police in hungary arrest four people after the bodies of 71 refugees are found in a truck. ♪ hello this is al jazeera, live from doha, i'm adrian finighan. a boat carrying refugees capsizes off of the coast of libya. security is high in iraq's capitol ahead of anti-corruption protests. and we meet the children in nigeria trying to start over

their lives were scarred by boko haram. ♪ four people including the owner and drivers of the truck in which 71 people died in autria have been arrested. the victims were syrian refugees, the youngest a girl under two years old. the police are working to identify the dead and inform their families. >> reporter: carrying away the remains of the dead collected from the abandoned refrigerated lori where they died, men, women, children, the youngest a mere toddler all enduring their last hours in barbaric undignified circumstances. their bodily fluids had begun to drip out of the back door.

this is how they ended their hellish journey, all of this just to escape war. among the remains a syrian travel document was recovered. time and again there have been cries for solutions to prevent such deaths for those trying to get to western europe. attempts to prevent them from coming in the first place are not working. >> i think the solution is not to make more -- more border checks. i think the best solution is to find legal ways to europe, because on the one side you can't protect the refugee, and on the other side, it is the best [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: austrian police say a bulgarian hungarian trafficking ring was most likely responsible. >> translator: based on the findings of the work carried out

by the criminal investigation office, together with hungarian authorities, the public prosecutor issued european arrest warrens for four people overnight. >> reporter: in spite of the danger, thousands keep coming every day. they embark on dangerous journeys, desperate searching for a better life. the number of refugees crossing the mediterranean to reach european soil already have passed 300,000, and they will keep coming while war and strife continue unabated. well, the u.n. refugee agency says that more than 300,000 people have crossed the mediterranean to get to europe this year, that's from up 219,000 last year. the danger of making the journey doesn't seem to discourage the refugees. at least 82 died when their boat sank on thursday. the reuters news agency says

that a hundred people are still missing. >> reporter: the mediterranean sea has become a dark reminder of people's desperation to escape violence, persecution and poverty. thousands have been killed so far this year, in the latest tragedy, an overcrowded boat sunk shortly after leaving libya. >> translator: we are migrating our boat sank. it was in a bad condition. people died. the libyans saved us. may god bless them this is called the route of death, the grave of the mediterranean sea. >> reporter: libya is one of the main transit routes for people to try to make it to europe. smugglers take advantage of the country's lawlessness. libya is struggling to cope. the people are forced to live in poor conditions and lack basic

medical care. in another tragic incident, a swedish vessel after rescuing hundreds of people from their boat drifting at sea, but dozens others weren't so lucky, their bodies found in the hull of the boat. >> this is one of the tragedies with have seen a lot. this is the first time for the swedish crew and the swedish ship. unfortunately it's one of many in total. >> reporter: the u.n. estimates that more than 2,400 people have died trying to cross the mediterranean sea so far this year. hundreds of thousands have made the cross going europe so far this year, in a desperate attempt to improve their lives. many are families travelling with children. the european union is trying desperately to establish a coordinated strategy to resolve this latest crisis. in the meantime, the people keep coming.

well there have been further calls for a unified european strategy to deal with the refugee crisis. the latest from the gorman foreign minister. >> translator: we need to spell out european solidarity when it comes to refugees, and that means even if we face scepticism and reservations, we need a fair distribution of re-gigee regee -- refugees in europe. >> reporter: the ayatollah is voicing prosort of protests due later on friday. he says the government must show it's sirrous about fighting corruption, the prime minister's latest reform plan is for greater access for civilians in baghdad. now more from zana hoda. >> reporter: these measures are part of the prime minister's promised reforms.

he has instructed military commanders in baghdad and other provinces to open roads which were closed by politicians and security factions to protect their homes, or to protect their headquarters. he is also calling on these commanders to give civilians access to the green zone a heavily fortified area in baghdad where the parliament and government are bases where foreign embassies are based. this is not going to be easily implemented on the ground. one official said that this is going to take time. this city is still not safe. we spoke to the prime minister's office. they are saying, of course, we understand this is not going to happen overnight, but they are pushing for this to be implemented very soon. later today, there are going to be protests in baghdad and in other provinces every friday people have been taking to the streets to support the prime minister to push ahead, but this

time around an influential political party has called on their supporters to attend. some there has been accused of trying to hijack the protest movement, especially since his members are in government and some have been accused of corruption, and really this is a very dangerous crisis and dangerous times in iraq. you have the ruling establishment involved in -- in a power struggle, abadi pushes ahead, he is going up against these people who will not want to give up power and privileges without a fight. turkey's prime minister is forming a new cabinet to oversee new elections in november. two opposition parties rejected invitations to be part of the interim government. but two represents from the hdp have indicated that they will join. government forces in yemen say the country will eventually have a new professional army.

of situation houthi fighters and units loyal to former president saleh will be disbanded. troops will be entitled to jien a future national fighting force. as hashem ahelbarra reports. >> reporter: there were mostly militia men or civilians who took up arms against the houthis in the south. now they have been recruited to join yemen's new army. the country's military is known for being divided along tribal and sectarian lines. some of these trainees were forced to retire under former president saleh. under his administration there was inherent mistrust of people from southern yemen. they fear they might form a brake-away state. >> translator: we formed this bah italian a few weeks ago, right after he defeated the houthi fighters.

