>> hello, there, welcome to al jazeera. also ahead. multiple explosions in market in northwest china. at least 30 are dead. eu promises aid to the balkans as the damage runs to

billions of dollars. >> thai soldiers have moved quickly to enforce a curfew. the curfew came hours after the military suspended the government. the general insists the coup is necessary to restore order and stability. >> reporter: the chief of the armed forces and his comrades in uniform have taken over all functions of government. a full reversal of what he said when he announced marital law. all radios and television stations have been ordered to

only broadcast army material. citizens have been ordered to stay in their homes after 10:00. a curfew is in place from 10:00 pm to 5:00 a.m. the justification for all of this, the military says is to restore peace and order after sporadic violence and demonstrations in bangkok. the prime minister was ousted when the constitutional court judged she had acted illegally when she fired an official. the yellow shirt who has been demonstrating for months promised mass strikes to force out the government. the red shirts who support the administration insisted elections be held to resolve the political crisis. the general called for all of the parties to join talks at an army location. that's where they were when the troops took over and brought them to an undisclosed location,

simultaneously announcing the coup to the nation. >> veronica, the curfew has been in place for about an hour. the streets are empty. does this mean the protesters have also left their camps? >> from what i understand, the red shirts who were at a location about an hour from central bangkok were bussed away from that place. there was some gunfire and at least one injury that i saw a picture of. for the most part that area appears to have been cleared pretty quickly. meanwhile the yellow shirts were told to move away from their area as well. so we have a situation where the demonstrators have gone home, going up and down the major

thoroughfare here. people were getting ready to go home -- the traffic was horrendous just before the curfew went in place. so it looks like people here are used to curfew and they did what they were expected to do. >> yeah, i was going to say thais are very used to curfews, but what are they saying about it? >> when i went out on the streets and spoke to some people who were walking by, i had a variety of opinions, and i think that reflects exactly what is going on in society, in the sense that one person said this was a good thing and absolutely necessary to bring calm and security to the streets. meanwhile another said it was ridiculous and a very bad turn of represents for thailand. i want to point something else out here, bangkok a city of 10 million is where there have been these demonstrations and

sporadic violence. but to be very clear, there has not been that kind of -- there have not been mass demonstrations in the rest of this huge country. nevertheless, this marital law is in place across the country. this curfew is in place across the country. civil liberties have been suspended, because the constitution has been suspended across the country. >> okay. thanks very much veronica. china's president has promised to punish those behind an attack that has killed more than 30 people. dozens were injured in the assault on a busy market. muslim separatists have been blamed for previous attacks in the region. adrian brown has more. >> reporter: it is the worst act of violence in the troubled region in years, two suvs were driven into a busy morning

market as the assailants through explosives. they then crashed head on with one vehicle exploding. witnesses said there were at least 12 blasts. it is not yet known who is responsible. >> translator: this violent incident lays bare the anti-human, and anti-social nature of the terrorists. the chinese government is confident and capable of cracking down on violent terrorists. that plot will never succeed. >> reporter: thursday's attack took place a few weeks after a bombing at a train station that killed three people and injured 79. the city had been relatively quiet since mass riots in 2009 killed almost 200 people. ethnic tensions between the native community and the majority chinese have existed

for years. observers say the recent violence including a suicide attack showed that separatists are beginning to target civilians and not just police and government officials. adrian brown, al jazeera, beijing. the syrian government has broken the blockade of one of the most important positions near aleppo. the president's forces have ended a 13-month seize of aleppo's main jail. troops began by capturing the town next to the prison, eight kilometers northeast of aleppo city. assad's forces are now within reach of the road that links to the northern countryside. it means assad's government will now be able to kauft weapons, food, and medical supplies to

rebel fighters. here is the report from neighboring beirut. >> reporter: the syrian army now is in full control of aleppo central prison. videos showing soldiers celebrating the win is all over the internet. it has become a symbolic battle for 13 months, the rebel put the siege around the prison and tried to storm it but they failed. now the government was able to take it over and push the rebels away. this is a very large complex, almost the size of a small village with thousands of prisoners there. many prisoners have died in this siege because of the bombardm t bombardments, lack of food and medicine. and now many are concerned that the government in control will execute some of the prisoners. the government had been advancing on the ground in different parts of the country, and now it seems it is focusing

its efforts in aleppo. they are trying to regain as much territory as possible before the june 3rd presidential elections. they want to try to show they are in control to give the elections as much credibility as possible. russia and china have vetoed a attempt to end the syria war. the two members of the security council have used their visa over the syria conflict. moscow is a close ally of bashar al-assad government's. the un expressed outrage at the russian and chinese veto. >> today is about accountability for syria, but it is also about accountability for this security council. it is this council's responsibility to stop atrocities, if we can, and at a minimum to ensure that the

perpetrators of atrocities are held accountable. it was towards that minimum that we sought to make progress today. my government applauds the vast majority of members of this council who voted to support and the some 64 countries who joined us in cosponsoring this effort. >> translator: is it just a try once again to create a pretext for armed intervention in the syrian conflict? one could not overlook that the head of french diplomacy took his recent visit to washington to publicly criticize the us. this damage to the p-5 unity is inflicted at a critical point in the efforts to find a solution to the syrian crisis.

