velshi, on behalf of everyone at watching. thailand's ousted prime minister summoned to a meeting with the country's new rulers. >> she's one of more than 150 politicians summoned by the general to this army base. i'm veronica pedrosa live in bangkok. [ ♪ music ] this is al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. also ahead - tension in china's western xinjiang region after five suicide bombers kill more

than 30 in a busy market a former congolese militia leader due to be sentenced at the international criminal court shortly. we'll get an update from the hague. also coming up, ahead of presidential elections in egypt changing fortunes for the coptic christian minority. hello. the former thai prime minister yingluck shinawatra and her political opponents have been summoned for talks with the army chief who are in charge. she is among 150 figures banned by the army from travelling outside thailand. veronica pedrosa is live in bangkok. she is there to tell us if we have an indication as to why yingluck shinawatra was

summoned? >> i think this is not going to be an easy question to answer until the meeting is over, and we may or may not get some word from the people in that meeting about what has happened. i think the thing that people will be looking for is how even-handed the coup makers, the generals in the base behind me and other bases across the country will be, when it comes to dealing with opposing political sides. we have the red shirts in government, elected, and the yellow shirts, who wanted to remove all signs of the shinawatra dynasty's influence on society. the new prime minister, self-appointed general, came on television and made it clear that what he wants to do is reform the political system, economy, and the society of thailand. i just want to show you this

newspaper. one of the two english language brode sheets. "army chief seizes power" - it raises more questions than answers at this time. what everyone is shocked by is the restrictions placed on people are far more severe than they were in 2006, when the last coup was held. as you can see behind me, there are more of these vehicles coming in. they are carrying some of those parties that we were talking about, party leaders, what was the governing party, and various high-profile figures from the yingluck shinawatra administration. we are not sure where she but she is expected to report. there's a lot of attention, as you can see from the media, trying to figure out who is in

the vehicles. >> we can see what is going on behind you. keep us updated on any information from that meeting. let me ask you what people think about the coup, and whether it will break the political deadlocks that have been going on for months. >> i think the general mood here in bangkok is one of relief. bangkok is a bastion for the yingluck shinawatra administration. this was a place where people wanted to see the corruption that they allege of the yingluck shinawatra administration, what it was involved in - that's yingluck shinawatra and her billionaire brother, the great dividing figure in the thai political landscape, thaksin shinawatra. if you talk to people outside the capital. they are in a situation where

they did not have piece and order problems, which was the ostensible justification for posing marshall law and for the military to take over the government as we heard from the general yesterday. i have been talking to several people around the capital, and most of them are fatalistic. they say this is thailand, it happens all the time. it's no big deal. if you dig a little deeper, i think that people should become slowly aware of what it means in terms of what resource they have legally. it basically gives the military a free hand to do what they want. we'll leave it there for now, veronica pedrosa reporting from bangkok. thank you very much. well, there are a number of countries that condemned the coup. the french president francis hollande called for a return to

the constitutional order, and fundamental rights and freedoms of the thai people to be respected. william hague called for them to set out a time period for elections. secretary of state john kerry th: >> the u.s. says that it's reviewing military ties and aid to thailand following the coup. rosalind jordan is in washington d.c. with more on that. >> reporter: the obama administration wasted no time condemning the thai's military decision to stage a coup and is calling on the thai military to step aside and restore democratic rule. the u.s., as required by law, is reviewing the amount of foreign aid and military assistance to the thai government. most of the humanitarian aid does not go to the thai government, but the military to military relationship is very

close, and does include a considerable amount of money as well as personnel exchanges. so the obama administration administration says that while this is not a comparable situation, for example, to whether or not has happened in egypt. it does say that it is concerned about the corurse of democracy n thailand and it is trying to make its displeasure known as broadly and loudly as possible. >> chinese media is reporting five suicide bombers are behind attacks in a market in xinjiang. 31 were killed when two s.u.v.s ploughed into the market. it's been called a serious terrorist incident. this attack is the worst in five years, after riots in july 2009, left 200 people dead. aide rayan brown -- adrian brown has an update. >> china's state controlled media is reporting that five

