>> one of china's biggest ports is rocked by two massive explosions, 36 firefighters are still missing. you are watching al jazeera live. political change at the point of a gun. two politicians are removed as soldiers surround the ruling party's headquarters. the head of the u.n.'s mission are fired after troops are accused of rape and murder.

>> i'm in argentina. thousands have been forced out of their homes by the flooding. 36 firemen are still missing after two explosions. the blast was so big it registered on earthquake scales. so far at least 17 people are confirmed dead and hundreds of injured. >> reporter: even china is unused to scenes like this. sudden and deadly explosions jolting one of the world's busiest ports. some people say it felt like an

earthquake. >> i was sitting after watching a film and had my window open, i heard a rush of air followed by a second much larger rush of air that sounded like a shock wave. i looked outside and saw the smoke. >> reporter: officials say the multiple detonations were caused by explosives store in a warehouse close to a residential area. others describe hazardous materials commaterials combusti. local hospitals dealt with a tide of injured. people who can get out are leaving. what worries the authority that the hermes have been contaminated, which means nobody know what is they are breathing in right now. officials believe this was an industrial accident. an exclusion has been imposed

where the investigation into how this accident happened has now begun. police say the owners of the warehouse where the explosions happened have been detained. >> a few minutes ago adriane sent this update from the disaster zone. >> this is close to the epicenter, people say what happened was like an earthquake. in fact, everywhere you look, you feel as though you are looking at the aftermath of an earthquake. the devastation is really over a very wide area. the shock wave really had a radius of several kilometers. wherever you look, you see trashed cars with windows smashed out. some vehicles completely crushed. a lot of the damage was caused by shipping containers which were turned into missiles. hundreds of people are being treated in local hospitals, many treated for injuries caused by

flying glass and concrete. several hundred firemen are still trying to bring the blaze under control. it's taking place over here in the distance where you can see that jumbo containers and smoke in the background. the authorities insist what happened here was an industrial accident. but the president is watching things very closely, indeed. he's urging the authorities to bring the fire under control as soon as possible and to assure that everyone living nearby is safe and that their homes are protected. >> let's bring in more on the story in myanmar. security forces are barring mps from leaving their political headquarters. we are joined live from the capital. bring us up to date with what's been happening. what details have you been hearing there? >> well, what we have been hearing is that since wednesday

night soldiers have surrounded the headquarters of the ruling party, the usdp. as you mentioned, two senior politicians have been removed from their positions within the party, the chairman and speaker of the house parliament, and the secretary general of the party. apparently mann is at home and his house is surrounded by soldiers. he hasn't been officially told that his movement is restricted, it seems to be a form of de facto house arrest. the people inside the headquarters have not been allowed to leave and no one has been allowed to enter. i should also mention that the presidents of the country has convened an emergency meeting which is still ongoing. and there will be a cabinet

reshovecabinetreshuffle. it looks like this has a lot to do with the elections in november and with the growing tension between the military and the usdp as led by mann. >> as you say, there is some kind of internal power struggle going on. what does this mean for the upcoming election? what will it impact that? >> this is about the military wanting its candidates to be in place. they have been displeased since he backed a moment in parliament that would have curtailed or removed the military's veto on constitutional amendments. they were displeased in the last few days when they found that the candidate list for elections in november that was submitted by the usdp did not include many

military who had retired, taken off their uniforms, in order to run in those elections. there's also the fact that he has spoken about working closely with opposition leader and nobel peace laureate. people have said the peace would end in some kind of power struggle, this is why you are getting both soldiers outside a political party forcing or pressuring a political party to change its ways. >> very ro >> thank you. u.s. aircraft are carrying out the first manned air strikes on isil. turkey agreed to let u.s. coalition planes to use the base. iran's foreign minister has

met the syrian president in damascus. he avoided giving exact details on what was discussed, but described the exchange as good. there's been no let-up in the fighting inside syria. >> it's been another bloody day in syria. the rebel strong hold was a town targeted by air strikes. the military regularly attacks these regions, but the latest was if retaliation for an assault on the government seat of power. casualties were caused as rockets landed in the center of damascus. rebels occasionally fire mortars into the capital from the county side. this lasted for about two hours. many say the attack was a message to the syrian government and its main ally, iran, whose foreign minister was expected in damascus hours later.

