>> thailand's former prime minister is detained following thursday's military coup. ♪ >> hello there, welcome to al jazeera. i'm laura kyle in doha. increased security after the attacks that killed more than 30 people. a former war lord from the democratic republic of congo is sentenced to 12 years in prison for the massacre of hundreds of villagers. plus ♪ >> fighting the winter blues in

australia. sydney's famous landmarks are lit up for a festival of lights. ♪ >> the thai military says that the former prime minister is now under arrest after being detained at a facility. this follows arrests that culminated in thursday's military coup. this is the scene life in the capitol of bangkok. where a nationwide curfew is now in effect. it has been in place for about an hour now. there seems to be some people braving the curfew, but this is downtown bang kong, a normally bustling vibrant 24-hour city. the vast majority of thais and

tourists alike with abiding by the curfew. the thai army spokesmen has talked to al jazeera. he has denied knowing the whereabouts of the former prime minister. but says other politicians were detained. >> not only has she been detained, but approximately 100-plus politicians that have been involved with the political conflict in thailand has been detained and the reason for that, we just want to give them some chance to think over the issue so that they can be more relaxed and come up with -- and be better off and come up with a good option for themselves and for the country, and the way -- but we look after them, very well, very good treatment, and it will not be very long

[ inaudible ] even former prime minister has also been detentioned, we want them to talk to discuss -- >> okay, sorry -- if -- just to be clear, again. if they are all to be talking -- we were under the impression that she was under house arrest. but is not the case? are they being held together? >> they are not together at the moment. but we just have them be on their own, because most of the time the conflict happen in thailand because people, you know, try to influence over the others. >> it does make sense. and it may well be the case that the colonel does not know where the former prime minister is. there have been conflicting reports, of course. it has been something of a mystery, because there was a report a bit earlier that she was with some other government

officials from her administration who are based in [ inaudible ] about two hours outside of bangkok. and we can confirm they are there, but nobody can confirm whether the prime minister is there as well, and a senior official told us that his information was that she had been allowed to go home, and that she -- but she remains under military supervision, military detention. interesting also to hear from the colonel that the political leaders, all 150 of them, from both sides are being held so that they can think on their own. i -- i don't think that that is in the law, as it were, as a reason to be detained. a former militia heard in the demographic republic of congo has been sentenced to 12 years in jail for his role in a

massacre. he is convicted of being an accessory to war crimes. >> reporter: sentenced for his role in preparing a massacre. the international criminal court has already convicted him of several charges including murder and pillage, on friday he was jailed for 12 years, although allowing for his time in custody in the hague he'll serve about half of that. >> translator: he has made a significant contribution to the commission of a number of crimes committed by the group of commandings and combatancombata. >> reporter: these relate to a 2003 attack on a vil ijage. under to 200 people were attacked while sleeping and h h&k -- hacked or shot to death.

the trial here in the hague lasted more than four years. in the end his sentence was nowhere near the maximum 25 years, which the prosecution had asked for, and some observers say the icc should be sending a stronger signal to people implicated in war crimes and crimes against humanity. the legal team representing many families are worried that a sentence seen as leanence could encourage further atrocities in the region. >> i'm not sure that 12 years that is that much convincing over someone who has been in the bush for many years, committing crimes for many years. >> and for this advisor, the fact that he was acquitted of any connection to the sexual crimes is a big disappointment. >> 60% of the individuals charged by the icc, have been charged with some form of sexual violence, so the intention of

the prosecutor to prosecute these crimes is i think unambiguous, but i don't think we're seeing the kind of results or the kind of juris prudence or decisions that are supporting the deterrent factor. >> reporter: the defense team has already appealed, and could now appeal against the sentencing as well. for now the former war lord is starting a jail sentence far from his native country. five suicide bombers were behind an attack on a market in china's northwestern region. 31 people have been killed and more than 90 injured in the attack in the capitol. the government is blaming uyghur separatists who want independence from beijing. >> reporter: one day after the bombing security forces are

understandably nervous. police pat roles deliberately high profile now. in other ways the commune three seems oddly calm. the scorched pavement where it happened a predominantly chinese neighborhood where people now know that civilians were the intended targets. >> translator: most of the dead are injured and elderly, they came to the early morning market to get cheaper food. i am very sad about it. >> reporter: in the nearby uyghur neighborhood, the scale of the violence has always come as a shock. >> translator: this is bad for us too. even though we are uyghurs, our lives and safety have been effected. we are also victims. >> reporter: assessing the mood of ordinary uyghurs is not easy. we tried to film outside of a mosque during friday prayers only to be briefly detained by