assailants were killed in thursday's attack. other state controlled news outlets say up to four vehicles may have been involved, and the occupants of one of them may have escaped. all this is impossible to verify. the information flow in this part of the world is tightly controlled. a number of foreign journalists were detained this morning, and soldiers tried to stop us filming. outwardly the streets seemed calm. beneath the surface there's a lot of nervousness. china's government called it a serious terrorist incident and it bore all the hallmarks of a coordinated suicide attack. it was a soft target, a morning market, ordinary hahn shoppers going about their business. the state-controlled media is reporting that many of the dead were elderly people and some of the injured include children. china's president xinjiang

promised to find those probably and say they'll be punished, and punished severely. congolese warlords are expected to be sentenced at the international criminal court. we are crossing to show you what is going on. that's the judge. he's bruno. he is speaking at the court case. let's listen in. >> the gravity of the fingerprints itself - in this record, accused persons before the court must realise that the crimes that they have been charged with constitute the most serious breaches of international law. and consequently the penalties for such crimes are severe. not all the crimes for which this man has been found guilty are equally serious. and thus the chamber assesses the nature of the crimes. friendships, we made a

distinction between crimes committed against actual people and crimes that were property crimes to assess the gravity of the crime one must take into account the circumstances of the case, and the way in which the accused persons took part in the crime. and their degree of participation in the offence committed. the punishment must fit the crime. furthermore, the gravity of the crime must be assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively. first of all, in connection with the circumstances of the case, the chamber recalls that in our decision we found that the entirety of the crimes murder, a war crime and a crime against humanity. attacks on civilians, destruction of property...

> you were just looking at the judge, bruno cox, speaking at the international criminal court. that is where the congolese war loads, katanga - you saw live pictures of him - he's expected to be sentenced. nadine barber is joining us outside the i.c.c. in the hague. the judge was mentioning some of the crimes that katanga would be sentenced on this hour, i believe. remind us exactly what he's convicted of. >> well, the event took place in february 2003, in the north-east of a democratic republic of congo, in that part of the country there were rival militias trying to gain territory. allegedly katanga read the patriotic resistance force. members of that group launched a raid on a village in 2003, 200

civilians were killed. katanga was convicted in march of some charges, but not all of them. the judge ruled he wasn't a direct participate, but an accessory to the attack, and they convicted him of planning the attack and procuring weapons. of other charges, sexual violence, he was cleared. >> katanga, a militia leader known as simba is the second person to be convicted of the international criminal court. earlier this year he was found guilty of four counts of war crimes and one of creams against humanity, relating to an attack on a village, targetting a rival militia and ethnic hema civilians, 200 people were hacked or shot to death. many women were raped and used as sex slaves. child soldiers were used and civilos imprisoned in a building

full of dead bodies. in 2012 a codefendant was convicted. five years after the trial. katanga was convicted of crimes, including murder and pillage. crimes denied. >> some observers criticised the i.c.c. for being slow and failing to make the most serious charges against katanga stick. this human rights expert says the government needs to take more responsibility. >> they should continue and make an effort to bring to justice those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity, not because the i.c.c. has some case, but the d.r.c. doesn't have an obligation to bring to justice these people. they have to increase effort to fight serious crime. they cannot judge everybody. >> what is likely to happen now,

nadeem? >> reporter: well, it's certain that the defense for katanga will launch an appeal. we don't know yet what the sentence is going to be, but the prosecution asked for a total sentence for all the different convictions that the judge was reading out, a total of between 22 and 25 years. that's a maximum he could get for the seriousness of the charges he was convicted of. the i.c.c. can convict people for up to 30 years in normal circumstances. beyond that, the court has to decide on repatriations to the victims in a democratic republic of coppingo, and there's -- congo, there has been a lot of criticism not just because katanga was cleared of involvement in sexual crimes, but cleared of using child soldiers. that is something that has a lot of campaigners concerned. two years ago there was another

