because i will bring these ladies are tough and i take their training very seriously who will. go through. before boarding the ship to go through all my life. this is a boon for point people right now and technology there is so much going to help people it's from thanks for calling i read this is there oh what are you looking for today we get to the blind with their day to day tasks and give them more independence and freedom to schools or go to little. exploration process. we. know this tour. lively and chaotic scenes as south africa's ruling party gathers to decide who

should replace jacob zuma his ex-wife or his deputy. and oh i maryam namazie and london you're watching al-jazeera also coming up a deadly landru tens of thousands of refugees are taking from turkey to greece to avoid the island's. control of the foreign interior and defense ministries in a coalition deal set to give the world its young. palestinians more for protesters killed by israeli forces including an activist who previously valsin both legs in an israeli asked right. and don't mention diversity why the trump administration is banning health officials from using certain words and phrases. allow our top story this hour a tense scenes in johannesburg south africa's ruling african national congress is

meeting to select its new leader the current president jacob zuma who's accused of corruption is stepping down as head of the a.n.c. the party is deeply divided on who should. succeed him former cabinet minister and meanies will resume or is also his ex-wife is vying for the leadership her main rival is prominent businessman and current deputy president cyril ramaphosa zuma successor is likely to lead the a.n.c. into the twenty one thousand presidential election the fifty fourth national conference is taking place at a time when i want his moment is at a crossroads why we identify corporate. as posing a serious threat to the a.n.c. we also need to look at in ten ten m.

exists we feel our organizations. so let's then take a closer look at the two contenders to replace suma and courses on a dilemma meanies zuma is a former cabinet minister who served under every leader since the end of a party with portfolios including health and foreign affairs a former chairwoman of the african union commission she has the backing of eggs husband jacob zuma her rival the deputy president cyril ramaphosa is a veteran trade unionist who was closely involved in negotiations to end apartheid in the one nine hundred ninety s. he was seen as nelson mandela successor instead ramaphosa became one of south africa's most successful businessmen as a director of the mining firm longman he was criticised for calling for police action against striking miners at marikana in two thousand and twelve when some forty four people were killed so live now to tanya page who is following all these developments at the end same meeting in johannesburg how would you describe the atmosphere that tanya. look at started off in

a pretty tense fashion i have to say after the interfaith prayer is there was a warning delivered by the current speaker of the house beauty she's seated two things two warnings firstly they shouldn't be any songs divisive songs sung that's already been broken we've heard people coming out strongly in full voice in support of one candidate or the other the second warning was that the cheers should stay on the ground no one should be throwing cheers and that's because remarkably because this is such a hotly contested electoral qantas within the a.n.c. at the branch level which is the grassroots members meeting in all the provinces across the country they have been incidents in which our fists have been flying in cheers have been flung across the room accusations of vote buying intimidation and forward and that's why a lot of legal action was launched by a.n.c. members against the procedures in the branch meetings which they thought. were

false and fraudulent in fact president zuma made reference to that in his speech when he went off script which is quite unusual for him and he said that the legal battle being forced out publicly he should say that that really should be dealt with internally by the a.n.c. and that sort of court action was eroding the authority of the a.n.c. right so jacob zuma trying to step in there he very much wants to be a part of this process he's. been calling for party unity what are the prospects for him though going forward. well this is where we've seen that you know really the enormous amount of influence he wields in the party and the reason really for him trying to will that at this instant is because he's in trouble legally himself the a.n.c. fighting amongst themselves for the president's name has been dragged into the courts in recent months and here is the real concern he must have many people in

south africa believe in commentators as well and people within the a.n.c. which is why they believe the president has caused such damage to the party is that he does have the sit in hundred eighty three corruption charges hanging over him which the civil courts in south africa have ordered should be reinstated which he is still trying to fight now it is possible that if somebody who wasn't listen climbed to try and protect the president allow those charges to come back to bite him many years after they were originally laid thank you very much turning a page following all those developments for us at the a.n.c. congress in johannesburg. two mass graves containing the remains of dozens of iraq's yazidi minority group have been found near the northwestern town of santa ninety bodies have reportedly

