and international calls for political reforms but the general turned politician seems defiant he's launching mega projects across the country and hoping to be able to fix an economy in tatters and win the trust of the people possible to zero. zero william lawrence is professor of political science and international affairs at george washington university he joins us live now from washington thanks very much to be with us so i want to ask you first of all if if as is widely expected even by those opposed to it these measures of pasta in the referendum if the turnout is low what sort of a message will that send to the regime if the turnout is low then that will send the message to the regime that the population isn't particularly interested in the reforms or in voting for the reforms of course there

are virtually no international observers and very poor. documenting and recording of the vote at the various polling sites is that as we've seen reported on twitter and so there's a very large possibility that the vote count will not be accurate would be inflated by the government and as we've seen in previous egyptian elections the government often take actions to inflate the vote like extending their vote for a day or or other measures can get the tally up and create the misimpression that people are interested in the vote but i don't expect levels in reality like the forty percent turnout for the last presidential elections and that's because either egyptians are disengaged or they're opposed. what do you think will be the overall effect of these changes if as expected they they go through. well they're very important because they vastly increase the length of term in

president his powers as president his control over the judiciary and the military's control over the government so you now can almost authorize a military coup almost if it's in defense of the constitution the military controls the naming of its own minister and so all kinds of things that can be criticized in terms of governance in most countries suddenly become legal in egypt and most of these changes are in violation of the u.n. charter of arab and african legal covenants that egypt has signed so egypt's also placing itself in violation of these various international agreements but it is significant and it will consolidate power effectively making him president for life just like mubarak had become when they threw him out in two thousand and eleven and the criticism. has been did this this move these measures move egypt towards more

autocracy but those who who supported say that the military has always acted on behalf of the people and they did that in two thousand and eleven when they removed hosni mubarak at that time. they did and it's very important what militaries do in times of popular protest as we saw in tunisia as we're seeing now in algeria and sudan and they can play a positive role they can play a negative role there can play a mixed role in egypt in two thousand and eleven they played a positive role and on june thirtieth of two thousand and thirteen they played a positive role it was on july third of two thousand and thirteen that they took over and they have led egypt in a direction that's even more authoritarian with an even larger role for the egyptian military in the economy up to forty percent control of the economy now i'm precedented new gypped then we've seen before so what militaries do really really

does matter and in this case sisi is opening up space for more military control good to speak with william lawrence joining us there from washington thanks for being with us. plenty more ahead on this news hour new developments in the search for two cuban doctors kidnapped in kenya plus. more clashes on the streets of paris as yellow vest anger is fueled by the donations to rebuild not dom. and later in sport the king of clay loses his throne rafael nadal slips up on his favorite surface to miss out on the monte carlo and try to. sue ahead but first to saudi soldiers have been killed in an ambush by hooty rebels

near the border with yemen that's according to saudi media the hoody media is also reporting casualties among the saudi and iraq see coalition forces in the same incident that happened near the saudi city of not just on the rebels say they also fired missiles towards a keyboard across the saudi arabia's a sea of profits. algeria's former prime minister and the current fine meant finance minister had been ordered to appear in court in connection with an investigation into the wasting of public money hundreds of thousands of algerians continue to hold rallies calling for wider political change after a long time leader abdel aziz beautifully stepped down on friday a protester died from head injuries his family says was caused by a police beating. at least four civilians and three soldiers have been killed in a gunfight in the afghan capital kabul attackers appear to have detonated an explosive device before storming the communications ministry has been relative calm

in kabul in recent weeks kind siding with talks between the u.s. and taliban officials. denied responsibility for the attack. the latest from kabul. this attack began around eleven thirty am local time a loud explosion was heard reverberated across central kabul and then following that there was three to four minutes of heavy gunfire. that it was inside the ministry of communications building ministry of interior came out they said we understand this is a complex attack the suicide bomber and then gunmen into the premises it took about five hours for security forces to get in and get control of the situation and they have just they've managed to secure the scene and we're seeing security forces coming in going as intelligence people come in and try to assess what happened here to hold the central kabul was on lockdown people could not come and go are still in place a lot of these people are very frustrated that they haven't been able to get inside

