aftermath of the earthquake rescuers scramble to reach thousands of people feared trapped under the rubble in northern pakistan. ♪ ♪ you are watching al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. also ahead. china warns the u.s. after its warship enters the waters near disputed islands in the south china sea. a hellish life. we meet internally displaced syrians from aleppo who have lost their homes and are facing a harsh winds are ahead. plus. >> reporter: i am andy gallagher in alabama where state officials have been criticized for closing

dozens of driver's license offices. civil rights leaders say it's an attempt to suppress black voters. ♪ ♪ hello. authorities in pakistan and neighboring afghanistan have intensified rescue and relief operations in affected areas. death toll has now risen to over 300. while the epicenter of the quake was in afghanistan, it was felt very strongly in neighboring pakistan, that's where rescuers still searching through the rubble for survivors. but they are struggling to reach remote mountainous areas as you can see affected by that earthquake. hospitals are inundated across the region. now, across the border in afghanistan around 4,000 houses have been damaged, resulting in dozens dead and more injured. the challenge of reaching people in remote terrain is also proving to be difficult.

evening in india the effects were also felt mostly in the north of the country but casualties there have been far lower. kamal hyder sent this update. >> reporter: rescue efforts are already underway. although for the most part it is on self-help basis because the locals are now trying to dig out the valuables from under the rubble. however, the strong earthquake has left a trail of destruction in the worst hit. if you can see the wall on my right it's swaying badly it. can come down any time. the government authorities are already warning of aftershocks. they have closed the schools in the valley as well as across the country just to be on the safe side. the important thing right now is for a proper reconnaissance of the far-flung areas. the military says they have already started that. and the people here are now waiting to see what kind of relief and help they will get

from their government. the important thing also is to treat the medical emergencies because the hospital is already overwhelmed. there are over 200 people who are in that hospital. they need help. and the government, of course, will have to gear up in order to insure that help reaches to these far-flung areas where it is needed most. >> the quack was centered in the hindu curb mountains in a remote part of afghanistan. jennifer glasse was in kabul when it hit. >> reporter: the powerful earthquake was felt across much of afghanistan. it brought down walls 260 clocker ises south of the end center. >> i was sitting at home when the earthquake happened and i came outside with the children but one move grandsons started returns i asked him not to returns he continued and then the wall collapse odd him and he was wounded. >> reporter: more than 1700 buildings were damaged or destroyed. in eastern afghanistan, the dead

and injured began arriving soon after the earth stopped moving. >> translator: so far we have received 155 people, including women and children wounded from the earthquake. five people were killed. >> reporter: there are casualties in at least 10 of afghanistan's 34 provinces. spanning hundreds of kilometers which shows the power and reach of the earthquake. the epicenter of the earthquake was deposit below the hundred due curb mountains. remote villages in the area may have been affected. it might take time to find out full extent of the damage. >> let's bring in jennifer. have these people there been able to be reached. nine the death toll stands at 83

half of the deaths includes one very tragic incidents it's a very mountainous area and 11 people were killed in one single building when a lodge rock fell during the earthquake and crushed their building. those mountainous areas are going to be difficult to get to. it's further complicated still by the fact that some of that area is controlled by the taliban. government resources will have problems accessing the areas. president gai has coordinated te efforts. so that they can get aid out as fast as quickly to find those people in remote areas. and the taliban itself has made a statement of calling on afghans and aid organization to his provide shelter, medical care, and food where necessary. i think we are still, though, a lot of remote areas, we know that there has been some mudslides and rock slides and i think it's still going to be difficult to to those areas already remote anyway, but with

the winter closing in some of the roads will be difficult to get to. >> okay, jennifer, thank you for that update from kabul. china has warned the u.s. to act cautionly after it followed an american warship in the south china sea. the u.s. says it only sailed close to two man-made islands constructed by china in 2014. beijing warned washington it will respond to deliberate prop indications in its waters. -- provocations in its waters, china as well as other countries have competing claims. and the philippine says the u.s. presence in the region helps keep a balance of power in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. japan has voiced its concerns over china actions and says it's closely communicating with washington. >> translator: the unilateral conduct to change the status quo such as the large scale landfill to his build ocean platforms in the south china sea are a common

concern for the international. community. as the prime minister repeatedly said it's very important that the international community unites to maintain the peace and stability in the south china sea. we are closely conducting our intelligence information with the united states. >> china built the islands by dredging areas it has said it will not challenge -- tolerate any challenges to what it considers its territory. others lay claim to the spratly islands. rob mcbride is in beijing and sent this report. >> reporter: the foreign minister urging the americans not to undertake what he callingcalls anyreckless action. they say they have claims to them even though they are hundreds of kilometers south of the south china coast. they go back hundreds of years to previous chinese dynasties.

