witness on al-jazeera. we're committed to a whole of government effort to change the iranian regime's behavior. secretary of state my own bio announces a new action group to run policy with iran after u.s. withdrawal from the nuclear deal. now i maryam namazie this is al jazeera live from london also coming up we are not going to the media strikes back against attacks by donald trump but he insists much of what the press says is fake news. it's a. farewell to the queen of soul the world pays its respects to a wreath of franklin and the architect of india's nuclear program dies at the age

of ninety three. welcome to the program our top story the u.s. secretary of state has announced a new action group to run its policy on iran after president trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in may this year my own bio says the group will report directly to the state department and will record all iran related activity which he described as violent and destabilizing for nearly forty years the regime in tehran has been responsible for tour in a violent and destabilizing behavior against the united states or our allies or partners and indeed the iranian people themselves in may of this year president trump withdrew from the flawed iran nuclear deal which failed to restrain iran's nuclear progress or its campaigns of violence abroad. in its place president representative getting

a pressure deterrence and solidarity with the long suffering iranian people our hope is that one day soon we can reach a new agreement with iran but we must see major changes in the regime's behavior both inside and outside of its borders. from the united nations. the u.s. secretary of state mike pompei o has unveiled what is being called the iran action group trying to make certain that all parts of the u.s. government are working on a strategy to compel iran to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions as well as to stop its efforts of supporting groups such as hamas hezbollah the who these in yemen and other such organizations that have been listed as terrorist groups under u.s. law even though this effort is now being unveiled the administration is denying charges that it is trying to push for regime change inside iran there's also the question of whether the u.s. is goal of trying to get other countries on board with this new effort will work

notably countries within the european union which have long standing economic ties to terror on when asked whether or not the u.s. was going to have a problem getting these countries to agree to put more pressure on iran to change its ways this is what bryant hook the new special representative for iran had to say that's the purpose of maximum economic pressure the point is not to create any riffs with with other nations but when you look out the kind of money that iran provides to assad and to shia militias to lebanese hezbollah it's billions and billions of dollars and we need to get at drying up those revenue streams so far the beggar's of the iran action group is a very small one the administration wasn't ready to unveil those names on thursday however brian hook did tell reporters that this is

a key policy initiative of the trumpet ministration and that they are committed to trying to get iran to change its political and security ways. u.s. president donald trump has attacked a campaign by hundreds of u.s. newspapers supporting a free press trump tweeted that the media is free to write and say anything it wants but much of what it says is fake news boston globe which organized the campaign says trump is carrying out a sustained assault on the free press the new york times has warned that calling journalists the enemy of the people is dangerous. smaller papers have joined in as well the albuquerque journal says the attacks could lead to a weakened democracy that's vulnerable to the whims of tyrants well the presidents not only described u.s. media outlets as the enemy of the american people but also called journalists

horrible horrendous people that can make anything bad because they are the fake fake disgusting news committee to protect journalists says the white house's rhetoric undermines the media's what everywhere last year twenty one journalist which aired on false news charges more than double the number in two thousand and sixteen and the total number of reporters behind a record two hundred sixty two. reports. here at the newseum in washington d.c. the front pages of some of the over three hundred newspapers taking part in what was billed as an attempt to end a quote dirty war on the free press and were being displayed the goals for the day really are to remind the public about the value to our democracy of a free to dependent press and maybe tone down the rhetoric that leads some on the fringes to violence by using inflammatory terms like enemies of the people who are the fake fake to scare sting news on donald trump's attacks on the media have

been rhetorical and that has its dangers but he hasn't written journalists with the espionage act or seized their records and demanded sources as president obama did instead trump is playing on suspicions about the media the house long been the charge without the mainstream media does reflect the views of the establishment and the elite a marginalizes those who question that at least and some do wonder whether doldrum has now given the mainstream media the opportunity to present itself as i am to establishment without having to conduct any self reflection is what you just is inflammatory the us media has a we could under donald trump this quickly to take a far more adversarial position against the white house down. but has the age of trump truly ushered in a new era of fearlessness for a fourth a state foreign me willing to speak for the people or is the press simply reflecting the armies of the establishment but ended with his victory many of along

