protests in baltimore after a jury fails to reach a verdict in the case i've policeman charged over the death of freddy gray. ♪ ♪ coming up on the next half hour, the united states raises interest rates for the first time in a decade. we'll be looking at the possible global repercussions. yemen's ceasefire is in danger of collapse with fighters from both sides accusing each other of violating the truce. and china opposes a $1.8 billion arms deal between the u.s. and taiwan.

and threatens sanctions against the companies involved. ♪ ♪ baltimore's mayor is calling for calm after a judge declared a mistrial in the case i've police officer accused of killing freddy gray. the 25-year-old's death in police cus custody in april ledo violent protests. >> reporter: freddy gray's death hit a raw nerve in a nation with a troubled history of race relations. now a hung injury has been able to reach a verdict in the first trial relating to his death. baltimore's mayor is appealing for calm. >> if some choose to protest, they must peacefully demonstrate. that is their right. but i also wants to be very, very clear about any potential disturbances in our city. we are prepared to respond. >> reporter: 25-year-old gray suffered a spinal injury after

being arrested enlargedly for possessing an illegal switch blade. prosecutors say officer william porter caused gray's death when i failed to secure him with a seat belt. >> that boy leg look broke. >> reporter: this video shows greg being shackled and placed in the rah van. >> the police's position is that they want justice. they know the only people that can bring justice is the judge and jury. and you have heard that that jury could not reach a verdict. and you know now that that doesn't mean anything about the future. >> reporter: according to court filings, the driver of the police van stopped at about 9:00 a.m. and asked port tore check on gray. and according to a report in the baltimore sun gray asked for mel helpful the van made another stop to pick up another suspect. paramedics weren't called until 9:24 when the van reached the police station. gray's statements and those of all the officers accused will

likely raise complex legal questions in court. gray's death led to frosts from new york to seattle. from miami to minneapolis. in baltimore, riots turned violent forcing the city to impose a curfew and deploy the national guard to maintain law and order. civil rights campaigners saw the trial as a test of whole the justice system think black lives matter. the they the question who will police the police. al jazeera. >> debbie shines a former baltimore city prosecutor and she says that it is hair for the jury not to come to a conclusion. >> while it was a very long trip and six stops, when freddie gray was actually picked up in the van he was very close. he was five minutes away from where he should have been taken to western district to be booked. but after looking at all the evidence and looking at both sides, yes, this jury of seven

blacks and five women just were not able to make a unanimous decision and render a verdict of either guilty or not guilt i in addition to officer porter being on trial, and i sat through some of the trial. the baltimore police were actually really on trial as well in terms of their practices and patterns. this is a broader picture of how do you trite individuals that are in custody. what is your duty? the police issue is a blue issue. it is not a black issue, it is not a whitish you. we are seeing how it plays out with black individuals, it is a blue issue. this is how the men in blue, the women in blue, how they treat people and that is what has to change. it is an entire culture that has to change. if one person does wrong, there has to be some change so that others can do what is the right thing. people have to be treated with humanity and that apparently as we are seeing across the united states, is not what always happens in cases involve involve police and how they treat those

in their custody. that must change and those that can't deal with the changes, they must be able to be rooted out of the police force. asian markets have opened with gains after the u.s. decision to raise interest rates by a quarter of a%. rates have been near zero in an attempt to boost the economy since the global financial crisis. it's likely to strengthen the dollar and increase investment in the united states. as kristen saloomey reports. >> reporter: it was a sign of confidence in the u.s. economy the federal reserve raised interest rates a quarter%. >> this action marks the end of an extraordinary seven-year period during which the federal funds rate was held near zero to support the recovery of the economy from the worst financial crisis in and recession since the great di depression. >> reporter: yellen said the increase was justified because inflation had been held to below the fed's target of 2%.

and thanks to progress in cutth overall jobless rate to 5%. half of its level when the u.s. economy was tanking. on wall street, train was heavy. -- trading was heavy. and markets closed higher. the rate increase could hurt american exports, but at this stage, it is emerging economies that are expected to suffer the most from the stronger dollar. >> i know, common wisdom says if they start raising rates, the market should settle off. but reality is i little what it does is it reduces -- it reduces uncertain 2eu678 the rate increase was widely anticipated. so much so analysts say it was already factored in to the markets ahead of the announcement. the question moving forward is how high will the fed go and how quickly that answer could further shake things up here on wall street and on main street. from credit cards to car loans, higher interest rates mean higher borrowing costs for consumers as well as businesses. but analysts predict the initial impact will be minor.

