d a national debate. >> brittany didn't wan't to die the brain tumor was killing her, she simply took control over how that process would go. >> now see what her husband is doing to keep his promise to change "right to die" laws nationwide. america tonight only on al jazeera america. the message is that this is one, one hateful hateful person. a search is underway for a gunman who opened fire at a church in the u.s. city of charleston. ♪ ♪ hello, welcome. you are watching al jazerra. i am richelle carey, live from our head quarters in doha. also coming up from the program. hong kong lawmakers reject a day jinx-backed plan for an electoral reform. yemen's capital is hit by a series of bombs as peace talks

in geneva make little progress. not everyone is happy about the rise of women in the gaming industry. ♪ ♪ first now for to the u.s. where police in south carolina are search fox a man behind a church shooting. the suspect a young white man opened fire inside a church in charleston killing mine people. police say they believe the shooting at the historic african american church is a hate crime. several people were also injured in the shooting. >> it is unfathomable that somebody in today's society would walk in to a church, when people are having a prayer meeting, and take their lives. >> we are joined now by john henry smith live in new york city. john henry get us up to speed on what we know so far. >> reporter: well, the timeline as we understand it, richelle,

is that at about 9:05 eastern time, the police got a call about a shooting over at the emanuel a.m.e. church. one of the oldest black congregations in the south by the way in south carolina. once police arrived they reported finding eight bodies there. they transported two more people to the local university hospital. one of them expired when they were at the hospital. so there is still one person left at the hospital being treated as of this hour. and we know of nine people who are dead. police say that the suspect is a very clean shaven young male, they say they estimate his age to be about 21 years old. wearing a great sweatshirt, jeans and boots. they are looking for this young man, he is still at large. although they have not -- the police have not activated any sort of evacuation order for the local area, they just tell people to stay at home. the police say tomorrow they will be issuing a reward for informs for for this gentlemen's

capture. they do not yet know how much the reward will be. again, this hour, the man hunt is still on for the person who walked in to the emanuel a.m.e. church and as of now has killed nine people. >> and, john henry, this shooting comes at a time when there is a lot of racial tension in the u.s. right now. can you put this in to some sort of context for us. >> reporter: it's interesting. the pastor at this church a man named clemente pink any and there have been conflicting reports as to whether or not he was actually in the church at the time. we don't know what his condition at this time. we don't confirm or deny that. but we do know that certainly this pastor pick any was at prayer vigils for walter scott the gentlemen who shotsbly the police officer while he was trying to runaway from the police officer. in church has been a short where

famously dr. martin luther king spoke during his heyday and other leaders and black luminaries in the theology field have made their way towards this church. this church a very important place in -- a very important church in the black community and certainly it will be a flash point going forward. >> john henry smith live from new york. we'll continue to update the story throughout the day. politicians in hong kong have reject a beijing-backed electoral reform bill. the proposal would have given the people an opportunity to elect their leader in 2017. but only able to choose from candidates approved by beijing a move pro-democracy legislators and activists say is undemocratic. adrian brown joins us live with with reaction from there. adrian. >> reporter: well, yes, it all

ended very quickly and very chaotically. some of the legislators from the pro-government parties i think knew that today was not going to be their day the vote want going to a formality and they walked out of the chamber en masse, which meant there were just 37 legislators left most from the pro-democracy party. so being, they the go the day. to remind you what was being discussed today. what has been discussed for the past few days in the legislative assembly behind me say proposal that effectively would have given the people of hong kong the 3 million people registered to vote, the chance to select their next chief executive by universal suffrage in 2017. but with restrictions. no more than two or three candidates, and those candidates would have to be approved by a special committee. so even though it offered the hong kong the prospect of more democracy it was a deal that the democratic partys weren't prepared to accept. i am joined now by emily who is

chairwoman of the democratic party. how does it feel to be a democrat who has voted down the chance of more democracy for hong kong? >> as i said during the debate. i feel sad and angry, we have sought no genuine sufficient ridge for decades. now we have to vote down the package because it does not give the people genuine choice. i am very, very angry with beijing and with the hong kong government because the i think the government here has failed to tell beijing that most of us wants to have a genuine election. now we have a fake package that's why we voted down. >> reporter: but now you have nothing. >> no. >> reporter: you have nothing. >> okay. it's the end of one sorry saga. but the beginning of a new chapter. and we will, we have been fighting for decades there is no reason to stop now. >> reporter: china says, and believe me the mood they are in at the moment, they say no more

concessions. no more political concession to his hong kong, this is it, you either accept it or you get nothing. >> well, be that as it may i speak as someone who has not been allowed to travel to china for more than 20 years. so i know what the communist party is like. but still, we will continue to struggle and there are many people imagine hong kong people out there who are with us, and they will struggle with us. >> reporter: how will you get that -- to get what you want would involve china's parliament having to convene again and table a new motion and they are not going to do that. >> the parliaments standing committee can meet all the time. so anyway, maybe we are looking for miracles, but still we have to try hard. the people have asked me to try hard. >> reporter: right. >> i have been he elected by them since 1991, we will continues we will persevere and one day we may triumph. >> reporter: emily, thank you very much. emily lau chairwoman of the democratic party. the democrats say they are not going to give up.

