perhaps the hottest radiation on earth this island won't be fit for human habitation again for at least twenty four thousand years on routers island side of the dime soldiers were exposed to one of the most toxic substances known in the result of a bomb test gone wrong one of the attempted nuclear weapons explosions didn't work and so the plutonium rather than having a nuclear blast was just broken apart by the conventional explosives leading to a about four hundred little chunks of patani of that were spread all around the a tall those four hundred chunks were put in plastic bags and tossed into the crater underneath the dime well they have this round of water on a pick up loose pieces for instance and just gather up whatever could throw it in a pile and i never had any clue that dust could literally get into your lungs. but these girls are dealing with it every day all over. the

classified u.s. government documents reveal that washington knew the troops would be exposed to put ternium on route island this secret cable from one thousand nine hundred eighty two talks about the existence of solid plutonium bearing chunks on the island surface it warned that the quantity of plutonium was undoubtedly large and that a presented a new and serious concern. many of the u.s. soldiers in particular who worked at and we have since come down with illnesses that they say were caused by their work there. jim mandrel is one of those soldiers for years he suffered from a myriad of complaints he says a link to his service on in a way talk he had as gallbladder out shortly after their. seventy

pound tumor cancerous tumor in his abdomen i suffer from roughly four you're forty five years old from a going to. us that is far more alert of the watching good news the problem for former cleanup workers like jim enthrall is that unlike the other u.s. soldiers involved in the atomic tests the government does not recognize them as atomic veterans this means the four thousand plane a bit friends have no special health care coverage many a lumbered with crippling medical bills washington argues safety precautions on in a way top where exemplary workers radiation exposure fell below recommended limits and that their illnesses and the time they spent on in a way talk and not linked i mean these people were in the army what choice that they are they were told go clean up any way they want. i think mostly they're trying to get health coverage medical care because they've got just out there some

of them have terrible bills really high bill bills from from hospitals because of their treatment. there has never been a formal study of the health of in a way talk workers but one informal survey reported that hundreds suffered problems such as cancers brutal bones and birth defect seen their children. eleanor has a guy i didn't think i'd be seeing in a hospital you know tell yeah yeah i guess that's sitting on me. so you feel. strange. i might have had some damages done to another part of my body when they were putting in the stomach cancer is in a way took veteran cain cassock knows all about hospital bills we meet in hawaii although by the time i arrived kane has been rushed to intensive care with a brain aneurism. as a twenty four year old he was working at a us air force base in hawaii when he was asked if he was interested in running the

military exchange on an idyllic pacific actual cold in a we talk. that's it i'm gone my whole vision in life was to live on a deserted tropical south pacific island what's not what you tell the lord. it came through. this would be no posting to paradise not long after arriving on in a way talk came kazik realized he was living and working in the middle of a messy nuclear cleanup one centered on the dime on routers island it was a very dirty operation and the same bill calls that transported this filthy filthy filthy horrible atomic waste to ruin it the boys are on these boats you can see the crap going on their faces and their bodies you know you cannot get away from. like g. man droll ken kesey says he was never given any safety gear old training he says the

thousands of young men sent into the cleanup had no idea of what they were exposed to it's a total secret we didn't even know the guys didn't know none of those guys we would be in an area that's so contaminated if they knew about it and we were lied to and our boys work six month tours on a dirty island and the government says you were never there. has undergone nearly forty surgeries for cancerous lesions which he blames on his time and i know we talk but he in g. mandrel count themselves lucky america dumped all. they're worse rubbish to the marshallese and abandon them with it's a disgusting shame. and it. it looks makes us look bad. m f the natives expressed by the people of the united states they are welcome in their simplicity and their pleasantness and their kind

of family and willing to cooperate although they don't understand the world of nuclear energy any more than we do. ruin a dome embodies injustices in many different ways. the fact that all these weapons worst voted there the fact that this plutonium was left behind the fact that the workers who work there have not been compensated. and very importantly the fact that the entire nation is endangered by sea level rise which is caused mostly by the greenhouse gas emissions the major abating countries for which the us was historically number one these are an accumulation of justice. these are situations where the marshallese people are almost are you dick cheney pigs or they're just seen as disposable we're seen as disposable in both of

