someone who's been on to this has posted the story join the global conversation at this time on al-jazeera and this is different whether someone is going for someone's favorite. trick i think it's how you approach an individual and i think it is a certain way of doing it you can just. story and fly out. a story of blackmail. you'll have to have strength of a story of current which a lot of the fear is real. passion. and it's very serious just.

demanding answers in venezuela and jail riots that killed sixty eight people puts the spotlight on the country's overcrowded and the prison system. alone barbara starr this is al jazeera live from london also coming up on the program he faced a no credible challenger so it's no surprise that egypt's president is sailing towards an election victory but it is one marred by voter apathy another diplomatic breakthrough on the korean peninsula the leaders of north and south agreed to meet for the first time in a decade and the army is called in to clean up one of indonesia's main waterways that's become a giant dump. the

united nations is calling on venezuela to launch an investigation into a prison riot and fire that killed sixty eight people in the city of the scribing the death toll as appalling rights groups and the opposition have been quick to blame president nicolas maduro for not dealing with overcrowding and violence in the country's prison system so far there has been no official government statement alice on the reports. families outside this business will in jail are desperate for news going to get me out that they are not well i don't know if my son is dead or alive they won't give me any time updates or information my son has been imprisoned there for one year i know he's been there before. a riot then a fire broke out here hours earlier in the central city of l.a. and. many of them a still alive but of those who did in there even the ones that are life suffocating

to death they have to do something to get them out because the dying inside they need oxygen someone please get them out this time past engines mounted the relatives clash with the police that fired tear gas on the crowd this is the fourth major prison riot in the last five years leaving more than eighty people dead before counting this last incident at least thirty three thousand inmates are held in temporary police cells in venezuela for lack of space in prisons in appalling conditions. and it's a pretty. crowded . people really stepping up in some cases. medical attention.

through human rights advocates of longer announced conditions in mates face in venezuela in prisons last year alone at least thirty seven have died in another riot always leaving families desperately demanding explanations by the government that seem never to come. we can speak to the live he is following developments from bogota in colombia. and seems very surprising that there's actually been no official government statement about this. well it does seem surprising if you look at it from a general perspective is not that surprising if you could see there how the venezuelan government has been responding to riots in prisons and jails jails across the country which has always been to respond very slowly slowly if at all

now where more than twenty four hours after the tragedy in this jail facility in the city of yet no statement has come from the government the president. and in this case not even the minister of tourism services is ultimately responsible for what happens in venezuela's prisons and jails had said anything and this is definitely something that the opposition members are asking for the only official statements coming. out. as coming late on wednesday night twitter from the attorney general who has confirmed a number of dead putting it in. the eighth and also said he was appointing for prosecutors to investigate what exactly happened inside the jail facility imbalance and that is something a we saw in your report this heartbreaking images a family's that were waiting outside the cells because they simply don't know if

their loved ones are among that that number that sixty eight dead what are the signs doing right now do you know. well there are dozens of relatives of the inmates of this jail facility outside a police station that it's attached to this jail waiting to have a response just maybe an hour ago a police officer walked out of the building with that left in me that are still alive and also telling family members that it's the if they had food for them they could bring bring it in so that's the only information they got so far. other opposition figures from the state of global where the city of elaine is or also saying that the number of dead could be higher some put it as much as

seventy eight some even higher so there are a lot of expectations for more information to come but there's no doubt that this is a situation that unfortunately has happened many times in the last few years in venezuela many expected to happen again if the level of overcrowding remains to this same a study by a nonprofit organization in states crime which is based here in colombia made in two thousand and fifteen said that there were thirty three thousand inmates in jails that were made to for just five thousands of them in that kind of situation any incident or any fire can turn into this kind of tragedy. listen i'm fifty monitoring that story for us from boca tallis on the thank you.

now preliminary results a show a landslide win for the fight and c.c. in egypt's presidential election after three days of voting results show that c. seen who had no credible challenger won twenty three million out of the twenty five million votes cast is only rival will sums that from someone three percent of the vote turnout was forty two percent compared to forty seven percent in the two thousand and fourteen election a senior political analyst marwan bashar joins me live now in the studio while marwan i guess the result was expected that he would win so i guess the only question mark was over the turnout and now even though these are preliminary figures it does seem that it was lower than what it was back in two thousand and fourteen how much does that really matter well i don't know about you but i was incredibly shocked the presidency see one. but alas i mean the fact that

we and the rest of the world could laugh at this while the egyptian media tries to prep it up as if it's a legitimate elections it just tells you about the states of. politics some policies in egypt today this is a far far away nightmare from the promise from the dream of the arab spring democracy justice accountability freedom and so on and so forth so really the situation today is a president that is in fact a dictator of sort because nies a such but needs to keep up some sort of an appearance of democracy because his western backers because of his i.m.f. backers and egypt just got twelve billion dollars in loan from the i.m.f. requires that he and his regime continue to play the game that this is