been discovered including women and children i still took over town and twenty fourteen killing and slaving phelan's of members of the religious minority group since job was retaken a year later by u.s. backed kurdish fighters the un has declared the massacre of the as a genocide or more and more refugees are trying to take a new route into europe with deadly consequences few are taking the old rouge across the sea to the quake islands of less boss and chills where many have had to inject dye conditions now thousands are heading north to cross the land border from turkey into northeastern greece but that means crossing the every last river which is proof fatal for hundreds of refugees has this exclusive report from alexandra palace and a warning that you might find some of these images here distressing. if you want to see how dangerous it is to be a refugee this hospital morgue is a good starting point. with. the day before to morrow for gore.

pub loss is parts hospital doctor policy detective the bodies are usually discovered whole kids they've been in the water for weeks on the river or the fish take their clothes sometimes the riposte will effects a clue to someone's mind says this syrian woman drowned along with her son she was identified by another son already in europe but usually they remain unidentified silent witnesses to the horror of the refugees journey. he's a very little goes with that is it because we're here that woman will have a little boy those girls who haven't seen the. all harmony. world. they come here to buy that there was poor founder.

yes it's very difficult. sometimes the bodies are found by police on patrol. sometimes they discovered by fishermen in the shallows more dive hypothermia frozen from leaking boats discovered in outbuildings half eaten by wild dogs others still killed by trains sleeping on the railway is afghan says he crossed the river six times before dodging the police by that time he left behind three of his friends dead on the border. and you know there were three of my best friends we were out in the open it was so dangerous so cold we didn't have any food or clothes where the river winds into turkey a fence becomes the border paid for by the european union to keep the refugees out either side the turkish and greek troops refugees have been blown up by land mines

here in the united nations says this year twenty thousand have been stopped on the turkish side it's becoming a favored route for refugees to avoid the greek islands what is france does is to force the refugees into the river either in the hands of illegal smuggling gangs or by themselves it's really dangerous are the way and yet again exposes the lack of safe routes at the edges of the european union for refugees well away from the fence in the watching troops the motorway is used by the smugglers they camp out here after crossing the river into greece the greek government says a thousand people a month of being caught it is unclear how many get through but they have nothing. this is a this is a medical move from a charity that's from december last year who says could this person please be referred to silicone trust.

those little doctors believe the river contains many will bodies it will soon give up and that their impoverished hospital they should is the new addition from the red cross the huge fridge the are lots of room for the bodies gloriously al-jazeera when the greece turkey border. allow more than two hundred fifty refugees have been rescued by the libyan coast guard east of tripoli they were trying to cross the mediterranean in small boats bound for italy or than four hundred sixty have been rescued this week alone arrivals to italy have fallen by two thirds since july from the same period last year after the un backed libyan government crackdown on people smuggling. now astri's president says his country won't lurch the right despite the announcement of a new government featuring the far right freedom party those who want to roll sebastian kurtz who leads the more moderate people's party is set to be the new chancellor but the freedom party will control several of the most important

ministries o'brien explains. he's been nicknamed c or wizkid now he'll be known as chancellor sebastian kurtz let the overpay peoples party to a thirty two percent winning share of the votes in the general election two months ago but to govern he needed a coalition and the far right f.p.o. is his chosen partner if you want to is stuck if we have a good strong team concerning my party the people's party half of it will be women and two thirds of our team are experts who will bring a lot of knowledge to the political leadership regarding the freedom party and mr starr has a team he's also put forward his suggestions so that the kids are going to follow this is about responsibility for our wonderful republic of australia and it is about ensuring good cooperation for the future to it can be difficult to tell them apart kurtz and his conservative people's party bills itself a center right but its policies borrow freely from far right ideas in january