central kabul and congestion. very high was very difficult to move around the heart was under lockdown during this attack intelligence. on the serena hotel and neighboring government buildings still this arena hotel is right next to us. this attack happened and that intelligence if you're bin may be some type of explosives used by anti government elements all this rain or neighboring buildings and people to stay clear they didn't at the time but they said that they were junior whether or not those threats were related to what we're seeing today. but it did take something like this could happen now security has been very high government buildings coast of alabama in the spring offensive last friday so there was heightened security and we are in the ring of steel where there are a lot of checkpoints if you go into government going in to get searched the barracks this is the last waltz is

a lot of security in place there will be questions now as to how this could happen how could most politicus get inside the string and stage an attack of this nature. kosovo's government has brought back one hundred ten of its citizens from syria syria with the help of the u.s. the group included thirty two women and seventy four children who were taken to a detention center near the cap to push dina for suspected eisel fighters were also returned to kosovo and arrested the government says about four hundred citizens left to join iceland syria and iraq in serbia antigovernment protesters once again filled the streets of the capital belgrade on saturday marches complaints included unemployment and nepotism and they want the government to resign president alexander held his own rally on friday which he argued the differences should be settled at the ballot box. a chaos once again erupted on the streets of paris on

saturday more than a hundred twenty people were detained at a yellow vest protest the latest demonstration was driven by outrage among some protestors over the nearly one billion dollars donated by france's wealthiest families to repair the not. so as more. a saturday of fire and fury for the twenty third week in a row yellow vest protesters came out in paris as well as other cities across the country. this was one of the most intense day of confrontations between the crowds and riot police in weeks it was driven by outrage over the nearly one billion dollars donated by some of france's wealthiest families and corporations to repair the not. days after a blaze nearly destroyed the famous building but the message here france has bigger problems to solve. it's about decency these their nations could help french

people but it's so short sighted instead all this money is going to save the prevalence and it's not right something's not right i. just it's shocking given the current situation whoever is giving to not may be a good thing to do but perhaps it's not a moment to do this kind of thing be inclusion of anak his group such as black bloc have led authorities to place paris and other major cities on a state of high alert throughout the day protesters lit fires on blocked off streets destroying vehicles parked in the vicinity others attempted to break into buildings. police responded by firing tear gas at the crowds and using water cannon to disperse them. if the government had hoped that protesters would take a break over this holiday weekend it was not the case. the movement that began last november originally over fuel price hikes and the high cost of living

has not gone away the said spread into a broader movement against president emanuel back home in his attempt to reform the economy. is expected to announce a series of measures in the coming week that includes tax cuts for poor households the protest is anger at the wealthy has flourished in recent days partly stoked by the not for the fire but also at himself who is seen by them as a president of the rich in a deeply divided society sunny day ever al-jazeera. police in northern ireland have arrested two teenagers in connection with the killing of a journalist and police are warning of what they call a new breed of terrorists threatening the area politicians are calling for calm there's a shooting added to concerns about the stability of the region's twenty one year old peace deal bernard smith has more from londonderry. the murder of larry mckay

has been a shocking reminder here of what life was like during thirty years of violence between irish republican and pro british communities but while the signing of the good friday agreement twenty one years ago brought peace there is still a lot of frustration in what remains the poorest part of northern ireland whereas in music that doesn't going to get us anywhere killing more innocent people doesn't really get us anywhere. it's just to play senseless there's no can justify even if you don't agree with a agreement nason justifies technically or mickey's i say oh it wasn't. riots began almost pro irish estate in london derry on thursday as police raided homes looking they say the patch will bombs and other weapons the might be used in a march planned for easter monday lire was hit by someone who fired a gun apparently randomly towards a crowd of onlookers the twenty nine year old journalist had been named as one of

