at least 25 people have been killed in two explosions in the syrian city of homs you're watching al jazeera live from our headquarters here in doha. also ahead on this program. voters in niger head for the polls. one of the main rivals is behind bars. victory for donald trump and hillary clinton in the race for the white house. floods debris and at least five people are killed after a trail of destruction sweeps across the

fiji islands. two bombs have hit the syrian city of homs. the explosions hit and at least 25 people have been killed. the area is predominantly home to a sect that the president bashar al-assad. bashar al-assad says a ceasefire is possible but rebels have to have a genuine offer. he singled out turkey saying that it should not exploit any potential break in hostilities. from the opposition sides, the high commission committee says it is ready for a ceasefire but any troops must come with guarantees from the syrian regimes allies, russia and iran, to hold fire. on the ground syrian forces are

pushing forward towards aleppo. troops have taken control of a major power plant supplying electricity to aleppo. what is going on, the latest information, vis-a-vis homs, what do we know? >> reporter: you did mention that state media is reporting 25 killed and many injured. we understand that these were twin explosions near simultaneous explosions in a government mf controlled district in---controlled district in homs. the government trolls much of the city. it is not the first time it has been hit by a bombing. just a few weeks ago i.s.i.l. claimed responsibility for an attack in this city, but other activists on the ground saying that the casualty toll is much higher, that many people were,

in fact, wounded. we still do not what the targets were. we are still getting information. the message to the government, even if you're able to recapture territory, you cannot bring about stability because even three weeks ago there was a major explosion in the capital damascus and the mainly ee shia district in a heavy presence of militias and dozens of people were killed in that attack. a message to the government, not the first of its kind, but we are expecting the figures to rise we're getting these reports saying that in aleppo they've taken control of the power plant there. is that in itself significant? >> reporter: undoubtedly because there are many front lines in syria. that front line that you are mentioning in the eastern countryside of aleppo is with i.s.i.l.

the government and its allies are advancing towards the i.s.i.l. controlled province of reqar. they are a few kilometers away. controlling this power plant is significant because aleppo city has been without water and electricity. so if they are able to bring back electricity supplies to the city, people with start pumping using the wells to pump water and alleviate the suffering of people both inside the eastern and western portions of aleppo city, but the government pushing towards the area in more than two directions. the possibility of a ground operation against i.s.i.l. in syria, the message being we still want the west of the country. we are not giving up control of the west we've had this refreshing of the syrian regime and one of the main opposition groupings say we could talk about the ceasefire,

but the preconditions are sew proscriptive that in reality a ceasefire say long way away. >> reporter: at the end of the day it is not the deals. it is the u.s. and russia to agree on the modalities of the ceasefire, how to implement it. we heard the syrian president really change his rhetoric saying that a ceasefire is possible. he did attach conditions and that is that the - what he called terrorist groups will not be able to regroup and resupply themselves. we also heard the opposition say they're ready for a ceasefire but russian air strikes should stop. sieges should be lifted, but according to an opposition source and this is the statement he used, there is an elephant in the room and that's al-qaeda-linked al-nusra front. that means they could keep on targeting al-nusra and it

operates in the same areas as the moderate rebels. you can still continue to target the moderate rebel opposition. there's hard bargaining ahead. this won't be easy. even though u.s. secretary of state said key issues need to be resolved, but he did say so far discussions have been constructive i want to show you what is going on inside amman. jordan bearing the brunt of the refugee crisis. we're expecting john kerry to give a live peach and we will cover that more than 7 million people are to vote in the elections in

niger. the president is criticized for the handling of security threats which is one of the main election issues. the government declared a state of emergency in the south-eastern region after dozens of attacks by the armed group boko haram. al-al-qaeda also operates in niger. western powers are helping to fight those groups. the u.s. are operating a drone base and france have sent in 3,000 soldiers despite political instability the world bank says the niger's economy ground by 6.5% by 2014. it is still one of the areas least advanced countries. >> reporter: this election is very important because the opposition which is coalescing has already decided to coal es-- coalesce so they can present one

challenger of the president. it is very interesting election because his camp are betting so that he will win a first round and that is going to be unprecedented in niger. they are saying - the opposition is saying that if he declares that he has won in the first round, that means the election is in because the distribution of powers between the opposition and the government and the nature of politics in niger doesn't allow victory in the first round. this country is one of the four or five countries leading the war on boko haram in area. it has been one and a half years now since they started that campaign in the lake region. the country has sent troops inside niger for six months in a campaign trying to crush boko haram. they came out from that campaign saying that they have weakened boko haram, but they could not until now attack from across the wore border it has been a big night for the race in the white house.

