the show around talk that we are witnessing around the word this hungry money which is only looking at how to make the next profit devastate economies devastating ecosystems putting a price on the protection of nature green economy is sound good but it was all privatized sation of nature should our environment be for sale what we're trying to do is destroy people to watch the clock much given a financial incentive to do that pricing the planet at this time on al-jazeera. hello i'm maryam namazie this is the news hour live from london coming up in the next sixty minutes dumas surrounded syrian government forces caught eastern ghouta

into dealing a major setback to the rebels. and turkish forces close in on african in northern syria code say they'll form a human shield also on the program of failure to print enough ballot papers for colombia's historic vote as former fox rebel stand as candidates for the first time . their leader for life meant his position off to china's people's congress abolishes term limits for the president and the national gathering party leader marine le pen proposes a new name for france's far right party. with all the sports news including the latest from the english premier league. goethe after winning at bournemouth despite an interest setback for star striker harry.

hello welcome to the program our top story two key offensives that could define the future of syria are reaching a critical stage in the south of the country syrian state media says government forces have surrounded the town of duma it's part of their attempt to overrun eastern guta a damascus suburb that's still in rebel hands pro-government forces have managed to cut the rebel held area into by establishing a corridor to assist the offensive the government has been launching repeated as strikes rebels accuse them of using barrel bombs phosphorus napalm and chlorine gas in a separate offensive in northern syria turkish forces have surrounded the town of afrin . which is under the control of the kurdish y p g now the white b.g. is saying civilians will form a human shield around the town to protect against any further advances earlier i spoke to my only a dean who lives in duma he told us what he's witnessed over the past few days i don't see any. regime i see the russian airplanes

and militias of iranian and. un. known. army coming to is to. yesterday in there was a few civilians. and we don't know anything about them. unfortunately the situation here in eastern good very very awful and miserable. there is alan fish as more now from the turkey syria border. but what has happened in dumas happened elsewhere in syria we've seen it before where first of all the split the area as they did in eastern guta on saturday and there's no surrounded one tire in the syrian government forces and backed by the russians then tend to use their military advantage to try and gain a political advantage by saying to the fighters maybe you should leave him move to

another part of syria as a see that has happened before in this conflict meanwhile in a free and we are hearing that the wipe e.g. the kurdish militia are calling on civilians to help form a human shield to police themselves between the y. p.g. and the advancing three syrian army which of course are backed up by the turkish military no it's not just cards who have responded to this call and we hear that there are buses heading towards our friend but also groups here in turkey clearing women's groups and socialist groups although how they will get across the border which is currently closed is another issue entirely in our friend city we see that there is no water no internet and up to three or four families are noshing each ice because families that move from the early stages of this assault are no seeking shelter with friends and relatives seeking shelter essentially where they can the leader of the council and our friend says the situation is dire and has called on the united nations not only to investigate but to intervene. well now to china

where the national people's congress has voted to abolish term limits for the president and the vice president a change of the constitution paves the way for judging paying to remain in office beyond two thousand and twenty three adrian brown has more from beijing. an army of chinese legislators came to the great hall of the people knowing what was expected of them a display of uniform loyalty to the man who could now be china's leader for life for the constitution is in accordance with our country's reality and the wishes of all the people. this is a big event a very memorable moment in our political life. and historic and controversial moment as well the almost three thousand delegates had been told the amendments were needed because the challenges china faces require a strong leader and the united party. in china's version of

legislative government new laws and constitutional changes are always passed unanimously. and so it proved to be the case again on sunday when delegates approved twenty one constitutional revisions including the scrapping of term limits for the president and vice president but there was perhaps token opposition to votes against and three abstentions congress officials insist this process was transparent. the chinese people have had no say in this historic moment critics accuse president xi jinping of building a personality cult indoctrinating the masses with his political philosophy just as chairman mao once did it was done shopping the other towering figure in recent chinese history who'd insisted on two term limits for the president he wanted to avoid a repeat of the cultish devotion that had surrounded mao but analysts say one party

rule is once more turning into one man rule the fact of the matter this seeming has hijacked the end tie a communist party in the country so we are back to just one person doing the talking one person making the decisions for the entitled party and the entire country we are back to the period of the so-called one more second chamber. the president's influence is now felt in many aspects of life here she jingping thought is now required reading for all party members study groups of spread to businesses and universities. parliament also voted to expand the president's campaign against corruption joining a five year purge more than one and a half million party officials have been punished analysts say the campaign is a guys for getting rid of potential rivals for now at least though she would appear