this is simply the next stage in their campaign, but, of course, that remains to be seen in terms of what beijing will now. back to you. >> adrian, she is certainly charismatic, isn't she? adrian brown live from hong kong, thank you. a group affiliated with isil has claimed responsibility for a series of car bombings in yemen's capital. dozens are reported to have been killed in these attacks that hit mosques near houthi rebels in sanaa. the violence comes as delegates from the warring factions meet in geneva where they are struggle to make any progress on on a peace deal. >> reporter: car bombs hit a houthi strong hold in the yemeni capital. an area on the outskirts of sanaa. one of the houthis' headquarters is located there. this isn't the only attack targeting the houthis. since they took over sanaa last year. in march the islamic state

claimed responsibilities for a string of attacks targeting houthi mosques. more than 100 people were killed killed. the attacks come at a time when crucial talks to solve yemen's crisis are underway in geneva. the united nations have has been urging the warring faction to his agree on a humanitarian truce. but each party has preconditions and there has been little or no progress. the houthis and forces loyal to former press saleh say the saudi-led air strikes must stop first. the government blames the houthis for the ongoing violence insisting they must stop shelling the cities. the saudi-led coalition say they will stop bombing the houthis and their allies once they pull out from the cities they control. in the meantime, the united

nations envoy is on the offensive. he has only a few days left to czar individual a deal. if yemen's rivals fail to make progress fighting will continue. and the humanitarian crisis will get worse. with every passing day. the sanaa bombings might put more pressure on the party's gathering here in geneva to solve yemen's crisis or face more instability that might play in the hands of groups like al qaeda or the islamic state who might take advantage of the political vacuum and expand. al jazerra geneva. new evidence has emerged of chlorine gaza tacks in syria. it comes from doctors who have worked there and have been testifying before the u.s. congress. they say bashar al-assad's government is carrying out the attacks with did he devastating consequences kimberly halkett reports from washington d.c. >> reporter: they came at the invitation of the republican-led

house foreign relations committee to share eyewitness accounts of repeated chlorine gaza tacks against syrian civilians. >> since march 16th of this year we have documented 31 attacks using poisonous gas in idlib province. where more than 380 syrian civilians were injured by it. 10 of them were -- died of suffocation. >> reporter: providing additional video evidence the doctors told lawmakers the attacks intensified 10 days after a u.n. security council resolution condemned the weaponization of chlorine. and threatened military action if the resolution was breached. >> i am a doctor, and i am death. but i have never seen a more ab seen way to kill children. i have never watched so many suffer in such an obscene manner. >> reporter: is doctors say only the syrian government has access to the helicopters responsible i

believe for dropping the chlorine-filled barrel on his to civilian areas it believes are supportive of the syrian opposition. still bashar al-assad has always maintained his government is not behind the chlorine gaza tacks. last month in a u.s. tv network interview he argued that chlorine is widely available and has been weapon unized in the past by other groupings. includingizeincluding isil. but john kerry says the united states believes assad is behind the attacks and is working to hold him accountable. that's why doctors and activists are pressuring u.s. lawmakers to push president obama in to targeted military action to pressure political dialogue that would lead to the creation of a no-fly zone to stop the bombs from developing. >> these weapons inject nails crap and other.

[ inaudible ] take dozens of incidents lives every day. >> reporter: they say without an immediate u.s.-led international effort, there is little hope for civilian safety. kimberly hal you hal halkett, al jazerra washington. some 23,000 people were forced out of it the town ceased by isil fighters. but on tuesday that town was retaken. now the number of people displaced by war across the world has hits a record high. the war in sear syria is a major factor. nearly 60 million people have fled war conflict or persecution, that is 8.3 million more than the previous year. here is what the u.n. high commissioner for refugees antonio gutierrez said a short time ago. >> reporter: one clearly gets the impression that the world is at war.

and these many areas of the world are in a completely chaotic situation and the result is the stagger staggering escalation of displacement and human suffering each displaced person is a tragic story and not only people suffering when they are forced to flee, but many are suffering trapped by conflict in their own villages or in their own communities. still to come on al jazerra thousands rally in support of the greek government as it refuses to bow to creditors' calls for more austerity. till a tell you why venezuela's record in football has been dismal until now.