the thirty under thirty in media by forbes magazine and had signed a two book deal to write about the conflict in northern ireland it has shocked people who thought they were on shock about a local politician a man mccown lives in an area with the highest unemployment in the u.k. almost half of working age adults in derry don't have a job young people who are living a poor circumstances and they're not getting any better they can't see any future in which there's a decent job for they are angry at the situation and worse than that growing up and it's understandable in the inevitable that some of them are going to see an outlet for their anger and frustrations and. the cost was behind the syria historically and worst of they see it has been abandoned by their elders police officers here say they've noticed a palpable change in the community as people of a cooperation following the murder. the police also say they're dealing with what they're calling

a new breed of terrorist two years ago in northern ireland power sharing administration between pro british and pro irish parties broke down and that's left a power vacuum which groups opposed to peace could be trying to take advantage of. bernard smith al-jazeera dairy all right still ahead when we come back. their journey blocked by police an international pressure to turn back we'll tell you why the thousands of people in mexico are vowing to push on us. columbine was twenty years ago. people who were born after columbine are now voting and that matters two decades since that high school shooting in littleton colorado we'll take a look at what if anything has changed. madge the city get revenge for their champions league loss against tom that's in school later.

how they are still reading in southern china and there's more rain to come the satellite picture gives the game away it's sporadic but big shower areas a shower as the last one that went through hong kong left one hundred twenty seven members in thirty hours just inland and then you might think after that there's nothing much to come but there it is we're feeding moisture from the south and slightly cooler air from the north where the two come together you tend to get this line of developing right in surf in taiwan traverse ground on further west that's where it's going to be occasionally big and potentially flooding down polls but more sense for right now through will hand the yangtze towards shanghai which mark find its wettest well monday not sunday usual a dry day in hong kong on monday but it's still going to humid i think and fairly cloudy but if you come off the landmass there isn't very much going on there are

daily showers building as a temp should rise up in the forty's now i'm in ma so that's reflected in showers in cambodia and vietnam but the biggest regular daily ones are still for the service and come on time for example ninety two millimeters in twenty one hours us a series of rolling thunder storms and that white clouds represented in the forecast for the same areas sulawesi westwards towards sumatra and singapore with daily big showers. whether sponsored by cats owner. how is he changed since he was seven. charting the lives of the children of apartheid over twenty one years each story reflecting a history of dramatic social and political change twenty eight hour south africa

part one on al-jazeera. al-jazeera as there were dozens or breaks but it's also a day to see what happens next which is on. fire by the barrier where model barricaded the seventh street that leads to here the movies now has been all about change people have gone past the fear barrier the mission of the national army is to search the entire complex and i'll just your stories about telling it from the pupils perspective what they think is happening in their culture. hello again you're watching a reminder of our top stories this hour libya's u.n.

recognized government has closed the capital's only functioning and more fighting has been reported near by forces loyal to ward off that are threatening to push further into tripoli he began an offensive to take the city three weeks ago. several members of sudan's former ruling party have been arrested including the acting head of the national congress party that's according to the reuters news agency protesters continue to camp outside an army. demanding an immediate transition to a civilian government. egyptians have begun voting in a three day referendum that could open the door to president abdul fattah his sisi staying in office until twenty thirty rights groups are already expressing concerns the referendum won't be free or fair. more now on the situation in sudan the chairman of the african union commission has been holding meetings with military leaders in heart. faqih mohamed is also told

consultations with opposition groups the a us wants sudan's military rulers to hand over power to a civilian body by the end of april or risk suspension sudan's protest leaders say talks have been planned with military rulers to discuss the transfer of power to a civilian government here morgan reports from. the sounds of sudan's uprising made loud and clear in front of the army headquarters in the capital hundreds of these protesters have been here for nearly three weeks demanding change doesn't mean mean we are continuing with our sit in so that we can guarantee that our demands will be achieved demands that we came out and that people have to sacrifice their lives if their demands are not met then this will not end them. they're demanding that the military council the body that ended president obama to the shoes thirty year rule hand over power to

a civilian government and to hold all former officials to account for alleged corruption and the lives lost during the three decades that bashir and his ruling party were in power the military took over on the eleventh of april in a move that was condemned by the african union which gave the council and till the end of the month to transfer power to the people foreign diplomats have expressed similar demands and the united states stated that it will not recognize the council if that doesn't happen. on saturday. the head of the african union commission. makes council leaders and political parties in hearts on the council had stated that forming a transitional government was a task for the parties but something they need more time to make that's happened in a political. game reid told them as political parties must mean that regardless of ideology vision and number we must meet with a u. and agree on transitional government and we've asked the e.u. to extend the deadline they gave for handing over power for the consultation. it's

