>> i'm standing in a tropical wind storm. >> can affect and surprise us. >> wow...these are amazing! >> "techknow" where technology meets humanity. only on al jazeera america. experts call the deadly m.e.r.s. outbreak in south korea large and complex, and warn more cases are likely. hello, i'm martine dennis you're with al jazeera, live from doha. also to come - a second massive data breach. u.s. officials say hackers targeted intelligence and military personnel. plus... >> i'm andrew thomas with thailand's navy in a helicopter above the andaman sea, under

international pressure the government determined to show that they are taking the migrant process seriously. and the conviction of a former political fundraiser in the us puts election campaign financing in the spotlight first, the world health organisation warns of more people infected with middle eastern respiratory syndrome or m.e.r.s. since the outbreak in south korea last month, 138 cases have been confirmed and at least 14 people have died. richard thompsett reports. >> reporter: at this market in seoul, they have brought out the big guns in the fight against m.e.r.s. the government repeatedly called for calm. as fear of contamination spreads few are listening. shopkeepers say many customers are simply staying away.

>> translation: sales dropped by 40 to 50%. not many are walking around. kids are hiding at home. >> the numbers of people have gone down. i hope the m.e.r.s. situation is sold soon so our business improves again. >> reporter: on friday the south korean president visited the heart of the m.e.r.s. operation, along with a team from the world health organisation. >> the outbreak has been large and complex. more cases should be anticipated. because of this the government should remain vigilant and intensify disease surveillance and prevention measures until the outbreak is over. >> more schools have been shut as a precaution. close to 3,000 have closed their doors. earlier the health ministry said the outbreak was coming under

control with four new cases on friday. with the announcement of fourth generation infection, one an ambulance driver, is a worry. seoul is bracing for economic fallout. earlier this week the central bank cut the key interest rate to an unprecedented 1.5%. the priority remains, containing the spread. the next few days could be crucial in determining the worst is over in afghanistan, the taliban has attacked a police compound. at least 17 officers have been killed in a gun battle in helmand province in the south. it lasted several hours, and 10 taliban fighters are said to have been killed. afghan security forces are suffering record casualties. more than 5,000 are reported to have been killed so far this year u.s. investigators say there has been a second breach of sensitive data related to

government employees. the office of personnel management was the tart. last week it was revealed that the data of 4 million people could have been compromised. in those cases washington said chinese hackers could be involved. john terrett reports. 24 hours after the biggest federal employees union warned in a letter to the president obama federation that last year's hack was wider than led on comes confirmation that may have been a deeper breach. white house spokesman josh ernst saying there was a separate intruce, affecting the part of office of management systems and data. >> at this stage i don't have details about the ongoing investigation. >> reporter: a senior administrator tells al jazeera a newly revealed hack may have targeted forms workers fill out to qualify for security clearance, information about mental illness, drug and alcohol

use, arrests and bankruptcies. the apparent breach and the one earlier could add up to 14 record compromised. the biggest trade union, the american federation of government employees wrote to the administration accusing the government of hiding behind a criminal investigation as a reason not to give out too many details. ernst is adamant protecting government systems is a big task given the size of the databases involved. >> protecting the computer networks of the federal government is documenting and requires the federal government to benimble something difficult when you talk about an organisation this large. >> in thursday's letter union boss wrote:

he backed his using up with specifics saying social security, personal and pay history, life insurance and pension information has been stolen. the row spread to capitol hill with changes between mitch mcconnell, and minority leader harry reid in the senate over who is to blame for the hack. reid saying for the first time it may have been the chinese. investigators closed the inquiry into the alleged tapping of clerk's mobile phone. they were accused of recording phone data. german prosecutors have been unable to find evidence that would stand up in court. >> the house of representatives rejected part of a key trade bill backed by the white house. the measure would have allowed the president to negotiate global deals that congress could

approve or reject but couldn't change. their own party feared it would threaten u.s. jobs. washington is negotiating free trade deals with 11 countries in asia the white house will work to address congress's concerns to be sure it passes at a revote next week. >> the united states transferred six yemeni detainees from guantanamo to imam. it's been five months since detainees were moved out of the u.s. prison in cuba. president obama transferred more than half the detainees in guantanamo. he campaigned for the presidency on a promise to shut down the facility, but there is still 116 people hold there. >> indonesia says australia would have stooped to a new low if allegations that it paid people smugglers to turn back are found to be true.

>> it was revealed that they were told to be turned back back to indonesia, with the people on board, in return for the $5,000 each. and at the moment this is still part of an ongoing investigation. they are being investigated for people smuggling. the australian prime minister tony abbott has neither confirmed nor denied the report. when questioned he said boats have been stopped by hook or by crook, but refused to say if the allegations were true. meanwhile thousands of people continue to make the dangerous journey, as andrew thomas reports. >> reporter: the islands in off thailand's west coast are exquisite. this is no joy flight. the captain flying a team over the andaman sea looking for boats of trafficked violence.

thailand was criticized for pushing back rohingya boats. helicopters dropped them food but would not let them land on shore. under international pressure thailand promised a better response, air patrols started and the thai navy based a large ship off sure ready to recover any immigrants. >> when boats were found you have off the sea. there was thousands floating out there. thailand's navy has been sending two helicopters and two planes on patrol of every day since, and so far have not found any other vessels. at least not ones with migrants visible on deck. this is the busy sea. every boat has checked given each care craft flies for two hours each day. that, though, the captain insists, is enough.