>> we are not going to see some immediate down shift in consumption spending. in fact, consumers are benefiting enormously right now from the huge drop in oil prices and gas prices falling rapidly. that's freed up cash flow they are spends on the ground goods and services, and recreation, leisure and entertain, that sort of thing. >> reporter: they promised future cryingses will be gradual over the next year, news that is keeping investors happy at least for now. kristen saloomey, al jazeera, new york. an economist based in singapore says the rate rise does not necessarily signify improvement in the global economy. >> global growth remains on this very uneven growth sputtering i would even say at this juncture here, things are slightly better on the u.s. side. things are far from very bride t or brighter on the european side. and the french and merging

economies side. there is still a need to be a commodity from the rest of the world generally because overall global growth remains fairly week. u.s. slightly better. that poll i didn't di did i very generals will continue in to 2016. the only question is how far or big gap it will be. obviously that depends on the state of the recovery and how broad based the recovery will be in the u.s. itself. today we have numbers up on japan which shows exports is weak. but two consecutive months of decline, data from association poor shows we can expect exports of nonoil product as well. we have seen throughout the region, basically because american consumers are not consuming in the volume that they used to. which basically means that the u.s. economy, though growing, isn't book that kind of a full steam ahead just yet. the interest rate throw on the way is up subnormal at this

juncture. so for rest of us if the growth in the u.s. is strong enough if the central bank raises the rate further base people are spending more because they are earning more if that's the case it should filter down to busier factors here in asia. human rights watch has published photographs of thousands of people that died in syrian government detention centers. the group says it's damning evidence of hymes against humanity. a warning these image jeez will be disturbing. they show some 6,000 people that died in custody. many tortured or starved. human rights watch has managed to identify just 27 of the people photographs. yemen's day-old ceasefire is in danger of collapse with both sides accusing the other of multiple violations the ongoing fighting creating a difficult context for u.n.-brokered peace

talks but there have been positive developments with a deal on a prisoner swap. zeina khodr has more from swiss lands. >> reporter: undoubtedly a positive development. a prisoner swap involving hundreds of prisoners. the warring sides agreeing to the deal being described as a goodwill gesture. but we have to points out this is not what the yemeni government delegation at the talks has been demanding. what they want is for a prison swap involving high-ranking officials, including the defense minister who remains in the custody of the houthi rebels. this is like i said a positive development, but at the same time, on the ground in yemen, that seize fire is not holding. there have been reports of violence, incidents of violence, ever since the ceasefire took effect at 9:00 gmt on tuesday, but at the end of the day, neither one of those sides, the warring sides have declared the ceasefire officially dead. and that's the question, really,

i put to the yemeni ambassador to the united nations and this is what he had to say. >> if we are also declaring all these violations of the ceasefire that we will stick to the ceasefire. we think this is the only option for us to go further in the -- down the path of peace and achieve peaceful resolution to the conflict in yemen. >> reporter: conciliatory messages from the yemeni ambassador but still deep mistrust between the two sides, what we understand is that hugy rebels and their allies want to talk about a ceasefire, a permanent ceasefire before any other confidence-building measures. the yemeni government is saying that, no, because this will only allow the houthi rebels to consolidate their positions on the grounds, to resupply their forces. they are accusing the houthis really of buying time. now, like i mentioned the gaps are still wide but we do know that the united states nighted nations is pressuring the two sides to reach an agreement.

the international community is also worried because of the security vacuum and the chaos in the country is playing in hands of armed groups like al killed a and isil. but the very fact that we are now in day two of these negotiations and the warring sides are still sitting in the same room, is progress in itself because this is the first time since the conflict began that the two sides are talking. still to come on al jazeera. down to business argentina's new government gets to work on the country's troubled economy. starting with currency control. and putting pressure on the president thousands of south africans call on jacob zoom a to step down.

>> we're here to fully get into the nuances of everything that's going on, not just in this country, but around the world. getting the news from the people who are affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> ali velshi on target.

♪ ♪ welcome back. a quick recap of the top stories on al jazeera. and baltimore's mayor is calling for calm after a judge declared a mistrial in the case of a police officer accused of killing freddie gray. the 25-year-old's death in police custody in april led to nationwide protests and led to a debate about police brutality. yemen a's day-old ceasefire could collapse. the ongoing fighting they wanting to undermine u.n.-brokered peace takes in splits lands. the your honor has raised interest rates by a quarter%. the first rise in nearly a decade. the fed says it's in response to improved job data and likely to