to have none. adrian brown al-jazeera beijing. to carry brown director of the lao china it's a chance at king's college london tell me if he could be setting himself up for a fall well he's in control of a much bigger country in a more important country and also a country which is quite soon going to be the world's largest economy probably so the stakes are much much higher but i don't really think we should see this is being a return to a kind of maoist sort of power. that don't have an independent kind of basis and charisma that was sort of more than the party that was the problem really whereas i mean she's in pain works within the party and the country that he leads is so much more complicated it's not possible for one person even a complete megalomaniac to make decisions about china on their own because it's got so many different kinds of constituent elements so i think we're a long long way from that in a sense the problem is that we have

a you know leader promising so much who might not be able to deliver a great deal because the problems are so complicated president he's the head of the military he's the party secretary he's the chair of all these different kinds of small leading groups that really run policy on areas he's the head of the national security county council them everywhere he's everywhere and that's good when things are going ok it's not so good when things don't go well and you know china's had a lot of luck in the last few years but there are issues on the way i mean the economic development is still you know highly difficult environment natural environment is not great all sorts of things where people start seeing this all powerful figure and saying well if you're all powerful why isn't it that your able to solve these problems and then he's much more vulnerable. and watching the news hour live from london much more still to come on the program u.s. president donald trump says he's working on the biggest deal in the world but admits it could also fail. the billionaire takes back the reins from

a socialist as chile's new president is sworn in. and emotional scenes as italian football teams here in t.n.a. return to action following the sudden death of their captain sunnah will have more on that in sports. u.s. president donald trump says his plan talks with north korea could either fail or bring about a greatest deal for the world to ease nuclear tensions between the two countries speaking at a rally in pennsylvania he said he believes north korea wants to make peace but president trump also warn that he could quickly leave the talks if it looked like progress for nuclear disarmament couldn't be made meanwhile to south korean officials who met the north korean leader kim jong un last week are to brief the leaders of china and japan. one of the officials will meet china's president xi jinping on monday while the other will see japan's president on chews day the

meetings are designed to update the leaders on the progress of nuclear talks with north korea so let's go to mike hanna in washington for more on this of course it is the big story of the week isn't it like a potential meeting between president trump and kim jong il and one of the sunday talk shows been saying. well there's been a number of democrats and some republicans who've been somewhat critical of president trump a particularly because he did not seek any concessions from north korea before agreeing to this face to face meeting lizabeth warren the democratic senator insisted that there was a real danger that north korea would take advantage of president trump but members of his administration came to his defense treasury secretary steven chu chen insisting that no concessions being made that in fact the u.s. was maintaining its strong stand on sanctions that no lightening of these

sanctions would happen in the lead in to this particular meeting and support too from the director of the cia who had this to say this first meeting i think is between the president is the leader of north korea the two people who are the decision makers who alternately decide what arrangements are acceptable but make no mistake about it while these negotiations are going on there will be no concessions made the activity of this administration to disrupt the north korean economy to put pressure on north korea to galvanize the world in a way that you have countries from the middle east to europe and asia placing sanctions on the north korean regime those will continue and walls see how the talks and the negotiations prosy but i suppose a problem is there have been a real negotiations no real concessions from north korea and concerns about trump's preparedness for a meeting of this magnitude what are people saying about the rest from this myth. well it is exceedingly risky once again the north korean leader seeking the

authenticity of the veracity of a meeting with the leader of the united states is something that north korean leaders have been after for decades at this particular point so certainly there is a major diplomatic risk involved should president trump come away with no result whatsoever it would be exceedingly damaging to the whole. of denuclearization the other problem of course is the preparation of the president whatever team he takes with him there is at the moment no ambassador for example in south korea at the state department's leading expert on north korea resigned a week ago so it is very very difficult for the administration to get together any some kind of cohesive negotiating team to be able to prepare the president for such a face to face meeting president trump though appears confident that he can handle it all by himself it seems thank you very much mike hanna with the latest from

washington. now to colombia where the civil registry says it ran out of ballots in the country's congressional electoral vote prompting an outcry from voters colombians are electing a new member to an outcry from voters colombians are electing new members of congress with former fart rebels and able to run for the first time here epona cicle debut comes after they lay down their arms ending fifty two years of fighting with the colombian government has guaranteed to win a minimum of ten seats under the terms of the peace settlement that many colombians feel former fighters should be in prison rather than congress holes which used to close around now so let's go to alexander and getting his in bogota not enough papers run shaw when the polls will close it doesn't seem to be going very well. well it definitely gave a lot ahead excuse. to central government then the national registry service