called for an adversarial relationship between the media and a sitting president but the question is what kind of adversarial relationship is a just simply belt based on attacks personal attacks going back and forth that don't have substance that don't actually improve people's lives that don't highlight issues but in effect inflate the personalities and egos of major celebrity media figures and people in the trumpet ministration the polls show most americans care far more about free health care or reversing economic inequality than the alleged russian collusion that establishment voices blame for them in the last presidential election yet the massive dominates the us media and those that do take an adversarial stones to the establishment on social and economic issues remain as marginalized as ever meanwhile the polls reflect that the climbing trust in the media nationwide. continues his attacks. washington

two gunmen have been killed after a six hour standoff with security forces in the afghan capital kabul a targeted a training center for afghanistan's security service it's kept a particularly violent week with hundreds of military police and civilians killed in a series of attacks at us as hmong. ten am in kabul's whiston neighborhood known as p.d. five. gunman launch an assault on a training seem to for the national directorate of security afghanistan's primary intelligence agency. special forces well versed in urban firefights repel the attack they form a cordon and move people out of range of the bullets. a short drive west from here and not twenty four hours prior a different result oh a suicide attack on an education seem to killed at least thirty four people most of

the victims were students teenagers studying for university entrance exams and. the force of the bomb blew the roof off the classroom. killing students as against all human dignity people should never be this brutal in any part of the world those behind this action are worse than animals was i so claimed responsibility it kept off of the to kill a violent week within a particularly violent month for afghanistan. the taliban launched an attack on gaza while we can go the city was under siege for six days more than four hundred people died in the fighting a quarter of them residents there are also multiple taliban attacks on police and military outposts across the country dozens of afghan soldiers and policemen were killed. we want peace in our country we cannot continue this bloodshed any more

we demand from the government and government forces to stop the war and work towards peace and brotherhood. the afghan government appears to be listening president musharraf danny says he will not negotiate with i so but there are talks of a ceasefire with the taliban during the holiday of next week it would replicate and i'm president. ceasefire in june this is negotiations continue between the u.s. and taliban for a long term peace plan but in alyse it may be the prospect of peace that is causing those hard line ballots on who are good hard liners who believe in fighting it out of them be politics graham conflict or to a day are making america basically in my view to disrupt rockets and created your region where the government is going to difficult situation to announce prior. to the stakes a growing with or that's a ceasefire with the taliban all the red occasion of isolate. those who

remain say be desperate for change shallot ballasts al jazeera. and we thought franklin the universally acclaimed queen of soul has died at her home in detroit the seventy six year old american singer had been l. with pancreatic cancer gabriel amazon dot has this report. the. she was simply known by her first name aretha because of her unmistakable voice she was born a wreath eloise franklin in one nine hundred forty two in memphis tennessee from her first recordings as a young gospel singer she went on to become part of the sound of detroit her singing career would span six decades the way was.

was. was. a winner of eighteen grammy awards for distinctive gospel honed vocal style influenced multiple generations she was number one on the rolling stone magazine's list of the greatest singers of all time and she was the first female artist ever inducted hall of fame. but it was in one thousand nine hundred sixty seven song respect which garnered her international attention and payment. fifty years ago she sang at dr martin luther king jr's funeral and many years later at the dedication of dr king's memorial in washington she was active in the civil rights movement for decades something she spoke about in two thousand and fourteen well it certainly was a struggle and still is although we have a great way is a long way there still is a significant way to go the recipient of the united states highest civilian honor

the presidential medal of freedom her voice delighted presidents as her health declined she curtailed her performances but she always sang like in this two thousand and fourteen performance and she sang adele's hit rolling in the deep. and. seventy six years old. thank. you. john hendren joins us now from detroit where everything franklin lived and john what is the feeling that and across the country as that.