strengthen the dollar but could be damage to go merging economies. well, it's not just the united states which is digesting important financial news. argentina is to end foreign exchange restrictions. which have been in place since 2011. the announcement comes six days after new pro-business president macri took practice with the promise of economic reforms, teresa bolt reports. >> reporter: a much-expected announcement by argentina's minister of finance. >> translator: we are aiming to normalize the economy. we inherited a complex situation but we have start today fix it. that's why we are lifting exchange rate restrictions. >> reporter: it was one of former president christina kerr kirschner's most unpopular policies. tight controls on the currency market by limiting dollar purchases. amid rising inflation and the lack of faith in the peso, people here have long shot

refuge in dollars. to control the situation, kirschner largely banned the sale of dollars in 2011. now in an attempt to get this country's economy going the new president mauricio macri is doing what the previous president said was impossible to do. there is lots of uncertainly in the financial district because nobody knows what will be the consequences of liberalizing the exchange rate. this latest measure is very popular amongst the business sector who say that controls were hurting or jean's argentins productivity. government opponents say that macri is devaluing the currency by 30%. argentina's a inflation rate is around 30%. these people have been demanding a pension raise for years saying they are worried about more inflation. >> translator: we have been demanding a raise and we are already seeing prices go up.

our fight is for a better pension, we can only afford half of what we need to exist. >> reporter: since macri announced his plan to his lift currency controls, prices, which are already soaring, have started going up. the price of beef has increased 30%. but economists say that macri made the right call. >> it will be step by step to get argentina out of this stagnation. but you need to have an integral approach because expectations are very high. expectations of change are high. domestically and they are high internationally. so you have to fulfill those expectations. >> reporter: after years of tight controls, macri's government seems determined to lib brailize the economy of latin america's third largest economy. but there is no doubt argentina has a bumpy road ahead. thousands of people have marched in cities across south

africa demanding president jacob zuma's resignation accusing him of bad governance after he went through three finance ministers in a week. >> reporter: drummers set the beat of the zuma must fall march in johannesburg. these people say president jacob zuma should step down or be backed by the governing african national congress. >> he's too associated with corruption, with corrupt individuals. the actions that he took last week in sacking a respected finance minister are considered to be very, very [ inaudible ] has done great damage do our economy. >> reporter: president zuma shocked the nation and the market when he fired his finance minister last week, replacing him with an unknown m.p. who held office for only three days. on sunday, he was moved to another ministry in favor of yet another finance minister. the financial instability prompted ratings agency moody to

downgrade south africa's credit rateing from stable to negative. just as thousands of people march ed in cities across the country. this march is starting with the crowd crossing nelson mandela bridge. it's a statement that it's a global icon style of leadership, integrity and authority this country needs. like most south africans. he supports the dnc. but fear it's lost its way. in. >> it stands for the youth development. it stands for a better s societ. >> reporter: in the face of your honor precedented protests against the president the anc has voiced support for assume a burr many people say he has been weakened by changing finance minister as one person described as if they were underwear. if the as -- as the protesters

cross the bridge the economy weighs on his mind, he didn't march because accident think it will work but the university student is worried he won't get a job. >> ever since he has stemmed up as president the economy has fallen on a low. there hasn't been a lot of job creation and a lot of houses that were progres promise todayf people haven't been built. >> reporter: these marchers walt president zuma out but he has the support of others. he enjoys the support of his party's leadership most importantly. supporters of brazil's embattled president have held rallies across the country. a decision is expected from the supreme court later on thursday on the next stage of impeachment proceedings against dilma rue steph. al jazeera's natasha ghoneim was at a december strigs that rio and files this report. >> reporter: the red flags here are the flags of the worker's

party. that president rousseff's political party and storms the base of her support. there are a lot of public employees here, but what we are also finding is there are a lot of people who say they don't necessarily support rousseff, but what they do support is the democratic process and they say that the impeachment effort under way is not that. they are calling it actually an attempted coup. people are saying there is no evidence of wrongdoing on rousseff's part. she is she's accused of misusing money from state banks to fill in budget gaps. people say they believe this impeachment talk is purely political. >> we must respect democracy. i am not here because i love dilma. i not love dill. i think there are lots of problems. >> reporter: you'll see a lot of signed here with the name eduardo, he is is speaker of the lower house and he's the one that is pushing this impeachment effort forward. he is a huge rival of president rousseff. he's also being investigated for bribery. earlier in the week, federal

