hello i'm a star and this is al jazeera live from our top story this hour almost 60 refugees and migrants die after their boat sinks off mauritania. also ahead protesters out again in lebanon as a prominent businessman becomes a potential pick up in next prime minister. and an impeachable abuse of power a majority of legal experts backs the case against donald trump after a day of constitutional question. train and metro services take a hit as france's major trade unions go on strike against the government's pension reform plans.

but we begin in mauritania where at least $58.00 people have died after their boat capsized off the coast it's one of the deadliest such incidents this year more than 80 people survived and are now being treated in the northern city of new what he was the international organization for migration says the vessel was carrying at least $150.00 people from gambia and was low on fuel our correspondent is in charge that's mauritania's capital and he says that dozens of people are still missing. about $83.00 people managed to swim to the shore and they were found by the military police outside the northern city of and why they were that was in the early evening hours yesterday those people gave more news about what happened that boat capsized off the shore and after about 10 days being stranded there running out of fuel and so on so they gave more details

and scores of people at least dozens of people are still missing they are supposed to be of course dead women and children where on that boat coming from gambia the majority of the migrants from the country of ghana that's a small nation west africa one of those poor countries that supply this migration to words europe this story is still unfolding those people who escaped are being treated in and why do we don't have much information about what's happening to the bodies are they going to return them to their countries of origin or are they going to be buried in itself well earlier i spoke to finance a national organization for migration and he says people are being exploited by callous smugglers. i think if we can fairly assume that this is the result of nancy where the vessel overcrowded as we're learning or 150 people or i'm out of fuel so

it speaks really to the callousness of the smugglers the smuggling operation well of course that maybe your money you know already does it into the wilderness and i think that's basically the problem here is that you're being exploited well one can imagine that they're deeply traumatized and are stopped are you as you rightly say are there aren't any authority but people will be will lead to medical care and then really to establish like where what's their origin that we understand from the gambia and try to help them return in a in a dignified and way as possible and that actually it will all of this is that there's no happy solution for people who take these routes once that and especially when things like this happen they are eventually end up back where they started and the only winner is this mother. 3 legal experts called by us democrats have testified that president donald trump committed impeachable offenses a 4th scholar who is invited by the republicans says the evidence is insufficient

trump is accused of abusing his power to push ukraine into investigating his political rival type biden has a cast of reports from washington d.c. . you swear or affirm under penalty of perjury some of us constitutional scholars have weighed in if president trumps ukraine scandal is an impeachable then nothing is and professor gary hart did president trump commit the impeachable high crime and misdemeanor of abuse of power we 3 are unanimous yes the 3 law professors call by democrats running in unison alarm bells that the country's democracy is under threat by the president's actions what has happened in the case today is something that i do not think we have ever seen before a president who has doubled down on violating his oath to faithfully execute the laws and to protect and defend the constitution this president has attacked each of the constitution's safeguards against establishing a monarchy in this country in the simplest possible terms the president put his

personal game ahead of the national security interest it's better to be on t.v. than buy for the 4th scholar said if trump had tried to force ukraine to investigate a political rival in exchange for military aid it would be impeachable but the scholar wednesday's sole republican witness testified the case against trump has not been proven this would be the 1st impeachment in history where there would be considerable debate in my view not compelling evidence of the commission of a crime more than a dozen white house and state department professionals have testified that trump used the power of his office to pressure ukraine to open an investigation into joe biden a potential political rival in the upcoming us presidential election the house intelligence committee drafted a report saying there was overwhelming evidence for this including trump's own

words in a phone call with the president of ukraine that's not politics as usual at least not in the united states or not in any mature democracy trump says the law professors called by democrats represent the liberal left but he declined to testify himself and refused to send white house attorneys to represent his case for innocence what they're doing is a very bad thing for our country it's of no merik. and the republican party has never been more unified ever trump is counting on republicans who control the senate to acquit him of wrongdoing in an eventual impeachment trial. castro al-jazeera washington all speaking after the hearing the chairman of the house judiciary committee democrat democrat jerry nadler says the evidence is overwhelming this situation meets all 3 tests the president committed impeachable offenses they were important impeachable offenses they go to the constitute the heart of our constitutional republic they threaten the survival of democracy itself

