some momentum when you cool hand luke even news and current affairs that matter to you. more deaths from the crown a virus yet another victim dies while quarantined in the chinese city of will haunt . commercial carry this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up exacting revenge the u.s. president fires 2 major witnesses who spoke out during his impeachment trial. the model were released earlier including we're all going to go to. the battle goes on the 7 hold it was mine for the democratic presidential nomination take to the stage once again. in history might be against it because a black comedy from south korea take the top prize at this year's academy awards.

the corona virus outbreak shows no sign of slowing us authorities in china continue efforts to bring the epidemic under control this embassy in china has also now confirmed the death of a citizen in the cornered city of han in while hong kong the start of a 2 week orange chain for people arriving from mainland china to try to stop the spread of the virus across china at least 722 people have now died the divisions are present even china says there are signs of progress but it's still too soon to predict when this outbreak will be contained. our understanding is growing impossible to predict where it is going but i can tell you. at least where we are watching the we are seeing the positive signs and with the adduction and the last couple of days and we are watching carefully the epidemic in other

provinces in china the epidemic is far from over we see good signs and we see signs of control but we at this point the best thing rather than crystal ball gazing is vigilant thousands of passengers and crew are still stuck on board a cruise ship in the japanese port of yokohama the ship a $64.00 confirmed cases of the crime. reports. the owners of this luxury cruise ship describe it as a home away from home and for those on board there is now no choice about 3700 people on the diamond princess are being quarantined for peace 2 weeks off japan's yokohama port that's after mood in 60 tested positive for corona virus we are all instructed to stay in our own cabin. you know that people from the insurer haven't been allowed up there on yak and they may have had

a chance to interact although they've been instructed to say a meter or from each other so it's hard to read. the mood of the other passengers without a contact with them i think you know some people are very worried on the internet and social media japan is already dealing with cases of the virus and as opposed you border controls to stop it from spreading it turned away another cruise ship that sea from china the world had organization says there's no need for alarm there's over 3700 people in crew and this is after extensive searching for cases and testing and testing of many many people so if i don't get my month's wrong that's that's less than 2 percent of people so. it's still about it's not a great number it does show the virus has spread alicia but again let's be careful here not to overreact the outbreak that began in china has spread to at least 25

countries in kazakhstan the reports of violence between kazakhstan and epic way community over fears of coronavirus chinese restaurants and businesses have reportedly been burned down singapore has increased its alert level after new cases of corn a virus not linked to previous infections or travel to china were reported people are rushing to supermarkets to stock up on food and essential goods and around the world war people are buying mass and what's called personal protective equipment or p.p. pushing up prices and creating shortages the world is facing severe disruption in the market for person and for person and i'm protective equipment. to monday's of $200.00 times higher than normal and prizes not up to 20 times higher the u.n. agency says more than 80 percent of corner virus cases globally reported can be

considered mild and is calling for nations to work together to fight the outbreak priyanka gupta is here. and sarah clarke joins us now from hong kong so sarah what can you tell us about the latest firm death from this virus. and we've had confirmed a u.s. citizen who was hospitalized in quarantine in would hand the one hand the u.s. embassy has confirmed this it's believed to be the 1st confirmed foreign this this is a 6 year old woman who also had an underlying health conditions now we also believe this is a japanese man who's been hospitalized with viral pneumonia but later some now believe it's trying a virus he too has died away from what we think we have now the virus has killed at least 2 people outside mainland china one is here in hong kong and the other is in the philippines and china is reported id 6 new deaths as of today and the new national death toll which was mentioned before is now about 722 so the virus has

spread to at least 25 countries and we've got 270 people outside of china now infected and the last hour or so are the chinese national public health commission has also given or decided to give this virus a temporary 9 they've called it the novel coronavirus pneumonia also referred to as n c p so what are the latest on the travel restrictions that are in place to try to contain this and it looks like we lost our sarah clarke there in hong kong we will continue to stay on top of this story and the spread of the coronavirus nevertheless so let's move on to the rest of the day's news the u.s. president donald trump has fired 2 major witnesses in his impeachment trial barely 48 hours after the senate acquitted him ambassador to the european union gordon song was recall just hours after lieutenant colonel alexander than men was a scored from the white house both men were critical of president trump's handling of military aid to ukraine andy gallacher reports. gordon sunland was considered