police raided several of his teams, people here say it is he who needs to be removed from office. >> translator: we from rio know bet they were the rest of the country because he is a politician from here. he was involved in corruption scandals in skat state companiea few years ago so we know his past. >> reporter: the idea of impeaching a president is nothing new for brazilians in 1992 the president resigned in the midst of impeachment proceed, he was facing allegations of corruption. china objecting to a $1.8 billion arms deal between the u.s. and taiwan. beijing has summoned a senior u.s. diplomat and threat toned impose sang sanctions on the firms involved. china regards tie ban as part of its territory. but the u.s. says it's consistent and has helped maintain secure any in the region, let's get more now from a political commentator in beijing. now, is this arms deal in any

way a u.s. response to china's growing presence in the disputed south china sea? >> well, it's actually very difficult to understand it. the u.s. actually recognizes the one china policy. and that would including taiwan but also insists ongoing on with the taiwans relations act that says it will give arms and -- to taiwan to defend itself. this is kind o kind of equivalet saying to the state of georgia since you were involved in the con federal war china will continue to arm you, although we recognize the u.s. is one country. so it's a bit baffling in terms of how it plays in to the south china sea and a number of other issues, yes, it's definitely part that hav of that. >> what is the likelihood of something occurring in the taiwan straight with all the tension rising?

>> well, this is the thing that everyone is try to go avoid. this there have been military to military talks and engagement. but from the u.s. point of view it's difficult to see the u.s. has not articulated a comprehensive foreign policy which involves both asia, europe, and the middle east and this has been a bit of a hindrance. american sessionalism is a ramsal saying, but it doesn't necessarily tell people where you stand and what is becoming a multi polar world. >> thank you so much for speaking with us. political commentate never beijing. japan has upheld the law that married couples must have the same name. the country's highest court did rule to change a law that specifies women should wait six months after a divorce before remarrying. hospitals in nepal are facing a shortage of life-saving

drugs that needs to be imported from india. uncief says millions of patients, particularly children could suffer. we have more on what is causing the shortage. >> reporter: in this hospital in kathmandu, the doctor face a challenge. there is not enough medication for his patients in the intensive care unit. >> we are facing problems with medications that are used to support hemodynamic of the patients, meaning commonly as resuscitative drugs that we use in cpr. >> reporter: families of patients have to find drugs from local farm ar sis pharmacies bue been unable do. according to uncief. there are less than half the required amount of drugs including childhood vaccines. the situation which is also affecting other places has been

happening for almost three months. that's because protesters have been occupying areas on the border, and violence has killed at least 50 people. protesters say they want better representation in the country's newly implemented constitution and this has restricted the roads. uncief says that shortage could have severe impact on the health of children here. >> we are altogether estimated 30 million children under five years of age and they are all cards to be vulnerable to the current situation. >> reporter: but the government officials say, all of the necessary drugs have been sent to hospitals. >> the hospital yesterday i spoke with the spoke with the group of the hospital about this crisis. [ inaudible ] we are quite compatible at the moment. >> reporter: officials told us hospitals have all the required stock for over a month. we have

been given these medical precipitations for critical care patients and bale find out whether or not they are actually available. we had to go 15 pharmacy to his find the first five medications we needed. but we could not find two vital drugs for increasing blood pressure anywhere in kathmandu. >> translator: life saving injectables are not produced in nepal. they have to be airlifted i have been informed that government hospital suppliers are putting a profit margin and supplying medicines to private hospitals creating a crisis. we have asked hospital to his submit the list of those suppliers. >> reporter: suppliers say they are doing the best to distribute drugs, despite limited fuel. in the meantime, volunteers are helping patients find drugs. so this is a platform to help crowd source the valet bubble of drugs that we find it, we update it so people don't spend more time looking for it. >> reporter: back at the hospital, some still have to rely on themselves to find the

drugs they need. the government has set up a telephone line to help patients find the medications they need. but doctors say that if it doesn't not address the political crisis at its border then the health of the nation will be at stake. al jazeera,. spain's prime minister has been punched in the face. it happened as he was meeting voters in his home region. a young man believed to be minor was standing next to him when he suddenly lashed out. he later posted a mess only associates media saying he was fine but the assailant was arrested. regular flights between cuba and the u.s. will resume. it's an important step for the former cold war rival who his have resumed diplomatic relations after over five decades. the golden burial mask of

ancient egyptian king it out is back on display after a little face list. it needed repairs after the beard was knocked off by workers did he replacing a light in the display case. more on aljazeera.com. >> on "america tonight": the stung truth. flint michigan's water so toxic it's led to a state of emergency. and fear a generation has been poisoned. >> to know that this is something that could have been prevented, it wasn't bought people lied and didn't do their jobs makes me sick. >> "america tonight's" are lori jane gliha, investigates and asks who will take responsibility. >> yes we're concerned. >> you won't say you're sorry? >> i -- >> thanks for joining us i'm

joie chen.