they have mostly been drawn from the civilians who fought off the invad invaders. >> reporter: across the country plans are underway to build support for exiled president hadi, but his return to power depends on an army that is loyal to him. this is a province on yemen's border with saudi arabia, some of these tribal leaders had links with the houthis. now they are switching sides. they are joining with government forces to recapture the province of sa'dah. >> we are making preparations to start a military campaign to liberate the province. we gret not taking up arms against the rebels in the past. now we will hunt them, and defeat them, and seize their strong hold on sa'dah province. >> reporter: but the new army has a long way to go. lacking training and resources, it remains outnumbered and outgunned by forces allied with

the houthis. and some of these fighters are more loyal to their tribal leaders than the army. in the past new months, many military units defected or joined the rebels, for now there are two armies fighting for control. the one in the north in mainly shia, and the one in the south is mainly sunni. leaving an uncertain future. hashem ahelbarra, al jazeera. police in australia have called off a ran done visa check operation following a public outcry. hundreds protested in the city of melbourne as imran khan reports. >> reporter: it was supposed to be a flagship policing mission, but instead it became operation ineptitude. australian police forces had to admit the plan was handled badly. >> i find the idea of people going around on the street checking people's papers frankly

orwellian. >> this is not nazi germany, and we need to fight against it now. >> reporter: once again, though, it was social media that spurred a protest movement. a call was put out, and hundreds gathered. the reaction was such that the australian border force had to issue a blunt statement and cancel the operation. >> it has been misconstrued and shouldn't have been worded that way. >> reporter: the protesters celebrated their success and managed to bring the city to a stand still. local politicians and media watchers likened operation fortitude to an action by a fascist government. >> we fought a war against this sort of stuff in 1945. >> reporter: for now it's a win for the protesters and a loss for the state. imran khan, al jazeera. just ahead here on al jazeera . . .

calls for guatemala's president to step down grow ever louder. plus the standoff may have eased, but the tension on the korean pension la continues as seoul shows off its fire power. ♪

hello again, the top stories here on al jazeera. police is austria say they have recovered 71 bodies from the back of a truck left abandoned on a motorway near the border

with hungary. the victims were refugees. four were children. hungarian police say they have arrested four men. at least 82 people have drowned off of the coast of libya, and at least 100 are believed to still be missing. many were trapped in the hull when the boat sank. security is being tightened in the iraq yay capitol. iraq's shia cleric is voicing support for the protests. he says that the government must show it's serious about fighting corruption. ♪ there have been mass protests in guatemala calling on the president to resign. most of his cabinet has already stepped down. david mercer reports. >> reporter: tens of thousands of people packed into guatemala

city's national park. there is widespread anger and frustration at a political system people say has failed them, with calls for the president to step down. >> translator: we are tired but we know that now is the time to rise up. guatemala has never been poor. the government has stolen from us. we need to rise up, because we want to show the world that the people united can achieve change. >> reporter: the president televised deny on sunday only served to bring more people to the streets. many schools and businesses were shut to allow students and staff to take part. they were joined by groups who have been blocking roads around the country for days. guatemala might be a country of sharp divisions with rich and poor, urban and rural, seldom coming together, and that's what makes this protest so unique. people from across the country

uniting forces for a common goal. >> reporter: the president watched the demonstrations on security cameras from the safety of a government office. just days ago a judge indicted the former vice president for fraud, bribery and illicit association, and congress has taken the first step in the process that could impeach the president for involvement in the same scam. analyst says the president has few choices available to him. >> translator: guatemala might be a country with sharp divisions with rich and poor, youral and urban seldom coming together, but that's what makes this protest so unique. uniting forces for a common goal. >> reporter: guatemalans will have the chance to vote for a new president in just over a week, but with the leading candidates all dogged by

controversy, people here say their fight is far from over. david mercer, al jazeera, guatemala city. indian and pakistani border guards have traded gunfire, killing nine people. pakistan said that six died, and india said that three were killed. at least 63 people were wounded on both sides of the border. both india and pakistan have accused each other of unprovoked fire. south korea's red cross has asked north korea to consider talks on family reunions in september. the south's reunification ministry wants them to take place in a border village. the issue was discussed last week during efforts to deest ka lace tensions between seoul and p peeian yang. meanwhile, south korea and the

u.s. have wrapped up their biggest-ever joint military drill. harry fawcett has more from near to where the drill took place. >> reporter: this combined drill is the largist live fire exercise ever carried out by the south korean military. and it comes in the same week that north and south korea concluded a deal which was at least for now the most serious tensions in this peninsula in the last couple of years. the size is interesting in terms of the types of scenarios that are being rehearsed. there is a wartime rehearsal and a peacetime one. the president's policy of any kind of north korean