it looks like they either failed to prints enough ballots or not for the congress for the congressional elections but for two primaries of the right wing correlation and a left wing coalition for president that voters here could ask to participate in one of the two primaries and in at least twenty polling station in different cities across the country there weren't enough ballots now this of course has soaked a few years of fraud among many voters who are already angry here for the situation in the country. the electoral is quite divided on a peace deal that reforms that this piece should bring the fact that fark are participating legally in elections so this flood zone the increase the tension. in their day and now their register their education services said that

they were able to fix this through photocopied or essentially moving ballots from one polling station to the other but in many ways the damage was done either way speaking to people here a lot of them said that the main issue for columbia today was corruption which is seen as pervasive especially when it comes to congressional elections. colombians gear up to renovate their congress and then they there's one issue on everybody's mind she will seem to a lot of corruption good group soon or corruption is the biggest worry of voters reachin who are on the right or left of the political spectrum colombia's get the war as long overshadowed the legal political practices which are only now coming on the bigger scrutiny scandals in past months have involved. most parties and even tainted president juan manuel santos last campaign. yet the new study by the peace

and reconciliation foundation says the public outcry will not bring political renovation. more than eighty candidates for the senate and the house of representatives that have links with criminal organizations or are involved in corruption scandals such as older brecht or our children our wives are currently jailed representatives all with excellent chances of being elected they represent rural family clans that have for decades run their districts like. most are expected to remain in power doling out jobs public work contracts for just a little food and money to maintain the loyalty of their impoverished voters. many politicians and thirties corruption circuits to finance their campaigns they buy out local community leaders and pay around one thousand dollars per vote the culprits in the end there to citizens they vote for the same corrupt parties then they complain about corruption it's a vicious cycle you can't vote for bandits and then expect to be well governed.

according to this study only three of the political parties have not presented candidates viewed with suspicion for their relations with illicit activities or criminal organizations which have many here worrying that the new congress will have a hard time changing longstanding corruption practices when you tell your own director of political website unless you have a cia says the system is pervasive. like an informal survey with professional quality sense asking them how what is the percentage will. versus votes for congress and they all agree that seventy percent pattern as seventy thirty percent opinion votes. and like other major latin american countries jailed many claim chief thin clients remain tough through this large as long as votes can

be bought for pennies. corruption the issue on the minds of voters across the political spectrum what bearing could these parliamentary elections have on the presidential votes in a few months time. but definitely marion this vote is the sort of prelude to the presidential elections that will come in may it will be very important today to see which parties were grown and who they support for the next presidential election there is an expectation to see a growing part right wing parties in particularly those who have done a very good job criticizing the peace deal and many of the reforms that the next congress it expected to put forward to implement this deal so that definitely something that we'll be looking at in coming hours that the first results will begin to come and the other thing is to see what happened with the primary

elections. most likely on the right the candidates chosen by former president the alberto. probably the biggest opposer to peace deal will probably win that primary and on the left there is the former mayor. also a former get yet. very controversial candidate here but he's running first in the polls and he used to also taking advantage of people angered at the word abolition and politicians and parties so what we're seeing here is that increasing poll i read. the voters in columbia. right well thank you very much candy bring us all the latest on that vote from bogota. all staying in south america and sebastian pinera has been sworn in as chile's president for the second time and you are a billionaire entrepreneur vowed to revive the economy which just slumped on the outgoing

sense of leslie to michelle. this is the second time ashley has turned over the presidency to farrah. large crowds gathered for her exit ceremony in various. american editor lucien human was at the ceremony and joins us now from santiago how difficult will it be for any era to live up to his promises luciana. hello mariyam well it's not going to be easy i can tell you that he does not have a majority in the legislature and he has some very ambitious. legislation that he wants to put through and so that means he's going to have to somehow bring over the more moderate wing of the now central left opposition on to his side i'm at a at a home right now for for vulnerable children that are stamping it and just left here a short while ago he made that his first point of order after of putting on the presidential sash he's basically trying to send the message that he does care for the country's poorest and most dispossessed especially the children and that and that is the