in the integrity of free elections and a majority of the people and of the end of the house i believe i understand that but the top republican on the committee doug collins says the facts are in fact on their side when you talk about facts being undisputed these facts are disputed not just disputed they're actually contradicted so we have no problem funnel sub's this president did nothing wrong there was nothing that we found this impeachable he did not do anything also i've said all along it's easy for us to make the army because the process is terrible and the facts are on our side. now lebanese politicians are on monday to begin formal consultations to nominate the next prime minister businessman samantha looks set to take over from outgoing prime minister saad hariri but protesters have condemned her release decision to back her to to head the next cabinet they say he won't be able to fix the corruption and government mismanagement that have led to weeks of protests when our correspondents anahata

joins me now live from c. don which is a majority sunni city where people have taken to the streets again scotty and then as we can hear protesters are kaley unhappy about this reported deal talk us through why they're so opposed to. well in a country where the political system is divided among sect the post of the prime minister is reserved for the suddenly community and the community is upset they feel in many ways that some are the t.v. does not that represent them they are they really indeed for making this choice and violating the constitution what they are saying is that the president should have moved for more parliamentary consultations consultations with a different bloc sit in parliament before agreeing on the name of the prime minister and the lineup of the next government this did not happen what we saw the

past 2 or 3 weeks is that there were behind the scenes negotiations among levanon for the full forces who came up really with this package deal but there is still uncertainty on whether or not those consultations will take place on monday what we understand is that yes the caretaker prime minister saddam had a has issued some statement in support of summary of the team but he's not wholeheartedly supporting. his candidacy for the for the post of prime minister and it's not just that they're all fucked with the highest of the religious authority in lebanon has still not really thrown its weight behind those several so why wait for example to london. which is a clear indication that a final deal has still not been i read out but this i'm just talking about the community but there's also the political establishment protesters who have been in the streets for the days they are not happy with what is being presented as a solution of a government solution only emergency the economic emergency in the country then you

say these protesters are clearly not happy what options to they now have. well the power is no longer in their hands the 1st few weeks hundreds of thousands of people were out in the streets they were blocking the roads now the security forces are using force to reopen those roads and telling the protesters all you can do is stay in protest sites there's no doubt the numbers of protesters have fizzled out they have been intimidated there they are there are arrests people also are getting tired people need to return to work some people work 2 jobs in order to make ends meet and they're up against they are refusing to give up power after 30 years of controlling this country it's not an easy fight and clearly the new government makeup yes there are new faces but these same political parties will be represented in this new government but the biggest question is when you hear a party like psagot heidi who's saying that we won't be represented politically and

you hear other opposition parties saying the same thing the biggest question is this new government if it is born will it get the support of the international community we've heard western nations say time and time again if this new government does not reflect the demands of the people we will not quote help save levanon help save lebanon means financial assistance. then according to our correspondent that live press and saddam thanks so much center. now a syrian civil defense agency says at least 6 people have been killed by russian and government as strikes in northwest adlib the white helmet say children were trapped under the rubble after homes were his attack syria and russia have increased bombing of the area since april with more than a 1000 civilians killed. still ahead on out of there sam was measles imagine c. crane's more lives at the prime minister says people are getting the message about vaccinations. and we take a walk along the oldest race in baghdad where history is repeating itself but the

natives for votes against government meetings. hello again welcome back we're here cross much of southeastern asia we are talking about very heavy rain across much of malaysia as well as into indonesia some of the rain is going to accumulate and we are looking at some isolated flooding across much of that area notice those very dark blues and greens right here across the area extending all the way towards the western part of indonesia all the way down across jakarta as well the rain is really going to be increasing in intensity by the time we get towards saturday even across parts of bali and a boot that could be a problem up towards the philippines though a nice break few you will be drying out in manila we do expect to see a partly cloudy day with temperatures there of 29 degrees now the big problem here across much of queensland and new south wales is still the heat in the wildfires

going on right now across much of the region now the winds aren't too much of a problem here but we do have a front just towards the south we're going to be watching that very carefully once the front starts to move north though we could be seeing some windy conditions across much of the region i very hard day here in brisbane at 36 degrees here on friday as we go towards saturday though notice the front starts to push a little bit more towards melbourne more clouds in the forecast there attempt from melbourne of 19 but for sydney it is going to be the haze and the while far as that we're going to be watching smoke here on friday with a temperature of 29. this december make the heroes of your asia africa. middle east. state. splits to. sort.