a legitimate you know post arab spring type of of a rule it is not but i guess going back to the turnout the fact that it's lower i mean that was the only thing that i suppose he really cared about but that would justify his presence do you think it makes any difference both for his backers within egypt and outside it does i mean that's why i think look i mean. there's absolutely no way to verify that this is true absolutely no way i mean everything tells us about egypt today including the election commission but it is in the pocket of the government so we actually don't know i mean we have no way to use figures of reliable we don't we have no way to of course the fact is that they put them at forty one forty two percent rather than eighty six percent you know there understand that there are journalists and there are observers and they could tell

that not more than a single or a couple of people walked into every election boot every once in a while so they had to put a number of something that's reasonable the last time around as you said there were multiple candidates it got to forty seven percent haven't yet but actually in the second round it came to fifty two percent in the second round of elections back in two thousand and twelve abduction but anyway be that as it may i think at this point in time it's important for him to keep appearances and it's important for him to get the western backing for his regime but the joke that this is a democracy that there's elections going on is really not playing well anywhere in egypt or this of the world and i don't want to share our senior political analyst thank you the north korean leader kim jong il and will meet the south korean president on the border between the two nations on the twenty seventh of april the announcement was made on thursday following talks between representatives of both

governments it comes just days after kim jong il made his international debut with a surprise trip to china the leaders of the two koreas yvel talks only twice since the korean war kathy novak has more now from seoul. well it is just a month now until south korea's president will meet north korean leader kim jong un forming up the date for the first intercalary and summit since two thousand and seven is another sign of improving relations between the two koreas which remains technically at war the agreement was made at a high level talks between south korea's unification minister and his north korean counterpart it's the second time peace to men have met this year and they remarked on how much has changed since they last met in january when it was decided that after two years of the two countries not munich ating they would come together at the winter olympics in south korea. i'm certain that this is quite

a positive development since we are living in a divided nation i feel more relieved when we settle things peacefully rather than being in a dangerous situation i think this is good i hope this happens more frequently. in young. i usually don't pay attention to news but i now pay more attention as we hear more good news rather than bad news like nuclear war so the mood amongst much of the south korean public and certainly the south korean government is one of cautious optimism but there are still some skeptics the agenda still hasn't been agreed to for the into korean summit and many will want to be sure that denuclearization is up for discussion and of course this all comes after that surprise visit that kim jong un made to china for a meeting with a stooge and china's top diplomat young cho is in south korea to brief south korean officials on the topics that were discussed at that meeting valuable information as they go ahead and plan the intercalary and summit next month. well still to come on

the program. i'll do everything i could to make up for my mistake. and the. australia has banned the cricket captain steve smith breaks down as the apology. as for his role in a cheating scandal and the she left as a teenager after being shot by the taliban six years on that my late use of side returns as a nobel prize winning campaigner. fellow we're seeing some rather lively weather across the eastern side of the mediterranean that's all piling its way across turkey through love and loss of cloud shang up has some lively storms are still going to continue making its way

further east woods tearing through behind suspect some wet weather just around on mania georgia into as a by john pushing over towards the caspian sea right as snow over the high ground notice this area clappers links its way down across iraq iran then secu eight and that's going to make its way across the regulators you go on through the next couple of days as well and actually it's pushing for the race with lots of pushing all the way up into a minister that was back east on the side of that couple find a dry time it is a twenty seven celsius and turning fine in try for the event as we go on into the weekend so pleasant sunshine coming back in behind now that area clabber talking about that will continue to sink its way for the south was could produce a few spots of rain as we go through the next day or two that's always a possibility increasing winds will lift plenty of dust and sand there will be some major visibility problems here as we go on through the next few days that's certainly one to keep an eye on meanwhile we've been keeping an eye on samoa rather lively showers pushing in across the western cape welcome rainfall at last for cape

town.

a reminder of the top stories here on al-jazeera relatives of at least sixty eight inmates following a riot and fire in overcrowded cells of a police station in venezuela are demanding explanations two of the victims are women who were visiting in. preliminary results following egypt's presidential election landslide win for the. voter turnout was only around forty two percent the leaders of north and south korea have agreed to meet face to face next month third time the end of the korean war sixty five years ago the announcement follows high level talks in the demilitarized zone between the two countries. australian cricket coach baron lehman has announced his resignation in the wake of the ball tampering scandal in south africa the fourth test which

begins on friday in johannesburg will be his last the announcement came after the three disgraced australian cricketer was caught cheating made emotional apologies after being handed bans from the getting. reports. the world's best test match bots. in the culmination of what's been called the hardest week of his career i made a serious error of judgment and i now understand the consequences. it was a failure of leadership. a violation to say the way it's behaved . thanks everybody and my well it's. it hurts. former captain steve smith and vice captain david warner banned from playing for the next twelve months on bosman karma bancroft is by the nine months or three conspired to use sandpiper to manipulate the ball during saturday's play