problem he's got to shake off that image of a billionaire who's very good at economics who's good at economic growth but last time around he certainly left with people thinking it was only for the wealthy this time that they really have to feel that it's going to trickle down for them. and what about michele bachmann lay how is presidency going to be remembered. that is still something that is that is a work in progress i would say depends who you ask obviously but the last time or the first time that she was in the presidency she left with a record eighty percent approval rating this time it's much lower around thirty percent but you know it really depends on how long it's going to take for chileans to begin to feel the benefits of so many of the social reforms that she put in motion but which as i say they can't really yet notice them they're not really feeling those benefits quite yet they're going to take a long long time so my guess is that in the long run she is going to really be be

applauded is going to have a far better approval rating that she has right now in fact she is more his word mired abroad at this moment that she is in chile unfortunately you see america editor in santiago thank you. better news from yemen where a senior yemeni official has called for protests to demand the return of president . hardy from saudi arabia the minister of state. made the statement on his facebook page the country head of the saudi led coalition's air campaign against those who see rebels in march twenty fifteen the president has reportedly been in riyadh for over a year now people who visited a pub and restaurant in the english city where a russian former spy and his daughter were poisoned a week ago have been urged to wash their clothes and possessions they had with them health officials believe as many as five hundred people may have been contaminated by the nerve agent which left sergei script and his daughter yulia critically ill

in hospital or brennan reports families enjoying a pizza drink socializing in the pub hundreds of people may have been unknowingly contaminated as a consequence of the u.k. spy poisoning revelation the traces of toxic nerve agents have been found with both z.z.z. the mill pub in seoul very brutal startling message from the u.k.'s top health who draws a. i am confident that this is not honed the health of anyone who was in the mill pub or this is restaurant however some people are concerned that prolonged long term exposure to these substances may over weeks and particularly months give rise to health problems the advice is to machine wash clothes use baby wipes to clean any personal items such as phones and items which can't be washed should be securely bagged and sealed the authorities insist the risk is minimal but caution is essential the trail of nerve agent contamination is being followed backward from

the park bench where sergei script and his daughter yulia were found collapsed the former spy's house is also sealed off for forensic examination and specialist officers have even been examining the cemetery where mr script was wife is buried among several priorities for police or the questions of how and where scripts and his daughter came into contact with the nerve agent had they already been contaminated by the time they visited z.z.z. in the mill or where the traces of toxin found at those locations left by whoever was trying to kill them in two thousand and six when former k.g.b. dissident alexander litvinenko was murdered by russian agents using radioactive polonium the killers left a trail of radioactivity at several locations in london and fortunately it happened the gall it means something was not done and a lesson what is saved after the end of my has been was not clear and sergey script

and his daughter remain critically ill in hospital twenty one other people have also been treated for possible exposure but the instruction for hundreds of people to cleanse themselves of possible contamination is a worrying escalation paul brennan al-jazeera. still ahead for you this hour preparing for life after castro cubans vote for a new national assembly which will be tossed with choosing his successor. were just as a back on the streets of boston learned demanding the release of jailed politicians . and serina williams continues have tennis come back a familiar face away at indian wells we'll have the details with ana. hello there we go quite a large area of low pressure affecting europe at the moment that means things are

pretty wet and pretty windy for many of us there's that area of low pressure then there's all the cloud that spiraling out from it and it's giving us some very strong winds those are whipping up quite strong waves there in the northwestern parts of spain english here and the systems also bringing in some quite mild air so this is what it looks like in some james's park at the moment all the deaf a deal out so mild and wet really the theme for many of us across europe in that model there is also spreading further the truer to the east warsaw to fifteen there on monday and then that malta extending further east as well by choose day moscow should be above freezing and that's the first time that's happened since around the third of february so it's all changing across europe then it's mild but it's also rather wet for the other side of the mediterranean though the weather here is quite quiet generally fine unsettled for the eastern parts in the west here there's a few more bits and pieces of cloud but largely is looking dry here to know summer

is going to stay as we head through chews day robot should be pretty warm up at around twenty one degrees over the towards the south we go quite a few showers hero video congo and those are going to stay with us for monday and tuesday to. in a war torn city in iraq a medic documents the stories of the survivors recording bare hopes and dreams for a peaceful future after american troops withdrawal. but the conflict is far from over. he turns the camera on himself when i still take control and his family off forced to flee and nowhere to hide a witness documentary at this time on al-jazeera.

