A centuries old traditions. Traditions. Tradition. At leech 16 people have been killed in the thai capital bangkok. It happened in the hindu shrine section of the city. Here is emma hayward. With the fire from the explosion still burning, there was a desperate race to reach survivors. As the Emergency Services moved in, police try to secure the area. A bomb on a motor bike had exploded moments before and closed Circuit Television shows the moment fear struck in the heart of ban cot. With people running for their lives. The bomb went off near the hindu shrine. Bodies and metal debris was scattered across the street. Several foreigners are among those who are known to have died. Survivors were rushed to hospital. Government Officials Say those behind the attack were trying to destroy thailands economy and tourism industry. But no group has yet claimed responsibility for this. Emma hayward, al jazeera. f . Lets go live now to veronica pedrosa. 80 people injured now its 117. It was a massive blast that happened in a place that was very busy with tourists and worshipers. At the arowan shrine. A hindu place as emma reported, hindu shrine and what happened was that as soon as the blast went off we saw rescuers coming in very quickly. The area is now pretty much clear, there are no Emergency Services around but there are a lot of soldiers around. Euld remember that thailand is run by a military government. This may present the biggest challenge to the government of the Prime Minister so far. And veronica, what measures have authorities taken as a result of this . Reporter what weve heard is this area, Something LikeOxford Street in london where you are, will be shut off until 12 noon. 12 00 noon. I think what youll see is increased security as the Thai Government tries to reassure people that this is a safe place for tourists to come. Nevertheless there are expects that analysts are speaking about already, that there will be cancellations from the chinese and filipino tourists and the Tourism Sector is the only growing sector in the thai economy. Consumers consumption as declined and investment. Veronica pedrosa, thank you very much for bringing this this information live from bangkok. One of south sudan warring leaders riek machar has put pen to paper. However his rival salva kiir, has not yet done so. Evidence of widespread atrocities, including evidence that women and girls have been gang raped and burned alive. Joining us live, what happens now then . Well, lets just give you some upstairs in terms of what the rebel leader has told a press conference that ended a half an hour ago. He said he signed this deal what he described of his own free will. He said he was not pressured by the International Community by igate to sign this deal. The approach that was put forth basically gave the south suda sudanese leader everything he wanted. He said there were splits in the two groups, based on the rebels that defected last week. He said that was not an indication of a defection, more an indication of problems in salva kiirs front, sackings by salva kiir. However you look at it, throughout the last few days and whatever side we have spoken to there have been reservations about this deal. Boast sides have expressed problems of what they described as having this deal imposed upon them by igad and the International Community. The tonighty gritt nittygrittyh sudanese government, the United Nations mission in south sudan or eu forces would pose a problem with respect to sovereignty, questions about how to divvy power in upper nile region which is an oilrich region that the rebels control most of now. And theres been problems with respect to trying to unify the forces, to try to bring a unified army. Whatever way you look at it, both sides are accused of committing gross human rights violations. And as mr. Kiir travels back to juba, for another week of potential consultations, the suffering of the south sudanese people goes on. And there seems to be no definite end in sight for this project. Charles stratford, thank you. Killing more than 100 people their deaths added to almost a quarter of a Million People that have been killed during four years of conflict including at least 70,00 70,000 civilians. 30,000 more are missing, many are expected to be locked up in prisons. 7. 5 Million People are displaced within syrias borders and 4 million refugees fled to other countries. Zeina khodr reports. The plane dropped the bomb in a crowded marketplace. It is alltoofamiliar place for the people in the rebel stronghold of duma. Sundays attack was the worst yet. Civil defense workers and others gathered at the site of the explosion to help move the wounded when more air raids hit. More than 100 people were killed and dozens of others were wounded. Doctors at the Field Hospital struggled to help those who lived. Many were critically injured. According to activists on the ground, the victims were civilians, women and children among them. U. N. Humanitarian chief stephen obrien, the u. N. Has been unable to stop the violence or bring about a political settlement but obrien has condemned the duma strikes. Im absolutely horrified about the total disregard for civilian life by all parties. Unacceptable and must stop. I appeal to every party engaged in violence and fighting to protect civilians. And to respect International Humanitarian law. Reporter syrian state media dont mention the attack on duma but a source is quoted by saying, targeted the headquarters of the rebel group the islam army. A day earlier, the group had announced a new offensive against Government Forces and captured an army base in haresta. Fighting around the area ever damascus has escalated in the past days. The military still controls the skies and civilians more often than not have been targeted. Haresta like adam is at the door steps of the governments seat of power. That is why sundays attacks are being seen as a message to the