will mary and this is a somber day here in detroit where many people in the neighborhood here really had a personal connection to aretha franklin and her family this is the church where her father preached it wasn't the same building at that time but she grew up singing in that church singing gospel and getting to know people this church this version of the church has been here since one thousand nine hundred sixty three and people have been walking by thanking us for coming to cover this story some of them in tears saying they've known the family for years as you can see behind me there are flowers and balloons in tribute to a wreath of franklin and her life and it's not just here in detroit where people actually did get to see franklin and her family once in a while across the nation there is the sense that someone truly important has passed in new york at the franklin street subway station people who put up signs saying a wreath at the apollo theater in harlem where she has performed is going to have a tribute to her and she's on the front page of every newspaper website today here

and she'll be on the front page of every newspaper in the morning because of her dramatic import she earned the recognition of the current and former president barack obama said aretha may have passed to a better place but the gift of her music remains to inspire a soul and donald trump who said he knew were called are terrific and said she gave joy to millions that this celebration of her life will go on for days but here it is a somber one in detroit marion and tell us about a cultural impact and her role in the civil rights movement. she was always very active in progress to. college chick she sang at martin luther king's funeral she was celebrated of course by president barack obama at his inauguration but she had also sang at parties for jimmy carter before that and i

another president i believe that was bill clinton. and she donated heavily to causes like this the reverend al frames. the one and i heard earlier today al sharpton was saying that he heard this story at the she had given him a check and that he'd framed it on the wall and she called him up and she said you better take that to a bank you can copy that check sochi was a cultural icon she took this song that otis redding had done before her respected major second big hit and somehow when she did it it was it became a song about civil rights it became a song about feminism in a way that it had not been before she had imbued it with an import but then again there was also just the sheer talent that she brought with twenty top ten albums twelve million selling singles she won eighteen grammys and then a lifetime achievement award and as you heard gabrielle elizondo say in that story rolling stone called it the best singer of all time so she has left

a massive impact thank you very much from detroit john hendren. still ahead for you on the program we look at the often month of the general bridge collapse the italian government considers taking charge of the motorway now what. takes more than just two to tango a whole festival dedicated to the latin dance begins and when a siree. hello there it's dry and dusty for many of us in new south wales at the moment and there's also a large number of wildfires this is the smoke from just one of those wildfires you can see how thick it is there hanging over the city looks like we're going to see more of a cool change for the southeast corner over the next few days so that should take

the temperatures down a little bit you can see the next weather system edging its way towards us so melbourne there fifteen forest in adelaide will be at sixteen on friday then the system works its way across us and temperatures are dropping just a twelve degrees that we more of a breeze as well and that could bring a few more showers on to that west coast towards the west for us in perth it should be fine and dry all temperature topping it around nineteen degrees over towards new zealand then here there's lots of cloud lots of rain with us at the moment certainly is very very wet some particularly heavy downpours across the central belt here but the whole system is beginning to break up and move away so on friday it will be a touch drier and by saturday it should be fine unsettled for most of us not that well known we're looking at eleven there in christchurch and in oakland will be only fourteen further towards the north and we've been watching a story on make its way across shanghai here's the remains of it here it's working its way towards the west and still bringing some heavy downpours. with.

the philippines is one of the most disaster prone countries in the world. now private corporations are capitalizing on the chaos. one of one east investigates on al jazeera as protests in nicaragua against the president continue and the number of those killed rises. someone says i'm staying in power no matter what the have to crash into is all of reality that usually gets little blood. said here america's ortega's former vice president al jazeera.

back a quick look at the top stories u.s. secretary of state has announced a new action group to run its policy on iran after president trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in may this year my pompei are described iran related activity as violent and destabilizing. hundreds of u.s. newspapers have published coordinated editorials criticizing the u.s. president for a so-called dirty war on the press donald trump has repeatedly derived elements of the media as fake news and the reason franken the universally acclaimed queen of soul has died at her home in detroit a seventy six year old american singer had been ill with pancreatic cancer. and other stories we're following the former indian prime minister atal bihari i has died at the age of ninety three he had been on life support since wednesday and died in hospital. as best known on the international stage for testing nuclear weapons in one thousand nine hundred eighty eight and ron cowen takes a look back at his life. how he was elected prime minister not twice but

