sarah: this is "dw news," live from berlin. a string of bombings at the heart of thailand's tourist industry. police arrest 2 men after blasts hit popular resorts. 4 people are killed and dozens are injured. officials ruled out islamic terrorism. also coming up, the united nations authorizes an additional 4000 troops for its peacekeeping mission in south sudan but the government in juba says they won't be welcome. and scientists identified the greenland shark as the longest living vertebrate animal reaching ages of war hundred years and more.

-- 400 years and more. sarah: i am sarah kelly. thank you very much for joining us. thai authorities have detained people for questioning after a string of bombings targeting popular tourist spots. at least four people were killed in explosions. police say they received some intelligence about possible attacks in these areas, but he was not specific could they also said they have ruled out links to islamist terrorism to the bombings, as the country struggles with a political and economic crisis. in a resort town, there are fears that this could affect visitor numbers. reporter: an unwelcome interruption on thailand's paradise beaches.

and while police look for clues in the seaside town, tourists and locals are reacting to the string of explosions that have taken place across southern thailand. >> i thought, like, that was going -- i was going to come to this place and feel safe. i hear that it is very rare to happen here. i do feel safe in hotel we are in but obviously a bit queasy about what has happened. reporter: local people are surprised that their town had been targeted. "i have been selling here for about 40 years. i've lived here more than 56 years. nothing like this has ever happened before. i suppose we will lose some tourists in the country." the blast took place in a busy street market, killing 2 people and wounding several others.

"when the bomb first struck, i ducked down. i went around behind the car and was about to pull my colleagues to a safe area within the second bomb struck, so i ducked again and i was able to pull them out as far as i could from the bomb site." it was not immediately clear who was behind the attacks, but police said the violence was not linked to international extremism. suspicion is falling instead on groups fighting an insurgency in muslim-majority provinces in southern thailand. >> it is to seem to jump to any conclusion as to what may have caused the incident. but what we know for sure is that the incident did not link directly with any kind of terrorism. it is local sabotage by which we are trying to identify the suspects.

reporter: foreign visitors are a key source of income in the kingdom, accounting for some 10% of its gdp. the bombings have potential to dent this lucrative industry. sarah: and with many questions still unanswered about who was behind this attack, we asked our correspondent for the latest from bangkok. reporter: we know that the authorities here are blaming local elements for these attacks are at in fact, the prime minister addressed the nation tonight, calling for patients with the investigations but also say that he thinks it is bad elements within society who were to blame for these attacks. i think what he means is they are trying to blame this attack on political rivals, because he also said he's element -- these elements had been at work since before the referendum, speaking

of the constitutional referendum that took place in thailand just last sunday, where the thais accepted a constitutional draft that was drafted by the military, in effect. i think he is trying to blame this on political rivals and they were to rule out terrorism. sarah: that was our correspondent a little bit earlier in bangkok. let's turn to other news. kurdish officials say the so-called islamic state has taken 2000 civilians hostage as they fled from close to the turkish border. the largely kurdish alliance says they have taken full control of the city. they say i.s. set fire to their headquarters and a market as they retreated and captured the civilians to use as human shields. russian president vladimir putin has appointed a former diplomat with a relatively low profile as his new chief of staff.

he takes over one of russia's most powerful jobs after the departure of putin's friend and longtime allies are j ivanoff -- longtime ally sergei ivanov. there are conflicting reports as to whether he was sacked or stood down. the change comes ahead of parliamentary elections next month. we asked our correspondent how important president putin's decision to change his chief of staff really is. reporter: mr. putin is not just politician from he is an authoritarian. it is a place where a lot of real political decisions are taken. i would go as far as to say that in terms of politics, medium and galician and foreign politics -- media manipulation and foreign politics, it is pretty much a shadow government the role

