damming underreport describes children being burned alive and fighters allowed to rape in south sudan. ♪ ♪ hello. you are watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up, a powerful shiite cleric and his followers keep up the pressure on iraq's prime minister to tackle corruption. aid agencies accuse u.n. security council members of adding fuel to the fire in syria by supporting rival sides. also -- japan marks the

moment five years ago when an earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami as it killed more than 18,000 people. ♪ the u.n. human rights chief has described the conflict in south sudan as one of the most horrendous human rights situation in the world. a damming report describes children and the disabled being burned alive. charles stratford has more. >> reporter: the suffering of people in the world's newest country defies belief. the report put together by the u.n. human right's office goes into details of atrosties committed in south sudan. it says both sides are responsibility, but government forces were most to blame last

year. tween april and september the u.n. recorded more than 1,300 reports of rape in just one of south sudan's states, the oil-rich unity state. the report says credible sources indicate that government forces are being allowed to rape women as a type of payment. one woman told the u.n. team she has been stripped naked, raped by five soldiers in front of her children on the roadside, then raped again by more men in the bushes, only to return and find her children missing. the report says the gravity of the violence may amount to war crimes and all crimes against humanity. the government has denied the occasions. >> if there are individuals, you know, soldiers that comes out to violate human rights, then they are doing it at their own [ inaudible ] because the government doesn't authorize anybody to kill civilians.

>> reporter: the conflict began as a dispute between the president and his former deputy and quickly turned into an armed rebellion. last august we met the deputy during a peace prosense. and asked him if he were willing to cooperate with an international investigation. >> anybody who has committed atrocities will be brought to book. >> reporter: the report details evidence of entire towns and villages being destroyed in what it describes as a scorched earth policy. around 2 million people have been forced to flee from their homes. and hundreds of children have been recruited as soldiers. journalists human rights and aid workers, suffer threats, detention and in some cases have been murdered. last august, both sides agreed to establish a transitional government of national unity, both sides agreed to stop fighting. that still hasn't happened, and

the suffering of millions of people continues. charles stratford, al jazeera. in the past hour senior u.n. officials have been briefing media about that report. daniel lak joins us now. daniel, a very disturbing report. do we know if there will now be an effort to track down the perpetrators? >> reporter: that is exactly what was on the minds of people asking mes of those officials. basically you have got a report. what is going to be done about it? a very damming report, a level of detail, the likes of which has not been seen before. but as the u.n. assistant secretary general said we know the facts, now what is needed is action. we heard from david marshall,

with the office of the high commission for human rights in geneva, and he said the conclusions that they drew were very plain. they really had to start moving on them now. >> crimes against humanity and war crimes have occurred. again, crimes against human and war crimes were alleged in 2014 by the u.n. and au. we say there is sufficient evidence to suggest they happened again in 2015, but the perpetrator is the government. in 2015 the government decided in unity state, which as you may know is the home state of reak. orders to kill, rape, destroy civilian objects, civilian property, and pillage, thousands and thousands of cattle. >> and daniel, we -- i think the report details how really all

sides have been responsible for war crimes, but the time period and the geographical area that this area report focuses on, points a finger towards the government. >> oh, very much so. david marshall couldn't have been plainer. and you don't hear that very often here, a member state. and south sudan is a member straight, being singled out quite so strongly. actually being accused of pursuing policies of terrorizing civilians, and destroying vital agriculture sources like cattle. so what they are saying now is there needs to be some sort of hybrid court that involves international judges from africa, probably, and they need to pursue those war crime allegations through that process. obviously first there has to be

a ceasefire, and rebuilding of the justice system, but if that doesn't happen they may have to take this to the international criminal court in the hague. >> thank you for that report from the united nations. ♪ now iraq's prime minister has called for experts and not politicians to be nominated for his new cabinet, according to state tv. earlier, the influential cleric issued an ultimatum giving him 45 days to form a new government and start tackling corruption. >> reporter: these demonstrations are a regular site on the streets of baghdad, followers of a powerful shiite cleric are demanding reform and tackling corruption in the

government. >> translator: we really hope that these reforms, these promises of reforms, will be true. i the iraqi prime minister to press on with plans to form an independent cabinet of technocrats to fight [ inaudible ] despite political pressure. i want the prime minister to continue his reform plan with no fear of political pressure. corruption is eating into dwindling government finances in iraq that are suffering from the fall in the price of oil, and the cost of the war against isil. he gave the prime minister 45 days to appoint the technocrats or face a no-confidence vote in parliament. the arab league has declared ebb lebanon's hezbollah a terror organization. nearly all of the 22 members supported the decision, with

just lebanon and iraq expressing reservation. with just days to go the syrian opposition has finally agreed to attend peace talks in geneva on monday, but it is down playing the chances of reaching any agreement to end the war. talks between the government and the opposition group will lay the foundation for elections next year, says the u.n. special envoy. as fighting continues on the ground in syria, the ability to treat those injured is becoming increasingly difficult. even in neighboring turkey medical centers are feeling the strain. doctors say they are at breaking point as they struggle to help those coming across the border. lawrence lee sent this report. >> reporter: the syrian government and its russian allies sometimes claim fighters hide in hospitals but surely not this one. it's a children's unit.