this. out again you're watching al-jazeera a reminder of our top stories this hour at least $58.00 migrants drowned when their boat capsized off the coast of mauritania survivors are being treated in the northern city of new on the vessel was reportedly carrying at least $150.00 people from gambia and was low on fuel. lebanese politicians will meet on monday to begin formal consultations to nominate the next prime minister businessmen some look set

to take over from outgoing prime minister saad hariri protesters have condemned that decision. 3 legal experts called by u.s. democrats to congress have testified the president on trial committed impeachable offenses but top republican witness said he doubts there is enough evidence of wrongdoing to remove trump from office. now flights are grounded in france and many train and bus services standstill because of a nationwide strike by transport and public sector workers they walked out in protest against president emanuel plan to overhaul the pension system you're watching live pictures now of people gathering on the streets of paris. they say that they will end up working longer hours and end up with less money for retirement well let's speak to our correspondent at her butler who joins us now from outside a train station and paris natasha what kind of destruction are you saying there.

or for anyone who's been trying to get around the city today or trying to get around later is going to be extremely difficult because there's barely any public transport most of the metro lines the shot is pretty much the same picture for the bus services the trams and the trains they're simply not running so many people have chosen to stay at home or they're having to use alternative for transport bicycles scooters or war cannot be so many people on the pavements this morning i did certainly as i was coming to work but of course it's not just transport workers that have chosen to go on strike but teachers doctors lawyers and that's why there's major disruptions schools shut universities businesses courts will also be having a minimal service and the reason is so many people from different sections of french society have decided to go on strike is in protest against the government's plans to reform the pension system now the government says that pension system needs to be reformed because it's unfair and it's inefficient but what many people are

saying is that they are scared that they are going to have their pensions reduced or the going to be made to work longer hours what we've been speaking to some people who are very much against those reforms were speaking to others who say that change is actually needed. not me as passionate about his job producing bread and pastries in his bakery outside paris but after working for more than 40 years he's looking forward to retiring he hopes the french government's plans to reform the pension system won't affect his future and he understands why so many people oppose them. do would be to find a system that's fair for everyone it's a big ask. some people were hired with certain benefits and now they're being told those advantages could be taken away. in france the pension systems complicated each profession has a different scheme some people fear losing certain advantages or having their pensions reduced under the government's proposed reforms others say the system must

be simplified. i think pension systems need to be reformed it's not acceptable that there are so many schemes i think france has needed reforms for a while they're not done because there's a lack of courage and people take to the streets immediately reforming the pension system was one of the manual macros campaign promises says it needs to be streamlined to make it fairer and save public money but past presidents have tried to reform it and failed. in 1995 president jacques chirac's government scrapped its reform plans after 3 weeks of nationwide strikes in 2007 president nicolas sarkozy pushed through some changes but not without public protest macross plans faced opposition from many sections of society including transport workers and threatened rolling strikes. the ideal would be to find a system that's fair for everyone it's a big ask some people were hired with certain benefits and other being told those

advantages could be taken away this analyst says the president faces his biggest test yet. you think there's a risk that all the sectors joining in health transport lawyers university then the government could fall i don't think that we had that point yet but the government certainly can't back down because it would be a political failure. back or has already passed several controversial reforms and although he may feel confident after surviving months of yellow vest protests social discontent still lingers. when he says. seen yellow vest protesters at the end of our report in fact the universe protesters say that they're going to be joining many people who are striking today in a huge protest they'll be marching across the center of paris again to demonstrate against the government's reforms and what the government really will want to avoid