of chief of staff is very important, the most important confidants of the president or supposed to be. the departure of mr. ivanov is significant because he has played different roles last 15 years, ever since mr. putin came into the kremlin. it is some kind of signpost in terms of the rotation of personnel that we see. we still have to see what kind of role the presidential administration will play. sarah: that was our correspondent in moscow a little bit earlier. the united nations security council has authorized an additional force of 4000 soldiers for its peacekeeping mission in south sudan. the troops will reinforce those stationed in and around the capital, juba. the move comes despite opposition from the south sudanese government, which ousted opposition forces in violence last month which left hundreds dead. how correspondent sent us this -- our correspondent sent us

this report on the situation in south sudan after the most recent violence. reporter: the gunshot wounds may slowly be healing, but the rift tearing this nation apart seemed beyond repair. weeks have passed since renewed clashes between government and opposition forces left hundreds dead in south sudan. emmanuel was shot while running for his life towards this united nations camp for those displaced in the capital, juba. two friends who were with him were shot dead. >> when i tried to run, we were 4 in numbers. then two of us shot dead by government forces. then i was wounded. reporter: the majority of the displaced here are ethnic nuer, the type of the opposition leader. but like emmanuel, the ones uprooted our ecuadorians, increasingly entangled after the

ethnic politics of south sudan's conflict, which started to use ago just two years ago between --two years ago between machar and salva kiir. prudential to are in short supply. he is one of thousands of new arrivals waiting to be registered. for weeks he has been sleeping on the floor of this school. >> right now the government is outside the tents. when you try to cross, you get yourself killed. reporter: for these women, the risks of leaving the relative safety of the camps are all-too-familiar. when the u.n. ran out of food last month, they were left with a wrenching choice, to stay and watch the children starve, or to get food from outside and is attacks by marauding soldiers. >> after a few days the women went to get food, but the

government soldiers captured us. they then raped the young women and then took all the food i bought from the market. the only reason they didn't write me -- rape me was because i'm old. reporter: peacekeeping force has been operating in the country for five years but has been widely criticized for failing to protect civilians. for the hundreds of thousands of displaced across the country, there is little hope that their lives will return to normalcy anytime soon. sarah: in the united states there was no shortage of drama this week in the race for president. for days, donald trump has insisted that president obama and hillary clinton were "literally the founders of" the so-called islamic state. now there was a backtrack. he is downplaying those claims, saying the media did not get his sarcasm. trump has faced widespread

condemnation for series of controversial thing but as our correspondent richard walker found out, for some supporters, his outspokenness is part of his appeal. richard: just outside washington is a prosperous little or of america. this is home to alice, the brains behind virginia women for trump. her mission is persuading women across this battleground state to overlook trump's faults. >> if he is a little crude sometimes, frankly, we don't care. we want them to fix things. it is more important that he fix this country than we worry that what is out of his mouth is politically correct. we have had it with that. richard: alice has seen the world. born in ireland, she has lived in faraway places from hong kong to singapore to somalia. her home and garden are full of echoes of the cosmopolitan life.

but alice is every inch an american with a traditional view of the kind of leadership america needs. >> virginia women like strong men with a compassionate heart. that is what we have in donald j. trump, strong, brilliant leader with a compassionate heart. richard: today is a special day. alice and her friends are heading up to host a tea party, moment to get the grassroots motivated for the final months of the campaign. everyone is dressed to the nines and ready to have a good time. as the guests stream in, for all the smiles, all is not well in the trump campaign. after another string of controversies, trump is sinking in the polls, including here in virginia. so when it is time to rally the crowd from alice switches hats. >> we know he is not a racist. [applause] and we know he is not bad to women.