in the test match against south africa bancroft also face the media when he landed in perth and repeatedly apologised not a second has gone by since last saturday i mean when i haven't wished to turn back time and do the right thing during the launch bright. it is something all regret for the rest of my life back in south africa can use another twist as coach darren lehmann cleared of being part of the conspiracy by an initial investigation tiffany resigned his position after speaking with your family when for the last few days. it's brought on the step. ultimately. just twenty eight years old smith to become one of australia's biggest sporting stars to be hundred he became the country's junkies captain in twenty fifteen and twice when australia's most prestigious cricket prize. true story

now a spectacular fall from grace smith is no longer brand ambassador for one of australia's best known banks or break the serious. bancroft of last contract with the sport's clothing company and the wealthy management company has cancelled its estimated fifty million dollars sponsorship deal with the games administrators cricket australia smith the warner banned from playing in the indian premier league which cost them close to two million dollars h. smith may still have a bright future in the years to come but the former cuts to my never be able to repair the damage from the ball tampering scandal which has shocked the sporting world they were. yulia script the daughter of a former russian spy who was poisoned with a nerve agent in the u.k. nearly a month ago is said to be recovering well health officials in the southern english city of souls bury say her condition is improving rapidly yulia and her father said

gay were found slumped on a bench in the city on the fourth of march mr scruby remains in a critical condition. the former french president nicolas sarkozy will face trial over claims that he misuse this influence lawyers for mr cosey of say they will appeal against the this isn't the case centers on a wiretap phone calls in which mr sarkozy allegedly tried to influence judges who were looking into claims of illegal financing during his two thousand and seven presidential campaign that hashem butler has more now from paris. this case all dates back to two thousand and fourteen at the time a french police were investigating the former french president nicolas sarkozy over alleged illegal campaign funding of his two thousand and seven presidential campaign and as part of the investigation the police put a wiretap on both nicolas sarkozy's mobile phone and that of his lawyer and they stumbled across

a conversation of one point in which sarkozy and his lawyer were discussing a giving a top french judge a very comfortable position in monaco in return for some inside information on the investigation well sarkozy was later placed under formal investigation on alleged corruption charges but he and his lawyer always denied those charges they have appealed in the past saying that those wiretaps were in fact illegal but now we have a case in which france's highest court has decided to press ahead with those charges and it's very likely indeed that nicolas sarkozy will now face trial in this investigation it has to be said though the past few weeks have not been good for the former president his legal woes are really piling up he was placed under formal investigation just last week for other corruption charges again linked to illegal campaign funding this time of his two thousand and seven campaign allegedly he misused libyan money in that campaign and he's already very likely to face trial

over another case also involving illegal campaign funding this time of his two thousand and twelve presidential bid the mayor of libya's capital tripoli has been abducted by gunmen. by telling mine is affiliated with libya's u.n. backed government of national accord which resides in tripoli the city council says it was taken when gunmen stormed his home on wednesday night their demands are unclear. nobel peace prize winner malala yousafzai has returned to pakistan for the first time since she was shot in the head by the taliban in two thousand and twelve was attacked for speaking out in support of girls' education and a hoax star has war an emotional return for pakistan's most recognizable figures malawi use of say is back on home soil six years after being targeted by pakistan taliban

for her determination to go to school. i still cannot believe that this is true that this is actually happening for the last five years i've dreamed that i could set foot in my country today i'm very happy. security was tight for her arrival in islamabad a government source described the lack of as necessary for what is a sensitive visit use of say rose to international prominence when she was attacked by mosque gunman on her way home from school in two thousand and twelve that then fifteen year old was shot in the head punishment for her defying the pakistan taliban ban on girls' education in her home district of the swat she was airlifted to britain for lifesaving treatment and has been living there since she continued her schooling united kingdom getting top grades and enrolling in oxford university she also continued campaigning for education and shovelled the world supporting local advocacy groups in two thousand and fourteen she won the nobel peace prize

the youngest ever to do so age seventeen let us take up now does become our books and our brains be our last bar for weapons one child and one teacher. one book and one fan again changed the way. despite her worldwide acclaim many don't regard her as will be back in pakistan where some say she portrays her country a negative light and is seeking her own fame but there was a lot of you know kind of a mixed opinion about milan and in those people even criticized. an agent of the west but that was a lot of people want to read. news of her return was welcomed on the streets the capital but also highlighted the need for further development. before she has brought pride to pakistan she's got a noble award the attack on her was very unjust but my law is not the only girl

