hungarian police arrest four people after the bodies of 71 refugees were found in a truck in austria. and 82 people are dead and 100 still missing after a boat carrying refugees capsizes off of the coast of libya. ♪ hello there. this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up in heightened security for anti-corruption protests in baghdad. we'll have the latest from the iraqi capitol. government forces in yemen

say they will soon have a new professional army. and home for children in nigeria orphaned by the violence of boko haram. ♪ hello latest events around europe and its borders have highlighted its growing refugee crisis. four people have been arrested including the owner of a truck in which the bodies of 71 refugees were found on an austrian motorway. at least 82 have died and 200 are missing after a ship sank off of the libyan coast. there have been chaotic scenes in belgrade as refugees fought for food and water. and a hungary, police say they have arrested 21 suspected human traffickers in budapest. but we begin in austria with this report. >> reporter: the remains of the bodies are being driven away for

autopsy, but the 71 people who were crammed into the back of a truck must have suffered anning a nicing death, probably by suffocation, and the police can only look for straps of evidence as to who they were. >> translator: of course we're sure that these people were refugees and more precisely were probably a group of syrian refugees. >> reporter: austria is transit country for people hoping to reach germany, but it has always become a destination in its own right. the number of asylum seekers this year already almost three times the total of 2014. this is outside of vienna. the refugee reception center is overflowing and the streets are full of people from the middle east and africa, somalia, nigeria, iraq, afghanistan, and of course, syria. this man who is here with his wife and five children fled from

[ inaudible ]. >> we find here nice people. always give us food, medicine, water. very nice people here in austria, yes. >> reporter: this extraordinary wave of new arrivals has provoked sharp divisions in society. the right-wing freedom party is expected to do well in elections later this year. but we have also met austrians who have come here specific to help people in need like katie who has come with her boyfriend and mother who hand out clothes, toys, books, to whoever wants them. >> i think it's the least we can do. because these people have been through things that we can't imagine, and they have been through hardships, and so the least we can do is try to make it easier for them to be integrated and make a new life. >> reporter: austria's government says there must be a

coordinated european response to treat these people humanely to determine who can stay, and to prevent more tragedieses at the hands of human traffickers. at least 82 people have died after a boat capsized off of the coast of libya on thursday. reuters news agency says more than a hundred are still missing. >> reporter: mediterranean sea has become a dark reminder of people's desperation to escape violence, persecution and poverty. thousands have been killed crossing from north africa to europe so far this year. in the latest tragedy, an overcrowded boat sank shortly after leaving libya. >> translator: we are migrating. our boat sank. it was in a bad condition. people died. the libyans saved us. we have been forced into this route. it's called the route of death,

the grave offed the mediterranean sea. >> reporter: libya is one of the main transit routes for people trying to get to europe. international smugglers take advantage of the country's lawlessness. libya is struggling to cope. people are forced to live in poor conditions and lack basic medical care. in another tragic incident a swedish else have docked in the italian port of palermo after rescuing hundreds of people from their boat drifting at sea, but dozens of others aren't so lucky, their bodies found in the hull of the boat. >> this is one of the tragedies we have seen a lot in the mediterranean. it's 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 crossing into europe so far this year in a desperate attempt to improve their lives, many are families travels with children. the european union is still trying desperately to establish a coordinated strategy to resolve this latest crisis. in the meantime, the people keep coming. a greek island is one of the major get a ways for those refugees trying to get to europe, but there is little there to welcome them. the local authorities say they have been promised help, but none has arrived. so they are having to make due as best they can. jonah hull reports. >> this is the letter to the greek prime minister, asking -- saying that we are dealing with a major humanitarian crisis. >> reporter: in the mayor's office the chief of staff explains that the island is sinking under the weight of refugees.

they have promised help. how much help have you actually received? >> actually, to be honest, we haven't received yet a single euro. >> reporter: with what appeared to be the best of intentions, the munalty is doing what it can with minimal resources and expertise to house and process refugee numbers that are now a third of all rives anywhere in the e.u. every month. are you phoning your family? >> yes. >> he talking with his family, that he is safe and no problems until now. >> reporter: dishing out food in the camp is this man until recently feeding the homeless in athens, now feeding the recently stateless. >> translator: it's not just the greek government, it's a also the european union, ngo's, where are the ngo's? >> reporter: when you look around you in this camp, do you