a close ally of president trump's the 61 year old businessman gave trump's inauguration committee a $1000000.00 became ambassador to the european union and is said to have had the president's number on speed dial all that changed after someone's explosive testimony to the president's handling of military aid to ukraine was there a quid pro quo as i testified previously with regard to the requested white house call and the white house meeting the answer is yes another pivotal witness in the impeachment korean to president trump was lieutenant colonel alexander that mn was a highly decorated soldier an expert on ukraine been man's testimony was said to have been breached the president is improper for the president of the united states to demand a foreign government investigate a u.s. citizen and a political opponent it was also clear that if you create pursued an investigation into the 2016 elections the bidens and it would be interpreted as

a parson play on friday lieutenant colonel the newman and his twin brother a lawyer at the national security council risk ordered from the white house by officials both have been reassigned just hours after the president commented on the lieutenant colonel well i'm not happy with it because the 1st to be happy with the bump that it is midnight in washington senior figures in the democratic party reacted angrily to the firings out i'm sure who took a lead role in the president's impeachment tweeted lieutenant colonel that man did his job as a soldier in iraq he received a purple heart then he displayed another rare form of bravery moral courage he complied with a subpoena and told the truth he upheld his oath when others did not. one of the president's senior advisers said the farming sent a clear message that not backing the commander in chief will not be tolerated following the impeachment inquiry and his acquittal it seems that president trump is bent on retribution women's lawyer released

a statement saying the most powerful man in the world boyd by the silent pliable and complicit this is a to exact his revenge it came as no surprise to many that 2 key witnesses in what president trump called a hoax and now gone the question is who's next on the gallacher al-jazeera washington the former u.s. national security advisor john bolton is accusing the white house of trying to suppress his unpublished book the national security council sent a letter to bolton's lawyer on friday expressing concerns the manuscript contains classified information which bolton denies the book reportedly contains allegations trump suspended military aid to ukraine to force it to investigate his political rivals bolton was sacked by trump in september just before a complaint by an anonymous whistleblower was made public and the us democratic party candidates hoping to secure their presidential nomination of health their latest t.v. debate in new hampshire before next week's primary there the front runners keep it in bernie sanders faced a barrage of criticism from their rivals and challenges over their voter appeal and

experience or bird manley reports. 4 days from now the voters here in new hampshire will weigh in 7 democratic hopefuls head to head to the hope to convince new hampshire to vote for them in tuesday's primary the debate started with messages of unity and the matter who wins this day i'm playing we're all going to stand together. but it didn't take long for the presidential hopefuls to start trading barbs 38 year old pete footage as was singled out for his perceived a pick spirit he was ready for the criticism if you're looking for the person with the most years of washington establishment experience under their belt and you've got your candidate and of of course it's not me. the perspective i'm bringing is that of somebody whose life has been shaped by the decisions that are made in those big white buildings in washington d.c. and when tsongas addressed social welfare issues you raise the minimum wage to

$15.00 an hour i was not going to give tax breaks to billionaires foma vice president joe biden questioned whether the money would come from it will cost more than the entire the entire federal budget we spend now when questioned on the impeachment proceedings biden prompted a standing ovation mcconnell alexandr didn't mention a key witness to the trial and fired by trump stand up and clap for veterans can't you guys. you know you i know a lot of these candidates the answer is do or die well but your doesn't break in the top 4 here she's out of this race if war finishes a distant 3rd again she's in very bad shape and if biden isn't very close to the top he's really reeling her own foreign policy and put it just was almost if you would make the same decision as trump killing me again in general cause i'm still a money in iraq that if we learned nothing else from the war in iraq it's that

taking out a bad guy is not a good idea if you do not know what you are doing you cannot go around saying you're a bad guy we're going to assassinate you. and then you're going to have to if that happens you're opening the door to international. to say it's primary could very well decide on who stays in the race. this was an opportunity for the who pulls to make that case with songs as a beauty g.h. seen as the one to be. manly out to 0. millions of indians are voting in delhi the regional elections seen as a test for the ruling the following weeks of often violent protests in the capital and nationwide against that new citizenship law dozens of indians were killed and thousands detained writing against the law regarded by many as anti muslim are in their correspondent elizabeth promise at a polling station south of the capital solicitor covering this or putting this in