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♪ ♪ the top stories now on al jazerra. police in the u.s. state of south carolina are searching for a man behind a church shooting. suspect a young white man opened fire inside the church in charleston killing nine people. police believe the shooting at the historic emanuel a.m.e. church a hate crime. politicians have rejected a proposal that would see voters elect their new leader in 2017 from candidates approved by beijing. dozens are reported to have been killed in a series of car bombings in yemen's capital sanaa, the attacks targeted mosques near houthi rebel

headquarters a group affiliating with isil has claimed response. france's finance minister says it would be a catastrophe for greece in it leaves the euro. the stalemate only greece's financial crisis continues as finance minute officers from the euro zone gather in luck up board for another round of meetings. from an he had john entry we have a report. >> reporter: this woman boiled it down to one word, no. >> translator: i say no to those blackmailing us, i say no to my country being sold piecemeal. at this point as it is, clean whole and, with its history. even if it means leaching the euro. >> translator: i want to tell my prime minister what we fear is a possible retreat. we are prepared even for a break up not one step back. >> reporter: the two sides are entrenched creditors demands $4 billion additional spending cuts & tax this is years greece is offering about half that you that and says it's final.

these people represent the majority view here, after six years of austerity greeks wants their sorry remember at this back to plan their own way out of crisis. but the stability of the european union is at stake. just as it's difficult for this government to deliver deep cuts it's virtually impossible for its european partner to his let go its own way. greece says some members are more equal than others. >> translator: grease is a sovereign state it has a government that received the mandate. and it's this government that is responsible for deciding how it will distribute taxes where it will get money. the insistence that this money must come from new cuts in pension for us is inning comprehension iincomprehensible. now we just come to a political decision. >> reporter: that charge that europe is pillaging greece has made officials in brussels furious, they say they have coffered the greeks a big

discounts on what proportion of their economy to spends repaying dead. >> translator: it is truly false to present the commission is trying to impose austerity in greece, it is totally false the proposals we are making are perfectly reasonable. >> reporter: early earth the greek central bank warned a default would lead to an uncontrollable crisis with the country leaving the euro and possibly everybody the entire european union. most greeks don't want that kind were divorce but austerity is now a foul word to them and won't accept more of it. john, al jazerra athens. motorcycle vogting is getting underway in denmark's general election. opinion polls suggest the outcome could be to too close to call. the center left coalition of prime minister is neck and neck in the polls with the center right opposition. access to benefits has been a key issue in the election campaign. both sides want to crack down on giving unemployed immigrants access to the country's welfare system. george's prime minister has apologized for giving out false

information after a tiger mauled a man to death in the capital. it was eventually shot dead by police on wednesday. the government had previously said all animals that escaped from a flooded zoo on sunday had been captured and that there was no threat to the population. it is blaming the zoo for giving them the wrong information. a leaked document written by pope francis is calling for urgent action on the issue of climate change. in it the pope backs scientist who say global warming is mostly caused by humans. he says developed countries have a responsibility to reverse the trend that will hurt the poor the most. north korea says it's suffering its worst drought in a century at least a third the country's rice paddies are thought to have dried up due to record loan rainfall. >> reporter: on north korean state run television a rare announcement that all is not well. this government official says we are establishing and actively carrying out various

countermeasures to prevent drought damage and despite the pictures of lakes, field full of cropscrops and hillsides colored with trees north korea says it's facing its worst drought drat in a censure i for people working on cooperative apartments like this one where the rice fields are almost bare it's a very worrying situation. >> translator: this was my first truth drat the seedling is too small to do rice planting. >> reporter: this all about a third of the country's paddies have dried up but maze production is threatened by the unusually hot weather. >> translator: at the start of spring the temperature rose quickly in may with a strong hot and dry airflow with high pressure temperatures reached more than 30 degrees celsius in the east and west coast. it's five to seven degrees higher than an average year. >> reporter: in the capital the level of the river is a harmingly low.

