at least 55 people are killed in a bomb attack at a crowded market in iraq. ♪ i'm lauren taylor, this is al jazeera, live from london. rising death toll in china's huge explosions with at least 50 now killed and 700 injured. seven people are sentenced to death in pakistan for last year's attack on a school that kill 151 people. and argentina braces for more bad weather as floods force more than 11,000 from their homes. ♪

hello, fighters from the islamic state of iraq and the levant they are responsible for a huge bombing in baghdad. explosion tore through a crowded market in a mainly shia muslim area, killing at least 55 people. 200 more are injured. >> reporter: in the blink of an eye, the scene turned from mundane to murderous. as a track packed with explosives blew up in a crowd vegetable market in the city. the predominantly shia muslim neighborhood in eastern baghdad is one of the capitol's most densely populated. as some searched for survivors others found the dead. because the early-morn attack was apparently planned to maximize civilian casualties, many iraqis new this would be the work of isil. it was the third attack by the group in as many days,

underscoring how tenuous the security situation here is. on tuesday, isil attacked two other areas where many shia muslims live. dozens were killed and dozens more injured. attempts to deepen sectarian lines at a time when increasing numbers of iraqis are demanding their government work together. fed up at the lack of basic services such as electricity and clean water, tens of thousands have been demonstrating against corruption. a call that has alarmed iraqi leaders who quickly passed sweeping reform proposals. while protests were planned for friday it's unclear how this attack may affect the turnout, especially here in baghdad which has now experienced another brutal reminder of the security crisis in this country. [ inaudible ] is one of the biggest to strike baghdad since

abadi took over the presidency. market attack in july killed around 86 people, many killed were women and children gathering to mark then of ramadan. according to the u.n. about 15,000 civilians have been killed in iraq since the start of 2014. chairman of iraq's parliament meantry block, a shia political coalition, he says the bombing in baghdad won't fan sectarian tensionses. >> the tension will not be as isil wants. because most iraqis know that those behind these attacks are not iraqi sunnis. the sunnis who are moderate and adopt a national discourse from the extremist from those terrorists who have this very

extreme discourse. it is clearly not sectarian. i mean, although the motivation behind the attacks is sectarian, because isil believes that shia and moderate sunnis should be killed, they are not muslims, this is not going to raise any -- any tension. this is going to maybe distract the tension given to the areas where daesh is occupying. this is going to distract the attention of the government from focusing on basic services from solving the political problems. maybe this is going to be the main -- i mean the main negative, or the main problem that this attack or such attacks will create. ♪ the death toll from huge explosions in the chinese port city has risen to at least 50. these picture show the aftermath

of the blasts. makeshift towns have been set up to house those who have been forced out of their homes. aid -- adrian brown has more. >> reporter: the heart of one of china's most important economic hubs. fires burned throughout the night. there were further explosions on thursday afternoon as a pool of toxic smoke billowed across the city. with local concerned, not for the first time about the air they are breathing. >> translator: we're very worried about what chemical is in the air. we're worried it might be toxic and could be harmful in the future. >> reporter: close to the epicenter of the explosion the scale is difficult to comprehend what happened and why.

>> translator: i thought it was a gas explosion, my bedroom wall was hit by a shock wave that through me out of bed. >> reporter: other survivors thought it was an earthquake or a nuclear explosion. the flying debris sliced through hundreds of vehicles. temporary housing for migrant workers bore the brunt of the blasts. well, this is a worker's dormitory, and as you can see it has been completely shredded. the damage here really bares testament to the force of those explosions, the people in here were lucky to get out alive. >> reporter: the number of dead is continuing to rise, many of them were firefighters. government officials say hundreds of people were treated in hospital, mostly for cuts caused by flying glass and concrete. >> translator: my first reaction was to run. i then heard another blast, i

escaped and was running wild. i got blood all over my body. >> reporter: the authorities say the blasts were caused by chemicals stored in a warehouse, close to where thousands of people lived. an investigation into how that was possible has now begun. seven people have been sentenced to death in pakistan over a series of attacks including an assault on a school that killed more than 150 people, most of them children, an eightieth person will spend life in prison. the school was stormed by gunmen in december last year. any army says the gunmen are members of the taliban and two armed local groups. tell us a bit more about the case and the sentencing. >> reporter: well, as you mentioned the seven who have been sentenced to death include the perpetrators of the attack

on the school in december in 2014, and also one of the people sentenced to death was involved in the attack on the minority's bus in car raw inch. one of the attackers who was found involved in the attack on aps, was given a lighter sentence of life emprisonment. all is this happening [ inaudible ] the supreme court ruled that military courts were indeed legal, if there were serious crimes committed, and therefore the military courts now had the jurisdiction to try these people. however, the military said that they will still have the right of appeal. >> kamal, we're seeing pictures at the moment. it was a terrible attack that killed all of those children. what kind of reaction can we expect from the sentencing? >> reporter: well, people across