the americans, though, have always asserted that these are international waters. and that they will, within their rights, sail within 12 not call miles of these disputed territories. we are picturing more reaction from the chinese side as we go through the day. and also waiting to find out what the chinese military has been doing in response to this. whether, in fax, they have also been shadowing this patrol with their own vessels or their own aircraft. and whether that now becomes the new normal in the south china sea, an almost cold war style of encounters between military forces from the two sides. isil has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a shia mosque in saudi arabia. one person killed and 16 injured in the attack a monday. it happened in the area that is in the southwest. saudi state television says the suspect's car has been found way note inside to his parents confirming his plan to attack that mosque.

oman says it's ready to make my efforts it can to the syrian war. its foreign minter met bashar al-assad on monday. assad says a political solution is possible but depends on defeating what he calls terrorism. rebels and many in the international community say there is no future role for assad in syria. with the u.n. security council preparing to give a briefing on the humanitarian situation in the country, many newly internally displaced people in aleppo say the situation there is deteriorating. mohamed jamjoon met one family who described their life as hellish. >> reporter: he use -- she used to carry her youngest child in to an actual home. now, she says, rue of the i, this is where we live. the mother of seven prepares what she can for her kids.

today, inside this dark, dingy structure, it's potatoes. >> translator: our livelihood is gone. our livelihood is gone. our land is gone. our homes are destroyed. >> reporter: her family is just one of the thousands of newly-displaced in syria since the beginning of russia's air campaign in late september. according to the u.n., an increase in fighting has resulted in at least 35,000 new i.d. p.s from the southwestern outskirts of aleppo. >> translator: this is a hellish life. we have reached our lowest point. we were sleeping under pains as they a tafnlgd now we have no place else to go and there is suffering all a around. >> reporter: in southern aleppo it's not simply the war raining misery upon the newly displaced.

as winter approaches conditions will only worsen. already keeping warm is a struggle. aid workers are doing what they can. but in this makeshift camp there are only so many tents to go around. he says 10s of thousands of families are now displace ed in aleppo. and more are arriving every day. >> translator: somebody sick from natural causes here can't go to a hospital. so how can you help somebody faces an emergency. somebody may be injured by a russian or syrian ire strike. there are not even ambulances to help the wounded. >> reporter: the children still play, even during these tough times. but it's the parents who can barely keep the agony at bay. >> translator: we left our home because of all the death. there was nothing but death all around us. that's why we are here now. hopefully we won't have air

strikes happening here. we have nothing now. >> reporter: nothing but a reality that is harsh and cold. mohamed jamjoon, al jazeera. more violence in israel in the occupied territories in the most recent incidents a 19-year-old man was shot dead by israeli forces. israel says he seriously injured a 19-year-old soldier. and earlier on monday, a second palestinian was shot and killed by an israeli soldier at a checkpoint in hebron after an argument. 60 palestinians and eight israelis have been killed in this month's unrest. well, tensions in the area top the agenda of a meeting between the palestinian authority president and the european union's foreign poll at this chief in brussel. mthey discussed the resent violence trigged by the al-aqsa

mosque, they call for concrete step to his end the cycle of violence. >> what we are looking for is steps, concrete steps on the ground, including difficult ones that can improve the lives of the palestinian people, that can strengthen the palestinian authority. not only on the economic field but also other security and the political field. and to have what we would call some deliverables of the process itself. not a process for the sake of the process. still ahead on the program. the e.u. rolled out its new refugees plan but volunteers say they are being prevented from helping those in need. we also meet the south korean man whose hobby it is to take funeral photographs of elderly people.