for all the other things the liberal media is trying to label him with. the country is weak, bankrupt from we are being invaded by a legals, -- illegals, and trump is the only guy who understands what the people want. richard: after the speeches are over, we ask people why they think women should vote for trump and against hillary clinton. >> i want to be safe, i want my granddaughters to be safe. i just wish people would give him a chance, let him show what he has got. and second amendment -- you ain't taking it. you are not taking my guns. >> what really strikes me with hillary is the fact that she lies. she has lied to congress, she has lied to our country. i cannot vote for a liar, because i have to answer to my children. >> i think that donald trump tends to get full of himself

once in a while. i don't think he has got a problem with women. i think a lot of that is just blown out of proportion, and i think a lot of that is just the other side, yak-yak-yaking. richard: wherever that yak yak yak comes from, alice knows it is not going to stop she is getting ready for a hard battle ahead. >> it is going to get a lot worse. keep going, stay positive. we know who he is, we know what he is all about, what he can do for the country. and don't give up. when the going gets tough, the tough get going. virginia women for trump are tough. richard: that toughness will be put to the test in the months to come. but if these women succeed, their next tea party could be at the white house. sarah: we have to take a short break. when we come back, hillary clinton and her husband have

released the details of their income tax payments. the move aimed at undercutting the trustworthiness of rival donald trump. all that and more. don't go away. back in a minute.

sarah: welcome back. a quick reminder of our top stories. thai authorities have arrested two suspects in a hunt for the group behind a string of bombings at popular tourist resorts that killed at least four people. the attack came a week after the country's ruling junta won a vote granting it more power. democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton has now released her personal tax returns for last year could let's head over to our business desk, where helena humphrey as all the details. helena: hi there, sarah. hillary clinton has published

the 2015 tax filing, a tradition for presidential candidates. the move could pressure rival donald trump disclose his. together the clintons earned over $10.5 million last year, the bulk of it fees for speaking at events. they paid a federal tax rate of just over 34% and gave more than $1 million to charity. donald trump says his tax return is under audit by authorities and won't release it until after that review. all right, let's talk more about that now wit. donald trump is flying in the face of a decade-old tradition by not releasing his returns. what are the theories as to why he is dodging it? >> well, it could be really tough for donald trump either way when he comes out with his

tax return. there is even some speculation that maybe donald trump might not have paid any income tax at all. it is not illegal if you are in the real estate market. there are lots of deductions and such. if you pay the minimum income tax that would not look good. the claims himself that he is such a successful businessman, so there could be some questions raised. if you made a lot of money and only pay a low tax rate, that also would look too good. -- also would not look too good. it is hard that it would work out for donald trump at this point but still it is only wild guessing. only trump himself and his accountants know how much money he made. helena: we spoke a lot about politics this week with candidates unveiling their plans for the economy could we have to remember that consumers are an important driver of growth in the u.s. economy. we have fresh data out.

it is not looking so healthy, is it? >> no, there is certainly a slow down. maybe it is because of july. it is only one month, and the data for june afterwards got corrected of it higher. -- got corrected a bit higher. if we look at the month of july and exclude auto sales, retail sales fell far worse than expected. we did see some increases when it comes to online retailing. when we looked at stores, less business. not necessarily a good sign about the strengths of the u.s. consumer at this point. we heard on thursday that macy's, one of the big chains in the united states, is closing 100 stores. the u.s. consumer at this point looks of it -- looks a bit shaky and we got data on friday on consumer sentiment.

increased a tiny bit but not as much is expected. still, the markets are more or less in record territory still. helena: good to talk to you. meanwhile, in europe, springtime proved to be a good season for germany's economy this year. gdp growth from april 2 june was higher than had been expected. although the country's gdp decline from the previous quarter when it was at 0.7% in the second quarter growth of 0.4% from which you can see there, was actually better than analysts had been forecasting. that is a positive sign for the state of the german economy. the main driver of growth was germany's export industry but consumer spending was also a partly due to the fact that with low interest rates, people are purged to say, and rising weight -- people are encouraged to save, and rising wages as well. when it looks to the eurozone

economy as a whole, two steps forward and one step back. the eurozone economy failed to keep up that pace year-to-year. 2 made -- it is mostly due to the fact that growth in 2 major eurozone economy, france and italy, stagnated. spain is also recovering. reporter: for years the european central bank has poured billions into the eurozone economy. against that backdrop, the bloc's economic development has been disappointing. in the second quarter, the eurozone economy grew thanks to favorable economic conditions in germany. that was just half the increase in chief in the previous quarter. what you do when there is little room for monetary easing? calls are growing for governments to expand infrastructure investment if company's are expanding too little. "there are lots of options.