al-jazeera. every your. welcome back you're watching the news hour live from london a recap of the top stories now syrian state media says pro-government forces have completely surrounded duma in eastern leaving the main area still held by the rebels into. kurdish forces in northwestern syria say civilians plan to form

a human shield around the town of a friend to protect it from an expected turkish incursion. under all the top story in colombia voters are electing members of the country's congress there's been an outcry though off to the national registry admitted it failed to print enough ballot papers. and now to france where the far right national front policy is rebranding its leader marine le pen says it should now be called the national gathering but will a new name attract new voters reports from the party's annual conference in the city of new and from. the pendragon brotherhood with a classic speech point she will get to choose from of who grow. for. a tough most of all of the effects of immigration. leave us your leg it is legal and illegal immigration are no longer tenable.

draw the french people's money must go back to the french people first. we no longer have the means to welcome to house to careful or to feed the whole world. but the high point came at the end when she announced her suggestion to rename the party us here in existence absolute you know it must signal an absolute demand to unite the country in the defense of its identity its prosperity and its security and freedom i therefore propose that the national front become the national gathering live for notion that there viendo has some. so the national front is dead but not quite varied yet the members will have a chance to vote on the name change in the next few weeks for what is also the most important thing for me was to keep the war national in a thing that the world gathering is coherent now the idea is no longer to be

a france but to get a people together and. demonstrators took to the streets of lille to show what they called their contempt for the rebranding of the national front they said it was just another attempt to disguise fascism but back in paris a warning from an expert who knows the party at first and an opposition counsellor it one of the hotlines. let's not forget the national front got the highest score in its history last year the fact she made a fool of herself at the debate doesn't mean the party is finished but. the party's found the pen has now been stripped of his position as on ri president of the national front but he can't be written out of history he's just published a for. as for you move his autobiography and it's turned into a bestseller he said j.g. lynn aim was committing political suicide cheater al-jazeera leave.

now cubans are voting to ratify a new national assembly this is a key step towards choosing the next president on the communist run caribbean island nation eight million cubans are expected to turn out to ratify more than six hundred candidates for an equal number of seats in the assembly and the members of the national assembly will choose a successor to president raul castro a new president will be the first in almost sixty years from outside the castro family. we're going to anyone who leads a country well that's what's your main thing that they lead well and that they look out for the good of cuba or. most like the old world so for i don't know who will be the president of this country will i think it could be he looks like a good person up to now let's see about the rest. well dr helen yeah fee from glasgow university joins me in the studio now thanks very much for coming in to speak to us could you stop by clarifying the process around this weekend's election

so the election today is part of a process which takes about seven six seven months of elections in cuba that starts at the street level so it's a very grassroots election where anyone can be nominated you can actually nominate yourself for elections to represent your local area and then those elections go up to what they call the municipality and from the municipality then there are elections to the provincial assemblies and today they are electing into the provincial assemblies and the national assembly of people's power which is the highest decision making or ledges and the body formally in cuba but at the end of this process which will last for six or seven months there will be a president of cuba who is not a castro that is correct so the national assembly will meet in april just after the middle of april and they will elect

a council of state and then the president of the council estate will be elected who we were first who is the president of cuba what's prompted this to take place this shift this change in leadership biology bring obviously you know fidel castro has died his father is getting older and he they you know through our came out a few years ago and said very clearly that we need to open up space for a younger generation and they. presented a set of reforms to political leadership where in senior positions people should only be able to stand for two terms and you have speed below a certain age in order. rankings of leadership so they are definitely making a concerted effort to regenerate rejuvenates the leadership in cuba who is the likely successor well as the cuban you interviewed on the streets of havana said

every one suspects it will be the vice president. he has been going around with. in the last couple of years he's been taking a more prominent position he's been speaking more publicly and so on but not to the extent that say fidel castro did. d.s. canal is us and they've been identified as a probable success very difficult to step into the shoes of fidel castro we've seen even his own brother was unable to do that how much how popular is miguel diaz in the country how much support does he have because he's still it's not i mean he's not a castro but he's still part of the establishment here is and those you saw the cuban saying there you know he seems like a decent guy i mean how well do they know him i'm not so sure the most significant thing perhaps about d.s. canal is that he was born after the revolution so this is quite clearly a completely complete generational change and that's very significant and it is

a thank you very much for giving us some context around this dock to helen. appreciate you coming in thank you. supporters of cancer news independence have been protesting in line and demanding the release of politicians jailed in the aftermath of last year's referendum catalonia space phoned until further notice the election of a new regional president after spain supreme court ruled that candidate jodie sanchez would not be allowed to leave prison to attend a parliamentary session planned on monday called pan who is in barcelona with the latest on the catalonia independence protests. several thousand catalans of taken to the streets of basra alone calling on the politicians to show great to unity and press ahead with their plans to set up a breakaway republic separate from the rest of spain now this is certainly the largest produce a session demonstration of the year so far but it's a far cry from the days in the lead up to the october referendum last year when the