people of the area. The actions of the opposition, zeina khodr, al jazeera, beirut. Iraqs Prime Minister nuer ni almaliki may be put on trial. Accused him and other officials of not doing enough to stop i. S. I. L. s advance. With more than 3 Million People internally displaced in iraq, another casualty, childrens education. Mohammed jamjoom reports. Reporter in a climate that makes concentrating nearly impossible and handbooks dont distract from the heat these internally displaced iraqi students are doing their best to learn. Translator we used to live in our neighborhoods, and it was like heaven. Now were studying here. Reporter while the boys here worry the world has forsaken them, theyre determined not to give up on their education. According to unicef there are approximately 850,000 internally displaced School Aged Children here in iraq. Of that number 650,000 have missed at least a year worth of classes. Thats why schools like this are so important now. He fled Anbar Province with his family when i. S. I. L. Took it over in april. Hes one of the students forced to miss months of school. Translator if we were back at home would i wear a proper uniform to school. Not dried like this or housed in tents. Reporter teacher says the situation is even worse than it looks at the idp camp. Translator the most basic requirements for classes are not available. We have 90 students in three different classes and only 30 books were distributed. How can you teach 90 students with 30 books . Reporter they tell me only 30 students should be going here now but only five make it every day. His wife teaches english to another group of students in an adjacent tent. She expresses even more concern. We feel that this is a crime against those poor children. What do these children do to deserve such harsh conditions . These students lack the basics to teach them adequately. Lacking english, these students read content printed out for them. On a white board. 12yearold mohammed says much, much more is needed. Translator its very, very hard. The electricity comes and then it goes and sometimes it just doesnt come at all. Reporter outside, the next class queues up and tattered workbooks wither in the sun. While mothers bake bread for an encampment where theres far too much hunger and the thirst for knowledge hasnt come close to being quenched. This is mohammed jamjoom, al jazeera, baghdad. Food deserts of the United States, why some areas of the United States arent able to access good nutrition. It wasnt science at all. Theres a lot of lives at stake, a lot of innocent people. How many are still locked up . The integrity of the criminal Justice System is at stake, plain and simple. Faultlines. What do we want . Al jazeera americas hardhitting. Today the will be arrested. Groundbreaking. Theyre firing canisters of gas at us. Emmy awardwinning, investigative series. We have to get out of here. This is a great place to work. Not because they have yoga meetings and a juice bar. Because theyre getting comcast business internet. Comcast business offers convenient installation appointments that work around your schedule. And it takes done. About an hour. Get reliable internet thats up to five times faster than dsl from the phone company. Call 8005016000 to switch today. Perks are nice. But the best thing you can give your business is comcast business. Comcast business. Built for business. Inside story takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts, beyond the sound bites. Were giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is. Ray suarez hosts inside story. Only on al jazeera america. Hello there, a reminder of the top of stories on al jazeera. A bomb targeted bangkoks most popular tourist areas. South sudan, is close to signing a peace deal. And more than 100 people died on a Syrian Government air strike on a busy marketplace. Former president returned to political office, the Indian Ocean Island nation has a total population of 20 million. Choosing from more than 6,000 candidates vying for 225 parliamentary seats. They include this man, mohinder rajipaxa. Liddy dutt reports. Voters queued early to cast their ballots. In january, they elected a new president and on monday they return to vote for 225 members. Parliament. It is my duty to cast my vote in favor of a person who can guide the country and the people of this country. Translator the selection is important for the country in every aspect. I think people have used their brains and theyll vote wisely. Reporter voter identification in hand people across sri lanka gather at temples. This is as close as we have been able to get to engage whats going on. Strict rules governing access to polling routes are to make sure these elections are free and fair. Election observers say this constituency has drawn more attention this time around because sri lankas former president , mohinder rajipaxa axs one of the candidates. Apart from this we have seen any other election violence or violations of it. The results of this election are not only expected to determine the political futures of a few sri lankan politician he but also the direction of the country. Liddy dutt, al jazeera, sri lanka. Minel, some numbers are coming out from postal ballots, what do they show . Weve lost minel, well try oget her back a little bit later. In the meantime, the bodies of thousands of mie migrants have n brought to the italian shore. Hundreds of migrants have been rescued by the no norwegian frox rescue boat. The six month ceasefire in ukraine is looking shakier by the day. Nine people are reportedly dead after an all night shelling exchange. It came down after a breakdown of the latest talks. Sonia gallego has the story. Took just 20 minutes to reduce this street to rubble. Ukraine military said two people were killed as russian back rebelled shelled the village. A man 30 years old and a woman of 22 were killed. Six others were wounded. The most of serious