thanks for your time. >> a powerful explosion kills at least 16 and leaves others running for their lives in bangkok. i'm lauren taylor. also, south sudan leader signs a peace deal but the other says he needs more time. more protection for civilians after one of the most dangerous attacks in syria.

a centuries old traditions. traditions. tradition. at leech 16 people have been killed in the thai capital bangkok. it happened in the hindu shrine section of the city. here is emma hayward. >> with the fire from the explosion still burning, there was a desperate race to reach survivors. as the emergency services moved in, police try to secure the area. a bomb on a motor bike had exploded moments before and closed circuit television shows the moment fear struck in the heart of ban cot. with people running for their

lives. the bomb went off near the hindu shrine. bodies and metal debris was scattered across the street. several foreigners are among those who are known to have died. survivors were rushed to hospital. government officials say those behind the attack were trying to destroy thailand's economy and tourism industry. but no group has yet claimed responsibility for this. emma hayward, al jazeera. (f). let's go live now to veronica pedrosa. >> 80 people injured now it's

117. it was a massive blast that happened in a place that was very busy with tourists and worshipers. at the arowan shrine. a hindu place as emma reported, hindu shrine and what happened was that as soon as the blast went off we saw rescuers coming in very quickly. the area is now pretty much clear, there are no emergency services around but there are a lot of soldiers around. euld remember that thailand is run by a military government. this may present the biggest challenge to the government of the prime minister so far. >> and veronica, what measures have authorities taken as a result of this? >> reporter: what we've heard is this area, something like

oxford street in london where you are, will be shut off until 12:noon. 12:00 noon. i think what you'll see is increased security as the thai government tries to reassure people that this is a safe place for tourists to come. nevertheless there are expects that analysts are speaking about already, that there will be cancellations from the chinese and filipino tourists and the tourism sector is the only growing sector in the thai economy. consumers consumption as declined and investment. >> veronica pedrosa, thank you very much for bringing this this information live from bangkok.

one of south sudan warring leaders riek machar has put pen to paper. however his rival salva kiir, has not yet done so. evidence of widespread atrocities, including evidence that women and girls have been gang raped and burned alive. joining us live, what happens now then? >> well, let's just give you some upstairs in terms of what the rebel leader has told a press conference that ended a half an hour ago. he said he signed this deal what he described of his own free will. he said he was not pressured by the international community by igate to sign this deal. the approach that was put forth

basically gave the south suda sudanese leader everything he wanted. he said there were splits in the two groups, based on the rebels that defected last week. he said that was not an indication of a defection, more an indication of problems in salva kiir's front, sackings by salva kiir. however you look at it, throughout the last few days and whatever side we have spoken to there have been reservations about this deal. boast sides have expressed problems of what they described as having this deal imposed upon them by igad and the international community. the tonighty gritt nitty-grittyh

sudanese government, the united nations mission in south sudan or eu forces would pose a problem with respect to sovereignty, questions about how to divvy power in upper nile region which is an oil-rich region that the rebels control most of now. and there's been problems with respect to trying to unify the forces, to try to bring a unified army. whatever way you look at it, both sides are accused of committing gross human rights violations. and as mr. kiir travels back to juba, for another week of potential consultations, the suffering of the south sudanese people goes on. and there seems to be no definite end in sight for this

project. >> charles stratford, thank you. killing more than 100 people their deaths added to almost a quarter of a million people that have been killed during four years of conflict including at least 70,00 70,000 civilians. 30,000 more are missing, many are expected to be locked up in prisons. 7.5 million people are displaced within syria's borders and 4 million refugees fled to other countries. zeina khodr reports. >> the plane dropped the bomb in a crowded marketplace. it is all-too-familiar place for the people in the rebel stronghold of duma. sunday's attack was the worst yet. civil defense workers and others

gathered at the site of the explosion to help move the wounded when more air raids hit. more than 100 people were killed and dozens of others were wounded. doctors at the field hospital struggled to help those who lived. many were critically injured. according to activists on the ground, the victims were civilians, women and children among them. u.n. humanitarian chief stephen o'brien, the u.n. has been unable to stop the violence or bring about a political settlement but o'brien has condemned the duma strikes. >> i'm absolutely horrified about the total disregard for civilian life by all parties. unacceptable and must stop. i appeal to every party engaged in violence and fighting to

protect civilians. and to respect international humanitarian law. >> reporter: syrian state media don't mention the attack on duma but a source is quoted by saying, targeted the headquarters of the rebel group the islam army. a day earlier, the group had announced a new offensive against government forces and captured an army base in haresta. fighting around the area ever damascus has escalated in the past days. the military still controls the skies and civilians more often than not have been targeted. haresta like adam is at the door steps of the government's seat of power. that is why sunday's attacks are being seen as a message to the people of the area. the actions of the opposition, zeina khodr, al jazeera, beirut.