>> if there are the migrants out there, as the rumours suggest, that there are boats out there, and they come through thai waters, we'll find them. so far we have not seen anyone. >> reporter: this is a woman's shelter, last november this woman was tricked to leaving her children in myanmar and getting on a boat. in fact, she says she was kidnapped. after five weeks at sea, she was held for a ransome she couldn't pay in a jungle camp on the thai border. some died. she managed to escape. my experience in myanmar, my journey was horrific. for the first time in my life. i feel like a free person. >> june marks the start of a stormy season here. that may beia the thai

government things fewer boats are taking to the sea. systems are in place if boats come again. for desperate humans, it has a human response. sunday we'll continue our special "desperate journeys" coverage scott heidler will report from northern thailand where he found rohingya crossing into the country from myanmar. sunday on al jazeera. still to come on this programme - indonesia's aceh province imposes a curfew on women. we speak to a human rights activist black or white - the civil rights activist accused of lying about her racial identity.

>> we just have to keep

hello again, let's look at the top stories in here at al jazeera. the world health organisation is warning of more people being infected with m.e.r.s. since the outbreak began in south korea, 138 cases have been confirmed. at least 14 people have died. u.s. investigators say there has been a second breach of sensitive data related to government employees. the office of personnel management was, again, the target. nearly 14 million federal records may have been compromised indonesia says australia would have stooped to a new low if allegations that it pays people smugglers to turn back are found to be true.

australia prime minister neither confirmed nor denied the reports, but has vowed to do all he can do stop the flow of migrants women in indonesia are protesting against a partial curfew imposed this month in banda aceh upped a new rule women working in certain industries, like in sports or entertainment must go moment by 11:00pm. the principal your government says it wants to protect women from harassment. >> sharia police are on patrol in aceh, the only province in indonesia that adopted islamic law. women are repremanded for being outdoors after 9:00pm, unaccompanied by family members or husbands. unmarried women are given a warning for kissing in a park.

these patrols are a common sight in islamic law, introduced in 2001 violators can be punished. for the major of banda aceh, existing regulations it not far enough. she issued a ban on women walking or visiting night spots after 11:00pm. >> translation: after 11:00pm places of entertainment are dangerous. there are problems. we have adopted islamic law, we need to implement it. if women work later than 11:00pm, it's not effective. by that time women should be able to rest. >> this person works as a cashier in a cafe, can't afford to rest at night. like many other in banda aceh, she needs to do night shift to earn money to support her family and parents. >> i'm trying to make a living.

i think the government should look at what we are doing, what work we do. >> despite the risk of being caught by sharia police, she is in no position to give up night ship. -- shift she works behind 11:00p.m.. islamic law was introduced 20 years ago. punished for wearing a long clothes. they can't be reprimanded. the government will implement a version of islamic law. they say because the regulation has been issued in the name of religion, only a few women dare openly to protest. >> translation: this regulation has to be reformed. don't let it happen, it can be

implemented in other parts of the country. all in the name of islamic law. which is a wrong version. >> government ministers in jakarta want to review the regulations in aceh. laws and regulations issued can't contradict the country's constitution. >> translation: i will coordinate this with the head of women in parliament aceh to review. it is discriminative. many work at night. they need to review this. i'll discuss it with the home minister because it's not the only regulation. >> reporter: nearly midnight in banda aceh. not all women are obeying the rules, most cafes are filled with men only. many are hoping that the government in jakata will reverse the mayor's decision,

and allow them to work and move around at night the indonesia organization says the law is unfairly targetting women and must be revoked. >> human rights watch arrived the indonesian government to revoke all of this regulation it's not just about women working at night. but since 14 years ago, they increased the discrimination against women. for instance it is mandatory for women and men to be separated. women cannot wear pants, women cannot straddle motorcycle. women cannot dance or sing. many are problematic. it's not only contradicty oh english and national law, but contradictory to the international convention on human rights that the aceh government spread to abide by when signing the peace agreement in 2005.

a group of western tourists found guilty of posing naked on a malaysian mountain regarded as a holy site have been deported. they were fined after pleading guilty. they ignored warnings, and some urinated in the local area. sri lanka paid a heavy price for a 26-year war. figures vary but the u.n. says at least 40,000 people lost their lives as this, about half were civilians. this figure is disputed as the final four months of the law were bloody. estimates range from 6, 500, to 20,000. the economy also suffered. a 1998 study calculates that the conflict wiped 1.5% off g.d.p.