hillary clinton won in nevada. in south carolina donald trump again won the republican primary there. he no longer has to worry about jeb bush. jeb bush decided to quit as he was following through on his bid to concede his brother. the republican front runner is donald trump. marco rubio has won a second place over ted cruz. for the democrats hillary clinton narrowly won in nevada beating bernie sanders with judge over 52% of the boat. >> reporter:-- just over 52% of the votes. >> reporter: back to back wins. first new hampshire and now south carolina >> there's nothing easy about running for presidential. it's tough, nasty, mean, vicious, it's beautiful. when you win yints beautiful. >> reporter: if this was a goodnight for the billionaire bus man, it was an awful night

for bush. he campaigned with his mum and brother and used the family name. it wasn't enough. emotionally he stepped out of the race. >> the people have spoken. i really respect their decision. so tonight i am suspending my campaign. yeah, yeah. >> reporter: south carolina is an important and significant stop in this campaign. although the republican here remains older whiter, the state is diverse. if donald trump can win here, there's nowhere where they can't win. texas senator ted cruz believes the next few contests give him a chance of a few more wins. marco rubio's performance suggests he will now become the anti trump candidate, the person the party establishment will

back, especially now bush has gone. >> this has been a long road. there were many people on this campaign when it started many good people, many who in any other year would be have a front runner. now it is down to three. our campaign gives us the best chance not just to come together, not just to unify our country but to grow this movement. >> reporter: a win for hillary clinton, but the lead she enjoyed weeks ago almost wiped ou. she addressed issued raised by bernie sanders. >> we are not a single-issue country. we need more than a plan for the big bang, the middle-class needs a raise and we need more jobs. >> let's put this thing away and

let's make america great again. thank you very much. >> reporter: many thaut donald trump's candidacy was a joke and he would soon disappear. he is now the republican front runner and he can't stop smiling police in the u.s. state of michigan have detained a suspect for killing seven people during a shooting rampage. at least people have been injured. police say the suspect is a 45-year-old resident and they have now recovered a weapon from him. still to come here on al jazeera, poor nutrition and poverty killing children in pakistan. we look at how the stress of the economic crisis in greece is reviving an old tradition. tradition.

stop stories. there have been two attacks in the city of homs. 25 people were killed, mostly civilians. voting is underway in niger where the president is hoping to secure a second five-year term. it has been a big night in rates for the white house. donald trump winning another republican primary, this time in south carolina. jeb bush has quit his push to succeed his brother. australia has offered to help fiji recover after cyclone winston struck to saturday. it has been described as the

strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the island. at least five people have died. rob mass son has more. >> reporter: heavy rains and winds continue to sweep across fiji. the worst cyclone to hit the island ever recorded has now passed. >> because the winston, that has affected the whole of the country. cabinet has declared a state of natural disaster for the whole of fiji. >> reporter: the nationwide curfew has been imposed. many people have stayed at home instead of going to government shelters. buildings are flimsy and many may not have stood up to the powerful winds. this is what cyclone winston looks like from space. it is an n.a.s.a. picture showing the eye of the cyclone right over the south pacific. it is now heading west away from more than 300 low lying islands scattered across the ocean which make up the fiji islands.

it dumps lots of water onto the land and that means crops will be damaged >> winds that have been experienced in some parts of the country was really destructive, especially one of the islands in the northern group. 125 not winds were reported. boats and ships in the path of the cyclone may still be in danger. crews within 550 kilometers of the storm have been told to check in regularly. people living in the largest city had been doing much. frantic preparations were made on other islands as well. >> they have closed up and big queues at at ms. >> reporter: if the winds ease enough on sunday government planes will fly over the island to assess the impact and flying anyone in need to hospital and residents will have to start

repairing the damage at least ten people have died in protests over privileges in northern india. the agricultural community want the same offers to other castes. >> reporter: the shoot to kill order has been imposed to control the protests with para military and military forces on the ground. the troops had to be air dropped as the protesters burnt down railway stations and blocked all major roads entering the states. the heart of the protest, buses, parole clubs, community halls and residents of the finance minister was set ablaze. in many areas the protesters ignored peace for calm. they want operator to government jobs and a quota in institutions. they were tried to appease them

by saying if it was up to them they would try. >> the government has said it stands by the community in resolving all the constitutional, legal allowing judicial hurdles that stands in the way to meet their demands. >> reporter: for the chief minister's words have drawn more anger. >> translation: we have been fooled so far by the false sureties of the government. government is bad. we will boycott it. >> reporter: the community makes up nearly 30% of the voting population. they are traditionally farmers with a strong political representation in local government and not seen as being underprivileged. it is also an issue of numbers. according to the supreme court only 50% of the population could give them reservation status. giving it to them would tip it

over. mobs set up blockades. >> translation: until the government reaches a decision in our favor, we will stop supplies, block roads and disrupt railways to new delhi. >> reporter: many people passed on foot fearing that they're vaks would be that tacked. -- their vehicles would be attacked. they want more disruption. this is an issue that has been simmering since the 1990s. they have been promised reservation status in various campaigns. the concern now is that the unrest may not be limited to this state, but could spread to other parts of the countries more than 150 children have died in southern pakistan this year because of malnutrition and disease, .