wonder whether you made the right decision to leave syria? >> it's hard -- it's very hard to leave our country, syria, great syria. but no -- no -- not a choice. it's a war. and here we are safe. >> reporter: there is another camp, harder to fine, it's run by the place and we don't get inside, but we're told the conditions are much worse. it was originally designed to be a detention center for illegal migrants who have been arriving here for years. what is happening now is quite different. these are refugees and their numbers are growing rapidly, an estimated 3,000 cross the water from turkey in just the last 24 hours. and there's no hiding them, not in the port or the public parks

where they wait for ferries off of the island, not in the local cemetery where they lie in anonymous numbered graves. i want to show you these live scenes. this is the railway line that i'm told is on the hungarian serbian border, and as you can see, dozens of refugees making their way along that railway line. one assumes that they are trying to get from serbia into hungary. hungary of course being a member of the european union. and many of the refugees our reporters have spoken to have spoken of their wish to eventually engineer up in a european union country. but these are scenes being played out right across parts of europe. many refugees arriving in places like italy and greece and then literally going by coach, train, or on foot, heading towards the more central parts of europe.

people of course hoping to get to germany and others trying to get to france or the u.k. indeed there have bedesperate scenes in belgrade. describe what you have been seeing there in the last 24 hours or so. >> reporter: this morning it had to be some kind of a breakfast that the citizens of belgrade wanted to organize for the refugees, and there are some 1500 of them coming every day to belgrade, and it has to be some kind of a peaceful breakfast but it all turned chaosic, when the citizens brought food and water and then the refugees staying in the park near the bus station and train station hurried to get to the food and there was chaotic situation there.

some of the children were crying and those volunteers that are helping the refugees in central belgrade they are saying every day, every hour, somebody brings water and food, and in seconds the water and food is gone. refugees are taking them and you have to know felicity that refugees when they come from macedonia to belgrade, they are left on their own here, and volunteers of ngo's and some other organizations are helping them, providing them information, but they are just waiting for the bus or the train to get to the northern border of serbia to cross to hungary. >> appreciate it that update there from belgrade. thank you. ♪ all right. let's take you to iraq now. the country's top shia cleric has voiced his support for

protesters who are demanding an end to government corruption. he says the government must show it's serious about adhering to their demands. the prime minister's latest reform allows for greater access for civilians to be heavily fortified green zone. zana hoda is on the phone line now from the baghdad. zana tell us a bit more about these protests, what is happening at the moment, and why they are demonstrating. >> reporter: well, it is a large crowd like you mentioned. they are gathering in the square in the heart of baghdad. and the momentum of this protest movement is only growing, and the number of protesters, especially now that a political party, an influential political party has joined what really began as a upon -- spontaneous movement. he has millions of supporters in the capitol alone. he is backing the prime minister's push for reforms.

like i mentioned before, it's civil rights movement. and i asked some activists here, and they said we don't mind the political parties to join, but we understand that we do need their support. and abadi does need backing. he has the backing of some in the streets. he has the backing of the influential cleric, the highest shia religious authority in iraq, but he is facing powerful allies in the government. the people -- the protest movement started with people demanding better services, better electricity services, but now they are calling for end to corruption for corrupt officials to resign, and to reform iraq's post-2003 political system, a system which is based on sectarian and ethnic power sharing, and where appointments are made not based on merit but

on party loyalties. many believe this will be an uphill battle, but they have vowed not to back down, saying that nobody will be able to stop the will of the iraqi people. >> zana with the latest in baghdad. thank you. still to come on the program, auto must go. the calls for guatemala's president to step down. as protesters join forces to rise up against corruption. and losing a meter of water each year. environmentalists warn the dead sea is on the verge of an ecologicaler.

hello again a reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. hungarian police say they have arrested four people over the discovery of the bodies of 71 refugees in a truck in ah via. at least 82 people have died and 200 are missing after a ship sank off of the libyan coast. most rescued are from syria and sub saharan african countries. and the top shia cleric has expressed support for protesters in baghdad. government forces in yemen say the country will eventually have a new professional army.