such are conditions in town close to syrian's northern border with turkey. this firefighter says they have no water to douse the flames. there's no choice but to watch it burn. increasing disruption in places like maternity units not only puts the looifls of civilians undlert, but the fewer hospital tsz that remain, the fewer doctors and hospitals remain to treat more and more people. >> translator: because there are so many refugees now, there's nermous pressure on the medical facilities that are left. >> reporter: all of this means turkey has had no choice but to move badly injured people from the boarder to its nearby small town where there's a constant blow of ambulances in and out. this hospital was it's a evacuated this week when it was shelled by isil fighters, so it's hardly safe here either,

but it's a better than the alternative. on the morning we were filming, they already received three patients who would need amputations. all of the attacks have put a huge amount of strain on this little unit. they have had to bring from translators, double the number of plastic surgeons who can deal with severe burns, and trauma surgeons as well. once treated in turkey, they face a choice as to whether to go home. this man hat returned to the border with his bags of medicines and was going back to his village in syria. he paid a hundred dollars for his drugs. they brought me by ambulance because i was very sick, he said. i need medicines for my heart. i was going to die. the only bit of good news no hospitals have been attacked since the cessation of hostilities but for those still being injured in the fighting

the best they can hope is that someone can get them to another country for treatment. clashes erupted in istanbul between police and demonstrators on a kean anniversary for the city. protesters through fireworks and police fired tear gas. there is more to come for you on al jazeera, i'll tell you why president barack obama is visiting one of the united states most popular festivals. and why south african art could be the next big thing for collectors. ♪

♪ the u.n. report accusing both sides in south sudan's civil war of sde liberately targeting sillians, killing rape and pill ladies and gentlemen, but says government supporters are responsible for most of the aprosties last year. iraq's shiite cleric has called on the prime minister not to yield to political pressure when forming his new cabinet. and the arab league has declared hezbollah in lebanon a terrorist organization. it has been five years since a earthquake and sue snaumy killed more than 18,000 in

japan. harry fawcett reports. >> reporter: this is the closest thing to high ground, a mound built 96 years ago so that residents could look out to sea. five years on from the tsunami, it has become a place of remembran remembrance. 950 people died here, nearly 18,500 across the country. all that is left are these few remaining foundation walls. the waves came through this neighborhood, scrubbing it out entirely. and it was about two meters above that man-made mound. it was there at 2:46 precisely that they gathered to mark the moment the earthquake struck.

150 kilometers north another community marked the same moment the same way, sounding the tsunami sirens. >> translator: the reality is we still feel scars here, and there are still many who are struggling to restart their lives. >> reporter: at the national memorial in tokyo a similar sentiment came from japan's emperor on behalf of those forced from their homes. >> translator: efforts are being made to improve the situation but my heart aches at the thought that there are still people who cannot return home. >> reporter: for all of the reconstruction elsewhere, and the prime minister is promising a revitalized effort to get it finished large parts of the exclusion zones in fukushima have changed little. workers battle to store and treat up to 400 tons of newly

contaminated water each day. this man says the efforts are hampers by a shortage of people willing to do the job even if conditions are better than what he faced in the weeks after the meltdowns. >> translator: i think what i felt most was anxiety. when i got there, i thought my experience would be useful, but all of the rules i used to abide by became completely irrelevant. it was like a war zone. >> reporter: there is a slow-moving sense of removal, higher sea walls being built, sections being raced for new construction, but scars still remain. a day of commemoration of coming together can bring some comfort, but it also serves as a reminder of how much has been lost. harry fawcett, al jazeera, japan. 90 people who are deemed to have sought relief in greece

have been sent back to turkey. well, greece says it hopes to empty the overcrowded refugee camp within two weeks. there are currently 14,000 refugees being held there as their onward journey to macedonia remains blocked. many of the residents are will, and medicines and blankets, along with firewood are all in short supply. donald trump has received more backing in his bid to become president of the united states with an endorsement from a formal rival. ben carson has appeared together trump in florida to show his support, despite their often bitter clashes during the early stages of the nomination campaign. >> there are two different donald trumps. the one you see on this stage,

and there's the one who is very cerebral, sits there and considers things very carefully. you can have a very good conversation with him. and that's the donald trump that you are going to start seeing more and more of. >> reporter: well that endorsement is a further blow to trump's three remaining republican rivals, and comes just hours after their latest tv debate. alan fisher was watching. >> reporter: this was the tamest debate so far, and arguably brought more light to the positions held by the candidates. donald trump was asked to address his comments claiming islam hates the u.s. >> there is tremendous hate where large portions of a group of people, islam, large portions want to use harsh means. and john kasich doubted that

permanent peace could ever be achieved in the middle east. donald trump refused to respond to a number of attacks on several issues. ted cruz demanding policy details not sound bites. >> how does it help you to have a president come and say i'm going to jack -- it's going to put a 45% tax on diapers, automobiles, clothing, that hurts you. it's why we have got to get beyond rhetoric of china bad, and actually get to how do you solve the problem? >> reporter: this debate was in miami with a big cue man american population, and marco rubio who's family came from cuba made that count with this answer on improving relations with the u.s. >> it will require cuba to change, at least its government. and it has not.