they have been in beirut as part of efforts to promote peace. he has repeatedly called for talks with gulf arab leaders who are worried about iran's growing influence in the region. >> translator: we want to extend a hand of cooperation. we are ready to cooperation and exchange ideas for joint action between these countries to combat extremism, terrorism and sectarianism. >> reporter: there are a few details about the peace proposal. it would involve a cease fire, amending the constitution and holding elections under international supervision. the main problem for the opposition is president assad. >> the pending issue is the fate of the president assad. these iranian initiative is faced with saudi condition. and the number one saudi

condition is that no deal or there is no place for assad in any possible solution inside syria. >> saudi arabia made that position clear after he met his russian counterpart in mass could you. there is a renewed push for a diplomatic solution. it is led by the syrian government's iran. they need to find an agreement. but forming the basis of negotiations is proving to be difficult. there are many players in this conflict with diverging interests. some opposition leaders believe iran and russia are pushing for a deal because the syrian government is facing military and economic pressures. assad's backers are not showing a sign of compromise, at least not until they secure what they consider to be their strategic

goals. the u.n. secretary general has fired the head in the republic. we report from u.n. headquarters in new york. >> reporter: anguished, ashamed, angered. united nations secretary general response after allegations u.s. peace keepers raped a girl and were behind the killings in the central african republic. >> the disturbing allegations we have seen in many country, but particularly in the central african republic in the period before u.n. peace keepers were deployed and since speaks to take action. enough is enough. >> reporter: allegations of wrongdoing started last year when french troops were accused of sexual misconduct before the peacekeeping operation began and

still prompted them to create a panel. the official peacekeeping mission has set up and has been in operation for a year and a half. it's made up of more than 10,000 troops and police from more than 45 countries. the spokesperson announced wednesday that there have been 57 allegations of misconduct by u.n. peacekeeping troops in the central african repick, including 11 cases of possible sexual abuse. u.n. peacekeeping operations started just three years after the u.n. was founded in 1945. to date there have been 63 missions around the globe. peacekeeping missions is what won the nobel peace price, but there have been notable failures. in the democratic republic of congo, there were allegations of sexual exploitation and rape.

in 1990s it came to light that participation in alexed sex trafficking. but they have gone beyond sexual transgressions. the peacekeeping troops were accused of causing one of the largest he department in this cases that killed over 7,500 people and infected more than a half million. in rwanda, the u.n. was a shame they could not stop the 1994 genocide where at least 800,000 were killed. and dutch peace keepers forced muslim families. now, with any latest scandal, the world's top diplomat stepping in to show accountability and change. >> more to come on al jazeera. in elections, former rebel fighters are now fighting for

votes. plus, california comes up with another way to protect reservoirs badly drained by a record dry spell. more on that. stay with us.

>> welcome back. a quick reminder of the stop stories on al jazeera. chinese state media says 36 firemen are still missing after two massive explosions in one of china's busiest ports.

hundreds of people were injured when dangerous goods explode in a warehouse. the ruling party has been removed from his position. speaker of the parliament has been placed under house arrest. security forces are barring ruling party mps from leaving their political headquarters. the u.n. secretary general fired his peacekeeping chief following allegations of child sex abuse by peace keepers. breaking news out of iraq this morning. at least 52 people have been kill in a bombing in baghdad. according to police, a bomb went off in a truck. 200 people were wounded in the attack. we'll bring you more as we get it here. forecasters in argentina are predicting more rain and strong winds after flooding that forced

11,000 people to evacuate their homes. six days of heavy rains caused rivers to overflow. three people have died. teresa bur reports. >> reporter: trying to take ace assistance to those cut off by the water. firemen are working day and night to help those in need in the rivers and streams. experts say 35 centimeters of water fell in a matter of days. this woman is trying to save whatever she has left. >> translator: i have never seen anything like this. last year something similar happened, but not like this. this is a disaster. >> reporter: thousands of people have been affected. at the university, 80 have taken refuge. we are told hundreds of others have been placed in other schools around the city.

they have nowhere else to go. >> translator: we left everything, all our belongings. we are trying to get clothes and food, i'm not sure how we are going to go on. >> reporter: this is the second flooding in the last year, the sixth in the last four. people have been living in this university for five days. most have been victims from flooding in the area in the past. that's why they are demanding more government action. the government has invested millions of dollars in the area. more funds are needed to prevent the river from flooding again. >> translator: we understand that large scale developments need to happen here. we need to broaden the river so it adjusts the water levels. more precautions need to be taken. but that can only be done by the federal government. >> reporter: of those affected live in the cities, near the

river. they claim they cannot afford to move. they hope that immediate action is taken so the next storm doesn't force them out of their homes. the former american president jimmy carter announced he's suffering from cancer. he was in a hospital to have a small mass removed from his liver. the cancer has spread to other parts of his body. south korea is monitoring a port. he was killed by firing squad in may. a number of high profile political figures have been killed. south korea says he was last seen publicly in december. japan's prime minister is expected to apologize for the part his country played in world war ii. shinzo abe is looking for cabinet's approval, marking the

70th anniversary of the surrender. >> reporter: every wednesday a contentious shared history plays out. a history still alive in the minds of the young. >> translator: even though lots of time has passed, japan hasn't settled its past issues and offered an apology. >> reporter: here to support these women, we were forced into prostitution by the military. japan's army used up to 200,000 asian women in this way. the united states a key ally, has called it a terrible violation of human rights. kim was taken from her home in south korea, told she would be sent to a factory, instead shipped to military brothels. >> people talk about august 15 coming up. for us, liberation hasn't come.