these situations we're disposable our lives no matter the war matters nuclear bombs matter our lives no matter whose money matters gas not. profits not. we've got some rain sleet and snow spilling out of making its way into syria assem very active weather still in place across the southeastern corner of europe and eventually easing a little a switch so there we go seven celsius the top temperature for fifteen degrees there for beirut's seven a temperature actually for baghdad and also for kuwait city a little woman haven not a whole lot went to the far east they will continue just around the western side of the himalayas for a time terrorist guys do come back in time is now massy at around zero celsius wet

weather notice and cloud in the rain coming its way into that western side of iran is still some when she weather in a cod fall the southeast of to keep pushing down into northern syria basin places the right to a possibility of around northern sections of the gulf northeastern pass' saudi arabia had some rain here on saturday and doha a possibility of one of two spots of friday through sunday maybe more so as we go on into monday the west or whether there will be across the other side of the gulf into that western side of iran some of the showers across a good part of southern africa quite a chain of storms from south africa right up towards angola bakeshop is to across a good part of mozambique i'd also say tanzania. i really felt liberated as a journalist was. getting to the truth as i was that's what this job.

the democratic republic of congo's departing president in the country's long delayed and disputed. this is out zero live from doha also coming up in the program the bangladeshi prime minister palettes in an election already marred by. all say they've been labeled a threat to brazil by the incoming president look at the battle looming with landless people. and bridging the pay gap between workers and bosses examine what's being done in the u.k. to make salaries fair.

polls open in the democratic republic of congo in the long awaited presidential election the congolese are choosing who will succeed joseph could be the he's been in power for seventeen years about one point three million people from three eastern districts they have been excluded from voting in a decision that calls protests in the lead up to the oh well our correspondents malcolm webb and catherine sawyer covering the election for us from the capital kinshasa we're going to start with catherine as a katherine ferguson what's the situation where you are. well it's still raining here in kinshasa it's been raining heavily all morning and you know the fifty feet is drainage system it's forceful words of locked so there is a fear that many people might not come to vote because of that i mean the all opened an hour ago and very few voters i hear that said let me just tell you

a little bit about where i am this is one of the most affluent neighborhoods in the capital city so everything is organized everything is. q.e.d. check when we came here not too far away from where the president he has already voted as you mentioned it's a very fast that he voted in and the two minute many of the voters here are actually voting in under two minutes. who is the presidential candidate for the ruling party has also both said twenty one presidential candidate are on that ballot paper but this really is a we lost race. posters of politicians line almost every street in kinshasa the twenty one presidential candidates on the ballot paper but three stand out. a man also a dairy is

a ruling party's candidate and outgoing president joseph kabila as passable choice his critics say he's not suitable because he's and the european union sanctions and is not popular but he supporters aggy he's best placed for the post very different positions. congress. the interest of the country interests of the people and. interests. this is. has been described as the accidental candidate who is little known outside and is nominated back. to prominent and popular politicians. and. who are excluded from the election are backing him i want to give dignity. and they have to have.

they have to vote to me because i want. people every year. at least five point one million jobs for people of color. is the leader of the largest opposition party. he's opponent inexperienced and only riding on the popularity of his late father the founder of the party. i have more political experience than some of my opponents i joined politics twenty five years ago and i started from the bottom i was chosen to lead the party grassroots and succeeded to where i am i am my father's son but also my own man. the candidates are promising much the same deal. and corruption provide the basics jobs education health care but an economic strategy to talk to

some of those pledges are not realistic and maybe hard to implement we need to plan ahead this country we need to plan for. at least we know that we'll be accumulating we don't need to flush out the results we don't need to. give it a color we need to transform the country the election process has been counted and many people are not confident the poll would be credible but those we talked to say they will vote anyway they have been waiting for two years for the opportunity. outgoing president to understand. voted. well yes he has both said. about half an hour ago and i spoke to him all right he cast his ballot i asked him about the concerns he has in this period he said the only consign he has right now is this heavy rain like i said it's been raining quite heavily all morning back that time out i also asked him what he has to say to

