animal. 1018 investigates a wildlife emergency. on al-jazeera. the weeklong reduction in violence is set to begin in afghanistan the u.s. and the taliban say it could pave the way for a peace to. come on peter dhabi you're watching al-jazeera live from our headquarters here and also ahead squeezed by sanctions iranians voting in a parliamentary election where many moderates and reformist candidates are blocked from running. millions told to stay at home in a south korean city with fears a coronavirus a break there could get out of control. u.s.

intelligence officials warn russia is taking steps to interfere in the 2020 presidential campaign to help donald trump get reelected. we begin in afghanistan where an agreement that's supposed to usher in peace is to stick to facts in a few hours the taliban and the united states will begin what they're calling a reduction of violence as of midnight if the 7 day deal does prove to be a success both sides will sign an accord at the end of the month paving the way for talks between the taliban and other afghan groups and the u.s. has said it wants to pull its forces out of afghanistan. the u.s. presence in afghanistan began in 2001 a month after the events of $911.00 it launched air strikes and a ground invasion to remove the taliban from power more than $12000.00 american

soldiers are still in the country thousands more from the nato allies and partner countries are also there some 2400 american troops have been killed since the operation began and the u.s. is estimated to have spent more than one trillion dollars on its mission and get more from rosslyn jordan joining us live this hour of washington rose is there an acceptable level of violence that everyone could live with because we're talking about violence reduction here not a stop to the violence. well that's the rub peter there is no public standard that has been set for what would constitute an acceptable level of violence reduction in the next 7 days and that is significant because if there isn't some level that is being met either side could say you know what we're not going to sign this next agreement and certainly it is something that brings to mind whether or not this is actually a real turning point in u.s.

involvement in afghanistan yes the u.s. and the taliban have been engaging in talks over the past several years even though there was that now famous pause instituted by the u.s. president donald trump after the taliban killed a couple of american soldiers back in september but that said it would be important to know what constitutes a significant and acceptable reduction in the violence does that mean getting down to 110th of the attacks that have been happening on either side in recent months or in over several year period they don't want to say perhaps because they're nervous perhaps about jeopardizing the start of this 7 day period of significant reduction in violence so if there is to be a deal being signed imminently because we're talking about 40 years of conflict and

war here which will he buy the deal being signed in a week from now the united states will want to withdrawal trump will be able i guess to be able to deliver on an election campaign pledge that was something he talked about before he even became u.s. president but is there a sense there that they can't pull out and create a vacuum because they've got to have something to put in its place. there's already that political debate here in washington about what does a u.s. pullout from afghanistan willing look like the military has indicated that it would be comfortable having about $8500.00 or $8600.00 u.s. forces still in country primarily in a train and advise role 'd for the afghan military which technically has been in charge of securing that country's security for the past several years but there are military analysts who suggest that if the us president wanted to cut that number

even lower say to a couple of 1000 or perhaps just enough 5 personnel to guard the u.s. embassy and consulates in afghanistan that could really open the possibility of open warfare of a civil war inside afghanistan and that is something which these analysts say would be a very grave mistake so even as the trumpet ministration is trying to make good on a 2016 campaign promise there are those who are saying that there is a very real risk of destabilizing afghanistan even though there is a real sense here at least here in the u.s. that u.s. troops should be pulled out of afghanistan and that the u.s. should try to end what is now its longest ever war ok rose we'll talk again i'm sure in the meantime thank you very much iran's extended polling hours in its parliamentary election but for hours state t.v.

is reporting what it calls a rush of voters parliament set to become more conservative the thousands of candidates mostly reform in stone motorists were barred from running by the guardian council that's iran's constitutional watchdog the u.s. responded by imposing new sanctions on members of the council accusing them of rigging the election iranian leaders have called for a high turnout as a show of unity. millions of oh no let's talk to our correspondent joining us live from tehran before we get to that story. the turnout not looking particularly high but maybe with a little spike towards the end of voting. yes there have extended polling hours we've been at this polling station in iran it's been relatively busy throughout the day this queue is still going outside onto the streets but that's not been the case in other parts of the one we visited some

polling stations which were practically empty but we were allowed to film those and that's because this is the only one that we have permission to film but people are staying away from voting because that's because some of the reformist and moderate candidates have been barred from standing by the guardian council as you mentioned but also the economic situation some people are fed up and have lost hope the country reading from economic sanctions inflation was around 40 percent last year unemployment is up and we've been speaking to people here in iran that said that the cost of living is not that they're paying more for food they're paying more for meat and of course there was the increase in fuel price back in november and that resulted in widespread protests across the country so people are upset people are staying away from the polls but whenever that happens whenever there's a lot voter turnout it's a concern to the conservatives that tend to gain a majority and that's because the conservatives here those factions have

a support base that always comes out and votes for them and it looks like they could take a majority in this coming parliament that's coming up when it comes to the impact that this might have on mr rouhani depending upon which way it goes is the result or was the result already potentially skewed because the guardian council said to those 70000 candidates you cannot stand. well yes and no because yes those reformist candidates couldn't stand but also his popularity was down anyway because when the reformist came into power they made a lot of promises in regards to the economy and they haven't been able to deliver on those and they did he did stake his political reputation on the 2015 nuclear deal and that was let's negotiate with the west this negotiate with the united states and we'll have a good result for iran now the conservative. opposed to that deal they they all they said that the united states would have come through and that's exactly what's happened in 2018 donald trump u.s.