three times at all the hari vij by india first for thirteen days in latino to six but was unable to form a majority of that resigned he was prime minister for thirteen months in one thousand nine hundred ninety eight broader coalition partner with troops he was once again forced to resign he completed a full term of almost six years from nine hundred ninety nine. i the international stage he's perhaps best known for testing nuclear weapons and one hundred ninety eight and intensifying with a baathist or at the time the tests were a source of great pride for him and celebrated nationwide today a trip skin four to five hours. in india conducted three underground nuclear tests in the poker and break. the tests also placed a strain on the indian u.s. relationship and sanctions were placed on the country. in february nine hundred

ninety nine he led negotiations with pakistan of the contested region of kashmir he pushed for a full scale diplomatic peace process another success came with the inauguration of the new delhi the whole bus service in february ninety ninety nine vij by initiated a new peace process aimed towards permanently resolving the kashmir dispute and other conflicts in pakistan but in may one thousand nine hundred one the two countries for a two month tour in the remote region of cargo because india declared victory is pakistan withdrew from cargo a shrewd political player pite was able to build bridges on all sides of the political spectrum his moderate reputation brought him supporters especially from those who feared the right wing side of his b.j. party his popularity soared his he oversaw economic reforms that led to high rates of growth but he lost the election in two thousand and four after campaigning on his economic success his slogan of india is shining didn't resonate with everyone

especially the poor who voted overwhelmingly for rival the congress party. it was born in one thousand twenty four in central india and died in hospital in new delhi after being admitted to. the u.s. treasury secretary says washington is prepared to put further sanctions on turkey if an american pastor detained in the country is not released earlier turkey said it was willing to enter talks with the united states of a dispute that seen trade tariffs apply five both sides also welcomed a pledge from castle to invest fifteen billion dollars in the tech and she called to me under bronson is being held on the house arrest over alleged links to the girl in this movement which tacky bangs for a failed attempt. well now to developments in mali where the president has won a second term after taking sixty seven percent of the vote in a runoff election supporters of cater cheered and danced after hearing news of his landslide victory but kate his main rivals say says he'll reject the results and is

urging people to rise up. italian authorities have launched an investigation into the company that managed the marandi bridge in genoa that collapsed on tuesday the disastrous displaced hundreds of people forced to evacuate their apartments over safety concerns and now many are wondering where they'll sleep for the night as natasha butler reports from genoa. below what is left of geno's marandi bridge hundreds of properties stand empty more than six hundred people were moved from this neighborhood after the bridge collapsed on tuesday some are returning to collect their possessions many all still visibly shaken you know this reported a lot of i saw the bridge collapsing because my apartment looked over it so i saw it fall i heard a big noise like thunder and i thought it was a storm and then there was dust everywhere and i saw a building in terms of rubble. it's unclear if people will be allowed to live here again as experts say the structure could be unsafe this firefight to show me what's

now known as the red zone a high risk area if you look up you can see just how close from randy quaid there is to the top of some of these apartments it almost seems to me it's and you can really understand why it's on authorities decided to find you wait this whole neighborhood because of course if any part of that bridge was to collapse anyone underneath would mean grave danger. carrying their belongings residents leave to stay with family and friends or in city shelters this man's elderly mother was too shocked to come back he says my fear will never be the same so next week for can please you and i used to be a firefighter and looking at all this i believe it will take years to rebuild and recover. in the cause and. at the rescue site hundreds of emergency workers continue to search for survivors as time passes hopes are diminishing now we are cutting that big slabs we are moving them and then we send the can and units the

dogs the search dogs. if there are positive signs and our teams. direct research casualties into or. into the voids people in juneau are still coming to terms with what has happened in their city this grief anger and for those who call this district home there is now a future full of uncertainty natasha butler al jazeera genoa italy. the vatican has expressed shame and sorrow after a report details decades of use in the u.s. catholic church an uncharacteristically strong language the vatican spokesman said the victims should know the pope is on their side this week a pennsylvania grand jury report accused three hundred one priests of abusing children over the past seventy years. it was the largest ever investigation of sex abuse in the u.s. catholic church. schools attended by half

a million palestinian refugees will reopen as planned later this month despite funding cuts by the u.s. in ited nations agency for palestinian refugees is prioritized reopening more than seven hundred schools across the region because it says education is a fundamental right the agency which is known as unruh or still needs another one hundred twenty million dollars to support five hundred thousand students past september the u.s. cut hof its promise funding to in january. now for the next two weeks when his iris will be taken over by the tango the international tango festival and world cup attracts fans and competitors from around the globe to rise above reports. it is the dance music of one of scientists. and for two weeks the festival and world cup energizes the argentine capital. traveled from colombia to compete last year they came in third place this time