>> reporter: she hasn't had enough food and now she is in hospital. these children are lucky to have made it to the only civil hospital in the town here. thousands of others didn't. every year hundreds of malnourished children die because of water born and other diseases. a lack of medical facilities adds to a high mortality rate. >> translation: we have come where there are no facilities, no doctors. we had to borrow money to pay for the fare to reach this hospital. >> translation: our village is closed to the border with india and there are no medical facilities apart from the dispensary. >> reporter: the government says more deaths are being reported because more people are coming to the hospitals. it announced more doctors for

vacancies but there are aren't enough medical staff and hospitals >> translation: the reason for not having all the doctors is that many of the posts have been recently announced and we're in the process of hiring them. >> reporter: many may bees die of asphyxia, sepsis or premature and being underweight. 12,000 square kilometers of remote villages like these is a challenge. some say local customs have to change in order to save lives. people here marry their daughters at an early age. most women have children every year. in addition to that there is poverty. both mother and the child don't get enough nutrition to stay healthy. for hundreds of years these villages and their lifestyles have remained the same. the mothers say they want a better life for their children.

>> reporter: we have no roads, no water, electricity, government hospitals woman what what should we do. >> reporter: back they hospital these children are getting treatment. until attitudes and facilities change drastically, they face a risky future it has been more than a decade since mugabe launched a farming program. leases are to be said to be given to white farmers. >> reporter: this woman has been farming here for decades. it is one of the few hundred white farmers left. she is constantly worried that she will be kicked off the farm. >> it's like living on a knife edge because you don't know what

will happen next would week or tomorrow. if you want to go further with your projects, then you don't know that it's going to - you're going to achieve what you want to do and if you're still going to be there to reap the rewards. >> reporter: she could soon have some form of security. the government now says it will issue 99-year leases to whites who are providing a service to the community and working well with the locals. this is the only hatchery. before land reform when many farms were seized from whites and given to black zimbabweans. there were around 4,000 white farmers. now there are 400 but some are not farming all of their lands. much was seized during land reform. some farmers say issuing leases

won't revise the stagnant agricultural land. >> land is given to people and they work on weekdays and on weekends they go back to their farms. they're not producing anything. there is lands lying derelict, multiple farm ownership that needs to be sorted out, agricultural facilities, irrigational facilities are not functioning. all this is part and parcel of the land reform program which needs to be addressed. >> reporter: lands ownership is a sensitive issue that causes racial tensions. most black farmers who benefited from from land reform don't have leases. it used to be called the bread basket of africa. the government hopes better secure of tenure could help the economy grow again britain will vote on whether to remain within the european union in a referendum on june 23.

david cameron says he will be campaigning to stay in a reformed e.u. and described the vote as one of the country's biggest decisions. on the streets of lon do there are mixed reactions. >> i think the referendum is a good idea because it gives people a chance in something that affects them on their nation's p sovereignty and their personal freedoms. i think the referendum is a good idea. i'm undecided which way i would vote >> a lot of people are doing their jobs well. we are still with the e.u. if we go out of the e.u., i don't know. >> people come here and do nothing. it is no good >> i think if anything is better together. countries united is better than thinking we're - i feel like people have got this idea that the u.k. is better than every other country in the e.u. greece has a history of absorbing cultural elements from both the east and the west.

one eastern tradition that has remained there is that the prayer beads. the stress of the economic crisis has led creeks to the habit of reclicking the beads. >> reporter: the museum here has barely a wall that isn't covered in amber beads. it is not just the variety of hues in this tree resin that fast natures. witnesses the wormentsdz and soft bes of its touch but quiet and arresting music. >> translation: a person has a sort of dialogue with it. it is an earn medication that brings - meditation to bring him close to things within sides. >> reporter: those qualities have led greeks back to the beads during stressful years of joblessness and debt.

this chain of shops have seen sales to greeks jump by 30% during the crisis. >> we have seen younger people come into the habit who night have snubbed it. >> reporter: people find all sorts of ways to relieve their stress, fingering cigarettes, turning key chains or tinkering with their mobile phones and a pure amber starts at 200 dollars and can run into the thousands, so it's persistence is hard to explain. it goes back to hindus and others. in modern greece it has lost its religious significance. it has become a device for secular meditation and stress relief. it has been put to the ultimate test of sol attitude. -- solitude. >> translation: i used it when i stopped smoking.

i used it on a boat when i was a sailor. >> reporter: both the cigarette and the beads became a symbol. they were seized upon in the 1970s to show women challenging that as in this film in which a wealthy single woman serenedes the men who run they are companies. it's an isolation about the distraction of the world and in a world ever more full of distraction its appeal is growing a film about the refugee crisis has won the golden bear at this year's berlin film festival. director's documentary focuses on the life of a young boy living on a small island. he spent six months filming on

the island. reminder you can keep up-to-date with all our top stories vee athe website at aljazeera.com aljazeera.com >> we're in the eastern part of the democratic republic of congo. it's one of the least developed countries in the world, but there's an estimated $24 trillion worth of minerals here. tantalum, tungsten, tin, and gold have all been linked to violence in eastern congo by rebel groups and the congolese army. >> millions of people have been killed in the congo over the past decade.