some perspective about why this matters so much so do tell us. well good afternoon michelle from the great constituency in the south delhi election matters because it is the capital because the party bought at the party of communist in that into modi have not begun power he has 998 and they want to win this election and they have campaigned on the issue of the protests against the citizenship amendment act to talk more about all of this we're joined now by also and editor of the online news publication hot news mr sanjay kapoor very good to have it does on al-jazeera so tell us about you know the political climate in which these elections are taking place i think the political climate at the moment is to sort of charge for an election because actually the states are a minuscule election and i think they. created or the contribution is that of the prime minister and the be if that is done a simple relation for the water seemed to something far more dramatic it's almost

turned out into. the citizen amendment not just him 11 and they have a large amount of voters all over the country on. of our. country they're seeing big protests against the citizen amendment bill which is seen to be discriminate the rich give the most of them are go many of them a lot of things that they have planned out to space be the national citizenship in which they think is divisive so in a certain way it is turning out into a referendum and mr casey who's standing in the opposition and aspires to. be and when and that's election again is trying to keep it very very low and so this is a big challenge so if our our my the party which is the party in opposition to be men they see when. they leave action then they would be able to then we have very important point that. people in there leave people are more bothered about civic issues rather nicely and people do seem to vote on those issues on the state level

but nationalism works for prime minister morty and his b j p on the national level doesn't it yeah it has worked very well for the b. to be in the national elections in 2019 can like to be a huge no no and even when we don't really know might not be and that is only thing that works for them and subsequently they are right you national or state elections but they have recently and i say they are going to do the same and prior to that in other other state they did the same and they got a seat as driving so we have to see whether people are able to make a difference between a national election a state election despite the fact that the b.g.p. has time and again try to show mr case we were there was that they were cheap is the last 5 years that peres who sides with the people who are more interested in breaking the country whether that really works or not even though mr kejriwal has very much campaigned on development issues like education like health care which have really won him big in the past. episodes of any sort of mentor

national politics and find himself and his party to just civic issues and not identity jle shade of a from really just nationalism which is. i mean again the b.g.p. brings in i mean in trying to check your yearly weather what you stands for and he has been smart if you are going to. run up to. $2213.00 and. you know where he really can find who has basically been so that's worked a couple thank you very much for that so that his son jacob who are the election results will be out on february the 11th and we will be watching those very closely a key indication of whether the b j p used politics some say divisive politics and campaign will work right elizabeth ronna our manager lisbeth thank you. still ahead on al-jazeera. i'm alexia o'brien in new south wales a stray which is seeing some of its biggest rain since the fire season began find

out why that's got some scientists worried. about swine is optioning off the right to hunt and kill elephants. hello again it will come back to you in a national weather forecast over the next few days things are going to be changing quite rapidly here across much of northwestern parts of europe now we have a developing system here a very very deep system very strong system in the atlantic and with that we're going to be seeing some very very strong winds that will be affecting parts of ireland northern ireland to today and you can see that by these winds right here as we go through the day on saturday really picking up coming along that western coast of most that area also for parts of scotland you'll be seeing the rain as well as the winds by the time we get towards saturday evening as we go towards sunday that

system makes its way across much of the u.k. we do start to see the effects of the storm here across parts of northern france the been a let's region into parts of germany and into denmark as well accompanied by some very heavy rain over the next few days now the system is not done by the time we go towards monday we're also seeing parts of central europe with that very strong wind across much of the area one of the cities being affected is going to be here in amsterdam the brandy a stay is going to be here on sunday we could be seeing winds up to about 100 kilometers per hour as we go towards monday and tuesday still quite windy a little bit less to about 80 but we're also going to see some very heavy rain across the forecast in the temperature of 8. big stores generate thousands of lines maybe angles in this story are too numerous for comfort with different angles from different perspectives things never really being believed the prey muddying the waters even separate the spin from the facts

the misinformation from the journalism is so clear and sounds to me and immediately are distinctly with the listening post on al-jazeera. the arab. you're watching al-jazeera let's take a look at the top stories right now hong kong has begun a 2 week mandatory quarantine for all people arriving from china it's an attempt to stop the spread of corona virus as authorities in china try to get it under control as m.c.s. confirm the death of one of its citizens in the epicenter of the illness were gone