from pakistan there are also other girls of the same like malala we should take care of our women like we are taken care of her the timing of her visit is important skeptics point out this is election year in pakistan and the lawless homecoming could be seen as good publicist. a white woman in south africa has been jailed after being filmed racially abusing a black policeman. real estate agent vicky lumbergh was sentenced to three years was one year suspended it's believed to be the first prison term imposed in south africa for verbal of racial abuse the policeman try to help after seems broke into her car. in southern france a memorial service has been held for three of the four victims killed in last week's supermarket siege the ceremony was attended by the prime minister and filipe

and hundreds of residents of the small town of time on friday a gunman took hostages in a local store claiming to act in the name of eisel four people were killed in the attacking fluting a policeman who agreed to switch places with the hostage a memorial service for him was held on wednesday now in the latest part of our service to series where in indonesia where one of the world's dirtiest rivers is being cleaned up an ambitious project is underway to make the water of the cheaper room drink a bowl in the next seven years but is that fasten reports now from west java some factories are still using the river as a dump for chemical waste. a thick soup of rubbish clogging one of indonesia's main waterways after previous failed attempts to clean up the river in west java the government has called in the army to do the dirty work it's not an easy battle

to win as the soldiers remove garbage from the three hundred kilometer long river more arrives ways from households markets and shops simply dumped into the water not only is it the easiest way to get rid of rubbish but for many living along the river it's the only way that they got. up for more than a month we've been talking to villagers about how to be more hygiene it turns out most of them don't want to dump their garbage in the river but they don't know what else to do with their household waste there is no garbage dump in their village there are no garbage collectors it's a huge problem about. people in the village of my july used the river for washing and cleaning that many villagers including yes watty and her son are suffering from a skin disease doctors blame on the contaminated water more mushy in the same rules of. the water used to be clean but since the factories have been operating it has become like this it used to be totally clear. thousands of factories

dumped tons of chemical waste in the river every day and via mental groups took legal action against one of the main textile producer sky had tax but this by a supreme court order in november betting the dumping of waste this is what we found a black colored slick coming from god tax. after repeated requests for an explanation the company eventually said the color does not prove the water is contaminated so long. as long as there is no lawrence force minton as long as they don't have regular inspections in these factories the river will never be clean this clean up has been happening for nearly two months and there have been inspections but this is the evidence we find the samples have shown dangerous levels of lead and other matters in the water which is also used by thousands of farmers for irrigation turning this into drinking water within the next seven years sounds like a promise impossible to keep despite another attempt to clean up what's known as

one of the world's dirtiest rivers she tavern is still being used as a dump for all kinds of waste and fire mantilla say that if polluters are not being punished this cleanup is just another waste of time and money the government says action will be taken against polluters as soon as a presidential decree is issued that we're going to focus on promises because we told them radio you're going to kill the next generation or don't play around anymore because before i heard about this story you know and i said no was this decree coming we're going to we're going to be thing next week we're going to execute some parts of the river are looking quite clean now but taking out the rubbish has not exactly solved the waste issue with most landfills full soldiers have no choice but to dump garbage next to the river in the middle of a residential area creating new problems step fasten al-jazeera a cheetah river. now

a reminder of the headlines on al-jazeera at least sixty eight people have died in a fire in the overcrowded cells of a police station in venezuela relatives of prisoners a fourth with riot police outside the station after being given little information about what happened the disaster is one of the worst catastrophes in venezuela's prison system that we are on what i don't know if my son is dead or alive they won't give me any time updates or information my son has been imprisoned there for one year i know he's been be in there before. many of them and still alive but of those who did in there even the ones that are alive suffocating to death they have to do something to get them out because the dying inside they need oxygen someone please get them out. russia's foreign minister says moscow will expel the same number of diplomats from all the countries which have expelled russian diplomats

over the poisoning of a former russian spy in the u.k. the u.s. consulate in st petersburg is also being closed said the lover of war speaking after doctors in the u.k. said the yulia script was recovering well and there's now stable she and her father said gay were poisoned with a nerve agent nearly a months ago with the script remains in a critical condition. the leaders of north and south korea have agreed to meet face to face for only the third time since the end of the korean war sixty five years ago the announcement follows high level talks in the demilitarized zone between the two countries south korea will meet north korea's kim jong un in the same border village on april twenty seventh ministers say the north's nuclear disarmament will be a critical point preliminary results in egypt suggest a landslide win for president of the. voter turnout was low at forty two

percent cc's reelection was pretty much guaranteed as his only opponent was seen as of them in that and the strain the is this graced cricket captain steve smith has broken down in tears as he apologized for his role in a ball tampering scandal smith was speaking after returning to sydney from cape town where he and two other players devised a plan to scuff a ball with sandpaper during a match against south africa the team coach has resigned because of the headlines coming up next this inside story. a young performer or an and trenched military man ethiopia has

a new leader the phone.