>> iraq's prime minister nuer ni al-maliki may be put on trial. accused him and other officials of not doing enough to stop i.s.i.l.'s advance. with more than 3 million people internally displaced in iraq, another casualty, children's education. mohammed jamjoom reports. >> reporter: in a climate that makes concentrating nearly impossible and handbooks don't distract from the heat these internally displaced iraqi students are doing their best to learn. >> translator: we used to live in our neighborhoods, and it was like heaven. now we're studying here. >> reporter: while the boys here worry the world has forsaken them, they're

determined not to give up on their education. according to unicef there are approximately 850,000 internally displaced school aged children here in iraq. of that number 650,000 have missed at least a year worth of classes. that's why schools like this are so important now. he fled anbar province with his family when i.s.i.l. took it over in april. he's one of the students forced to miss months of school. >> translator: if we were back at home would i wear a proper uniform to school. not dried like this or housed in tents. >> reporter: teacher says the situation is even worse than it looks at the idp camp. >> translator: the most basic requirements for classes are not available. we have 90 students in three different classes and only 30

books were distributed. how can you teach 90 students with 30 books? >> reporter: they tell me only 30 students should be going here now but only five make it every day. his wife teaches english to another group of students in an adjacent tent. she expresses even more concern. >> we feel that this is a crime against those poor children. what do these children do to deserve such harsh conditions? these students lack the basics to teach them adequately. >> lacking english, these students read content printed out for them. on a white board. 12-year-old mohammed says much, much more is needed. >> translator: it's very, very hard. the electricity comes and then it goes and sometimes it just doesn't come at all.

>> reporter: outside, the next class queues up and tattered workbooks wither in the sun. while mothers bake bread for an encampment where there's far too much hunger and the thirst for knowledge hasn't come close to being quenched. this is mohammed jamjoom, al jazeera, baghdad. >> food deserts of the united states, why some areas of the united states aren't able to access good nutrition. it wasn't science at all. >> there's a lot of lives at stake, a lot of innocent people. >> how many are still locked up? >> the integrity of the criminal justice system is at stake, plain and simple. >> "faultlines". >> what do we want? >> al jazeera america's hard-hitting... >> today the will be arrested. >> ground-breaking... >> they're firing canisters of gas at us. >> emmy award-winning, investigative series. >> we have to get out of here.

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>> hello there, a reminder of the top of stories on al jazeera. a bomb targeted bangkok's most popular tourist areas. south sudan, is close to signing a peace deal. and more than 100 people died on a syrian government air strike on a busy marketplace. former president returned to political office, the indian ocean island nation has a total population of 20 million. choosing from more than 6,000 candidates vying for 225 parliamentary seats. they include this man, mohinder

rajipaxa. liddy dutt reports. >> voters queued early to cast their ballots. in january, they elected a new president and on monday they return to vote for 225 members.parliament. >> it is my duty to cast my vote in favor of a person who can guide the country and the people of this country. >> translator: the selection is important for the country in every aspect. i think people have used their brains and they'll vote wisely. >> reporter: voter identification in hand people across sri lanka gather at temples. this is as close as we have been able to get to engage what's going on. strict rules governing access to polling routes are to make sure these elections are free and fair. election observers say this constituency has drawn more

attention this time around because sri lanka's former president, mohinder rajipaxa axs one of the candidates. >> apart from this we have seen any other election violence or violations of it. >> the results of this election are not only expected to determine the political futures of a few sri lankan politician he but also the direction of the country. liddy dutt, al jazeera, sri lanka. >> minel, some numbers are coming out from postal ballots, what do they show? we've lost minel, we'll try oget her back a little bit later. in the meantime, the bodies of thousands of mie migrants have n

brought to the italian shore. hundreds of migrants have been rescued by the no norwegian frox rescue boat. the six month ceasefire in ukraine is looking shakier by the day. nine people are reportedly dead after an all night shelling exchange. it came down after a breakdown of the latest talks. sonia gallego has the story. . >> took just 20 minutes to reduce this street to rubble. ukraine military said two people were killed as russian back rebelled shelled the village. >> a man 30 years old and a