curt's demanded a ban on public sector workers wearing headscarves he was instrumental in having full face veils banned in austria too and his anti migrant policies slammed the door on syrian refugees trying to reach europe via the so-called balkan route it's not the first time far right politicians have been government ministers in austria it happened seventeen years ago e.u. states reacted then by downgrading bilateral contacts the prospects in this coalition of the far right in charge of austria's foreign interior and defense ministries is likely to create concern in other european capitals yes senator graham i really will learn barry or. i have to ask you this three things so especially was respected or. it woman who is supposed to become the ministry is not a party member. and what is more in court in

a european perspective all the european policy agendas will transfer from the foreign ministry huge chancellorship now the cuts not struck a how detailed the new government's approach to european policy cuts says he is pro european but the far right is traditionally euro skeptic don't forget austria will hold the e.u. rotating presidency in the second half of next year old brennan al-jazeera. on the program three months after two hurricanes hit a third of puerto rico is still without power. keys every day my two little children because i don't know what will happen cats line independence leaders refused to be silenced by spain ahead of next week's regional elections.

hello there it's rather cold for some of us in china at the moment the winds are firing down from the north so maximum just a five degrees they shanghai feeling very cool for many of us here the temperatures eventually begin to recover there as we head through monday this time to nine degrees and then also be recovering force in hong kong will get to around eighteen for the south though this blob of cloud over the philippines that's all part of a tropical storm we're seeing cuttack is gradually making its way across us have an essential part of the philippines we're expecting widespread flooding if you head out to the west for many of us across india it's fine and dry you can see a little bit of cloud there over parts of sri lanka that's bringing one or two showers but also quite a bit of cloud in the far western parts of them up there making its way up through parts of pakistan and afghanistan as well is not really any significant rain out of

that though looks like most of us will get away with a dry day on sunday that it breaks up altogether really as we head into monday then all the excitement is a bit further towards the west where there's some rain around for the arabian peninsula we could see a few more showers here in doha on sunday or even monday and this looks like there's looking to be some heavier rain over parts of the u.a.e. and into i man some of the show is here likely to be very heavy. under serious skies a bomb shattered monument to war's destructive powers yet amid the ruins the defiant still resist and somehow survived. people in power investigates how the suburb of damascus has refused to crumble under the might of us out of our. job our one of two at this time on

al-jazeera. back with al-jazeera that's up to you want to stories making headlines intense scenes in johannesburg where south africa's ruling african national congress is meeting to select its new leader party is deeply divided as it chooses between jacob zuma his ex-wife or his deputy. more and more refugees are taking a new dangerous route to get into europe thousands are now crossing the land border from turkey into northeastern greece and hundreds die on the way. and austria's president says his country will not do the right despite the announcement of a new government featuring the far right freedom party. and our other stories we're

following funerals have been held for four palestinians killed by israeli forces during protests in gaza and the occupied west bank on friday they were rallying against the u.s. decision to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital one was an activist who lost both his legs during an israeli air strike in two thousand and eight alan fischer was at the funeral. we came in the thousands to say goodbye to him and what he represented. three a lost both his legs in a near strike during the two thirds of the gaza war became an unlikely symbol of palestinian defiance and resistance. the twenty nine year old often went in his wheelchair to fly his flag at demonstrations and protests all over gaza he went on friday to the border with thousands of others to protest donald trump's decision to declare jerusalem as israel's capital. donald trump must reverse his decision jerusalem as the capital of palestine a call on all arabs to support the palestinians and if they don't we palestinians

will do it ourselves. ibrahim three it was flying his flag on friday when he was short and killed by the israelis going to market of the during the break we helped the martyr abraham in the wheelchair tear gas was fired. and abraham was hit in the head he fell to the ground and was killed instantly by a single bullet to the head. that is generally gaza city hamas leader ismail haniyeh said the protesters death was not in vain. he tried to protest despite his condition became famous all over the world and he is shaping the consciousness of the world two people were killed in clashes in gaza on friday for several hours and in seven places along the border palestinians protested. and rocks at israeli positions use really fire bullets and tear gas trying to force the thousands back from the border line hundreds were taken to hospital many suffering from the effects of gas and with other groups and factions