independence movement was able to put tens and thousands of protesters on the streets now the demonstration sunday evening comes just ahead of the day when the cattle and parliament had been due to swear in a new first minister of the catalonia region that will not happen however because the man that was due to be elected jordi sanchez remains in prison on charges of rebellion for his part in organizing last year's independence referendum the other candidate colace bustamante the former first minister of cuts alone remains in self-imposed exile in brussels he can't take up the sport either right now madrid and the central government has backed on trying to head off the secession movement through legal measures and that so far is succeeding in many ways you look around

here and it seems that the procession politicians may be running out of ideas and frustration is growing on the streets seven years since an earthquake and tsunami kill. thousands of people and caused a major nuclear disaster in japan the prime minister shinzo army told remembered service in tokyo that reconstruction is making steady progress tens of thousands of people have still not returned to their homes though in cleaning up the still radioactive fukushima nuclear plant site may take up to forty years or so. a huge tsunami struck right after my husband and my uncle decided to evacuate our bodies were lifted for me to swim to the way and although i managed to hang on to a nearby pine tree my hands let go of my uncles and my husband also true further and further away woke outing is underway in hong kong's crucial by election the vote pitted pro beijing loyalists against opposition candidates who are hoping to win back

a veto power in the city's semi democratic legislature two years ago six pro-democracy candidates were ousted from office after a controversy over the oaths which they used to defy china a vote is seen as a litmus test gauging reaction to beijing's increased interference in the city's governance. gopalan has more. edward you knows too well that victory doesn't guarantee is placed on the legislative council. the former professor won in the twenty sixteen elections and while being sworn in he added to fray saying he would fight for universal suffrage after a year in office the beijing government reinterpreted hong kong's constitution to deem him ineligible because of that this time he promises his supporters he has a plan ranging you're going to you know didn't they. in the end of this year we will discuss about the political rights of all call people by you feel good since the twenty fourteen pro-democracy demonstrations known as the umbrella

movement beijing has tightened its grip on the city as was it is that you would like to have the government meet this new hair this new cap our. laws this god of the legal system and although we need kalmadi these elections to a place for ousted legislative councillors are divided along very clear lines the candidates are either probate are pro democracy. and this is the other camp rallying supporters in front of the government headquarters to call beijing parties the main office used to stabilize home called government so i suppose that these are the government's preferred candidates if they win the opposition will not have the numbers in parliament to block bills or question beijing sections but many here believe these candidates will help the city run smoothly and help is a problem i know i keep trying to write so insulting but i think all it takes is

a kind of heart of all faiths ok my analysts say this vote is mostly symbolic a victory for the pro-democracy candidates would be an expression of frustration at beijing's increasing interference in hong kong's affairs former colonies macau and hong kong are the only territories in china where the public can directly vote for their government but many here say with beijing becoming more intrusive and pushing for more integration with the rest of china voting is increasingly regarded as something that matters less and less holland al-jazeera hong kong. all in fifty thousand indian farmers a marching towards india's financial capital mumbai demanding financial support from the government and better crop prices five day march set out from nashik city which is one hundred seventy kilometers from the by they hope to reach the city on monday any of the farmers have fallen into debt due to drought in the city erratic weather patterns meanwhile the indian prime minister narendra modi the french

president emmanuel macron have officially launched the international solar alliance a summit in new delhi they want to reduce the world's dependence on fossil fuels by expanding the availability of solar energy the idea was first proposed on the sidelines of the two thousand and fifteen paris agreement on climate change representatives from forty five nations are attending the event well the summons goal is to promote greater investment in solar projects in member countries in lyons is seeking to add a thousand gigawatts of solar power by two thousand and thirty but it comes with a price tag of a trillion dollars to date there are one hundred twenty one prospective member states thirty of which have signed and ratified the framework agreement countries at least partly within the tropics are eligible to join most of those involved are relatively poor states with high levels of sunshine at the launch president might want to a subtle swipe at u.s. president donald trump for pulling out of the paris climate agreement as he praised a group of female solar engineers they didn't wait and they didn't stop because