>> james, some expressed outrage at this veto, but it's hardly surprising is it? >> well, i think we knew for some days that russia was going to veto this. we also were pulling in to context this was is the fourth time that russia and china have vie toad resolutions on syria. i spoke to a veteran human rights worker who said yes, this is the first time a resolution, referring something to the international criminal court has been vetoed by the security council. in that way it is a setback for international justice. but this person said they felt the momentum was unstoppable, and the fact that this resolution was drafted by france but also cosponsored by more than 60 other nations, and all but two countries voted for it, suggested that they would come

back to this, and there would be other routes, and eventually there will be accountability for the crimes being committed on syria. >> what are other routes might be available, james? >> there are other routes, potentially that some countries, notably the u.s. is studying. there's the possibility of setting up some sort of special tribun tribunal. you can get a treaty of a number of countries together, and they can then set up a tribunal. i was told when speaking again to the same eminent human rights worker, that the difficulty with that is the countries that support the idea are the u.s. and the gulf countries, and if they were to set up their own court it would look like a one-sided court. >> james bayes thanks you very

much. north korea has fired missiles toward the south korean border. no ships were hit when it happened. the situation has been tense since north korean warships crossed the boundary earlier this week. >> the south korean military says two shells fell near the de facto border. south korea says it appears to have been land-based artillery. south korean officials say that they ordered the evacuations of locals on the island to bomb shelters, ordered shipping back into port and fired back from the vessel five shots landing

within the same kind of rangeover a north korean patrol boat. earlier this week, three north korean patrol boats same south of the line, and they were forced back. north korea said it was simply policing illegal fishing else haves in the area, and warned it would target the ships as a result of that. south koreans have contacted north korea by the military hot line saying they will hold them responsible for any further action. still to come here on the program . . . 13 ukraine soldiers are killed. also drawn from life, we get a child's eye view of poverty in spain.

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♪ ♪ >> hello again, a reminder of our top stories. thai soldiers have moved quickly to enforce a nationwide curfew. this is the unusually quiet scene in downtown bangkok. the heads of thailand's army has taken control of the country after six months of political dead lock. russia and china have vetoed a french lead attempt to refer both sides in the syria war to

the international criminal court. and residents in a south korean island have vak wait their homes after north korea fired missiles into the island. and we're getting news in from iraq. 11 people killed, some 26 injured in the capitol of bagdad. there have been two separate attacks seemingly targeting shiite neighborhoods. there is a shrine that is being commemorated by sheetite pilg m pilgrims this week. at least 11 people killed we're hearing so far. we'll keep you updated on that

news as we get more information. at least 13 government soldiers have died in your next question after pro-russia separatists attacked an army check point. gunmen opened fire in an eastern village. a rebel group said one of its fighters was always killed. tensions are increasing as ukraine prepares to hold its presidential election in three day's time. and local volunteers are forming military units in the east. >> reporter: it's by the side of the road that they make final adjustments before starting the operation of the day. they are heading to the regional council of a town with a new man in charge. the man in black as they are known here are part of a battalion recently formed and

fights pro-russian separatists in eastern ukraine. >> translator: they are very important because people are worried. they will protect the regions and districts during the elections, so people can vote in peace. >> reporter: this group of volunteers say it is filling the vacuum left by police who many feel have offered little more than mild resistance in the wake of the pro-russian takeover of government assets. >> translator: they forgot, they gave an oath to this country and its people and if they don't execute it, they should leave the police. they are traitors. >> reporter: but the site of yet another group of masked arm men on the streets is worrying many here. the next stop is to talk to the mayor, to make sure the upcoming elections go on with no disruption. they monitored them storming the building. and when they entered the

mayor's office he seemed to welcome them. after a short drive we reached another town. here the mayor gives them a frosty reception. he is accused of being pro-russian and comes under attack for not allowing a full unity rally. something the men in black won't tolerate anymore. the bat italian has had some success since it was formed about a month ago. they have taken check points from the pro-russians and handed them over to the military. >> translator: maybe the government is busy with something more important than this. i don't know what it could be. >> reporter: similar battalions are forming in the region. they operate with the acknowledgment of the government in kiev, but with the emergence of another armed force, the government risks losing more control in the east.