is a continuation of this strike now the trade unions are saying that although many workers will go back to work on friday it's possible that particular the transport section will continue to be here it's i'm standing outside a major train station in paris is usually busy there's no one here and that's the sort of thing the government will want to avoid the want the transport to get back to normal and for people to go back to work but as i said the trade unions are saying that this could go on for several weeks and we've been watching live pictures of people gathering for that march today natasha will stay across that for us thank you natasha. from a strike in france to the 3rd nationwide strike in colombia during the past 2 weeks unions and student groups called the latest walkout after talks with the government failed protesters are angry at president even do case plans for economic reforms and want him to do more to tackle corruption and police violence. medical teams are going door to door and summer as they rest of vaccinate as many people as possible

against measles an outbreak in the pacific island nation has already killed more than 60 people mostly young children prompting an emergency response just to washington reports from the capital. thousands of red flags hang all of us some each one represents an unvaccinated household as the measles crisis in some oh escalates authorities have opted for a change in strategy. no longer asking people to go to clinics the message is to wait at home and help will come to you the only family is among those immunized in the early hours of the vaccine dr we are so thankful and and i know that it's very important very important to be vaccinated for the safety of all. for family my family my child and then also for all the time once the city center has been brought to

a standstill with businesses closed and cars banned while the campaign continues this is the crisis center where efforts are being coordinated there's a sense of urgency to contain the outbreak more than 100 medical teams are roving the streets of samarra staffed by local and international medics and stocked with thousands of vaccinations authorities here hope they can get vaccination rates to at least 90 percent by the end of the week the government is determined to ensure such an outbreak does not happen again and. that we are more conscious now people are more conscious now than before that by coming and have your children vaccinated is the only way those on the front lines say the campaign is working families are actually looking forward to turning in and being vaccinated they are open to having conversations to begin with so that's

a real bonus for us because it means that we're providing education whilst at the same time delivering a vaccine to protect them. a note of hope in some hours unprecedented health emergency jesica washington out to 0. nearly 300 people have been killed in floods across east africa and millions have been affected and in south sudan it's taking a toll on refugees who returned after years of war and we're just beginning to rebuild their lives there are reports. they were displaced by 6 years of civil war and now they're again forced out of their homes this time by floods which in south sudan have destroyed crops homes and livelihoods people say they haven't seen such devastation in more than 20 years during your girl long when we were displaced by the flooding we felt sad because we had to leave everything behind we need shelter we need food now we're not getting those things because we had to leave our homes.

it's rainy season in east africa but the downpours have been unusually heavy this year nearly 3000000 people are affected by floods across the region most in south sudan last month the government declared a state of national emergency aid is pouring in but that's not enough. yes we can provide emergency support now but these people relied on are going to rely on have been relying for years and years. like to be badly affected so there's going to be list food are they going to grow themselves and therefore they might be more dependent on food coming in from outside. and that increases the long term threat of malnourishment in a largely rural country where 80 percent of the population lives on less than $1.00 a day the risk of water borne diseases like cholera too is rising and there is no sign of a let up more rain is expected in the coming days. an

e.u. delegation sent to multi says the investigation into a journalist's murder is at risk while the prime minister is still in office choice of muscat has been accused of shielding prominent figures indicated in the car bomb killing of journalist ethnic ironical it's here and 2017 muscat has resigned to put one to actually step aside until next month. now a push to introduce new citizenship legislation in india is being promoted as a reform that will make life easier for migrant communities some experts say the bill violates the constitution because it excludes muslims over a reports from the village of pi katty in assam state. these people are protesting the citizenship amendments bill which has been cleared by the indian cabinet and will soon be tabled in the indian parliament the bill shares that if you're a hindu or a christian or a general but these from of dance on pakistan and bangladesh and country live in

india then you would not be treated as an illegal migrant breed excludes the muslims these people see that that's a part of the poor rising politics of the ruling party in the country not part of egypt our party some experts have gone to the extent of defining it as unconstitutional this is this bill goes against the idea of a secular really are because it excludes muslims in short as this government makes a national register of citizens which is essentially a list of people of who isn't isn't an indian then the hindus will be captive but not the muslims. now rashid street and baghdad has become the front line between iraqi protesters and security forces but the avenue is no stranger to uprisings for a century iraqis have used it to stage anti-government protests and as similar falls are reports the results current and past have left their marks on its historic buildings. but that's all the street has become the main venue of anti-government protests rashid street dates back to the 16th century tracing the