annually. many economists believe that the cost to have been higher putting it at about $200 billion sri lanka's new president has promised to investigate allegations of war crimes and human rights abuses during his election campaign. as reported five months later families of those dead and missing say that they are still waiting for answers. this woman lost two sons during the war. a third is missing. he is in a photograph taken at a rehabilitation center for tamil tigers fighters. >> translation: i lost my reason to live in the last stages of the war when my youngest son went missing. i'm just a shell. looking for my son is keeping me

alive. >> reporter: she told al jazeera that speaking out landed her in prison for a year and she's trying to set up home again, and get her 13-year-old daughter out of an orphanage. she lost three grown children. her son-in-law was a member of the tamil tigers. he handed himself in to the military at the end of the war with her daughter and two grandchildren. they have not been seen since. >> translation: this government must tell us where they are. they surrendered to military. i think they are being held somewhere, and we must be told the details. >> reporter: six years on the need to know has not faded. some were abducted. others missing during the fighting. and up to three busloads of tigers fighters are reported to have surrendered to the army at the end of the war. knowing what happened to their loved ones whether they are alive or dead is vital for people here.

experts say it's a central part of the healing process. >> reporter: the professor worked among the survivors for more than 20 years, finding out the truth is important. we need to look at the event that is disturbing. maybe it is part of the healing process. i think that is why. the united nations enforced involuntary disappearances a due to visit the country in early august. a new government in colombo, one showing itself to be more independent to the need sparked hope. the truth of what happened during the final stages of the conflict have been known there has been more fighting between government troops and separatists in eastern ukraine.

the latest battles have been around a rebel held airport in donetsk. it's raising fears the region could descend into full-scale conflict. mexico's supreme court has ruled it's unconstitutional for mexican states to bar same-sex marriages. gay marriage is illegal in some parts, including mexico city. understand the ruling gay couples and others would have to apply to courts individually to have their wedding a prominent activist has been asuicide of lying about her racial identity. rachel claims to be african american. her own family says she's white. rob reynolds reports. >> rachel id the 37-year-old

leader of the spokan washington leader of the spokan washington chapter of the n.a.a.c.p. an african-american civil rights organization. she's been thrust into the spotlight by her parents, who told reporters that their daughter is not african-american. >>she knows it's false. she told herself, as well as herself, this erroneous identity of hers, that by now she may believe it's the truth. television show "talking heads" pounced on the case. scholars that studied race and identity had a different reaction. >> so what. i mean, seriously, unless this woman has done something harmful and detrimental to her family and community, from what i read about her, she is doing

extraordinary things. the n.a.a.c.p. was founded by whites and blacks. >> why and when she presented herself as black is not known. she attended the historically black howard university on a scholar shop, as married to an african-american man and teaches afrikaans studies. she listed herself as black on a job application. >> united states has a perverse relationship with race, it is so, so fraught. one of the things that this event does is expose how ludicrous the social phenomenon has been. it's had harmful effects, incredibly detrimental effects to our society. we make fun of it. and here is someone who exposes how situational, contextual and

voluntary identity can be. >> a statement was issued saying we respect her privacy. staying in the u.s. the conviction of a former political fundraiser put election campaign financing in the spotlight. tyler harbour got two years in prison for illegally using money from a political fund to a congressman's campaign. >> reporter: almost every night in the united states you can find a function like this taking place. it's a political fundraiser where exclusive invitations are extended only to some of america's wealthiest elite. the cost of entry, $2700. >> the sort of people giving money to the campaign and they don't like it when you try to

crash the fundraiser to find out what is going on. >> reporter: on this day the fundraising is for democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton, who, according to the website political party time.org is holding six fund-raisers like this one. >> hello iowa. >> the clinton campaign projects it will raise roughly $2 billion by the time the november 26th election day rolls around double what president obama and mitt romney's campaigns raised in 2008. 80% of americans, republicans, democrats, independence all are disgusted with the amount of money pouring into the elections, and it's coming from secret sources. >> reporter: like the money from undeclared republican jed bush. bush's refusal to declare his candidacy allowed him to exploit limits for official contenders.

bush supporters are not giving money to him, but to a super pact that supports his run for presidency. the money raised so far totals more than $100 million and is harder to trace. >> disclosure is one of our only remaining tools to fight corruption right now. when you have undisclosed political spending it creates a window to corruption due to the lack of accountability. unlike donations to a candidate, the source of anonymous, or dark money donated to nonprofit groups does not have to be reported. >> it will have a direct exact on the integrity of our governmental process. we are in danger. >> that's because it's expected. money raised to elect the next u.s. president could top $5 billion. given most of the money could be raised in secret. it's uplikely to be decided by

one person one vote. instead by an elite. spending enormous amounts on the 2016 election outcome there's a lot more on that and the rest of the day's news, a lot of background and analysis from the website. aljazeera.com. >> this week on "talk to al jazeera": international piano superstar lang lang. >> the art, you know, it's about, you know... the distance and in and out, big picture, precision. >> billions of people around the world have seen him perform. at the beijing olympics...