the president of mally is calling for a ceasefire where rebels are resisting an assist to take control of a key northern town. several soldiers were killed on wednesday. the rebels want independence from northern mally. hundreds of traditional hunters have joined the search for schoolgirls kidnapped five weeks ago. the group says it's mission is to rescue the girls. they were chosen by the local government because of their knowledge of the terrain. iran's president has indicated that a final deal with world powers over a disputed nuclear program could be reached before the deadline. he has met with his chinese counterpart. western nations accuse iran

of trying to build a nuclear weapon, but it insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. thousands of firefighters are battling a huge forrest fire in china. they have managed to contain parts of the blaze in one village. the cause of the blaze is under investigation. flood waters have finally started to recede in the balkans. it's the worst flooding in the region's history. getting aid into bosnia, and serbia is proving difficult because of the bureaucratic issues at the borders. >> reporter: left to fend for themselves. aid may be reaching the larger towns, but here and hundreds of other small villages, aid is not getting through. the people are becoming

increasingly desperate. this woman escaped with her life, but now she has nothing. >> translator: we need water, food, and clothing. we have nothing. we have lost our house. we have nothing. we need help. >> reporter: locals have been arriving with diggers to try to clear the debris. but here no house has been left untouched by the worst floods to hit the balkans in living memory. it will cost billions to repair the damage. in western serbia two people died when torents of flood ripped through buildings. >> translator: i started to cry, what else could i do? >> reporter: some of these villages will vanish forever.

rebuilt elsewhere, away from the rivers. in many places drinking water has become contaminated. there are carcasses of dead animals, and mines left over from the war have been dislodged and could explode. a tiny glimmer of relief, a family cat believed dead is rescued alive from the wrecked family home. tim friend. al jazeera. alleeks see ya has more from the boarder. >> reporter: i'm here in a town on the border between croatia and bosnia. i'm at a rescue center set up for the region by the croatian government. i was in a helicopter just a short time ago to look at the devastation. the river acts as a border between the two countries. it leaves communities in both

countries underwater. towns in bosnia where the water is more than a meteorologist high, a thousand ref -- refugees are in three schools in the area. about a quarter of the population has been affected by these devastating floods. and i saw a town where people are using sandbags. they are worrying if the water retreats it will flow down the river and flood their town for a second time. the interior minister said he has seen floods worst than was caused by the war here in the early '90s. he said it will be a very difficult situation until at least the end of the year. millions of people across europe have begun voting to choose the next european parliament.

spain was one of the worst effected countries on the financial crisis, it was on the receiving end of huge austerity movements from the eu. the social costs are high, almost 55% of young people now cannot find work. and according to the charity, nearly 30% of spanish children live in poverty. from the capitol of madrid, lawrence lee has this report. >> reporter: this school, the ten year olds have been drawing what they see their country going through. you have a man looking through a bin at the restaurant, a woman shivering because the electricity is too expensive. the teacher's realize the children's parents couldn't afford to feed or clothe them properly. >> you can see them with no -- not the right material to

be in the class. they don't have pencils, notebooks. >> reporter: so they called in a charity which for the first time in its history is spending money on spanish children as they do in latin america or asia. >> obviously this situation was not taking place seven or ten years ago. in spain there has always been a portion of poverty. that's not the segment we're working with. we're working with the population that has been directly affected by the crisis. >> reporter: any school child could understand the contradiction. it has 30% child poverty. that's the second worst in the whole of the european union. the only place worse is romania. it is full of journalists, and

claims of money hidden in swiss bank accounts. the prime contact his conservative friend to be the next president of the european commission. spain may insist it will be find. austerity is calming fears in the money markets. >> i believe that you have to have physical consolidation. don't believe those who are telling you that you can't -- >> reporter: it isn't working it is it? >> yeah, but you cannot have growth by accumulating deficit. >> reporter: madrid's two teams will play each other in the world cup final. the latest joke here is that everyone knows the date of the european cup final, but no one

knows when european elections will be. the italian navy has rescued more than 100 children from boats near the coast of sicily. of course you can always keep up to date with all of the news on our website, aljazeera.com. bloc >> hi 'em i'm lisa fletcher and you are in "the stream." posttraumatic stress disorder, it's not effecting soldiers returning home. plus the routine medical procedures that may be leaving one in three patients with a mental disorder. about right now. ♪