tigris river it's an important access route to both tahrir square and the central bank demonstrators see this historic avenue as a strategic defense point to prevent security forces from marching on to here square but holding it has come at a price a banner to commemorate those killed hangs on a burnt building next to the barricades the protesters who guard them fear being targeted and don't want to show their faces and. we advanced here because we want to block the road there are government employees going to work here and we're trying to make civil disobedience we will not withdraw until this response to our demands to get rid of all of the parties. this is not the 1st time russian street bears witness to a revolt historian a little lady was born here and has studied the streets to mulch was passed it was here where iraqis rose up against the british occupation in 1020 the british and did up crushing that rebellion in 1988 student protesters took to russia to meet

again although they failed to end the monarchy this time they forced the british government to resign. 3 people died at the hands of the police but this forced the cabinet of then prime minister a solid job or to resign and when he resigned the parliament also had to go a stark contrast to today's events hundreds have been killed as part of the recent protests but it took 2 months for prime minister did to resign while parliament has yet to be dissolved. this hasn't happened in iraq's history that hundreds are killed and neither the prime minister nor the parliament have condemned it. and i should street is the commercial hub of the capital but the violence between protesters and security forces has brought straight to a halt many shops are closed and instead of customers the streets now teams with anti-riot police the barricades behind me are the front line between demonstrators and security forces and in addition to the loss of life the historic buildings

around us have borne the brunt of these confrontations now none of the security officials here were authorized to speak to us on camera but they told us the demonstrators regularly throw petrol bombs across the barricades to target security forces as well as the building. this old building used as a warehouse is among several burned down over the past weeks manana old foe they stood at the corner over there and they threw a petrol bomb on this building which is full of stores our store deal with shoes and handbags the storage was full of silicon and it burned very fast even before these protests began rashid street was in dire need of rehabilitation the local government had begun restoring parts of it in september but was forced to stop when the protests started now the street once again risks becoming collateral damage in a struggle for a better future simone awful to al-jazeera but. well you can find much more

on our website including all the latest headlines and breaking news to go to al-jazeera dot com. and i'm. the headlines at least 58 migrants drowned when their boat capsized off the coast of martina survivors are being treated in the northern city of new the vessel was reportedly carrying at least 150 people from gambia and was low on fuel has more from charts that's more tenuous capital. about $83.00 people managed to swim to the shore and they were found by the military police outside the northern city of n y the without was the early evening hours yesterday those people gave war news about what happened at the boat capsized off the shore. after about 10 days being stranded running out of fuel and so on so they gave more details and

scores of people at least dozens of people are still missing they are supposed to be of course. lebanese politicians will meet on monday to begin formal consultations to nominate the next prime minister businessman samir hard to look set to take over from outgoing prime minister saad hariri protesters have condemned that decision of flights are grounded in france and many train and bus services are after a standstill because of a nationwide strike by transport and public sector workers they walked out in protest against president among americans plan to overhaul the pension system you're watching live pictures now of people gathering on the streets of paris where we do expect a march to take place later in the day they say that they're going to end up working longer hours and end up with less money for retirement 3 legal experts called by us democrats to congress have testified the president donald trump committed impeachable offenses the top republican witness there says he doubts

there's enough evidence of wrongdoing to remove trump from office a syrian civil defense agency says at least 6 people have been killed by russian and government airstrikes in northwest the white helmet say children were trapped under rubble after homes were hit in the attack syria and russia have increased bombing of the area since april medical teams and some were carrying out a mass vaccination program aimed at stemming the fast growing measles crisis 62 people mostly young children have died there from the disease. well those are the headlines the news continues here on al-jazeera to people in power to stay with us . what kind of care does that provide and is anyone willing to pick up the cost we bring you the stories and developments that are rapidly changing the world we live in so is it possible for trump is actually a mature way to conduct counting the cost on al-jazeera.

entrenching 14 people who revealed the shape for the treatment of disabled people in or maybe a state run care homes some of them funded by the year even if she's promised it will be abusers but the fight is on we've heard fresh allegations about the neglect of mistreat of disabled people across eastern europe in the 1st of 2 special reports sarah spent years between 1st.