those who are saying that they don't believe that this poll is going to be free or fail credible and he told me only time will tell let's wait for the end but he said he also believes that this election is going to be fairly credible and he did address the nation on saturday evening and he talked about all the challenges that are facing the country and he specifically mentioned these three areas where the election was full and he talked about terrorism issues benny rebel group they're called a.d.f. killed lots of people in the last few years ago but the government unable to contain that group who says that facing that security challenge you talked about. also. another area where the election was postponed he said that health workers are struggling to contain that disease in those areas he also mentioned the ethnic clashes the third area where the election and he said that has caused the delay to

election but those people that one point two million voters who live in those areas are going to have that day in march but a lot of people that i've talked to here are saying they do not trust the president they do not trust electoral commission they do not trust the selectorial process the saying it is said they do not believe that this election is going to be free of a credible. for the time being spread across to a different part of town different part of contrast with another polling booth situation very similar sort of distrust. heavy rain here as well this is a very poor area to commune to move but hardly anyone here can afford to own a car but people are coming on foot nonetheless many of them arriving soaking wet and lining up to vote but in one of the areas where people can't vote today that catherine was just talking about the city of beni where the electoral commission is

excluded that that city from the polls people of instead use activists to set up their own polling stations in protest hundreds of people are queuing up there they produce their own ballot papers in the absence of ballot boxes and voting machines and they're placing ballots into plastic sacks this is in protest against what they see as an attempt at blocking opposition supporters of the candidate martin finally from voting in this process and the last couple of days the protests in some of those eastern cities and government buildings of police use life bullets and tear gas to try and break them up but today protesters lining up. in an orderly fashion voting at polling stations that have been made by you factor in protest against that exclusion from this vote all right now come out more as the day goes on from you there in contrast to the time being thanks very much indeed on to another very

important election in bangladesh two people have died in election related violence in the southeastern city of chittagong security is on high alert as people cast their votes for a new parliament the election campaign has been marred by violence between supporters of the government and the opposition the prime minister's shakers you know who's expected to win a fourth term has been criticized for cracking down on the opposition in the lead up to polling day let's speak now to charles stratford who's in. charge in what happens at the polls have opened. well interestingly nic we're hearing reports now again in the local media of another person who has been killed in an area called camilla again in the south of the country. new chittagong we understand that this area has with chittagong opposition strongholds difficult for us to independently verify that story but an indication of the kind of tension

and some of the violence that we've seen in the build up to this election certainly here at this polling station things have been calm but some worrying stories coming from certainly a group of opposition polling agents now all these polling stations across the country the parties have representatives that are here to watch the voting process and to witness to check the counting at the votes at the end of the day and these polling agents according to this man that we spoke to he and thirteen others from the opposition have been denied access into this polling station he says that their documents were confiscated their national i.d.'s and. he told us that at least ten of them were as he described manhandled and told to leave because i spoke to a man here who actually came up to us voluntarily and said that he had come to cast his ballot earlier in the day and found that it is already been done for him going

to last ten minutes or so also i've seen a photograph of c.c.t.v. camera inside the polling stations that seems to have had masking tape put over the lanes now because it's very important to stress that the ruling party here is denied these allegations being made by the opposition about some of the violence that we've seen in the run up to this poll the opposition saying that at least ten thousand six hundred supporters have been arrested and detained in recent weeks seventeen candidates among the large opposition alliances are not allowed to learn of this tolls the government saying that these figures are hugely exaggerated and keen to point out that they have lost so they say six of their supporters of guilt in violence i think the big fear here though despite the ruling party saying that he's doing all it's can to make this this election free and fair all evidence so

far and according to the opposition suggests very much the contrary to that said tensions running high tell us more about what's at stake here. well you've got to you've got to recognize that despite these criticisms that the legal ruling party is facing it terms of freedom of speech and the crackdown. in the build up to this election the economic record has been quite impressive certainly the world bank impressed with some of the figures it's seen in recent years more than six percent economic growth. there are big projects that are ongoing here as well big infrastructure projects of the companies very much of the forefront of building for example a hydroelectric sorry nuclear power electric power plant there are large economic zones that are being built across the country as well the ruling party saying that this is an indication that they are the policy to go with just trying to continue