defendant convicted here. convicted of using child soldiers in the d.r.c. campaigners want much more evidence, many more prosecution to be brought to focus attention on that crime as well. >> for the time being, thank you. tower ag rebels have taken control of two towns in northern hali. the video shows fighting during a failed army offensive. 20 soldiers were killed thursday. the rebels say the death toll is 40. fighting began during a visit by the prime minister and threatens to tip the north into law. france, which has troops in the country says it won't intervene. the u.n. security council blacklisted the armed group boko haram, the sanctions including an asset freeze, travel band and arms embargo.

the nigerian government requested a listing. it's been linked to the death of the 3,000 people sincize creation. malawi election commission rejected allegations that the counting was rigged. it's joyce banda's first test after taking over two years ago when the then president died in office. her main rival is her predecessor's brother, peter. you're with al jazeera. still to come on the program russia and china block a u.n. resolution to refer war crimes committed in syria to the international criminal court. also coming up... >> amid the rubble a debate... >> highly contested elections

take place on sunday. what is at stake ahead.

hello again - the top stories on al jazeera. the former thai prime minister yingluck shinawatra and political opponents have been summoned for talks by the army chief who is in charge. she's among 155 prominent political figures banned from travelling outside thailand. chinese media are reporting five suicide bombers behind an attack in the market. 31 people were killed. the congolese warlords are

expected to be sentenced at the international criminal court. you are looking at live pictures as katanga is convicted of being an accessory to war crimes, including murder. the leader of an al qaeda-inspired group has been killed in the sinai peninsula. they died in a drive by shooting, with three associates. they have been at the heart of attacks on security forces since mohamed mursi was deposed in july. in egypt there are 8 million coptic christians living there, subjected to several attacks during the last days of muslim brotherhood government. things have improved since the military take over in july 2013. the community faces an uncertainly future. nicole johnston reports. >> reporter: egypt has the

largest christian community in the middle east. in egypt they are a minority, outnumbered by muslims. christians are no more than 10% of the population. over the years many in the community have done well in business. they sever discrimination and a -- suffer discrimination and attacks. it has not changed since the overthrow of hosni mubarak in 2007. many christians were uneasy when mohamed mursi from the muslim brotherhood was elected president two years ago. christians were worried about the influence of the group, and the application of their rights. so when mohamed mursi was overthrown last year, many christians were relieved. the pope spoke at a news conference, supporting the down fall. >> all this was too much for some muslim brotherhood supporters, blaming cops for conspiring to overthrow mohamed mursi, and things turned ugly.

>> in cities across the country enraged people are targeted and burnt. 37 churches were destroyed or badly damaged. there was a pattern where the police did little to intervene, even though the righting was on the wall. it was clear that this kind of thing was at risk of happening. >> this is what was left after the church in the city of minya was set on fire. muslim brotherhood supporters were accused of attacking police stations and churches. an egyptian court sentenced more than 600 people to death, for carrying out the violence. >> what happened since the ouster of mohamed mursi has been that many supporters of the muslim brotherhood and islamists in general accuse the christians of having supported the military backed ouster of mohamed mursi, and their continuing -- they are continuing to support the

military-backed government of egypt. as the repress tightens against the muslim brotherhood and their suspected supporters, the animosity towards the christians has grown. egypt's coptic pope has been open, and many christians agree. after supporting the overthrow of hosni mubarak and mohamed mursi, it looks like the former head of the military, abdul fatah al-sisi, could be their preferred candidate for the next president. well, the trial of three al jazeera journalists has been adjourned until june the 1st. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed have now been held in an egyptian prison for 146 days. they are falsely accused of conspiring with the outlawed muslim brotherhood. police in afghanistan have killed four gunmen who launched a predawn attack on the indian