here in gaza calling for more protests the people here are pressing themselves for more funerals in the days and weeks to come first was alan fischer al-jazeera. puerto rico is still struggling to recover nearly three months after two hurricane slammed into the caribbean island a third of the u.s. territory remains without our businesses have closed and thousands of people are still in shelters more than one hundred thirty thousand puerto ricans have left the island so i disowned their reports where to reconsider each hurricane season they're at the mercy of nature but three months after him and then maria battered the island they're also learning they're at the mercy of u.s. government officials to help revive life as they knew it can and most commonly see only we want my mother to live their house was destroyed she hasn't many years left and we want to live decently is that too much to ask. from the beginning puerto

rican officials have been asking for a more robust response from the trumpet ministration the island is american territory and its three point four million residents are american citizens but many have complained that not only do they feel like second class citizens they feel forgotten. during a visit earlier this month the new york governor said one third of where to rican are still in the dark most have to boil water before using it and one thousand remain in shelters the federal government should be ashamed of itself in the way they've handled this border region has not gotten the care and the attention that they deserve the administrator of the federal emergency management agency or fema says a series of disasters from harry can harvey in texas to wildfires in california have burned through its budget and burned out its staff in puerto rico obviously it's the power it's an antiquated power system that we're rapidly trying to figure out

day in and day out on how to get in there the complexities of it being an island and the logistical complexities you know adds to it the goal is to not only rebuild the electrical grid but make it better able to withstand the hurricanes that are expected to become more frequent due to climate change this period of recovery is excruciating for so many however you can see i cry for what happened for what we lost. the island has also lost thousands of residents who have relocated to the mainland the exit has combined with the country's poverty and debt burden could make the puerto rico of the future a very different place on the silver al-jazeera. now the top administration has told officials at the top u.s. public health agency not to use certain words in documents relating to the budget stuff that the centers for disease control of been told to avoid the words evidence based and science based to the surprise of the agency's scientists also on the

banned list vulnerable entitlement and diversity a word i criticized by some trump supporters as reflecting liberal bias and equally unmentionable fetus and transgender echoing previous steps taken by the administration in pursuit of its social agenda earlier this year the department of health and human services which oversees the c.d.c. removed information relating to sexuality and gender issues from its website so let's get more on this now from tarmac on the news in washington and tom tell us more about what might have prompted the trump administration to do this. well the people who he appointed in the department of health and human services in senior positions many of them holding not just views opposing abortion but even family planning such as one official who says that birth control doesn't work others who are against same sex marriage but more importantly against any kind of

initiatives towards helping transgendered people in fact the director of a transgender of a gender surgery center in chicago today said that these changes in the language were meant the ultimate rationale for them is trying to erase certain types of people off the map and he said a kind of thought police but these people the the initiative has not been actually articulated in so many words by the trump officials however it's clear that the the word has gone down to the lower ranks that such words as you said as science based on evidence based are not to be used in preparation for the budget in inter it was some one spokesman was asked what do you use inter in place of that and she said well you could use science in consideration with community standards and of course it depends on whose community and whose standards you're thinking about

maria how much of a backlash is this likely to provide. well the first recourse of course is the courts one instance for example the president personally in a tweet nothing more than that ordered a freeze in the processing of transgender military personnel that was challenged that has been challenge in the courts and in fact in the actual ranks of the pentagon they have proceeded with the processing of transgendered in within the military in uniform so there's. apparently not the messages not gone down all the way along the line but there are this is basically in line with a lot of the up and being of the agenda of the obama administration you can also see that in the way certain scientific advisory boards have been purged of people

people who've had grants within the environmental protection agency have been removed and replaced by people who are identified or actually employed by fossil fuel energy companies so you see that there's a general trend here and the republican congress so far since it controls a lot of the budget as you as you can tell of course they will probably not challenge many of these initiatives at least not so far unless they are reversed by the courts. thank you high winds are threatening to fuel a massive wildfire burning in southern california hundreds of homes have been destroyed and over one hundred thousand hectares burned since a series of fires broke out on december fourth the latest fire sent about one hundred sixty kilometers northwest of los angeles and is the third largest in california's history the authorities say eighteen thousand properties still under threat. at the head of its navy following the recent loss of