pakistan are in favor of the death penalty. they want the military to be able to have speedy trials because that was the demand of the people. parliament had moved a special amendment in the constitution, the 21st amendment, so there is support on the ground. however, civil rights organizations would be criticizing the move saying the death penalty should be abolished. >> okay. kamal thank you very much for the latest on that story. an egyptian court has handed jail terms to four policemen over the deaths of 37 people who had been protesting in support of ousted president morsi. rob matherson looks back at the details of the case. >> reporter: august 2013 and death has become a regular occurrence in the treats of cairo. it is a month since the first democratly elected president has

been toppled by the military. families struggled to identify bodies. some look for the names of family members among the 37 prisoners gassed to death inside a van carrying them to the jail. most of those killed in the van are later identified as morsi supporters rounded up on when a pro-morsi camp was cleared, but some are just passersby, arrested by mistake. crowds gather at a nearby morgue police say the prisoners rioted that tier gas was fired into the van to try retrieve a policeman. the van was sealed and the men suffocated and died. >> translator: we were told that many were killed so we came here

to check for my brother. >> reporter: in march 2014, the captain is sentenced to ten years in jail for the fan slaughter of the prisoners. three other officers get suspended sentences. it's the first time since the ousting of president morsi that security forces members have faced trial over the deaths of demonstrators. outside of the court, violence breaks out. three months later in june, the captain's sentence is quashed on appeal. this latest verdict, is from egypt's highest court. it is final. and cannot be appealed. rob matherson, al jazeera. five people have been arrested over an attack in bahrain last month. the july 28th bombing targeted a bus carrying policemen near a school south of the capitol. two officers were killed and six others were wounded. the chief of police say

investigators have connected the suspects to iran's revolutionary guard, as well that's iranian armed and funded lebanese hezbollah group. the syrian city of aleppo has access to water again after being cut off for three weeks. the united nations children's fund has restored supplies to the city. they were cut off in july after al-qaeda's nusra front closed the city's main water station. unicef says around half a million people are still struggling to receive enough water to survive. still to come, greece's parliament has pushed to approve its massive new bailout. ♪

hello, again, a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. at least 55 people have been killed in a bombing in baghdad. it's the third attack by isil in as many days. a military court in pakistan has sentenced seven people to death for their involvement in an attack on a school last december when 150 were killed. and the death toll from huge explosions in china has risen to 50. the army and its allies strengthen their grip ahead of general elections.

>> reporter: limited access in and out of the headquarters of the ruling union solidarity and development party. it's been surrounded by security forces locking many mp's inside. for months there has been an internal power strug between the chairman of the ruling party and the president. both are former top military officers, and both have said they want to run for president in november's general election. but a meeting to declare the candidates before friday's deadline also included an announcement that the chairman had been dismissed. >> translator: he is not on the list of the central committee, but is still chairman of the lower house of parliament, and is listed as a candidate in the lower house of the party too. >> reporter: the secretary general of the party has also been dismissed. there are still questions over

what it means for both men and their position in the ruling party. >> the army and to some extent [ inaudible ] and his ministers feel he has been a traitor, that he hasn't been playing ball with the executive, and that he has been trying to manipulate the parliament to change the constitution, when, in fact the army and the president are not ready for it. >> reporter: it's also being seen as a blow to myanmar's path to democracy just three months before the general election. it's supposed to be the least restricted since the military handed over power four years ago. but in-fighting and public protests have already caused election unrest. the party of opposition leader is expected to mak major gains in the election, but she is not allowed to run for president, a the law bars candidates who have children with foreign passports.

november's election is being seen by the international community as a test of whether the military commanders really are ready to loosen their grip on power. the president of the west africa nation of guinea bissau has dismissed the president. there has been months of in fighting over the division of power. donors have previously threat enned to withhold $1 billion in aid if meders mail to maintain stability. our international correspondent says the president and the prime minister have a difficult relationship. >> i think that the main problem is between the ruling party where there are really many classes or many clans inside fighting one another. and the other part also is -- i

think is our [ inaudible ] which needs to bereviewed, because we have a parliament and constitution which gives force to the prime minister while in this frame, the head of state wanted to have a final review in management of the country. so the country is really matter of burning concern, because these are just coming from the round table of [ inaudible ] where the donors has promised to give more than $1 billion. so in this condition, for sure, they will postpone or wait for a lot of time. it will be a very, very difficult, very tough time for just the people and the economy of the country also. the world health organization has suggested it could defeat the ebola virus by the end of the year. the director made the comments

during a brief with the united nations security council. but she said just one case can ignite a flairup. the deadly disease erupted in west africa last year, and has infected almost 30,000 people and killed more than 11,000. >> if the current intensity of case action and contract tracing is sustained, the virus can be soundly defeated by the end of this year. that means going to zero and staying at zero. >> reporter: the greek government is asking its parliament to approve an 85 billion euro bailout deal. that's what the country needs to avoid defaulting on a debt agreement next week. john psaropoulos is monitoring the situation in athens, and joins us live. do you expect this to go through easily? it feels like we have been here