the police. the control of information is tight inning. eventually we were allowed to resume our work, but several plain-clothed officers followed. off camera whispering to uyghurs not to talk. and they are worried for other reasons. many uyghurs are reluctant to talk, because in the back of their minds are the memories of the riots almost -- where 200 were attacked and killed. >> reporter: state television showed the injured recovering in hospital. the question now perhaps is whether this community can also recover. adrian brown, al jazeera, western china. >> reporter: a court has sentenced a former mining tycoon to death. he and his brother were found

guilty of murder. they are amongst a group of 36 people charged with crimes. a second person has died in istanbul after violent protests overnight. the unrest comes just ahead of the first anniversary of nationwide anti-government demonstrations. istanbul's governor has appealed for calm. security officials in egypt say the leader of an al-qaeda-inspired group has been killed. he died in a drive-by shooting along with three of his associates. the group has been behind a series of attacks on security forces since the army deposed mohammed morsi in jewel. the trial of three al jazeera journalists have been delayed until july 1st.

they are falsely accused of conspiring with the outlawed muslim brotherhood. peter greste's parents have expressed frustration. >> we have made disappointingly little progress so far. it's almost beginning to look as if the attempts to grind us down are succeeding -- [ inaudible ]. >> yes, and that's not just ourselves as a family, but the efforts of a lot of other people. >> helplessness and frustration like you wouldn't believe, you know? >> yeah. >> i guess a certain amount of anger as well. you know? you can't help but feel angry over this whole thing. because it's so unjust and unfair and everything else. i know that there's a lot of unfairness in the world. but this is -- you know,

if -- five months, a bit more go on, and we're not to the end yet? you know, this is the hard part. >> al jazeera has written to several of the world leading political figures asking them to help secure the release of its journalist, abdullah al-shami. he has been held in a cairo prison without trial for more than nine months. at least three people have been killed in fighting between activists near ukraine's eastern city. it happened early on friday when a prokiev group stumbled upon a pro-russian check point. the bodies of three men believed to be members of right-wring groups loyal to kiev. let's get the latest from donetsk. it pretty gruesome pictures there. what happened? >> reporter: well, basically

these prokiev militia were driving along the road when they were ambushed as they put it, by the pro-russian separatists. they form another battalion, the problem for these pro-kiev militias is that when they drive around the road they can stumble at anytime on these check points because they keep on moving from place to place. they say they had been monitored -- that someone had been given information that they were on this road, and that's when they were am established. it happened early in the morning. >> where are these government forces? isn't there supposed to be a so-called anti-terrorist operation going on at the moment? >> well, the government forces are supposedly carrying out this anti-terror operation with not much success so far. and that's why this pro-kiev

battalion came to be. they thought the police and army are way too weak and some of them just offer mild resistance at best when -- in the wake of the pro-separatist expansion around this area, and that's why they came to be. and i think this is one of the biggest threats at this moment here in this part of the country is you have people who have taken matters into their own hands who are armed, some of them have military experience and basically now you have militias fighting each other, while the government is trying painstakingly and with little result to restore some sort of authority here. >> thank you for that. the country is holding presidential elections on sunday and the russia president says he will respect the choice of ukrainians. speaking at the economic forum in st. petersburg,

vladimir putin says he understandness that ukraine wants to emerge from the crisis, but it would have been better for them to hold a referendum and adopt a new constitution. >> translator: i am an optimist. i'm not losing hope or confidence that the situation with ukraine will calm down sooner or later, and we will find forces to streamline our relations. still to come on the program. after the worst flood on record in the bakken, because -- bosnia face ls a new threat. and find out what happened next to the climber who landed in this crevasse.

♪ hello again a remininger of our top stories this hour. thailand's former prime minister is now under house arrest. following thursday's military coup. the thai army spokesman confirmed that 100 other rival politicians have also been detained. a former war lord has been sentenced to 12 years in prison by the international criminal chord. he has convicted of been a conspirator to war crimes. people in europe-flood-ravaged balkans

region have begun returning home to assess the damage. at least 51 people have been killed and there's wide-spread destruction in serbia, and croatia. the inteen your ministry says it is still waiting for news on more than 500 others reported missing. 30% of the rail network is closed. in croatia, authorities have reported 10 deaths. and in bosnia, 22 people are known to have died along with thousands of farm animals, leading to fears of risk of disease. plus the 120,000 land mines may have been dislodged. this field is dotted with anti-personnel mines. they are light, small, and near

the surface so they move easily. >> translator: we need a different way of approaching these mines. it's a completely new situation for us. >> reporter: the mines -- mines are a legacy of the war in the early '90s. people here are very aware of land mines. this village is surrounded by three large mine fields. they are worried that the flooding have now pushed the mines into the heart of their community. the water is gone, but this man is too scared to walk in his garden. >> translator: it's much more dangerous than it was. it's very hard because we don't know what was in the flood

