it went off at a major intersection in the capitol and that's where al jazeera veronica pedrosa has more> reporter: this is the scene of the explosion. this is a victory monument, one of the main intersections here in bangkok. and just behind this crowd, there is a stage for anti-government protesters to deliver speeches and hold music. and it was at lunchtime just behind the main stage when a device went off when the crowd that was looking for food to scatter. >> that's when a second explosive device went off just behind me here, as you can see, there are lots of police. n now investigating the scene. forensic scientists looking for physical clues that might lead them to who is behind this attack and others because this is the latest in a series of bombings and shootings that are pretty minor. how fa however, they are causing an atmosphere of fear about coming to these protests, about what lies ahead in thailand's political future. >> that was arningsz's veronica pedrosa in bangkok violence might increase the risk of military involvement which could benefit the protest movement. thailan

. >> veronica pedrosa joins us live from bangkok. the thai prime minister absolutely firm that these elections will go ahead. what has been the reaction to that? >> well, the opposition, the people who have been organising this bangkok shutdown campaign have, of course, rejected this. this has been one of the key demands of the demonstrations that have been going on that yingluck shinawatra step down before elections are held, being replaced by other electorates, transitional council of sorts under which reforms will take place, criticising the family including the former prime minister that's correct san for having led a regime of corruption and nepotism. >> there a few people queueing up. they feature the thai demonstrations. people give food out. they cue for food. make no mistake, they are serious issues at take here that will shape the future of thailand - you can hear the music going off. you can hear the music. >> veronica pedrosa in a city myered with protests. >> french president francis hollande refused to answer questions

. >> veronica pedrosa is joining us live from the commercial district. what is happening there now?> hi, elizabeth. things are going on pretty much as they did on day one. we are now in the second day of the bangkok shutdown campaign. what we have seen are the seven sides that you talk about being flooded with people in their thousands. yesterday police estimated that there were 100,000 people who showed up to try to shut the city down. today they say there was 33,000. nevertheless the intersections are so important to the commerce, to the state-owned business of the city, that they are nevertheless having a big effect. this area, the people who are not familiar with bangkok but more familiar with london is like the piccadilly circus of bangkok or the times square of new york, if you are familiar with that city. it is one of the most important places. and there's another very important archery place which is cut off. it's inconvenient and 1.2 billion have been affected because of schools, hospitals and biostations shut down. down the road is the police headquarters. and that is lock

veronica pedrosa has the story. >> this is the scene of the explosion. this is victory monument, a main intersection here in bangkok. just behind the crowd there is a stage for anti-government protesters to deliver speeches and hold music. it was at lunch time behind the main stage when a first explosive device went off, causing the crowd, which was looking for food, to scatter. a second device wept off. there's lots of police investigating. forensic scientists looking for physical clues, as it were, that may lead them to who is behind this attack. this is the latest in a series of bombings and shootics that are minor, but is cause an an atmosphere in coming to meself protests. >> prolonged violence may benefit the protest movement. a dozen successful milt rilt coups have been staged. >> closer ties for the european union is back in action. this is a look as thousands packed themselves into kiev to force concerns. protesters occupied the city streets after the president passed on a deal with the e.u., which would have increased frayed and opened borders.

veronica pedrosa is there. >> so this is the scene of the explosion. this is victory monument, one of the main intersections in bangkok. behind the crowd there is a stage for anti-government protesters to deliver spooches and hold music, and it was at lunchtime just behind the main stage when a first explosive device wept -- went off, causing the crowd, which was looking for food, to scatter. that's when a second device went off. as you can see, there's a lot of police investigating the scene, forensic scientists looking for clues that might lead them to what is behind this attack. this is the latest in a series of bombings and shootings that are minor. however, they are causing an atmosphere of fear about coming to these protests. about what lies ahead in thailand's political future. >> officials in the central african republic say 24 people have submitted their candidacy for interim president. but the situation in central bank y is dangerous. >> barnaby phillips joins us from the capital. tell us where you are, and what is happening? >> i'm near a ro

veronica pedrosa reporting from thailand. >> secretary of state john kerry and top envoys from 10 otherountries are putting pressure on syria's main opposition group to attend peace talks in geneva next week. the goal is to bring the western backed syrian coalition face to face with the syrian government. fighting has weakened the rebels, but expectations for the geneva conference are low. diplomats say it's the only hope to bring an end to a war that has killed 130,000 people. phillize what are the obstacles when it comes to convincing the opposition to come to the table? >> well, there's a number of things they have to overcome before the national council of syrian opposition go to the table in geneva. not least of which the composition of who will sit around the peace negotiation table in geneva. that is a highly onten someho somehows -- contentious issues. there are stumbling blocks, non-starters, not least of which is the impasse between the two sides on the status of bashar al-assad in a post-assad or future vision of syria. they will be very difficult things to work out - that is