. a position that is not held by all sides the sudanese professional association which led the calls for protests that started in december continues to encourage the sit in in front of the army headquarters along with twenty two other parties it wants power to be handed immediately to an independent transitional government for a period of four years a proposal that shows that's not all parties are united and that forming a transitional government may not be an easy task something they'll hold on to their demands hoping for a different sedan for a future generation closer to having a. victory when there is a civilian government because through a civilian government will have a pen and constitution to preserve the rights. they didn't have any rights for. what happens now will largely depend on these protesters and those leading the military council for more than a week and the democrats are going to go on what it was here done and without the

government and the military council is under pressure to hand over power pressure a little. bit more. international diplomatic as well as what we. don't want the military to deprive them of a victorious revolution you know morgan under their own. police investigating the abduction of two cuban doctors in kenya are now questioning their driver anti terror police are looking into whether he had links with people in somalia the armed group based in somalia has often been blamed for attacks in kenya catherine sort of reports. it was on this street in the town of monroe where two cuban doctors were abducted last week the surgeon and his ition had been heading to a government hospital where they'd been working for close to a year teaching patients from kenya somalia and ethiopia. they were kidnapped right outside muhammad ahmed shop the security guard was shot that you see here. i heard

a load of bunk and gunshots after i opened the show. we are all in shock. and landis' rodriguez are part of an exchange program between kenya and cuba that started last. the doctors are being held in somalia and government forces from that country and kenya are watching with us from both sides of the boat to try and secure their release security has been beefed up in this checkpoint for example wasn't there before that friday with. documentation and this trying to make sure the bills were getting into town and not carrying anything that a lot of people saying they want the government to. make sure that the doctors get back to. it's in everybody's interest especially that of people here like.

two days before the incident she died on friday something her family says might not have happened if i had doctors had still been there. when the doctors were taken she was not a dead it. was badly infected waiting for answers from the hospital. the local health minister has told al jazeera that zainab proper medical care but died from a blood clot in an artery no one has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings but the driver of the government vehicle carrying the doctors is in cassidy police investigating with a hit communicated with people in somalia the armed group in that country has often been blamed for carrying out attacks in kenya this is. our. town hasn't been attacked in the. last few years but several other border

areas farther north harvey some of these people are heading there and they're being escorted by police a sign of how dangerous many believe life is becoming in parts of this region catherine sorry al-jazeera northeastern kenya thirteen people have been shot dead at a family party in the mexican city of minot it line in veracruz state seven men five women and a child died in the attack the motive for the killings is not known but the gunmen are thought to of asked to see the owner of a local bar before opening fire it is one of the worst attacks in mexico so far this year murder rates remain at record levels. and police in southern mexico have intercepted a group of migrants making their way to the united states police sent hundreds of them to an immigration center according to witnesses they say mexico is backpedaling on promises of better treatment for central american migrants under

pressure from washington laura burton manley reports. on this truth in southern mexico people find any way they can to escape the police. many have been traveling for weeks or months some by foot some with children or in such the better life in the united states military leaders having a joke witnesses say people have been forced on to police buses and taken to an immigration center almost one hundred kilometers in the direction they came from god i'm on the run a mother look at emma we just want protection we don't want to write we just want protection the police say they're here to help actually be amusing we're going to call the women and children in the buses so they continue on their way but not by walking because they're hurting themselves and we can't allow them to walk anymore because several have been hurt and they're carrying children who are not many

escaped with their children and press on with their journey to the u.s. . president donald trump is not giving them a warm welcome he's starting to close the border unless mexico stops people from crossing it's not just border closure there's a threat to these people taking this head on and saw a video posted online shows members of the u.s. group armed with semiautomatic rifles arresting migrants at the us mexico border people are also from recruit kidnappings and trafficking but for lenny turning back home is no option. and you know we're being killed off slowly what our mothers control reviewing the ukraine for our lives our children who are the most important in our lives a woman fighting for our children is capable of anything. in the city of the squints three hundred one migrants are waiting to request legal status so they can continue their journey safely to mexico in