water. we don't know whether there was a mine there or not. >> reporter: it's thought 120,000 unexploded devices still dot the land. it's only now that waters are reseeding that remapping the area can begin again. if carried downstream they could travel throughout southeast europe. defining is a long expensive process. here it had been expected to cost $400 million. the bosnia government is already counting the cost of the wide-spread devastation. al jazeera has obtained video of the attack in mali by rebels on government troops. it happened last weekend. and as the rebels advance on more towns in the north, the government has called for a

ceasefire. mohammed reports. return this video seems to show rebel fighters attacking the military with machine guns. and what looks like mali army fleeing the scene. the rebel fighter removes mali's flag from the tower. soldiers who were not captured fled the town. rebel fighters took a town near the border. on thursday mali's president announced a ceasefire. the rebels say it's not a genuine offer. >> translator: mali has imposed this war upon us. they have abused their goodwill for peaceful dialogue. our plan is to gain control of the enter area, and then we'll be able to negotiation.

the ceasefire doesn't mean anything for us, because we can't trust him. >> reporter: both rebel and government troops have been allowed inside under a temporary peace deal, but the rebels accuse government troops of trying to push him out. the rebels also accuse the government of ethnic cleansing. mali denies the accusation ls. >> translator: they were heavily armed terrorists. mr. president there is one aggressor. they have attacked the prime minister's peaceful delegation. >> reporter: french troops took no action during the assault, describing what happened as an internal malian affair. france says its mission is solely to fight al-qaeda-linked groups. at least 21 people have been

killed in an attack on a pro-government rally in syria. supporters of president bashar al-assad were outcome paining for his reelection on june 3rdrd. the head of the catholic church will arrive in the middle east on saturday for what he is calling a strictly religious pilgrimage. >> reporter: waving the vatican good-bye before his trip to the holy land. on saturday pope francis embarks on a trip to jordan, the palestine territories and israel. the first meeting between the heads of the catholic and orthodox churches in nine centuries. on saturday i will go to the holy land, the land of jesus.

it will be a strictly religious visit. firstly to meet with my brother, to mark the 50th anniversary of the meeting between [ inaudible ]. paul and andrea will meet again another time. and this is really beautiful. the secondn't have to pray for peace in that land that suffers greatly. i ask you to pray for my visit. >> reporter: the trip is officially a pilgrimage, but in a land still marred by political and religious divisions. every step will be watched closely. one of them will be this man who has lived in italy since 1972. he is one of millions who are not allowed to return home. >> translator: the pope doesn't have an army, but has an exceptional moral and political influence, so every word he says will count and will be listened

to by the world's leaders. >> reporter: the trip has sparked controversy before it has even started. the pope will visit the state of palestine, a recognition of the 2012 un resolution that granted [ inaudible ] status. the head of the jewish community in rome said the pope also made concessions to israel. >> translator: for the first time, the pope will lay a reed on the thom -- tomb of the head of zionism. >> reporter: in the weeks leading up to the pope's trips, crimes have increased in israel and the occupied areas. but pope francis has once again refused to travel in a bullet

proof car. australia's festival of lights is hoping to bump up winter visitor numbers in sydney. traditionally the season has meant tough times for tourism. as andrew thomas reports. vivid sydney's success is proving to be illuminating. >> reporter: they are more usually seen in bright sunshine. but it's winter now in sydney. that means longer nights. for a festival of lights that has taken over the city. projections on water. office blocks as canvases. the chance to conduct an orchestra of lights. the opportunity to bring to life a 1960s building designed by hairy sideler was a dream

commission. >> we thought it would be great to plant a tree and make it glow out of the ground in 60 seconds. ♪ >> reporter: but beautiful though the architectural illuminations are, the motivation is economic. a strong australian dollar has hit the tourism industry hard. sydney is known as a summer city where the beaches are quiet in the wintertime. >> we were looking for ideas of how to fill hotel rooms in winter in sydney. >> reporter: oning an ice cream business can be tough in winter, but during last year's festival this shop's revenue went up 70%. >> more people. they come when the sun goes down and stay until 10, 11, 12:00 at

night. >> reporter: expectations this year are higher than ever. in all organizers expect almost a million people to gather to see these lights. it helps that this year's winter so far has been exceptionally warm. outdoor winter festivals do particularly well, when it doesn't feel much like winter. an american climber who fell into a kra kra vas is speaking up. this footage was shot by the 44-year-old inside the crevasse. he was eventually rescued after sending a text message to his friends. >> after i got my breath back, i

couldn't move my right arm, was in piercing agony, my ribs were hurting very badly. it was difficult to breathe, and i knew i was going to die. >> a very lucky man. china's one child policy has quoted controversy, from accusations of the state confiscating children, to forced abortions. today it is being blamed for a declining fertility rate