>> reporter: a recent hit tv show, shows the invasion. it's japan's 20th century colonial rule. they were forced to adopt japanese names. south korea has called on tokyo to confront its past. the horrors explains a lot of the continued political animosity between the two countries. that history can be drawn on to serve present day political differences as well. south korea has relied too much on historical grievance to build. they wanted it to be recognized as the east sea. >> it would strip away the figure leaf from japanese

denial. >> reporter: others say the prime minister is refusing to deal with the japanese military's past. >> translator: the core of all this is to discourage japan's passivist contusion. it's a starting point for that is denying the past history of aggression. >> reporter: for south korea it's 70 years of japanese rule. it bears down on international relationships. a group of former separatist fighters will be competing for seats when the country holds elections. they want to be part of the democratic process to help people in the north. >> the symbol has changed. much like the fighters who use it. he was part of the armed group

who fought a 30 year civil war for independence in the north and east. today he's one of nine former fighters vying for seats in sri lanka's parliament. >> translator: we couldn't continue watching people suffering hardship. we fought forthem. but the arms struggle was defeated. they are only looking at their own gains, not the people. >> reporter: the only non-fighter in the group calling itself crusaders for democracy is a former newspaper. he says the people still have a lot of respect for the former fighters, for their commitment and their sacrifice. >> the commitment is there. but today the struggle, the way of the struggle has changed. >> reporter: this group appears to have accepted as the only option. >> translator: after the war ended in 2009 there was no

option of a non-struggle. the only way to protect our people now is to get elected as representatives. >> his party is contesting in just two districts of the northern province. the lack of money, he says, is one reason. the former fighters don't have the resources or the slick pr campaign of mainstream political parties. they say they have a deep commitment to serve the people, which they will do through the democratic process. people's reaction to these candidates are mixed. some are welcomed as the best answer to a deteriorating law and order situation. >> translator: when they view the leaflet, they say the army may come after them. >> reporter: they face accusations. charges he denies. many say the emerge yens of an

alternate voice in northern politics is a sign of democracy in a region that's been at the center of conflict. let's get more on that breaking news out of iraq. 52 people have been killed in a bombing in the capital of baghdad. we are joined from the iraqi capital. just bring us up to date. what have you been hearing there about this latest bombing? >> this was devastating. at least 50 people killed and over 200 wounded. that's the casualty count so far. this happened in sadder city. it's in a populated area, a place where i think more than 4 million people live. as this happened, there was a truck bomb, a suicide bomber,

driving a truck bomb to a crowded vegetable market. so truly a devastating attack, a horrific attack. we are hearing that the death toll may rise throughout the day. this is the second attack of its kind in the last two months. also, a couple of days ago there was a huge attack also by car bomb in baqouba. two of them actually. dozens were killed and dozens more wounded. >> we have to leave it there. thank you. shops at airports in the u.k. are accused of keeping taxes. there is a campaign to put a stop for it. >> reporter: picking up last minute bargains.

shops have demanded customers show their boarding pass when buying goods. many people assume it's to do with security. now it's merchants are identifying people flying out of the european union and reclaiming the 20% in sales tax that's include in prices. >> this is money that should either be going to the chancellor because you are flying within the eu and the legally due vat or it should be coming back to you, because you are supposed to get the benefit of traveling without having to pay tax on your purchases, not the airport retailer. >> reporter: now there is a revolt, refusing to show boarding passes. the campaign has been whipped up by social media. >> i was outraged that the shops seem to be literally stealing the money from the customers in an underhand, in a way that's

not transparent. >> they are taking my money and not paying it back. i'm not doing t i'm traveling on friday. they are not seeing my boarding pass. >> reporter: retailers say they are not doing anything illegal. some claim it would be impossible to have a dual pricing system. that's been rubbished by consumer groups. it's one of the busiest times of the year for british airports. thousands of families are flying outside the eu for summer holiday. the idea they might be getting ripped off by shops at the airports. showing a boarding pass is not legalry required, passengers will still be able to shop without the boarding pass being scanned. the u.k. government has confirmed the v.a.t. relief is meant to benefit travelers rather than increase profits for major retailers.

things may only change if enough travelers decide to save their money for when they get to their destination. more news on our website, there it is on your screen, the address www.aljazeera.com. >> i'm ali velshi. "on target" tonight, campaign tonight, campaign contributions to get elected, how can they stay ing independent? and more mainstream than ever. tonight we're putting judicial elections on trial. that's because the honor of some american judges is being jeopardized by the potentially corrupting influence of politics and money. in some states judges have to pay for election campaigns to win seats on the bench meaning