before. >> reporter: it does. the big upheaval that you saw behind me in july, that was a framework agreement, now you have the first implementation law within that frame agreement, and that is beginning to tighten the screws on government spending and the payouts particularly in the pension and the health sectors. so -- so the debate is going to be, i think, as acrimonious as it was on july 15th, when this loan was approved in principal as the only way to keep giese been the euro zone, and particular akco moanny is being caused by the fact that greece is agreeing to a 67 retirement age for everyone, private and public sector, beginning seven years from now. it is insisting on further spending cuts in pharmaceuticals, as well as other areas in the public

sector, so not surprisingly behind me night will be civil servants and people that come under the civil servant federal union, lauren. the government has been very keen to point out the positive points which the opposition, of course, is not. among those are that the government is going to have to produce a much smaller primary surplus in the next three years than was envisioned under the original agreement being executed by the previous conservative government, and that, the finance minister says will effectively save greek taxpayers roughly $22 billion worth of payments to creditors between now and 2018. it is also keen to point out that this particular bailout agreement is being accompanied by a 35 billion euro development fund that is entirely european

commission money. of course greek taxpayer money will also have to come into play for that 35 billion to be claimed. but still that's a reck fligs of the fact that greece needs growth and development in addition to austerity and that hasn't happened before. so the government is plugging the positive points of this third agreement, but it is nonetheless laboring under the perception that it has turned back on its basic preelection promise, which was not to bring any austerity measures of any kind to roll back the entire austerity-minded -- the austerity mind set that has governed all of these bailout loans that have been designed to keep greece in the euro zone, and that, it is thought by observers but also many in the cabinet will ultimately lead to early elections for this

government, possibly in the autumn. >> thank you very much indeed. doctors and teachers in ecuador have joineden -- joined endij nows people in protest. >> reporter: they call it the march for life and dignity. indigenous ecuadorians are demanding the right to education, and mainly they want to prevent the president to amend the constitution that will allow him to run for a fourth term. >> translator: we demand a national assembly eliminate the constitutional amendments. they are guaranteeing his indefinite reelection. if he wants to do that, he has to call for a referendum. >> reporter: they also claim he hasn't changed the social structure he promised. the majority of the country's wealth remains in few hands.

they say he promised him a citizens revolution. now they say he has failed them. >> reporter: in the capitol, workers, unions, teachers, and doctors will join these protesters. each one has their own demand. they want to turn this one-day national strike into an indefinite protest until the president resigns. >> reporter: this man believes deep down many protesters are worried like him about the economy, the slump in oil prices has forced a contraction in the economic growth. >> translator: with the measures taken by the government like imposing more taxes there isn't much work. >> reporter: he says the strike will be a failure, however, he has offered to talk to protesters. >> translator: the president has called for a national dialogue. i think many issues can be improved and rectified and we are ready to recognize things

could be perfect. >> reporter: indigenous groups like this one, helped the president win office eight years ago. now they have become some of his worst critics. >> translator: we voted for him. he sold us illusions, dreams, and now we have woken up from a nightmare. for more than eight years we have waited, but now we say enough, he will have to resign. >> reporter: these protesters say they don't want a dialogue with the government. they are looking for answers to their demands, and they say they won't return home empty handed. more rain and strong winds are expected in argentina, where a series of storms have caused severe flooding. our correspondent reports. >> reporter: trying to take assistance to those cut off by the water. volunteer firemen are working day and night to help those in

need at the rivers as streams in the northern part of buenos aires flood the area. experts say 35 centimeters of water fell in a matter of days. this person lives here and is trying to save whatever little 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 effected. at the university here, 80 have taken refuge. we're told hundreds of others have been placed in other schools around the city. this woman and her daughter say they have nowhere else to go. >> translator: we lost everything. all of our belongings. we are trying to get some clothes and food here. but i'm not sure how we're 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 almost five days

and most have already been victims from flooding in this area in the past. that's why they are demanding more government action. the government says they have invested millions of dollars in the area. this man claims that more funds are needed to prevent the river from flooding again. >> translator: we understand that large-scale development needs to happen here. we need to broaden the river so it adjusts to the increased water levels. more precautions need to be taken, but that can only be done by the federal government there >> reporter: many affected live in the city's poorest areas, near the river. they claim they cannot afford to move. they only hope that immediate action is taken, so the next storm doesn't force them out of their homes. this year unusually dark

skies made the meteor shower even more impressive. >> reporter: where the moon is a big factor in being able to see the meteor shower. >> there are years when you don't get a good view. and there are also years when the moon is particularly bright, and one of the special things about this year is there's no interference from the moon. >> reporter: debris creates the spectacular fire balls. scientists want to know more about what the balls are made of. >> the earth is literally colliding with the debris that has come off of something like a com comet, and as it does that, all of the tiny pieces of sand or a tiny pebble-like thing, get burned up in the earth's a

atmosphere making it look like a streak of light coming across. >> reporter: if you missed wednesday's light show, don't worry, as long as the sky is clear, more shooting stars should be visible this evening. >> more on our website, aljazeera.com. [ explosion ] [ screaming ] dozens killed, thousands evacuated after explosions in china. the government confirms poisonous chemicals are in the air. a deadly day across iraq, isil attacks a crowded market, and a military convoy in separate attacks. plus president jimmy carter's fight. the new diagnosis as he announces his cancer has spread. ♪