woman of 22 were killed. six others were wounded. the most of serious injuries were those sustained by a mother with a child. >> reporter: yet the separatists are blaming ukraine forces for shelling. this part of the country has born the attacks in recent days. there continues to be sporadic fighting and that's despite a tenuous ceasefire that's been more or less in place since february. moscow is publicly accusing ukraine military of an offensive against pro-russian separatists. >> we're worried about the lathest developments. i.t. was like that last august when ukrainian soldiers received the order to attack. it was also like that this past january when there was another attempt to resolve the situation by using force. that also failed. and the ukrainian side agreed to admonish talks. we believe one shouldn't be

experimenting and trying one's luck. one should just follow what was agreed upon in minsk. >> reporter: more than 6800 people have been killed since the conflict began. driven nearly 1.5 million from their home. several units from either side have refused to obey their military commanders. sonia gallego, al jazeera. egypt has passed a law that enables courts and punishment. mohammad adopunishment. >> the hands of justice are chained by laws. we will not wait. we will change laws in order to allow us to implement law and

justice as soon as possible. >> reporter: that promise has now turned into a piece of legislation that brought the public order as terrorism and punishes them accordingly. those found guilty of forming or leading a group the government considers a terrorist entity are punishable by death or life in prison. financing these groups also carries a life sentence which is 25 years in egypt. the law grants protection to the military and police who use force while acting in the name of the law white jowrnlts can be fined for contradicting the official version of any attack. some egyptians are concerned. >> the law here is a system that isn't protecting the citizenry but rather protecting the state. this is becoming indicative of a larger pattern of the psychologist of power, and there is no check on not only his power but on the power of

dissemination of force. >> reporter: egypt's military is engaged in an operation against fighters based in the sinai peninsula. they have been carrying out attacks in military installations, attacking soldiers and police beyond the sinai and into the capital, cairo. some are asking, are these laws targeting these groups or anyone opposed to the government? jerald tan, al jazeera. described as food deserts, areas of the united states are preventing people from getting proper nutrition. as andy gallagher reports, mississippi delta. >> it's known as the home of blues music but better known these days as an area for extreme food poverty, access to healthy affordable food is a big problem. >> leah, what would you like for

dinner? >> leslie has never heard the phrase food desert before but she's living it. the closest grocery store is 15 kilometers away. >> my husband and other neighbors in the neighboring town we have to work together to try oget food. we have to carpool, bum a ride as you call it to get food. it's hard. >> reporter: food deserts are not a new phenomenon in the delta and it's often the young who pay the price. almost a quarter to 50% ever the young are obese, as a result of access to good food. poverty is also a factor. >> they can't afford to eat healthy and nutrition food. if you have six kids at home, you buy 30 pounds of grapes, that's not going to last long

and all your money is going to be gone. >> reporter: convenience stores are the option, if i were shopping for my family the options are limited, canned foods, and a few rotten apples, contributing to diabetes and obesity. getting access to produce in a remote area makes it too expensive. his experience is typical for the entire region. >> fruits and vegetables, you feed it and it's kind of hard to supply it. we just don't have the resources to do it with. >> reporter: the irony of all this is the delta is one of the most fertile places, yet it's continuing to struggle to provide food for its own

residents. andy gallagher, al jazeera. legislation which would allow gay marriage. warren ench put forth the proposition in police department. the opposition isn't letting its mps to vote for gay marriage. for centuries the indigo dye pits in northern nigeria have attracted tourists. as amaas ahmed idris reports. >> trying to keep alive a centuries old tradition but workers here are losing a battle. the dye pits, as old as the city, have been a source of income for many families for generations. for 64 years, mahmoud earned a

living here, now things aren't looking good. >> translator: we had customers from all neighboring countries and as far as the arab world. now nobody comes, i can't understand it, we continue to make quality products. >> the results aren't encouraging. they continue to lose their share of the market because of cheap and substandard imports. the chinese have come to town and the locals allege the art has been copied and used against them. flooded with cheap imported fabrics from asia. they include dyed textile material from china. as a result, hundreds are out of work. now there used to be 300 dye

pits and now they are disused. locals push them out and establish a near total monopoly. >> when they come to this business, it affect us because i will spend at least three to four days without doing nothing. without doing nothing. people will become almost jobless because of this -- their invasion into our business. >> reporter: people like ma mamoud, his will be the last generation to carry on this highly respected tradition. ahmed idris, al jazeera, ghana.

director about 20,000 people have applied to exit. rafa is gaza's only border crossing that isn't controlled by israel. a quick reminder, catch up on the latest, the address is aljazeera.com. >> a massive explosion rocks thailand's capital killing dozens near a hin d hindu shrin. and parallels public health epidemic. colleges the right to form a union.