after these changes were made there are now hundreds of millions of dollars that will flow to the castro regime. > >> reporter: now voters may have a better idea of the candidates policies. the man who's job they all want, u.s. president barack obama is scheduled to speak at the south by southwest festival in texas in the next few hours. over the next ten days, the city of austin will showcase the latest music, films, and technology. rob reynolds is at the festival. let's find out what is happening on day one. this is the first time a president is making an appearance there. why is obama going? >> reporter: well, you know, obama has always had this reputation of being sort of the really tech savviesque president

that the u.s. has ever had. he really pioneered a lot of political techniques on the internet. here is talk to a group of innovators to urge them to use their talents to foster civic engagement, to help citizens tackle problems like lack of engagement in the political process, global warming, and the like, and also to use their talents and their skills in general to empower people in the country not only the wealthy who can afford the latest gadgets and the highest speed broadband, but also the underprivileged. that's his message here today to this group of industry experts and others at the conference here in austin. >> and it comes at a very

interesting time when the u.s. justice department and the fbi are sort of locked in a battle with really one of the biggest text brands in the world, apple over revealing information over privacy? >> reporter: that's right. and the irony here if you could call it that is lost on no one that obama is making these comments lauding the tech community, at the same time his fbi and the justice department are really ratcheting up the pressure on apple. at first they wanted apple to give them some code that would allow them to crack into the phone of one of the persons involved in the san bernardino mass shooting last year. and when apple refused to do that, the fbi picked up the pressure and said, well if they don't give us that, we're going to demand that they give us

everything that handles encryption for all of their devices. so we have been talking to technology professals here, and they are aghast at that proposal. the phrase pandora's box is being used over as over again, saying that then no one's data will be secure. and people are saying, listen, don't think that you are not being monitored any time you are on the internet or your smartphone. the only real private conversation is one that you have one on one with another person. >> all right. it promise to be a very interesting festival. rob reynolds thank you. inindia, organizers have been fined for causing an environmental damage. a huge stage has caused

irreparable damage to the floodplains, but they also acknowledge that it is too late to cancel the event. the organizer says he is done nothing wrong and is prepared to go to jail than pay the fine. >> reporter: this is the sight of the massive festival, spread across a thousand acres and will thousands of performers and is expected to attract up to 3.5 million people. but it is also attracting controversy because of where it is located. we're near the banks of a river in new delhi. an environmental assessment has shown that the construction done to build all of this has damaged the flood planes meant to soak up water as well as the ecosystems near the riverbed. all of this here is temporary and no permanent damage has been done, the organizers say.

environmentalists say restoring the full ecology cannot happen because the damage has been done. interest in african art is grow thering the u.s. and europe. auctioneers in london say there has been a 200% rise in the value over the last four years. yet not every artist is making big money. >> reporter: the international art auctioneers has sold more than $60 million worth of south african art in london over the past nine years. while most contemporary african art is sold between 70 and $7,000, one of the best known paintings sold for close to $1.5 billion. and this artwork was sold for $400,000. >> it's a tiny bit fickle in the sense that the decline of the

chinese market has meant that collectors have moved on to find the next big and new area, and at the moment africa is the area they are focusing on. >> reporter: the value of african art continues to rise and more pieces are seen on the nation market. according to barn anl 5% of artists produce work that is commercialably viable. andrew has been taking documentary photos for 20 years, some of them are exhibited here. he says he is inspired by a late south african artist who was able to support himself entirely through his artwork. andrew says he still struggles to get his own photography recognized as art, making it difficult for him to survive on his art alone. >> i think more can be done in the sense that in south africa

we're fortunate that we have institutions like this one who have collections and have other spaces as well, and i think in other african countries, cannot get [ inaudible ] continent, but most of the african countries there is more that needs to be done to improve. >> it's people that really expect to be given a hand up. people that expect to you know -- where things come too easily, i think that's where we have a problem, because there are many artists in the world that never get to the top. >> reporter: while new buyers and growing interest mean africa's art market is likely to continue expanding for artists such as andrew, it remains an exclusive club. now, thai elephants have taken part in an annual polo

tournament in bangkok. the event gives working elephants an opportunity to get medical attention and a chance for a break afterwards. so there's more on everything we're covering right here. the address, aljazeera.com. ♪ intersection of hardware and humanity and we're doing it in a unique way. this is a show about science, by scientists. tonight, techknow investigates the ivory trail they've tried to seize it, burn it, but nothing has stopped the terrible trade in illegal ivory.