. to senior officials who testified in the impeachment trial of u.s. president on all trumped had been fired by him 48 hours after his acquittal or in song one and 10 and colonel alexander ferdman criticize trumps handling of military aid to ukraine. and millions of indians are voting in delhi the rickshaw lection seen as a test for the bulling b j p following weeks of often violent protests both in the capital and nationwide against the new citizenship law. flood warnings have replaced bushfire alerts in southeastern australia rain in new south wales is some of the heaviest in almost 20 years the downpours helping to extinguish bushfires which have been burning for months but the combination of fire and rain as far new problems as alexey o'brien reports welcome rain almost blackened land just waste of sydney it's not the 1st down pull since the fire season began last year boss it's reduced the number of active blazes and is bringing relief to areas gripped by the worst

drought on record but the deluge is also sweeping piles of ash so to all the debris and to revisit lakes and dams that provide drinking water to those living nearby we've never had an experience like this before. during the bush for a period of we had over 395 house and take days off the catchment actually been and that was process you can dance in the water long it's a significant impact of what foster put across a. this is war again. it's supplies of sydney's drinking water but could be contaminated by charred debris from the vast bushfires in the area scientists say it probably won't cause any health problems by. taking any chances but they've put in silk persons to catch any material that could affect water quality and of monitoring the situation closely contaminated water isn't just

a problem for humans small pieces of ash from trees like this can get into the waterways and suffocate the fish by can also cause algal blooms which can produce dangerous talk sense all cut the amount of oxygen in the water and that can put all the wildlife at risk really a good day for the thousands of fish died in january when brains washed sludge into the maclay river in new south wales. and late last year piles of ash called to the beaches as fires raged by. many bushfires a still burning up and down this coastline leaving waterways and water supplies at risk it takes decades for a forest to re grow and to raise stiva laws we will be dealing with different quality water different organic matter coming down sediment loads for many years and i would predict in many cases certainly in sydney's kinds decodes new growth is beginning to push through the scorched landscape but the cost of this unprecedented

fire season is mounting and it's not over yet. bryan al-jazeera new south wales australia a russian delegation will soon need turkish officials about the situation and let province and northwestern syria the last rebel held region are friday turkish armored vehicles and tanks entered it live operation as a response to an advance by syrian government forces who have already taken a 3rd of the province and are now seeking to march to the regional capital. of reports turkey is determined to stop that. syrian government forces in the suburbs of surat camp hours before distributed town well after fierce fighting with the syrian rebel defenders. so racket sits at the junction of 2 major highways and was seen as a major obstacle in regaining control of the province one 3rd of which is now under syrian government control. turkey has warned prague the mask has forces to back off

no arkie unfortunately the syrian regime does not believe in political process and thinks peace can only be possible by a military solution and i have to say they are wrong about this they have stepped up their aggression turkey has 12 military observation posts positioned around the globe the escalation zone agreed with russia and iran in 2017 but 9 of them have been surrounded by advancing syrian government forces to protect and stop the advance troops yes stablished for more post which ended up in direct clashes between the turkish and syrian army's solve it a little issue with our focus on the music you know culturally get tax responded to within the scope of such a fence from now on any kind of attack will be responded to appropriately and observation post will continue their duties the syrian government has intensified its attacks since last november and backed by russia has targeted civilians this

for a good and new way of a migration with hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the violence in the 9 year long civil war in syria that was where the displaced could find refuge but it live said the center is now under threat as the syrian government forces captured so rocket and just 7 kilometers away seen em go solo al-jazeera northwest and syria. botswana has auctioned off the rights to kill elephants for the 1st time since the hunting that was lifted last year 7 hunting parmenides were up for auction it includes the right to hunt and kill 10 elephants want to has the largest elephant population in the world the government says commercial hunting will bring and conservationists say it could encourage poaching is the wildlife director of humane society international africa says there are other things besides trophy hunting that could be done to reduce the elephant population there's so much.