some decided to leave the floor and leave the bridge agreement. because they decided it was good for them for the children the grandchildren they decided to act. and keep back. and. while we are here in order to act three concrete. the u.s. state of florida as possible on disc on law reform since the parkland high school shooting that killed seventeen people last month but in washington there appears to be little appetite for change john hendren hazell story. the outcry for stricter gun laws in america has perhaps never been louder or more emotional. this makes me sick millions of children are rationally preparing for sooden slaughter and this is normalized we cannot allow our nation to go along with this any longer how many more times how many more children are going to be

slaughtered the names have become an international shorthand for mass shootings in america littleton colorado regina tech orlando's plus my close sandy hook and now parklane florida but little has changed since last month's school massacre there in this hearing by senate democrats is unofficial the republicans who control both houses of congress are holding no hearings on gun president obama hugged me and wouldn't let go until i could catch my breath and stop crying it's different this time because people are taking it personally he said. but it wasn't different. at weekend gun shows across the us guns are easily bought with or without background checks and the appetite for weapons seems insatiable just try to find a parking spot at this one in virginia one reason background checks are such a point of contention is what's called the gun show loophole while licensed firearm

dealers need to do background checks on buyers any individual can sell to any other individual as long as they don't have reason to believe that person is prohibited from owning a firearm and gun shows are where they meet. even many gun aficionados are willing to support some change like mandatory background checks for all gun buyers should there be background checks absolutely absolutely the state of florida has passed modest changes banning the bump stocks that turn semiautomatic weapons into automatics raising the minimum age to buy a gun to twenty one setting a three day waiting period in arming school employees but on capitol hill the senate has moved on to banking reform leaving all proposals for new gun restrictions on the shelf john hendren al-jazeera dale city virginia. still to come for this hour cutting through the ice we report from antarctica on a proposal to turn its rich scenes into for wildlife sanctuary. and in a sport with a day of surprises as

a new season of the world's surfing meet gets underway in australia. in bolivia like everywhere connectivity this paramount. for infrastructure in the pen and some form corporation means to many remain offline now a politician and tech activists are building a homegrown solution could make live units and secure the nation's technological sovereignty. rebel geeks the citizens network at this time on a busy. with a big breaking news story can be chaotic and frantic behind the scenes. people shouting instructions in your ear you're trying to provide the best most accurate up to date information as quickly as you can. it's when you come off air on things

to peer that you realize you've witnessed history in the making. now the antarctic has been described as one of the most remote and treacherous places on earth much of its rich biodiversity has yet to be fully documented but in the second part of our antarctic series we look at the european union's campaign to protect this desolate region al-jazeera is environment editor nick clog joined

greenpeace scientific expedition through the wet elsie. the captain's eye view of voyage south as the icebreaker optic sunrise pushes through into the remote waters of the weddell sea vost unknown territory few ships venture this far. has already made an attempt this antarctic summer but was foiled by ice because right now we are way through. to get it down into the wealthiest try and reach think before we get any of what would be protected looks like helping you more. yes let me just make sure somebody. finally we break through into the isolated area of the proposed site tree at the moment i checked on the. satellite charts this morning and there is someone of the ship in this entire space as another ship about that and that's it and i'll

hold area that's a slightly scary terrifying. exciting exciting kind of just makes the case that this is pristine this area is not developed his not call industry has never had industry. we take a chance in this rare window of weather to take to the air and look down on the mesmerizing scene below. the western edge of the would be protected zone breath taking the rule power of land and sea and ice constantly reshaping on the move this is nature on a planetary scale so what we're looking at here is melting yes sea ice a great iceberg to be the classiest scraping off james russell island at the weddell sea extends way to a distance over that proposed area pretty much just touched by human activity

almost no scientific research is taking place in the back to base the odds. sunrise standing by for a return alongside a giant tabular iceberg perhaps a kilometer along the next helicopter sortie is to the very top of it the expedition team are making a dramatic landing to spread the sanctuary message around the world this iceberg thousands of years in the making now adrift in a process that has been going on for hundreds of thousands of years appraises it seems may be changing because of global warming i did a day of scenic wonder below the antarctic day with a spectacular show above this apparently a reverse sunset phenomenon while simultaneously the clouds morph in shape and color it's a fantastic unworldly painting across the evening sky at the ends of the. nick log al-jazeera and thought to get a much more from antarctica in the third part of our series nick is looking at the