a submarine relatives of crew members from the missing sabah demanding the search operation continues until a vessel is found. ok. contact with the ira san juan was lost a month ago forty four crew members were on board argentina's navy ended its search two weeks ago after news an explosion had been detected near the subs last known location catalonia is holding regional elections next week but there's little hope they'll resolve the political crisis there spain imposed direct rule after the october secession referendum and jailed some pro independence politicians and all spoke to one of those who's recently been released. yellow ribbons a sign that their jailed independence leaders are not forgotten neighbors in this quarter barcelona rallying to form so-called committees to defend the republic the three bow our heads that bill just stamp winners and crushes we must hold our heads

high. in the wake of october secession referendum spanish authorities imposed direct route and imprisoned separatist politicians. just one of those cattle and government ministers who have spanish prosecutors arrested on charges of rebellion. he's free on bail after a month in prison he recalls every moment. specially the noise of the of the doors closing it and forget that all nice sterile means that you are not demonstrations in support of the secession referendum will last but peaceful yet rule and his fellow ministers were held in a cell block with convicted murderers and drug traffickers we where political prisons prisoners and now there are political prisoners in the spanish chaves because if there is no violence they jailed us only

to defend our i.d.'s until his trial rule is free to run for reelection on december the twenty first. there on the campaign trail this thank you thank you eric thank is that our thanks to you think you are independent narrative and writing to self-determination against a heavy handed central state. cautious when describing what tactics might persuade spain's catalonia to breakaway dialogue dialogue them across they were crossing the moccasins those rebellion charges are still hanging over him if convicted he could spend thirty years in prison this is three year eight year old sons growing up. every day my two little children every day everyday. because they don't know what will happen in x. future saw a face life in

a different way. with catalonia in turmoil politics comes with a heavy personal price cult pennell while just zero while other spring. and on sunday will be looking at unionist hopes for the election several anti secession parties are also vying for control we mustn't lose sight of them but they may have to work together to overcome the pro independence campaigns have plenty more coming up on that story. well now the largest privately owned mammoth skeleton is currently up for auction in france fifteen thousand year old skeleton was found in siberia and is estimated to be worth more than half a billion dollars half a million dollars the sale taking place in leo by the same option house sold a dinosaur skeleton last year for one point one million dollars still a lot of money.

on our quick look at the top stories this hour tenth scenes have been unfolding in johannesburg where south africa's ruling african national congress is meeting to select its new leader the current president jacob zuma is accused of corruption and is stepping down as a.n.c. head the party is deeply divided though between former cabinet minister and the ex-wife of jacob zuma. and the deputy president cyril ramaphosa zuma successor is likely to lead the a.n.c. into the presidential election in two thousand nine hundred fifty four the national conference is taking place at a time when. his movement is at a crossroads. why do we identify corporate. as pull through a serious threats to the a.n.c. . we need to look at the term memory chips we.

were going to our other top stories to mass graves containing the remains of dozens of iraq's yazidi minority of been found near the north western town of sin jar nineteen bodies have reportedly been discovered including women and children i still took over this town in two thousand and fourteen killing and in slaving thousands of members of the richest minority group more and more refugees are choosing to take a new dangerous route to get into europe few are taking the old route across the seat the greek islands of less boston kiosks now thousands are crossing the land border from turkey into northeastern greece which means crossing the ever oss river a journey that's proof fatal for hundreds of refugees austria's president says his country won't the right despite the announcement of a new government featuring the far right freedom party sebastian kurtz who leads the more moderate people's party is set to be the new chancellor but the freedom party will control several important ministries and high winds are threatening to

fuel a massive wildfire burning in southern california hundreds of homes have been destroyed and over one hundred thousand hectares burned since a series of fires broke out on december fourth latest fire assented about one hundred sixty kilometers northwest of los angeles with more on that story and everything else coming up at the top of the next hour soon about twenty five minutes time after people in power which starts now. the bomb shattered buildings in the damascus suburb of joba sits just a few comments just.