only civilians along with tiebsmen who fought with government troops will be allowed to join the national fighting force. >> 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 formal president saleh. under his administration, there was inherent mistrust of people from southern yemen. >> translator: we formed this battalion a few weeks ago after we defeated houthi fighters. they have mostly been drawn from the civilians who fought off the invaders. >> reporter: across the country

plans are underway to build support for exiled president hadi. this is a gathering of tribal leaders in 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. >> translator: 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 few months many military units defected and joined the rebels. for now there are two armies fighting for control. the one in the north is 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 random checks of immigration visas, following a public outcry. imran khan reports. >> reporter: it was supposed to be a flagship policing mission but instead operation fortitude became operation ineptitude. the forces had to admit the plan was handled badly. >> i find the idea of people going arrange on the street checking people's papers frankly orwellian. >> this is not nazi germany and we need to fight against it now. >> reporter: australian border forces were due to be deployed

striking fear that they might racially profile. a call was pout on twitter and hundreds gathered. >> it's clumsily worded and it has been misconstrued. >> reporter: the protesters celebrated their success and managed to bring the city to a standing still on friday. local politicians and media watchers likened the operation to an action by a fascist government. >> we fought a war against this sort of stuff in 1945. >> reporter: for now it is a win for the protesters and a loss of the state government. imran khan, al jazeera. and there have been mass protests in guatemala calling on the president to resign over a corruption scandal. he has become increasingly isolated in cent days and most of his cabinet have already

stepped down. from guatemala city, david mercer reports. >> reporter: tens of thousands of people packed into guatemala city's central park. they want an end to government corruption and harsh punishment for those involved. there is wide-spread anger and frustration at a political system people say has failed them with calls louder than ever for the president to step down. >> translator: we are tired but we know now is the time to raise up. guatemala has never been poor. the government has stolen from us. we need to rise up and show the world that people united can achieve change. >> reporter: the president televised denial on sunday of any involvement in the scandal 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 from rural guatemala who had 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 and from different social backgrounds united forces for a common goal. 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 a process that could impeach the president for involvement in the same scam. analysts says the president has few choices available to him. >> translator: guatemala might be a country with sharp divisions with ruch and poor, rural and urban seldom coming together. but that's what makes this protest so unique. people from across the country and from different social

backgrounds uniting forces for a common goal. >> reporter: guatemalians 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. the most senior vatican official to be charged with child sex abuse has died before he could go on trial. he was a former ambassador to the dominican republic. he was charged with sexually abusing young boys. colombia and venezuela have recalled their ambassador over a border dispute. more than a thousand columbian migrants living in the area have been deported. now one of the world's most

famous mineral-laden lakes is at risk of drying up. environmental experts with warning that dropping water levels could cause an ecological disaster. >> reporter: it's one of the most popular tourist destinations in the region, but environmentalists say the dead sea is shrinking rapidly. the ancient salt lake, famous for its highly salted water and mineral-rich mud has been losing a meter of its waters every year. this tour guide said the decline of the dead sea and apparent indifference of neighboring governments has been shocking. >> it's a international property. it's really one of a kind in the world, and it should be an 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 sources are being diverted mainly by israel but also jordan and syria for farming and drinking water. the remaining 30% of deterioration is caused by israeli and jordanian potash operations. and environmentals are also concerned about the hundreds of sinkholes that have opened up since the 1980s, some are as deep as a two-story building, swallowing up roads and power lines, resulting in the closure of several beaches and businesses. >> actually the basic reason for the sinkhole development is the drop in the level of the dead sea, and associated with that drop is the 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 until neighboring countries stop diverting waters to the ancient lake or put an end to their mining practices, it's all but certain to try up. -- dry up. hundreds of children left orphaned by boko haram's violence in northern nigeria have been given the chance of a new start. one school is helping them gradually deal with the trauma they have experienced. >> reporter: this is what boko haram does want them to have, an education. these children are orphans who parents are among thousands of people killed by the armed group

in northern nigeria. their school and home for now offers them 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 see drastic process, no, it is a gradual process, and they are coming out gradually from the bad situation. >> reporter: it has been six months since they have been here trying to adjust this the children may be making process, trying to be kids again, but most of them will live with the trauma they experienced for the rest of their lives. some of them have seen what no child should ever see. many are still in shock. this young boy's story was particularly sad. boko haram fighters decapitated his father in front of him. the traumatized boy says very little and is deterred 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. they impacted boko haram violence on this little boy was physical and psychological. he was shot in the face, and he is having nightmares and behaves abnormally. they have 100 children and more are expected. >> it's not that big of deal for us to take of these children in the primary school. we believe it's a matter of will and 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 minds 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. and just time to remind you. you can always find out much more on many of our stories on our website. the address is aljazeera.com. state of emergency, florida's governor prepares for tropical storm erika, as it batters puerto rico and the dominican republic. george w. bush returns to new orleans today after a decade after katrina destroyed the city. ♪