multiple threats wildlife in antarctica face ranging from climate change to terrorism that we sit for now with santa thank you very much mary i'm off to the disappointment of the tent is the exhibit three days go to return to their winning ways in the english premier league on sunday for each of the five came from behind to be formalised and move up to third place in the standings but it wasn't all good news for spurs to strike a hurricane that was substituted after colliding with bournemouth keeper asked me. and injuring his y. ankle this time last year kane missed ten games with an injury to the same ankle despite that setback spurs went on to secure a four one win. you know i think the reaction was important for the for the team i think we're. you know we're difficult game because they put

a lot of. energy the temple from the beginning. was difficult. but that you know we can see the goal. is to play. we don't listen to sounds as if. we are so happy because he's must have three points for us in the arsenal and of the three game losing streak in the league run most if i appear in merrick and henrik at arianne all finding the back of the net in a three nil win over what for that attack also saved the penalty disc or his two hundredth premier league clean sheet. to get there you know. to take advantage of the weak moments. defensively and match in the end it was a convincing win. we. of course. highlight as well what peter

chekist on two hundred games two hundred thousand sheets in their career remarkable all this by the much needed when arsenal are still twelve points adrift of the top four in the qualification spot for next season's champions league tottenham are now a point ahead of liverpool and said while a leader is that manages the city can increase their lead at the top but when they play stoke on a monday. over in spain that led to come i did beat south of a go to stay with an eight points over league leaders barcelona on two one that grossman got athletico off to the market just before half time and gave korea and the total were also this in the score sheet in the three nil win it means that let it go also stay seven points ahead of city rivals real madrid in the table. i have played the first match since the sudden death of their captain a story just a week ago fans a paid touching tribute to our story ahead of the syria game with

a bin of into which was stopped on thirteen minutes two on the former italy international players from both clubs also wore a stories number thirteen shirt on tino went on to win the match one nil a story died of a cardiac arrest just hours before his side were due to play within easy last sunday he was thirty one of age. tennis now and serena williams continues her comeback following the birth of her first child she set to face the militia opponent in the third round of the indian wells on monday she'll take on the her older sister venus for the twenty ninth time in a competitive match serena is playing in her first event since her daughter was born just six months ago the six year old that beats kiki burton seven six seven five that's the bond between him and sasha de. lay's venus for the first time says the twenty seventeen australian open final would she want to claim her twenty third

grandstand singles. you know as one of the best players in the world where she so for me to have to go up against so passes would be good to see where i am on my level also putting too much on myself. if in a speech or on a says to to fast the third round against arena will be the earliest the sisters have played at a tournament since the first to a meeting at the moment in ninety eight off screen opens. a new season of the world surf league championships got on the way on the gold coast in australia on sunday and there was a shock defeat for the world's top ranked surfer john john florence while he was beaten by fellow american griffin cora pinto the nineteen year old competing in his first ever w s l a heat meanwhile it was business as usual for three time w s l champion carries them all the american scored the highest combined of the day with

a sixteen point sixteen out of a possible twenty. from surf to the snow now work cross-country skiing star bjork in wrote another chapter in the history books in front of home crowds in all slow on sunday a month after the norwegian became the most decorated winter olympians of all time on tank that seven year old has now become the first athlete to win seven women's thirty kilometers in the fall. and with one of the more extreme when disposed downhill i scratch similar to snowboard cross or steve cross of bots on skates events these competitors race on track and steep turns and vertical props well television's have been taken place in canada where home favorite spot the. secure the world title despite him finishing last in his final heat off the crushing with his brother. and that's it for me back to maria

now only thank you santa all that if the news hour but i'll be back in a moment was much more the day's news a full round up the top stories coming up very shortly.

part. of. the sam's in archaeology graduate from iraq he's also a part time going to billings pergamon museum which includes a reconstruction of the famous ishtar gate in babylon most of the people he's showing around came to germany as refugees this is just one of several building museums taking part in the project called a meeting point and as well as bringing people together one of its aims is to emphasise the contribution of migrants right up to the present day to western culture. because i've been here for some time i can help them with lots of things that moves us forward to me the great thing is it's not just about museums about forming a new life is part of life it's culture we. decided to break with tradition and training to sail competitively we're not that we want to present

a positive image continues to steer a typical expectation of women for them it's about more than just racing yachts you can still be a good a modern woman and also a very talented sailor going off around the world showing everybody how strong armani people are al jazeera world meets the first female same crew in the gulf sailing stop at this time on al-jazeera. doing less so rounded syrian government forces divide the rebels holding else in eastern guta. and turkish forces are closing in on our friend in northern syria a kurd say.