a moment to come but their dad i mean well i know they're crossing here in mexico is very complicated it puts one's life at risk and we are obliged to do this because of a hung jury there is no work there are no jobs. where president under this man who will look has a plethora took office he promised more humane treatment for microbes and issued thousands of year long humanitarian. but the government is now accused of resorting to tougher tactics. now to say no no no. the f.b.i. has arrested a member of the u.s. militia that you just saw in laura's piece larry hopkins also known as johnny horton was arrested in the state of new mexico on saturday he's been charged with being a felon in possession of firearms an ammunitions videos apparently showing a group wearing camouflage clothing and holding groups of migrants a gunpoint have been shared online. i remember in ceremony has been held to mark

twenty years since the columbine high school shooting in the u.s. people gathered near the school in denver to honor the victims of the attack and offer support to the survivors columbine became synonymous with mass shootings in the u.s. after two teenage after twelve thousand agents killed two didn't two teenagers killed twelve students and the teacher and wounded more than twenty others our official reports. it was until then the watched school shooting in american history a nation watched twenty years ago as terrified students run for their lives the lucky ones could hug their parents but twelve students and one teacher never would they died when two students took their guns and their reach into the corridors of the high school and columbine became new in the world over among the community it's among the american people there really was at the time a sense that ok maybe maybe this will be a change maybe change will will come from this and there was quite

a popular appetite to see it happen but the colorado shooting brought copycats and contagion it wasn't the first mass school shooting but somehow it became a fresh starting point and a heart breaking list that grew every year. for junior tech with thirty two people were killed. sandy hook in connecticut where twenty children were shot dead and moved the president to tears the majority of those who died today were children. beautiful little kids between the ages of five and ten years old. roseburg in oregon parklane florida and many places in between eleven more mass school shootings eleven places that said enough eleven places changed forever. but not in the way many hoped in australia after a mass shooting where thirty five died they changed the laws in scotland where children were gunned down in

a school in dunblane the change the laws and the recent attack on to mosques in new zealand brought an almost immediate change in gun laws so this new generation to really are the ones that are going to be the ones to bring change because they've grown up knowing nothing but the fear of school shootings their entire life columbine was twenty years ago. people who were born after columbine are now voting and that matters because they don't want this fear for the next generation they had a memorial service for columbine this week they wanted to send a message of hope and strength to the community which has lived with the tragedy every day for twenty years and the other places that know must also live with the same pain the same scars alan fischer. money but he is a policy analyst for gun violence prevention at the center for american progress she says the u.s. political system makes changes to gun laws more difficult. in the united states gun

violence is an every day occurrence it takes the lives of more than ninety five people every day and i think what we're seeing now and the optimism that your story showed i think it's showing that people are saying school shootings are tragedies and our congress our leaders in congress and state legislators need to act and they also need to address these other issues that are completely related to gun violence it's a public health crisis that affects all communities in the united states not just our schools not just our youth so i think what you saw in new zealand most recently is what people should expect of their elected leaders there was a horrific tragedy that took the lives of dozens of people and impacted the entire country the prime minister came forward she offered thoughts and prayers and then provided a very strategic commonsense solutions that instantly became law that's what you want from your elected leaders you want them to take up their places in office and protect the people make communities safer now there is the one major distinction

between new zealand and the u.s. and that's the political system new zealand has a unicameral system so the prime minister and her coalition want a law it's going to happen that's not the case the united states i think sandy hook with president obama is a good example of that he was on board the democrats in congress were on board but because republicans controlled pieces of the congress and had the ability to filibuster you didn't see an assault weapons ban go forth after twenty five and six year olds were gunned down in school and so i think the political system and the fact that the gun rights lobby in this country has created so much misinformation around what gun violence prevention laws are i think that's one of the main challenges for our movement and most of what my work is addressing is trying to make sense that this is this is a common sense solution that the majority of americans actually.