♪ ♪ hello again, the top stories on al jazeera. rescuers in afghanistan and pakistan are rush to go deliver relief aid to earthquake victims. more than 300 people died after magnitude 7.5 quake hit south asia on monday. the end center was in the hindu curb mountains of afghanistan. china has warned the u.s. not to cause trouble in the south china sea after it says a warship illegally entered its waters. china constructed two artificial island in 2014 near the disputed spratly islands. according to the u.n. at least 120,000 people have been internally displaced due to

fighting in syria. the u.n. security council is preparing a briefly later on monday on the humanitarian situation. now, the european union is work to go implement new measures to tackle the refugees crisis in the western balkans. croatian authorities say an estimated 260,000 people have passed through the region since hundrehungary closed its bordern mid december. slovenia continues to face 10s of thousands of new arrivals. volunteer aid workers say they are being prevented from offering much-needed help. >> reporter: the promise now of 400 extra police from the european union to manage this unparalleled scale of migration, may come as a relief for the slovenian authorities. but relief for the refugees, i try to and people how they spent the last night. not enough water says this man.

they had been waiting for hours. finally, some were allowed to leave for an austria-bound train. but members of this family had been left behind. >> and one of my brother and my sister's husband, they can't, they didn't let them come out. >> reporter: hopefully they made it on to the next train. so by the afternoon the camp was ready for more arrivals. this is just the latest batch of hundreds of refugees to his arrive at this holding facility. the police seem to be doing a very good job at crowd control. but the humanitarian effort, from what we have seen, isn't quite as adequate. aid agencies such as [ inaudible ] say more resources are needed. though they stress that the slovenian authorities are cooperating closely with them. but these volunteers say they have been obstructed from getting food and support to where it's needed.

>> to be disallowed to hand blankets to people when we have sufficient to get to the children and family. i mean, this is disgusting. before you even get to the food issues or the restriction of medical aid to those that need it. >> reporter: the civil protection agency says volunteers need to register with recognized organizations. the police are stopping everybody from going in there, this is what is happening. >> but i think, i i am not from the police, but i think that is for their security. >> reporter: swamped by up to 15,000 hungry and exhausted new arrivals a day. help for them and for the authorities cannot come soon enough. robin, al jazeera, on the slovenia-row asia border. in colombia 12 security personnel have been killed by rebels from the a group called the national liberation i'm.

the gorilla group has been operating in colombia since the 1960s, six more people are also missing from monday's attack. president juan manuel santos says they are not ready for peace and he will redouble military efforts against them. and the attack comes as talks continue between the government and colombia's largest rebel group. the farc. in bogota we have this report. >> reporter: the day after the most peaceful elections in decades in the country, clock colombians were reminded once again their internal civil conflict is far from over. the government said at least 12 members of the country's security forces were ambushed by the eln. the second biggest rebel group in the country. this happened inside an indigenous reservation in the central province. while the soldiers and policemen were escorting a group of election officials and transporting official ballots out of that region.

besides those who were killed another three soldiers were injured. and at least three civilians are missing at this point. now, the government and the eln have been engaged in exploratory conversation to his start formal peace negotiations for over a year. these negotiations would be similar to the ones the government had with the biggest rebel group in the country. the farc. the question is, how this attack will now change that in a statement the president of the country juan manuel santos said the attack shows the enl is clearly not ready for peace. >> translator: if the eln considers that with these actions they are going to win a political space or get stronger before an eventual peace negotiation, they are absolutely wrong. it is exactly the opposite. >> reporter: press santos also ordered the military toy redouble their effort against the eln rebels. this was the most deadly attack

against colombian security forces since last april when the farc killed 11 soldier soldiers. the u.s. state of alabama is being accused of suppressing black voters. it announced plans to close dozens of government offices that issue i.d.s in rural parts of the state. so without a valid identification the voters will not be able to taft that i have ballot in upcoming elections. andy gallagher reports. >> reporter: it's the picture of southern charm but activists say union springs in our al alabama is part of a battle in a decades old fight. in small states dozens of drivers licenses offices have closed making it hard for many to get picture identification n. alabama voters need government-issued i.d. to cast ballots. but in the state's poorest communities it just got harder. residents like he have minute smart say it's a reminders that voting rights here are still an issue.

