hull of the ship that was in distress. yet, these kinds of tragedies are hardly unusual in the mediterranean now. i'm speaking to you now from the ship belonging to the aid group doctors without borders heading at the moment through the straits towards the surgeon mediterranean. it's been running an operation since may. in that time it has rescued thousands of people from the sea and the aid workers on this ship say they're performing a role that european governments are not. >> moving to other top story, a brawl has broken out on the greek island of kos where

thousands of refugees and other migrants are waiting to be allowed in to mainland europe. it was over the claim that some refugees are getting preferential treatment. >> it's unclear who started it, but there was no holding back. >> with anger, suspicion boiled over the intensity of the summer sun. many had come hoping to get the papers to allow them to leave kos for the mainland, but the station was closed. disappointment and desperation turned into chants of freedom. some say that others are getting preferential treatment. >> no papers. what happens? please, please can you help? >> the situation is becoming

increasingly urgent. even a loaf of bread is precious. some people have found shelter and even a shower. but the facilities are being criticized. >> hundreds of migrants are being moved on. this boat left for athens on friday. anothership to be used only by syrian refugees have yet to start operating. but still others wait hoping despite their nationality that they will be allowed on board. every day there are more and rifles many crossing the short distance from turkey. greece was not prepared for this, and athens has called for help from the outside world. it is still waiting.

al jazeera. >> well, there have been tense scene he is and hundreds of migrants desperately try to border trains in macedonia that will take them to an e.u. country. huge crowds waited on the side of a platform for a train to take them to serbia. the last stop, hungary. the railway avoids sea crossings in the mediterranean, but there was not enough room for everyone on board. and the migrants tried to pull others off the train to secure a place. 1500 people are trying to reach the country each day. >> moving to iraq now where at least 21 people have been killed in a series of bombings in baghdad. some of the victims died when a parked car blew up in a popular

dealership. roadside bomb exploded in western baghdad near a chain of commercial shops. more than 100 people were injured in both those explosions. let's get the latest on this n now. this attack, the latest in a series of bomb blasts we've seen in the iraqi capital, tell us about the inhabitants and the area specific to these latest blasts. [ silence ] >> hello? >> hi, mohammed, not sure if you can hear me, but let me try putting that question to you again. just asking you a little bit about the area where these specific attacks took place i in the city which has been the scene of a number of attacks in the iraqi capital as of late. >> i hear you. can you hear me?

>> apologies for that. we'll try to establish a stronger connection in baghdad where over 20 people have been killed in series of blasts which took place in the capital today in a busy commercial part of town. more on that later. let's move on here with news from china. media reporting that highly toxic chemicals have been found at the site of deadly explosions. [ explosions ] >> multiple explosions were so powerful that they knocked over hundreds of heavy chipping containers in the port area. the death toll has risen to 100. the warehouse near the blast site wa was storing cyanide, much more than allowed was reported. officials are denying reports that people are forced to wear

face masks as their makeshift camps are evaluated. >> people within two kilometers of where the event happened would be evacuated. i saw that there was a string of these announcements. we immediately found the situation with the emergency teams at the scene. this information is not accurate. there are no plans to evacuate people. at present there are no plans to evacuate people. >> meanwhile, pulling survivors from the rubble after wednesday's explosions. this man suffered respiratory and burns and internal injuries, he's now in stable condition. 21 of the people killed in the blast were firefighters. now fighters loyal to the exile yemeni president abd rabbuh mansur hadi has made significant gains against huty rebels. they've taken control in the

country's third largest city taiz. they now say that they control the shabwa roman catholic vinc a--province in the south. >> taking control. recapturing the buildings in the main city of ta taiz. on saturday, they announced that they had managed to expel the houthis and their allies afte >> they ha

>> we're in constant contact with the commander hq in aden. we're all working together to cleanse taiz and we'll work to liberate ibb. >> 18 houthi rebels were killed and 30 others were injured. the destruction caused by the fighting were cleared. momentum has been on the side of pro government forces since they managed to capture the port city of aden. the coalition has provided armored carriers, weapons and logistical support to the forces. but with all this destruction and the extreme poverty faced by most people here it's still not clear what will help to rebuild the homes and lives of yemenis when all of this is over. al jazeera. >> still to come.

>> commemorations marking 70 years since the end of the second world war. also, bein seeing red, anger spills out on the streets of guatemala. that story in just a few moment's time.