consulate. [ gunfire ] the four attackers opened fire on the building with machine-gun and rocket-propelled grenades. all consulate staff are safe. russia and china vetoed a u.n. resolution to the international criminal court. more than 60 countries back that resolution. our diplomatic correspondent james bays has more from the u.n. headquarters in new york. >> after more than three years of bloodshed this was the chance for the security council to refer all the crimes committed in syria to the international criminal court. 13 countries, a large majority from in favour, but it will not happen. only two states voted against, but russia and china are permanent members of the security council. this is the fourth time they have used their veto on a

resolution related to syria. >> today is about accountability for crimes so extensive, so deadly that they have few equals in modern history. sadly, because of the decision by the russian federation to back the syrian regime, no matter what it does, the syrian people will not see justice today. they will see crime, but not punishment. >> the russian ambassador made it clear he felt the french, who drafted the vetoed resolution were looking for more than justice. >> is this just, to try and create a pretext for armed intervention in the syrian conflict. >> france's ambassador, whose resolution was cosponsored told me after the vote that this had been a sad day. what is your message to the people of syria. >> we are ashamed. really, in a sense, you know, to tell them, you know, we are

sorry. my country tried its level. french alone - it's a fact, really, which means that in the coming weeks and months there'll be more devastation, more rape, torture. >> al jazeera's obtained a copy of a new report from the u.n. secretary general to the security council about humanitarian access in syria, the grim reading suggesting the situation is getting worse. some countries want a new resolution to get further access, particularly across borders, without the syrian government's permission. such a resolution could, again, face a veto. well, columbians go to the polls to vote in a tightly fought presidential election. the leading candidate had a tv debate on controversial issues.

we have this report. >> columbians got the chance to see two leading candidates confront each other in a televised debate in what has been described as the dirtiest election campaign in this country's history. the last poll showed that president santos and his rival are practically tied. that was before f.a.r.c. rebels agreed to renounce all ties to drug trafficking seen as a breakthrough in ongoing peace negotiations between the rebels and the government. the opposition was grilled about a video, showing him briefed about sensitive military secrets obtained by a hacker who worked for his campaign and is now in prison. >> translation: the voices are not ours. this is a trick done to prejudice our campaign. there can be no doubt about it. >> santos accused him of lying to the people. he was accused of being a puppet

of ar eeba, an opponent of the rebels. >> president uribe handed me because i was not his puppet. i wish him luck, dr, because you are going to have a tough time. >> translation: i demand respect. this is a debate of ideas. i won't accept you respect me because you are the president. >> reporter: i mid the mud slinging, one of the questions is whether the debate will give a boost to the president. peace talks with the f.a.r.c. rebels is considered the hallmark of the administration. >> shareholders have approved pay packages for exist. mcdonald's workers campaign for a minimum wage and the right to join the union. from the big mack's headquarters we have this report.

>> there is trouble beneath the golden arches at the shareholder building. workers point out a contrast, the ratio between c.e.o. pay and worker pay in the fast food industry is about 1,000:1. mcdonald's shareholders said okay to that. 94% presenting a new scheme, improving pay for the c.e.o. don tompson who earnt 9.5. the typical worker earn the minimum wage, and about $8.25 in illinois, where the company is haired. a day ago about 100 workers were arrested, calling for a $15 wage. edmonton is the world's largest restaurateur by revenue but faces competition cutting into sales, and a spike in beef

prices much the company is facing changes. the motto remains loving it. many workers were not. >> just a reminder that you can keep up to date with that story and all the other day's top stories by going to the website. there it is. all at aljazeera.com. the eastern part of the country continues armed men are killing each other, and it's unclear how much the leaders in kiev or moscow control the action. it's inside story, next. hello, i am ray swarez. when the former left his country, and headed to russia, the parliant