament attends all sessions. figures that won't help restore people's faith in politicians or the political process. the united states national weather service says about 75 million people are at risk from storms that can unleash tornados. a tornado ripped through tupelo,

mississippi, destroying homes and killing at least one person. now take a look at this. her smile has captivated millions. in fact that smile has become more famous than the lady who wears it. can the modern wonders of dna finally solve the age-old question? just who is the face behind the smile of the mona lisa. they are digging up a century's old tomb in their quest for answer. >> reporter: this is arguably one of the most recognized faces in the world, and yet the identity of the model is as mysterious as her smile. now this team of researchers hope to put a name on the face. on tuesday they opened the family tomb of the woman

believed to be the real mona lisa. >> translator: i'm sure she was the model leonardo used. i'm not sure i will find her. i have both a heart-felt certainty and a reasonable doubt. >> reporter: the tomb contains the remains of her husband and son by matching the dna of 8 bodies found nobody, they hope to single out the skull of the model. they will then produce a 3-d model of her face. while experts believe that she is the model behind the mona lisa, many other noble women were associated with it, some even argue that this was a self portrait of leonardo himself. the matching of the 3-d

reconstruction won't be available for six months. art lovers have waited 500 years to discover the real identity of the mona lisa, but they may not have to wait much longer. >> there you go. and don't forget, you can keep up to date with all of the news on our website, aljazeera.com. ♪ hi i'm lisa fletcher and you are in the stream. from sharing your car to an extra room in your house, an industry is exploding. put it's cutting out the middleman. we discuss the rise of the sharing economy right now. ♪