this kind of economic progress they've also been commended for their handling of the range of refugee crisis the seven hundred or so sal's and refugee refugees that plague that crackdown in myanmar last year and they're now residing in refugee camps inside bangladesh the government praise for that but critics that you speak to say that this vote is very much a case of you choosing either economic progress over potentially greater political freedoms greater freedom of speech we know according to journalists that we've spoken to here they face increasing pressure on the recently strengthened anti defamation laws the election commission as well here just with respect to today is telling us certainly the election commission members that i've spoken to here they've actually said they're hearing very similar reports to us about as i say these polling agents members of the opposition being denied access to the polling

stations. what remains to be seen is if indeed this kind of intimidation is going to keep the focus away from casting their votes around the country as we go forward and it's about we've got about. three hours or so before the polls close are just back with you as time goes on thanks very much indeed in the meantime. now the warring sides in yemen have begun handing over responsibility for the port hood data to the united nations forces from the who thieves and the yemeni government are being redeployed as part of a un backed deal between the two sides agreed in sweden earlier this month it's aimed at ending almost four years of war which is cause a humanitarian disaster u.n. coordinates is yet to clarify the functions and responsibilities of both sides. still ahead here on al-jazeera russia and turkey pledged to coordinate in syria reflecting shifting alliances with the plan pullout of u.s.

forces. positive signals from both the united states and chinese leaders after they speak by phone about their differences including the trade war. how about the loss of malva and now tumbling it's why and see northwestern parts of europe can see if this area class spilling in from the atlantic a smaller stand that's why we do have such cloudy conditions but at least it's picking the temperature rob looking at highs of around eleven or twelve celsius there for london even paris seeing those temperatures not going up for a time fourteen aymer in madrid not particularly high temperature here but that's about as far as i can find on a child. and for athens eastern side if you're very cold that moist air that mild air since that bout that comes in we're looking at a fair bit of rain with

a little bit of snow on the leading edge said to be some snow over the high ground of the alps possibility of some avalanches across parts of scandinavia over the next couple days with these rising temperatures see how those wains stanley feeding in from a southwest direction a cool direction is that for london dry little bit of a mist of folks still something of an issue long as you drive to cost more in parts of africa will see a tab just getting up to around fifteen or sixteen celsius think going to out across central parts of the mediterranean could produce one or two showers along the libyan coast for a time eventually pushing over towards egypt to karo have a top temperature of ninety.

and again you're watching a reminder of all the top stories this hour votes is in the democratic republic of congo the choosing who will succeed president joseph kabila who's been in power for seventeen is around one point three million people from three districts that have been excluded from voting and a decision that calls protests ahead of the polls. at least two people have died of

inhalation relates violence bangladesh with the polls closing in less than three months prime ministers shaken ciena is expected to win a fourth term she's been criticized for clamping down on her opponents and restricting press freedom. the warring sides in yemen have begun handing over responsibility for the bulk of the data to the united nations forces of being redeployed as part of a un deal between the two thieves and the money go. now the balance of power in northern syria appears to be shifting following the u.s. decision to withdraw troops russia and turkey have agreed to coordinate with each other after talks in moscow meanwhile ankara has sent fifty times to the syrian border in preparation for possible attack on kurdish y p g forces from gaza near the turkish syrian border is mohammed zero. columns of turkey stunts roll into syria. and korea has been bolstering its military positions along its south them

border as it prepares for what it calls a full fledged offensive on the cottage held city of mumbai is syria city and rebels backed by tuckey are also on the move both inside areas of syria and the techies sway and along the eight hundred twenty two kilometer border between the two countries kurdish forces are miles from friday that they have been forced to cut a deal with the regime of president bashar assad after they were abundant by donald trump. the complete withdrawal of u.s. troops from syria a little over a week ago. here syrian troops deployed in support of scottish forces seen on the edge of mom bitch their deployment creates a government buffer achi a call small from syria which fully separates the tukey and its proxies from the kurds but they are yet to enter the city of money bitch as they claimed on friday.