>> welcome back. here at al jazeera a quick recap of your 207 stories. eythe italian navy has rescued people off the coast of libya,

but 40 people are thought to have suffocated in the hull. 21 people have been killed i in a series of roadside bombings. pulling survivors from the rubble in china's city of tianjin after explosions killed over a hundred people. now commemorations taking place around the world marking the end of world war ii 70 years after japan surrendered. expressing deep remorse over the conflict. we have this report from cokeio. >> he didn't find out about japan's cease-fire until two days afterwards but it made little difference for him or his comrades. a 16-year-old cadet serving in manchuria, china, his naivety gave way to the war.

his war would last two years beyond the surrender as soviet prisoner in siberia. >> i myself did not kill an enemy or participate in a combative act. but the military i joined invaded other countries, abused and humiliated it's people. i was its member. that is an inescapable truth. it was a military of aggression. >> 70 years on, japan is in the throws of debate of how large a shadow that history should still act. emperor was an 11-year-old boy. today his message was one of peace and condolence. >> reflecting on our past and bearing in mind to the feelings of deep remorse over the last war, i earnestly hope that the ravages of war will never be repeated together with all of our people. i now pay my heartfelt tribute to all of those who lost their lives. >> japan's prime minister pled

pledged that his country would always remember the war. in south korea where this anniversary is known as liberation day bringing to an end 35 years of the japanese colony rule that did not go u unnoticed. there were few a regrettable points and called on japan to show its apologies through its actions. china's foreign ministry said that abe had been evasive on the issue of military aggression and should have made a sincere apology to the victim countries. neither beijing nor seoul would have been impressed that shinzo abe sent a ritual cash offering to the shrine where among the war dead 14 war criminals are also honored.

shinzo abe wants to use this anniversary as a water shed, to advance from feeling the need to continue to apologize. he wants to give japan the right not just to defend itself but as allies as a naturalized nation in the 21st century. the problem is the past he wants to move beyond is still hugely divisive at home and with its neighbors. poll numbers have plunged, remains around 60%. but shinzo abe's post-war mindset seems to be his cause that he is determined to press on. al jazeera, tokyo. >> in the u.k. the prime minister and members of the british royal family give tribute to those lost in the conflict. most of those involved are now in their 90s.

>> the day began with the queen in a religious service with those involved in the fighting and prime minister david camer cameron. the horse guard parade, the usual pomp and circumstance ceremony with sir charles. air force planes old and new flew over head. this was a chance to remember the 70,000 british soldiers who died fighting the japanese and paid tribute to those who survived. >> grow not old as we that are left grow old. age shall not wary them. nor the years condemn. >> the british soldiers who fought the war in the far east were often referred to as the forgotten army. the legacy of their sacrifice is far more complex than that of their colleagues who defeated

nazi germany in europe. this being the 70th anniversary, this will be the last chance for many to tell their story. >> constance thompson supported british troops running a canteen near the front line. her husband peter, now dead, was a prisoner of war. >> it has brought back a lot of memories which were tucked away. and you know, when these championships would come out of the camps, i'm really glad to be here. i just--it will be the last time i shall do anything like this. >> the british fighting against japan seemed remote to many. it was fought in far off colonial outposts in defense of imperial possessions. it had little impact on the home front. today the resentment of japanese behavior in the war has largely

been over come. this was a chance for those still alive to take the public ovation for the struggle that many believe did not receive but that they deserved. >> fighting erupting again. rebels fired mortars in idlib province and the government retaliated in damascus. >> the movement involved in these negotiations saying that it will no longer abide by the cease-fire and that negotiations are now over. a few days ago a cease-fire was reached on two front lines. one in the north and one in the damascus crown side. and the warring parties were involved in the negotiations that would have seen rebel

fighters get safe passage to leave the town of zabadani in exchange civilians in the villages, two shia villages populated by government loyalists, they would be evacuated. what we understand is that the government had another demand, and that was not just the fighters would have to leave, but the civilians would have to leave. for the opposition that means changing the demography. they're saying they will not accept this. this was really about a population swap which was unprecedented. we've seen people being displaced from one area to another, and we've seen the different parties trying to carve out different zones, but this would be a deliberate agreement to swap populations to allow the shia, who are in idlib. they've been holding out even though much of idlib pro since

is now with the rebels, they would leave and the sunni population would leave to the rebel-controlled nor. now the rebels are saying that these negotiations, this we're now over, and what we're expecting really over the next few days is really battles on--in both these areas. >> two palestinians have been shot after they allegedly launched knife attacks on israeli forces. one of the suspects was killed. the two separate incidents took place in the occupied west bank. the palestinian who was killed is said to have approached a security checkpoint and stabbed an officer in the back. earlier on saturday the other man is reported to have asked troops at the border crossing for a glass of water before stabbing a soldier who fetched it for him. somalia is unlikely to hold elections next year because of continuing violence. but the government adamant that some kind of voting process will still be held.

