polls closed in guinea passau for the presidential elections. the wrote as seen as a milestone in a country that suffered a series of coups. the last two years ago. >> the result of this election matters behind guinea passau's borders because it is a major hub for drugs coming from columbia, venezuela, ecuador, peru and brazil. from there it's shipped to europe. with drugs worth $2 billion trafficked through west africa every year. the entire economy is worth less than half of that, $897 million. drugs gangs exploit the quality. the u.n. said that 50 columbian drug bosses are based in guinea passau. for more on this, let's talk to herman cohen, assistant secretary of state. joining me live from washington d.c. herman cohen guinea is a trafficking point. how is it come to this. why does it have a reputation as a hub for drugs and a narco state. >> it's a poor country. population is low. drug travelling - they have 18 large islands off the west coast coast, and they have air ships. planes fly in, no one sees them except the coordinators, and thee

. >> guinea passau's fish stocks are being depleted by foreign trawlers. >>> and - it's banned, illegal, but the pakistan black market gambling industry is doing a roaring trade. >>> hello again, the top stories this hour on al jazeera. the president of south korea compared the actions of the captain and crew to an act of murder. four crew members have been arrested as divers retrieved bodies from the wreckage. more than 200 are missing. >>> opposition activists in syria for the latest barrel bomb attacks in aleppo kill 50 people. government forces have been dropping barrel bombs on rebel held areas in the city in an intense campaign that began in september. u.s. vice president joe biden is due to arrive in ukraine. forensic experts investigate a shooting in slovyansk. three were gunned down at a chaek point manned by -- point manned by pro-russian activist. >>> on the western ukraine border there's calls for president arseniy yatsenyuk to annex the region. david chater looked at whether the territory could become the next crimea. . reporter: a celebration of the miracle of easter in a

his biggest problem is government taxes. >> translation: we are so tired of guinea passau, i can't make money off my work. we use so much effort. we have to much expenditure and government taxes to pay. >> like many fisher many, he'd like to export his fish. there's no proper processing facilities, and he can't compete with the foreign trawlers, so he has to make do with the local market. this is the biggest fish market in passau. it's normally very busy, everyone trying to get the best prices for their fish. for the traders here, it does not translate to much money at the end of the day. life has become harder, says this woman, when the military staged a coup and the presidential run-off. >> translation: the government has done nothing for us. we buy a lot of fish. sometimes we don't get customers. many times we don't make overhead costs. >> perhaps unknown to them there's a bigger threat. the united nations is concerned that unregulated fishing by foreign trawlers will deplete fish stocks in territorial waters. >> they have the greatest fish stock in the reason because of the nafrt, t

it's described as africa's first narco state - we are in guinea passau for the presidential election. >> we are off to nigeria, where traditional healers say they can treat you as well as main stream doctors. >> last august when chemical weapons were used in syria there was worldwide outrage and condemnation. the men president talking of -- american president talking of red lines being crossed. it's been quieter, with new allegations of the use of chemical weapons, the government and opposition accusing one another of having fired poison gas on a village in hama province. we'll have an expert on the use of weapons on whether this really has happened and we'll economic how much of the chemical stockpile is left. after this report. >> it looks like the usual bombing campaign. according to activists these barrel bombs dropped from helicopters, containing toxic chemicals. according to witness account, the chemicals went airborne after the bombs fell. as people were ferried in ambulances, the person recording the video is coughing, and others are covering their mouths. we cannot independen

. >> the rich fish stom in guinea passau is under threat. boats are operating illegally. we have this report from the capital. it's having a devastating impact on local fishing industry. early morning, heat and humidity. the fish market in the south comes alive. it may be one of the poorest countries in the world, but the ocean on the coast is rich with fish. this man and his crew have spend four days at sea and faces this government. he says the problem is government taxes. >> we are tired. i can't make the money, with what they want. with so much effort. so much expense, and so many to pay. >> like many fisherman. this man exploits his fit. than meet the proper processing facilities, he can't compete with the foreign trawlers. they have to make do with the lot to market. >> this is the biggest fish market there is. normally it's very busy. everyone is trying to get best prices for all the fish. for the traders, it does not translate to much money. >> this woman's life is harder. since 2012 the military staged a coup ahead of a presidential run-off. >> the government has

. >> polls have gold in guinea passau. there's opt mission and anxiety. >> vegas has a permissive atmoss veer, and this is good for -- atmosphere. this is good for artists, you have to feel like you can do anything. viva las vegas, the cultured side to sin city. stay with us here on al >> hello again, this is al jazeera, and these are the stories making the headlines - ukraine's government said it launched an anti-terrorist operation to take on terrorists in eastern ukraine. >> syria's government and rebel fighters blame each other for dropping barrel bombs filled with toxic chemicals. bashar al-assad is blaming terrorists, and the opposition is denying responsibility and is demanding an investigation. >> the speaker of iraq's parliament, has survived an assassination attempt. two security guards were hurt by a roadside bomb explosion that hit their car near kirkuk. >> voting is underway in guinea paszau. a military coup forced the cancellation of a vote two years ago. they hope to end four decades of chaos marked by a ser

. >> now, vote counting is underway in guinea passau after a high voter tonne out in the presidential elections. the previous vote two years ago was stopped by a military coup. we have this report from the capital. results are expected by friday. >> another chance for piece and an attempt to build a nation. people stand in line to vote for the presidential and parliamentary candidates, 13 men want to be president: this man holds his identity card ready to vote. he has been through the process men times since his country gained independence from portugal in 174. there has been several military coups, five in the last decade alone. he is under no illusions about what his future may homed. >> i voted because i must. only god knows who is a good leader and who has good intentions for the country. i can't possibly know. >> manuel, the country's interim president costs hays vote -- casts his vote. >> let's give the person a chance to vote. >> there are representatives from the african union, united nations and the west african block, finding the bloke and a security reform program. they req

. >> the polls have closed in guinea passau, the first time sips a military coup two years ago. elections were called under pressure from the united states, e.u. and europe. they have been withholding sanctions. >> after less than two weeks on the job libya's interim prime minister is standing down. abdullah al-thinni is resigning after militia attacked his family. it was described as a near miss. he's the second to step down. libya has been in turmoil signs the overthrow -- since the overthrow of muammar gaddafi. >> tensions in ukraine and russia take another turn for the worst. will the u.s. intervene. a report from washington is next. time to switch to renewable energy is now. we'll show you how an experiment in wind power could help. >> welcome back to al jazeera america. in kansas city three are dead after a gunman opened fire at two separate jewish centres. a suspect has been taken into custody. there has been a string of shootings along highways in the city. it's unclear if today's incidents are related. >> the afghan election is a tight race. with 10% of the ballot taken

. >> they have begun fighting in guinea passau, where two years ago there was a military coup forcing the capslation of a presidential -- cancellation of a presidential run off. the people are hoping to end four decades of chaos, coups, they won independence from portugal. a major election issue, and a worrying international issue, the trafficking of drugs such as these seized in guinea, it's a regional problem, spreading. an influential report is warning that guinea pass awe could be the first narco state. let's go kathryn soy live at a polling station. it's thought drugs come from smerk -- south america, and it's on an enormous scale. >> yes, it is. it's a serious problem. 30 pounds of cocaine pass through the country from latin america through the atlantic. that figure could be higher. the problem is complicated, even farther. by the fact that the trade is set to be - the people who are said to be involved in the trade are very serious, very passive individuals and senior military officials. in fact, the current chief of general staff, antonio is indicted by a federal grand jury in