provocation. and in fact she is here watching the drills being carried out. she is maintaining our harsh response to military action, but wants to ease family meetings. in october there is the 70th anniversary of north korea's working union party, an event that could be marked by rocket launching and possibly even a nuclear test. at least 40 people have died in north korea this week. state media has just released pictures of the damage near the border with china. heavy rain and floods have

caused buildings to collapse. more than 11,000 people have been forced from their homes. the governor of the u.s. state of florida has declared a state of emergency as tropical storm erika approaches. at least 25 people were killed by the storm in the caribbean. the storm is predicted to stay as a tropical storm when it makes landfall in florida on monday. u.s. president barack obama has been meeting with the people of new orleans. it has been ten years since the city was devastated by hurricane katrina, and the process of rebuilding has been quite a struggle. andy gallagher reports. >> reporter: this isn't president obama's first time in new orleans. he has marked anniversaries of hurricane katrina's devastation before. but he talked about the city's rising poverty, particularly amongst the african american population. he tackled the issue head on.

>> our work here won't be done when almost 40% of children still live in poverty in this city. that's not a finished job. that's not a full recovery. >> reporter: outside the new $20 million community center, residences waited to catch a glimpse of the president. but many here have complaints of what they see as the uneven recovery. >> the majority of these people was black and they was poor. >> to rent one bedroom is now $900. so the rental issue for housing, the market just is skyrocketing. >> reporter: the lower ninth ward still carries highly visible scars of a storm that changed everything. you only have to walk a couple of streets from where the

president made his speech to see things like this, less than half of the population ever returned to this city, and to address the challenges of wealth disparity, jobs and rising rents may be the biggest challenge for post katrina new orleans. but new orleans has made significant progress. the president acknowledged that and told residents their efforts hadn't gone unnoticed. >> i'm here to say, i'm here to hold up a mirror and say, because of you, the people of new orleans working together, this city is moving in the right direction, and i have never been more confident that together we will get to where we need to go. [ applause ] >> you inspire me. >> reporter: the president's focus on poverty and race will be welcomed by many here, but tackling those problems may take many more years. andy gallagher, al jazeera, new orleans, louisiana. boko haram violence in northern nigeria has made thousands of children orphans, most of them live in camps in

borno state, but one school away from the violence is offering them a new start in life. al jazeera's correspondent reports now. rz -- >> reporter: this is what boko haram doesn't want them to have, an education. these children are orphanses who parents are among thousands of people killed by the armed group in northern nigeria. their school and home for now, offers a new start, but the transition has not been easy. >> we are trying gradually to bring them out of the bad experience, at least let them forget about some of the bad experience. we can say it is a drastic, gradual process. >> reporter: it has been six months since they have been here, trying to adjust. the children may be making

progress, but most live with the trauma of the experience for the rest of their lives. many are still in shock. this young child's story was particularly sad. boko haram fighters decapitated his father in front of him. the traumatized boy says very little and is separated from the rest. he tells me he wants to be a doctor to help people in pain. his adjustment to life has been particularly hard. the impact of boko haram violence on little abdul are physical and psychological. he was shot in the face, and the four year old is having nightmares. the school which is run by the government has 100 children, and more are expected. >> it's not that big of deal for us to take care of these children in the family school. we believe it's a matter of

will. it's a matter of determination. and we have the determination. we shall not allow these children to be disadvantaged in terms of their normal growth as individuals. >> reporter: back at the school, it's playtime, at least to help take their minings off of what they have been through. their teachers say they keep asking when their parents will come for them, and when they are going home. campaigners are warning of a ecological disaster in the dead sea which they say is shrinking dramatically. >> reporter: environmentalists say the dead sea is shrinking rapidly. the ancient lake has been losing a meter of its waters every

year. an israeli tour guide says the decline of the dead sea and apparently indifference of neighboring governments has been shocking. >> i see the dead sea as an international property. it's really one in a kind in the world, and it should be international world heritage, and instead of we're destroying it, and it's being degraded from day-to-day. >> reporter: the dead sea is shrinking because 70% of its natural water sources are being diverted, mainly by israel but also jordan and to a lesser degree syria for farming and drinking water. the rest is caused by potash mining operations, and while the situation is worrying environmentalists, they are also concerned about the hundreds of sinkholes that have opened up since any 1980s.

sol lowing up roads and power lines, resulting in the closure of several beaches and businesses. >> actually, the [ inaudible ] sinkhole development is the drop in the level of the dead sea, and associated with that is a drop in the ground water level, and that causes areas that were previously within salty water to be flushed by sweet water, fresh water. >> reporter: some projects have been launched to try to save the dead sea, but it could take decades to repair the damage. and until neighboring countries stop diverting waters to the ancient lake or put an end to their mining practices, it's all but certain to dry up. one of the last survivors of a mass breakout from a world war

ii prison camp as died at the age of 101. he was one of more than 70 prisoners of war who tunnelled their way out of a german camp. the feet inspired the hollywood film "the great escape." for more real news take a look at our website at aljazeera.com. ♪ state of emergency. florida's governor prepares for tropical storm erika. president bush returns to new orleans today, nearly a decade after hurricane katrina destroyed the city. and police arrest three people in austria after finding 71 dead refugees crammed in a truck. ♪