nowadays there is a push towards the idea that the government is demand to only spend on social services, but should be investing, too. that has kind of fallen by the wayside with all the austerity going around, but it is an area where it is easy to save money. and with these affordable financing conditions, it is worth thinking about whether it is time for more investment projects." but the question remains, why aren't low interest rates sparking more corporate and investment? the answer could lie in a lack of confidence that current growth is actually based on a solid economic foundation. helena: that is all your business news for now. back over to sarah. sarah: we have some olympic news for you now come because the first track and field gold has been won by ethiopia. she did it in style, setting a world record in the women's 10,000 meters. she finished in just over 29 minutes, knocking 14 seconds off

the previous record, which is good for 23 years -- which s tood for 23 years. her victory has stunned pundits, who thought the previous record was untouchable. we are joined by our sports correspondent, oliver moody. she absolutely destroy the world record in the first athletics final. what a start. oliver: yeah, incredible. if you weren't already excited about the start of the track and field events in this olympic games, you really should be now. she did put in probably the best individual performance we have seen at the games so far. to writing roger a record that -- to beat a record that has stood for over 20 years is a special performance. to beat it by 14 seconds is stunning. i can't put into words except that she has set a time that is impossible.

it gets us in the mood for this weekend's track and field action. sarah: for every detail of victory there is a tale of defeat. what happens to the jim inhofe of -- the german hope robert harding? the defending discus champion crashed straight away. oliver: that's right, he was not anywhere near his best. he picked up an injury that was hampering him. it actually turns out -- he said he felt pain in his back after switching off the light to go to sleep last night. when you think about all the strain these athletes with their bodies through to get prepared and in absolute top condition, it must be actually sickening that such a simple act, something so innocuous, has led it to him picking up an injury that has ultimately stopped him from winning a medal here. sarah: we also found out today that the 2012 weightlifting champion has been caught doping in rio and it adds to the

negative aura of the games, right? oliver: that's right. doping is the big side story of the game so far. russia is banned from track and field events and cause a lot of covers a good other athletes allowed to compete have caused controversy, and the latest positive test will not do any favors for that, either. we had a green diving pool, spats between athletes. it is not quite the olympic spirit we are used to. but the action at least has been very entertaining. sarah: oliver moody with the latest from rio. thank you. there has been another major disappointment at the olympics. defending champions the united states have been knocked out of the women's soccer tournament in rio. the world champions' bid for a fourth straight gold medal ended with a shock defeat on penalties to sweden in the quarterfinals. the match had finished 1-1.

scientists have identified the greenland shark as the world's oldest vertebrate animal. some animals captured in the north atlantic could be 400 years old. and that blows the old record held by a species of whale completely out of the water. reporter: the greenland shark's age is a secret no longer. team of international researchers caught specimens and determined that average age to be 272 years, although some might be much older. >> where study several different sizes of the short and the oldest we found is 390 years old. there is some uncertainty as we use radiocarbon dating. reporter: the age of fish can be determined by counting layers of calcium growth in their ears. but since sharks don't have such growths, researchers focus on their eyes and. tissue that can be found in the

core of the lens can be used for radiocarbon dating. but many questions remain unanswered. >> we don't know why the greenland sharks are able to get so old. it is a cold-blooded animal, which means it has the same body temperature as its environment. we expect the metabolism is very, very low. reporter: the findings suggest that greenland sharks reach sexual maturity at 150 years, highlighting the need for viable conservation methods. sarah: thank you so much for watching. i am sarah kelly in berlin. see you soon. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

this program is brought to you in part by cie tours international - for over 80 years featuring all-inclusive tours and go as you please value vacations throughout ireland and britain. cietours.com [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] hello and welcome i'm patricia o'reilly and i'm delighted you could join us for a special.