they're hoping to make it to the top of the news in the summer school helps me express what i feel is the most complete dumbs and the most beautiful is the anything obama's best at the it's an arch that helps you express what you're feeling if you're angry or sad or happy or in love you can express everything in the stance. this is the world's most important tango competition almost seven hundred couples competing to win the cup it is here in the neighborhood of our tangle was born it is the place where the first born of one a side is was no k. did when thousands of immigrants arrive here in search of a better life and that's why many say that tango is full of sorrow because it expresses the feelings of those who had to leave everything behind in their home countries and the hardships they faced when they arrived. and they were no new one is the instrument at the heart of the sound of tango first crafted for religious

services in the nineteenth century germany it is now in tune with dangle. has been playing it since he was a child and now it helps him make a living. for tango as a coach and how but in the beginning it was persecuted because of the way it was danced or what the songs meant a powerful opponents like the epic lost the catholic church on the. tree but slowly is what it's place and now it is all it. says this time of the year is a period that help argentines pay tribute to the dance that has come to represent the moment picked already for us it is a historic moment because it's the time when we see how time goes nurturing it still is opening up mixes with other music and cultures but we always look back to our historical references to continue to teach us and to keep us on the right path . a path that has come

a long way since done the was born but that continues to amaze arjan tines and foreigners alike. that is how will i just see that when a site is. welcome back just a quick look at the top stories now the u.s. secretary of state has announced a new action group to run its policy on iran after president trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in may this year my pump says the group will report directly to the state department and what will record all iran related activity which he described as violent and destabilizing for nearly forty years the regime in tehran has been responsible for torrent of violence and destabilizing behavior against the united states our allies our partners and indeed the iranian people themselves in may of this year president trump withdrew from the flood iran nuclear deal which failed to restrain iran's nuclear progress or its campaigns of violence abroad in

its place president represents the pain of pressure deterrence and solidarity with the long suffering of iranian people. or hope is that one day soon we can reach a new agreement with iran but we will see major changes in the regime's behavior both inside and outside of its borders in other developments donald trump is lashed out a campaign by hundreds of us newspapers supporting a free press treated that the press is free to write and say anything it wants but much of what it says is fake news the boston globe is leading the campaign with the twitter hash tag enemy of none in reference to trump calling journalists the enemy of the american people or than three hundred newspapers have published editorials criticizing trump and his attacks on the media. one of india's leading political figures has died the former prime minister atal bihari has passed away after a prolonged illness and ninety three year old was the figure behind india becoming

a nuclear weapons ballot was also one of the most popular leaders of prime minister narendra modi's ruling hindu nationalists are a tia janata party. and us sing a wreath of franklin has died of pancreatic cancer at the age of seventy six the undisputed queen of soul was known for classic rhythm and blues tracks like think i say a little prayer and has signature song respect franklin won eighteen grammys during her career and was the first female artist to be inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame as the top stories want to one east starts now. on the streets of greece anti immigrant violence is on the rise there or you have to go from other potential and this and that group of course is all from pluses and and increasingly migrant farm workers of victims a vicious beatings. is helping the pakistani community to find

a voice the stories we don't often hear told by the people who live them undocumented and under attack this is zero on al-jazeera the largest multi-sport event on the continent and the second largest in the world the asian games will host thousands of after competing across a mix of traditional and a lympics sports follow us for all the news and updates from jakarta the hosting city of the eighteenth asian games on al-jazeera. across the philippines badly nature's fury is a part of life and death. floods earthquakes and thai food ravaged this nation with terrifying frequency. but amid the chaos and devastation some of the country's largest corporations are

finding golden opportunities to profit from the misery. i'm steve chair on this edition of one east we investigate the rise of disaster capitalism in the philippines. the. the philippine island of leyte is no stranger to catastrophe. i was here five years ago when it was still reeling from super typhoon haiyan the strongest storm to ever hit the country.