we haven't seen any movement of the syrian army in miami beach all we see are the military council of money huge numbers the conflicting reports from them but perhaps sure the cales thoughts likely to ensue of that and of the sixty to one hundred day timetable for the withdrawal of u.s. troops with the remaining fighting forces in syria has come to replace them in moscow on high level toughest immigration led by foreign minister children children's health talks with russian foreign and defense ministers they discuss the situation in syria as u.s. forces flip it the withdrawal. of us incentives an understanding was great stone how military representatives of russia and turkey will continue to coordinate the states on the ground under new conditions with a view of finally rooting out terrorists threats in syria. we discussed the latest developments in syria with regards to u.s. decision to withdraw from the country we exchanged views on how we can coordinate

our efforts from now on we stressed our resolve to fight against terrorist organizations we have a common will to clear all terror organizations from syrian lands to also result to respect serious to the total integrity something the for must say might spell of the goal for government forces in the tissue held areas of the north east. with the syrian opposition groups which can be on the un back political process in topples bashar al assad is now trying to shape is what i asked the un is already looking for funds to rebuild the country the us troops pull out how about threatens to open up any for us. opt outs like tukey something. the u.s. president says major progress has been made towards ending his government's trade war with china donald trump and she confirmed they've spoken over the phone about result being that differences she have returns he has more from washington d.c.

very optimistic and positive indications from both donald trump and chinese media first that was donald trump's tweet which said just had a long and very good call with president xi of china a deal is moving along very well if made it will be very comprehensive covering all subject areas and points of dispute big progress being made exclamation mark and chinese media confirming about phone call took place chinese media said president xi said he hopes to push forward a sign a u.s. relationship that is coordinated co-operative and stable and he said that he hopes that the teams presumably the trade negotiating teams could meet each meet each other halfway and reach an agreement that is mutually beneficial as soon as possible and we have had indications in the last few days that a u.s. trade delegation will be traveling to beijing in january after what were described as intensive discussions over the phone over the christmas period trying to has been relenting somewhat since the truce was declared between china and the u.s.

over trade talks at the beginning of december lowering of publishing draft laws which suggest greater intellectual property property rights and protection for foreign companies so perhaps there is movement under way the mother of a guatemalan boy who died while in u.s. custody says hassan wells healthy when he left eight year old philippe game is alone it's from a remote village about four hundred kilometers west of guatemala city he and his father was attained by u.s. border agents on december the eighteenth. says his son reported he was doing well every time he called. i could never have imagined this he was happy when he left he called me and said he was at the border and he was having chicken for dinner. when he left he said i'm a little young but when i arrive them going to grow up i will study and look for a job and i'm going to send you money and buy a coach for my mom. the u.s.

president has blamed the rival democratic party for philippe's death as well as as well as that of another guatemalan child in u.s. custody this month criticize what he labeled the pathetic immigration policies of the democrats he says the flow of asylum seekers from central america would stop if they approve funding for his border war. brazil's largest social organization the landless workers movement says attacks on its members have increased significantly since the election victory of right wing president elect both an order also nora who will be sworn in on january the first described the group as terrorists and has vowed to crack down on the movement in human reports from the state of michoacan also goes on in central west and so. scores of families who belong to the m.s.t. org landless people's movement live in makeshift homes along this road in southwestern brazil they now that castillo says the two months ago she was taking

a shower when she heard her neighbor's screams this shack was up in flames torched by unknown assailants luckily no one was injured animals didn't think none of them made much i'm not going to tell you we're not afraid we are that's why we leave the lights on now i'm afraid but what can i do against these people nothing. she's referring to increasingly emboldened opponents of the m.s.t. who expect brazil's far right wing president elect or not all to make good on his promise to get rid of so-called dangerous extremists brazil's landless movement is the largest organization of its kind in all of latin america and it's also the one that suffered the most attacks of the seventy social activists who were murdered in brazil last year the vast majority belong to the landless movement and the fear is that under the rule government they will be targeted even further. an anti terrorism law being debated in the senate could make that easier for decades the

m.s.t. has been fighting for land redistribution and at times members have resorted to land occupations and violence but legal experts argue the current penal code is sufficient to punish those who break the law. to give the government now and in the future the power to declare any type of demonstration by political opponents as terrorism is very dangerous.