>> we come a long ways but we still have a long ways to go. we are still fighting for that right that we earned years and years ago. and we shouldn't have to fight now like we did in the past. >> reporter: civil rights activists say not so much that driver's license offices are closing but where they are closing. overwhelmingly it's rural and black communities losing their facilities. and critics say it's nothing short of an attempt suppress the african american vote. some lawmakers in the state are now calling for a federal investigation in the to closure but officials claim budget cuts gave them no choice. alabama's governor says the suggestion of voter discrimination is simply untrue. >> we will go to people's houses to have their picture made if they don't say photo i.d. in the state of alabama. we are not going to do anything to keep people in the state of alabama from voting and for them to jump to a conclusion like that, that is politics at its worst. >> it's a big barrier and many of these -- in many of these

rural counties people don't have transportation. >> reporter: but campaigners say closures combined with the state's introduction of vote ore i.d. laws are part i've long and ugly history of discrimination. >> here we are 50 years later on the year 50 years after the voting rights act and we are again suppressing the rights of black voters in alabama. >> reporter: officials say the closures will save the state millions of dollars. civil rights campaigners are more concerned about the potential cost on democracy. andy gallagher, al jazeera, union springs, alabama. >> in south korea one of the world's fastest aging societies one man is trying to help the elderly by taking photographs to be used at their funerals. he says it's a way of preserving the memories of those who face dieing alone, disconnected from their families. here is his story. ♪ ♪ >> translator: my name is kim

and i take funeral portraits for the elderly. ♪ ♪ >> translator: times are changing in my day parents sold their calves and spent their money on their kids allen cage, but now the number of children that support their parents in return is falling. old people are being marginalized with nothing to rely on. with nowhere to go they come to parks like this one. i was thinking of what to do. and my strene is this taking pictures. so i thought, why don't i take funeral pour rats and i started. ♪ the quality would be he had better at a professional studio. here the environment is bad with poor lighting. it's a challenge. but they come here anyway because it doesn't cost anythi anything. ♪

♪ >> translator: i have to do lots of photos at work, taking out blemishings and minimizing wrinkles it takes about 22 to 30 minutes for each person. old people's faces are different from young people's. lots of wrinkles and rough skin. i have to pay more attention. some elderly people say i don't need to take funeral portraits yet. but there are very important. portraits are placed on the table for ancestral rights and also are used at the funeral place. when friends come to the funeral and look at the portrait. the person's life story is there to see. it helps them live on in other people's memories. initially i thought just in my head, that it would be a good thing to do. but as i actually did it. something touched my heart it. made me feel something. my wife didn't many to get

involve. she just thought i needed some help. at the start she was a bit annoyed but after a while it made her feel good too. now she's even more in to it than i am. a global environment campaign says it hopes a new report on meat will help people change their diets. the world health organization says processed meats like ham and sausage can cause cancer. wayne hay reports from thailand which has seen a rise in the number of people eating processed meats. >> reporter: for some people the perception of meat may have changed forever. that's because the international agency for research on cancer, which is part of the world health organization, has classified processed meat as a cancer-causing substance. it says if you eat 50 grahams of processed meat a day. it will increase the chances of you developing cancer of the colon by 18%. in countrys like thailand, where cheap but convenient meatballs

and sauce i'ms are a large part of many people's diet it's a concerning development. >> in the morning we have to hurry to go to somewhere so parents like tend to like buy something easy for children to eat. so this might be the cause of they eat sausage or like processed meat every day. >> reporter: processed meat is preserved by adding chemicals, salting or smoking it. it's placed here among a list of things that are definitely carcinogenic to humans accord to this worth health organization it rates along a asbestos becaue of the process it's put through and read meat is in the next list of things that probably cause cancer, like herbicides, lead compounds, malaria, fumes from fried food and working night shifts. best announcement. the meat industry in the u.s. spoke out to try to discredit

the findings. >> it's their job to find cancer hazards but the body of scientific evidence shows that red and processed meat can be part of a healthy, balanced diet. >> reporter: this is not the first time that certain types of meat have been linked to cancer. but consumption of meat is increasing around the world. according to the united nations, it ends up by 25% in the 10 years from 2003. this report focuses on the ingredients and compounds that are found in meat. ma doesn't focus on are any other lifestyle choice that his people who eat a lot of meat might also be making. the w.h.o. classifications help governments around the world find ways of making their populations healthier. controversial as it is, this report will give them plenty to consider. wayne hay, al jazeera, bangkok. well, in the ukraine the force was not with a man dressed as chewbacca campaign for a candidate al another a polling

station the man as you can see dressed as the popular star wars character was supporting darth vader the man running for mayor. the town does not allow canvassing for candidates on the day of an election, but chewbacca fought back it took four police to arrest him and put him in the back of a police car. et cetera, these can be fun, but they're not. they won't sustain you. it's like junk food or cocaine. >> he went from being a relative unknown to one of the most important electronic dance music pioneers. moby has made more than a dozen albums. the singer-songwriter has another set to come out in 2016.