. >> veronica pedrosa in thailand.urning to india where a spiritual leader's death sparked a deadly stampede. 18 died, 50 hurt in mum buy. tens of thousands there to mourn the lose of a 102-year-old muslim leader. the crowds rushed the gates. many were trapped and crushed. police were outnumbered by huge crowds. >> years before edward snowden hit the headlines he attended a computer course in india, one of thousands of foreigners travelling to india to take the classes. we explain why >> hacking is not confined to those with high-end computers or computer geniuses. hacking, whether done to improve security or steal data can be done with a laptop or being in the right place at the right time. >> with simple hacking people can break into companies and do damage. with complex hacking it's different. >> and those skills are easy to find in india at any one of thousands of private it colleges. that attracted edward snowden, the former contractor for the u.s. national security agency to this one. >> edward snowden, if he did

veronica pedrosa is there. >> victory monument, one of the many intersections in bangkok, there is a stage for antigovernment protestors to deliver speeches and hold music. and it was at lunch time just behind the main stage when a first explosive device went off, causing a crowd that was bust bustling around looking for food. that's when a second explosive device went off. there are lots of police now investigating the scene. forensic scientists looking for physical clues here that might lead them to who's behind this attack and others. because this is the latest in a series of bombings and shootings that are pretty minor, however, they are causing an atmosphere of fear about coming to these protests. about what lies ahead in thailand's political future. >> in many parts of europe economic crises has fueled resentment against immigrants and other ethnic minority groups particularly the roma of eastern europe. let's go to mariana in london. >> they are also known as rowe i but many refer to themselves as gypsies. now europe's largest minority, also found in canada, the u.s. and south

veronica pedrosa has the details. >> you wouldn't thing there was anything special about the area, a quiet middle class neighbourhood. notorious. a group of police men held suspect without charge and abused them for fun, apparently. >> it looks like an ordinary suburban street. this house right next to others, was effectively what human rights advocates call a torture chamber, an illegal police detention facility, not register registered with anyone. they keep people here after capturing them on drug raids. this is the office, and this is where they kept their suspects. they turned torture into an elaborate game. they'd spin this wheel and let charts dictate what the victims, as many as 50, would be beaten, hung upside down, poked in the head or other abuses. this case is significant because the police have been caught in the act. 14 men have been disciplined and ranking officials relieved of duty. >> it's a wake up call for higher ups, to show that despite your police operations, procedures, manual, despite your programs and practices on human rights based policing, there are people

. >> that was al jazeera's veronica pedrosa reporting from bangkok. >> sea sick.ise ship returned to port with unhappy passengers. plus the west virginia company at the center of a chemical spill filed for bankruptcy. and she was adopted and brought to the u.s. as a baby. now one woman's quest to find her biological s >> welcome back. i'm morgan radford live from new york city. these are the top stories. president obama announced several reforms to the national security agency's electronic surveillance programs. they'll continue to collect millions of phone record. the government will not keep that information. it's not clear who will. phone companies are rejected the suggestion. a suicide bombing at a cafe in kabul kills 21 people. among the dead four united nations workers and two u.s. citizens. the taliban claimed responsibility for that attack. california's governor declared a drought emergency. the designation qualified california for federal aid as they head into the driest year on record. the company behind the chemical spill in west virginia filed for bank

. >> veronica pedrosa reporting from the middle of protests in bangkok. the thai chamber of commerce survey says the protest could cost the economy about $30 million a day. >> let's get a look at what temperatures we'll see across the nation. nicole mitchell is here. >> a lot of places are above average. we have an exception. this is a change from yesterday. look at minneapolis we were at one, dropping in cooler air. east coast above average. we are on the mild side on the west coast. here is the pattern that we had for all of that. with a ridge in the west giving us the warm air, but the trough through the mid section is part of the country where we see cooler than average temperatures. we had a surge and it looks like a shot of cooler air. a couple of things we'll have to watch. temperatures in the west and problems coming up. >> officials in west virginia are lifting a water ban on certain contaminated areas. 40,000 people can use their taps following the chemical leak last week. there's close to 200,000 people under the water ban. the do not use order