bringing back memories of 1990s drought here thought to have killed hundreds of thousands of people. on wednesday the south korean government held a media conference, pointing out that rainfall has been unusually low on both sides of the border and saying north korea's food production could fall sharply unless it rains soon. the united nations says almost a third of children under 5 in north korea are mall mall nor i should and international aid has fallen sharply because of pee okay i don't think's will he luck tans too allow food distribution to be monitored. three more people have died from middle east respiratory syndrome in south korea bringing the total number of death to his 23. almost 7,000 people have been quarantined at home and in hospitals. doctors say they are doing all that they can of the the discovery of new cases has raised questions about the government's ability to control the spread of the virus.

in chile teachers are required to take new certification tests. police used water to separate crowd. the reform planned are supported by many but students and teachers are demanding a greater say. thousandal colombians have been sell braying their win in the copa america football tournament. this is the scene on the streets of both tie. a first half goal secured the 1-0 win over the 5-time world champion brazil. there was i surprise when colombia one early. does this signal a new turn in the powerhouse. they take eye take a look.

>> reporter: against all odds venezuela scored a winning goal against football giant colombia in its first match of this year's copa america. sunday's surprising result is being greeted by many here as a change that has been slow in the making, but that could soon amount to something bigger. >> translator: venezuelan football is improving. i saw new players a new goalkeeper i think we stand a chance this time and we did beat them in the group stage. >> reporter: but overall venezuela's football record is pretty dismal. it is the only country in south america not to have ever played at a world cup. and yet, according to the technical director of one of the country's biggest training school there are now more kids playing football than there are baseball. >> translator: now football is at a breaking point, we are still a ways a al jazerra way

but having more and more players sign up to foreign leagues is helping of the upcoming generation is making huge strides thanks to what the older players learn from abroad and also a change in our approach to training. >> reporter: venezuela has been a traditional baseball loving country but several small victories and a recent. [ inaudible ] with football can be the first signs that a change is in the air. it's baseball that has historically defined venezuela just as brazilians can play soccer anywhere. venezuelans can turn any patch of grass or department in to a baseball field. reason for that preference are so deep that too many it's simply a matter of identity. >> translator: baseball comes easier to us. we are caribbean ans we like baseball. it's just like that. we like hitting the ball hard. and sliding home. brazilians were born with a ball. and we were born with a bat. >> reporter: until a country facing deep economic woes another unlikely victory in the copa could mean a welcome change

of luck. at least on the playing field. individual individual blows, al jazerra, caracas venezuela. the video gaming industry has been dominated by men for decades. but as women try to step in on the world of video games some are finding they can selves the target of sexual harassment and threads, rob remember understand reports from the e3 gaming convention in los angeles. >> reporter: a quick look around the e3 international gaming expo shows how white male dominated the gaming world is. there are few women game designers and technicians in the fast growing well wade industry. >> right now we have about 50% of game players are women but only about 20% are game makers are women. >> reporter: it's an issue that has been debated within the industry for years with little to show in the way of diversification. but as more games meant for appeal to women are made, the content of games overall is slowly changing.

>> the traditional image of the 15-year-old guy in his basement playing call of duty has been with us for so long, we are a young industry but we are maturing and-y involving quickly. for sections of the audience that's really you have to take. >> reporter: the gaming industry's gender problem was thrown in to sharp relief last year. when female game designers and feminist critics of video games were subject today an organized campaign of online harassment that included death threats. that episode became known as gamer gate. bloger and critic anita was harassed after writing about the depiction of women in games as sex objects. and about the predominance of macho male game characters. >> i have had death threats rape threats, i have had my family and my colleagues harassed and threatens. the intense vitreal that we have seen simmering up has been in part due to the fact that the game industry is changing. they are doing everything they can, including throwing these very violent aggressive temper

tantrum to his stop this change there happening. they want to stop the progress of us having conversations about representations of women. about what, you know, having more people of color in games what are the stories telling us, what messages are they stepsing. >> reporter: international game developer association director kate edwards says the harassment came out of a hate move lurking in the i want internet's dark under bell. >> i i have gone to countly events in which we talk about the issue issue about nothing happens but because of gamer gate i think we will see change happen it was the thing that broke the camel's back. people said enough of it the this. >> reporter: critics say the industry is changing but slowly. industry officials say they are taking steps to encourage more women to work in gaming. and that their goal is having those who create the games better reflect those who play them. rob reynolds, al jazerra, los

angeles. and for updates on the stories that we have been covering throughout the day including the shooting at that church in south carolina in the united states, be sure to visit our website that's aljazerra.com. again, aljazerra.com. keep it here. could wipe bias out of your mind while you sleep. but be careful what you wish for. plus greece in times of tragedy. talks are going nowhere, fast. this is your brain on bias unconscious bias, it looks normal but scientists say many of our brains are packed with