injuries were those sustained by a mother with a child. Reporter yet the separatists are blaming Ukraine Forces for shelling. This part of the country has born the attacks in recent days. There continues to be sporadic fighting and thats despite a tenuous ceasefire thats been more or less in place since february. Moscow is publicly accusing Ukraine Military of an offensive against prorussian separatists. Were worried about the lathest developments. I. T. Was like that last august when ukrainian soldiers received the order to attack. It was also like that this past january when there was another attempt to resolve the situation by using force. That also failed. And the ukrainian side agreed to admonish talks. We believe one shouldnt be experimenting and trying ones luck. One should just follow what was agreed upon in minsk. Reporter more than 6800 people have been killed since the conflict began. Driven nearly 1. 5 million from their home. Several units from either side have refused to obey their military commanders. Sonia gallego, al jazeera. Egypt has passed a law that enables courts and punishment. Mohammad adopunishment. The hands of justice are chained by laws. We will not wait. We will change laws in order to allow us to implement law and justice as soon as possible. Reporter that promise has now turned into a piece of legislation that brought the public order as terrorism and punishes them accordingly. Those found guilty of forming or leading a group the government considers a terrorist entity are punishable by death or life in prison. Financing these groups also carries a life sentence which is 25 years in egypt. The law grants protection to the military and police who use force while acting in the name of the law white jowrnlts can be fined for contradicting the official version of any attack. Some egyptians are concerned. The law here is a system that isnt protecting the citizenry but rather protecting the state. This is becoming indicative of a larger pattern of the psychologist of power, and there is no check on not only his power but on the power of dissemination of force. Reporter egypts military is engaged in an operation against fighters based in the sinai peninsula. They have been carrying out attacks in military installations, attacking soldiers and police beyond the sinai and into the capital, cairo. Some are asking, are these laws targeting these groups or anyone opposed to the government . Jerald tan, al jazeera. Described as food deserts, areas of the United States are preventing people from getting proper nutrition. As Andy Gallagher reports, mississippi delta. Its known as the home of blues music but better known these days as an area for extreme food poverty, access to healthy affordable food is a big problem. Leah, what would you like for dinner . Leslie has never heard the phrase food desert before but shes living it. The closest Grocery Store is 15 kilometers away. My husband and other neighbors in the neighboring town we have to Work Together to try oget food. We have to carpool, bum a ride as you call it to get food. Its hard. Reporter food deserts are not a new phenomenon in the delta and its often the young who pay the price. Almost a quarter to 50 ever the young are obese, as a result of access to good food. Poverty is also a factor. They cant afford to eat healthy and nutrition food. If you have six kids at home, you buy 30 pounds of grapes, thats not going to last long and all your money is going to be gone. Reporter Convenience Stores are the option, if i were shopping for my family the options are limited, canned foods, and a few rotten apples, contributing to diabetes and obesity. Getting access to produce in a remote area makes it too expensive. His experience is typical for the entire region. Fruits and vegetables, you feed it and its kind of hard to supply it. We just dont have the resources to do it with. Reporter the irony of all this is the delta is one of the most fertile places, yet its continuing to struggle to provide food for its own residents. Andy gallagher, al jazeera. Legislation which would allow gay marriage. Warren ench put forth the proposition in police department. The opposition isnt letting its mps to vote for gay marriage. For centuries the indigo dye pits in Northern Nigeria have attracted tourists. As amaas ahmed idris reports. Trying to keep alive a centuries old tradition but workers here are losing a battle. The dye pits, as old as the city, have been a source of income for many families for generations. For 64 years, mahmoud earned a living here, now things arent looking good. Translator we had customers from all neighboring countries and as far as the arab world. Now nobody comes, i cant understand it, we continue to make quality products. The results arent encouraging. They continue to lose their share of the market because of cheap and substandard imports. The chinese have come to town and the locals allege the art has been copied and used against them. Flooded with cheap imported fabrics from asia. They include dyed textile material from china. As a result, hundreds are out of work. Now there used to be 300 dye pits and now they are disused. Locals push them out and establish a near total monopoly. When they come to this business, it affect us because i will spend at least three to four days without doing nothing. Without doing nothing. People will become almost jobless because of this their invasion into our business. Reporter people like ma mamoud, his will be the last generation to carry on this highly respected tradition. Ahmed idris, al jazeera, ghana. Director about 20,000 people have applied to exit. Rafa is gazas only Border Crossing that isnt controlled by israel. A quick reminder, catch up on the latest, the address is aljazeera. Com. A massive explosion rocks thailands capital killing dozens near a hin d hindu shrin. And parallels Public Health epidemic. Colleges the right to form a union