here are our reports. >> it's election time in sow ma i can't's jubilant state. members of parliament are voting for a regional president. the public will not play a role in this process. as the candidates make their policy pitches fo before the mps and asks for their votes. >> i think all these infrastructure pieces have to be built up. in terms of the somali people we're willing, we're ready. >> somali president, three years ago he was elected by a parliament whose members were selected. he then promised to complete the transition to democracy. the next president of somalia would be elected through popular elections. but he announced that it would be difficult to hold such elections after all.

>> making progress on important issues of security and the threat of al-shabab fighters have not been asked. now the government is under intense pressure to come up with a system that will rely on a plan to select parliament members. >> they have to come up with a system other than the traditional leaders collecting th, that system is no longer acceptable to the public. >> government officials now say that they're seeking an alternative process for next year. a former minister. >> maybe we'll have 20,000,

30,000, the whole country. that's 30,000 can also elect the president. >> back in the parliament, the winner is declared after one round of voting. interim president will take his seat. many in attendance celebrate the outcome. they may not have had a say in the polls, but the results got them excited. al jazeera. somalia. >> two top political person amounts hoping to become the next u.s. president are out campaigning at the same state fair. donald trump running for the republican presidential nomination while hillary clinton is seeking the democratic party spot. the pair are in iowa and had a moment of unity when they lashed out at republican hopeful jeb bush's recent comments on iraq. bush suggested that the obama

administration policies and withdraw from iraq caused the problem with isil. >> i find it curious that jeb bush is doubling down on defending his brother's actions in iraq, but if he's going to do that, he should present the entire picture, and the entire picture, as you know, includes the agreement that george w. bush made with the maliki government in iraq that set the end of 2011 as the date to withdraw american troops. that was done under george w. bush. >> you know, he made statements over the last couple of days that are incredible, trying to justify the war in iraq, that can't be justified. then he said "skin in the game." he said that the united states has to prove to iraq that we have skin in the game. we spent 2 trillion-dollar, thousands of lives lost, wounded warriorser who i love all over the place, and he said we have

to prove that we have skin in the game. i think it may be one of the dumbest statements i've ever heard. skin in the game. we don't have to prove anything. >> homes in southern japan are being evacuated as a nearby volcano becomes increasingly active. it is 50 kilometers from a nuclear reactor that has just been restarted. locals began to leave after the threat alert was raised to an unprecedented level. last year 63 people were killed when a volcano in central japan erupted unexpectedly. now, guatemalan will go to the polls to elect a new president on the sixth of september. but a series of corruption scandals threaten to over shadow the vote. investigates by an u.n.-backed commission that revealed the depth of corruption in guatema guatemala's political system. >> it's saturday morning and hundreds of people take to the

streets to show their political colors. elections are less than a month away, and supporters of the opposition leader party are out to rally new recruits. campaign signs boast of honesty, transparency and honor, slogans that compete for voter attention. but these elections are overshadowed by guatemala's biggest political crisis since the end of the civil war. at the root of this crisis is government corruption. over the past four months politicians have faced corruption scandals. several high-level officials were arrested and top cabinet ministers including the vice president, lost their jobs. the head of an united nations backed commission whose investigations led to the probes said that criminal groups often gain a foothold during political campaigning. >> in general corruption is at the verge of the country's elect traditional political financing.

unfortunately, this is produced an explosion in organized crime, criminal interests including drug traffickers are involved in criminal activity which has co-opted the state. >> the investigation brought months of anti-corruption protests. the biggest demonstration the country has seen in decades. a recently poll showed that while 13% of guatemalans trust political parties two out of three have confidence. the protests are a sign that guatemalans are waking up to their political power. >> what has happened since the first protest in april shows an important growth in people's participation in public affairs. something that is absolutely necessary. a citizenry active in the fight against corruption and impunity for a better political system and greater inclusion in the government's decisions. >> on september 6th guatemalans will vote for the men and women

who will lead their country for the next four years. many say that the potential for change has rarely been so close. david mercer, al jazeera, guatemala. >> we'll have more on all the stories we've covered right here www.aljazeera.com. >> i'm nidhi dutt, in indonesia, where orangutan conservationists are climbing to new heights. >> and i'm russell beard in flanders in belgium, to meet to meet the urban miners turning rubbish into raw materials.