stigma attached to elephant carrying capacity which is which is an absolute number and as we know ecosystems do not. lack that they would have been a balance of aims and flows so they are natural processes such as drops that will reduce elephant population numbers and we certainly seen that in some parts of africa. of the nations. you know reducing our official water holes by forcing infants to new to different areas and just affecting the way in which they utilize the landscape so those are more effective long 2 measures trophy hunting will city not make again in the overall numbers what it will do is make a dent in the number of breeding material bills and 6000000000 dollars grows and of trophy quality of which i must point out you know so so if you lift across africa and this will actually cause much more significant impacts we know that if the

numbers are estimated to be about 115000 which seems to some like a few number but thinking that they were more than a 1000000 in the early 1970 so i think suffice to say that infant poaching is taking about 25230000 in a fancy yet already population on the sauce or in significant decline and so we need to move away from the regional approach and look to look at a constant need to level. a south korean film parasite has emerged as a surprise contender at the academy awards this weekend the dark comedy thriller has been nominated for 6 oscars upright reports. i'm told that i was on that since its release last year the parasite has had south korea talking mostly about the social injustice of a younger generation not able to better themselves no matter how hard they study and work. it's becoming harder to imagine improving your social status as generally

accepted within our generation. because i found nothing to be fascinated about it equality problem it's been here for a long time kind of a time exaggeration in the movie the movie focuses on a poor family living in a semi basement to trick their way into the service of a much greater family with darkly comic consequences. i don't think in the region people are that stupid but suspend your disbelief for the duration of the movie and parasite becomes an intro ling fable about the struggles of the have nots were too painfully aware of the comforts enjoyed by the haves that they're living alongside it's a thing that resonates not only here but also in a world where the whitening wealth gap that gap is no better illustrated than gauri on one of the last shanty areas of seoul starkly contrast with the towers of

neighboring kenya the brashly opulent district parodied in global fame by gangnam style displaced poor families when it was developed many of whom moved to korea and who now scrape together a living doing the menial jobs that gangnam needs much as in parasite i think it was very realistic in the way that it portrayed our. especially in korea and further development threatens to move these residents again locked in an ongoing battle with the government for proper compensation. as south korea has developed it has become easier for the rich to earn more money while it has become more difficult for the poor to make a living it's an issue that has to be result. from its comic opening parasite quickly descends into in the car tragedy in their own struggle the people of korea hoping for

a far happier ending rob mcbride al-jazeera so. i'm richelle carey these are the headlines right now on al-jazeera began a 2 week mandatory quarantine for all people arriving from china as an attempt to stop the spread of the corona virus as the death toll continues to rise as he has confirmed the death of one of its citizens in the epicenter of the illness han representative in china says it's still too soon to project when the outbreak will be contained. oh it understanding is growing impossible to predict where it is going but i can tell you. at least where we are watching the we are seeing the positive signs in would duck session in the last couple of days and we are watching carefully the epidemic in other provinces in china epidemic is far from over we see good signs and we see signs of control but we

disappoint the best thing rather than crystal ball gazing is vigilant because it's done at least 8 people have been killed in violence activists say is linked to fears over coronavirus gangs of armed men attacked chinese restaurants and businesses in the southern region causing president says additional police have been deployed to the area. to senior officials who testified in the impeachment trial of u.s. president on have been fired by him just 48 hours after his acquittal or in song $1.10 a colonel alexander of the night in criticizing tom's handling of military aid to ukraine and the us democratic party candidates hoping to secure their presidential nomination have held their latest t.v. debate in new hampshire before the primary there next week runners bernie sanders faced a barrage of criticism from their rivals and challenges over their voter appeal and

experience millions of indians are voting in delhi the regional elections seen as a test for the ruling p.g.p. following weeks of often violent protests both in the capital and nationwide against the new citizenship law flood warnings have been replaced by bushfire alerts in southeastern australia the state of new south wales has received some of the heaviest rain in almost 20 years the downpours are helping put the fires out which have been burning for months but now there is warnings that it's washing ash from the fires into the water supply will keep you posted on that. as the headlines keep it around al jazeera i have another bulletin for at the top of the hour in the meantime we're going to hand it over to the listening post for talk to al-jazeera let me talk about 2 of the biggest problems facing and they all the endemic corruption. we listen so if you replace china as the enemy of the with and that's really that we meet with global news makers and talk about the stories that matter

on the edges there are. consequences of. oh i think i've got. my i'm not talking it's. going to get. a lot of power are not alone richard burton you're at the listening post among the media stories that we're covering this week unrest over a new citizenship law in india are all those news channels out to inform or incite a state of the union divided donald trump on as a controversy of talk radio host media in the middle east and the troubling use of blackface why is it still considered an acceptable form of entertainment.