president donald trump all did like the states out of that deal and imposed sanctions on iran so the reformists and mr rouhani president rouhani hasn't been able to deliver and people have been disappointed so his reputation has already taken a hit and especially after the downing of the ukrainian airline there was shock and disbelief here because people accuse the government of covering up because they spent 3 days denying that iran had shut down that ukrainian airline so all of these things all together has actually result could have could have had an effect on the whole to turn out and if in fact if that is the case but from what we've been seeing and hearing in some places yes the polling stations obviously even the many people and many places where it's been quiet thanks very much. millions are being urged to stay indoors as south korea becomes the country with the highest number of corona virus infections outside china the health authorities have announced one death and 204 cases nationwide brought reports now from the

southern city of goop. the city of daegu is at the center of an outbreak of the corona virus that has the whole of south korea worried with nearly all of the new cases of infection linked to this church a branch of the shin changi church of jesus it's believed people attending services here became infected some of whom then travel to other towns and cities in south korea infecting more people daegu in the neighboring city and now the focus of a national effort to contain the outbreak children hooked into the government will take special measures by designating. areas and special care zones as a sudden hike in numbers of the confirmed cases have been reported from there it's thought many of the new cases of infection were due to one woman member of the church who also travelled widely around daegu city before finally being diagnosed the man has ordered everyone to remain at home bringing the city of 2 and

a half 1000000 to a virtual standstill special medical centers have been set up to treat the expected increase in new cases in the capital seoul preventive measures are being taken while other branches of the shin chunky church of jesus have been closed. and large scale rallies that usually take place at the weekends have been banned. with the spread of the virus we plan to take momentous measures in order to protect the elderly who are vulnerable to this contagious disease so will ban the use of public squares where many citizens gather back in daegu people anxiously wait to see if this outbreak has been contained or if this is the start of something bigger usually on a friday evening this downtown shopping going to entertainment district would be packed with people on this evening it's nearly deserted as most tuesdays stay away and wait to see what happens next rob mcbride al-jazeera daegu south korea. in

china several health and communist party officials have been sacked after more than 200 people were infected by coronavirus inside prisons cases were reported in 2 jails in the chandon and she jang provinces inmates in prison guards make up most of the 258 new cases reported outside the epicenter on thursday the government says preventative measures were poorly carried out still to come here on al-jazeera stranded in syria more on the displaced families in desperate need of aid. the sudanese prime minister is a no show at courts where he was expected to be charged in connection with the murder of his 2nd wife. hello winter seems to have set in for the eastern med and particularly for turkey

this circulation of clavicles means it's all spreads across the levant and once more for lebanon and for syria and iraq you've either got rain or snow depending on the height above sea level of course to the size of that we've got the onshore wind keeping things a bit cool trees from sun 11 degrees for example they are now going to get a shark being all way further south that's not the case on saturday but if you're in northern iraq it's not like good same for northern syria it doesn't improve much on sunday but the detail differences differences will allow more sunshine through and actually allow the rain to come back more into northern egypt colwyn they're coming to libya for example and that enhanced has also been happening over the last few weeks they were in taksim here makes it not very warm $15.00 to $90.00 degrees nice in libya that when then comes down as the hamas in which is a seasonal wind for chad just for 2 examples and picks up the dust it's a persistent seasonal thing but this is looking disappointing if you're in northern

egypt you're probably not that pleased. as elsewhere in the or world the grains are moving north with the sun but is a good spread now from south africa right up to well gotbaum there where rain is likely. to. join africa's largest trade and investment in the wanda i.e.t.f. gives you access to more than 1100 exhibitors and 10000 visitors and baez and more than 5000 conference delegates from more than 55 countries participate in trade and investment deals with $40000000000.00 u.s. dollars as business and government come together to explore business and networking opportunities at the international exhibit which will include a creative africa exchange by the african export import bank and the premium fatness the a.t.f. 2020 transforming africa.

welcome back you're watching all jazeera remind of our top stories so far this hour a temporary deal that's supposed to be a significant step towards peace in afghanistan as you to begin in a few hours the taliban and the u.s. will begin what they're calling a weeklong reduction of violence as of midnight. iran's extending its parliamentary election by 4 hours state t.v. is reporting what it calls a rush of voters thousands of candidates mostly reformists and moderates being barred from running. south korea has announced another spike in corona virus infections bringing the national total to $204.00 it's now the worst affected country outside china the government is imposing emergency measures. the kremlin has denied meddling claims in the forthcoming 2020 us presidential election aimed

at boosting donald trump's chances now it comes after u.s. media reports say intelligence officials reportedly warned members of congress at a classified briefing that russia was again interfering in american politics the intelligence community has long warned that moscow and other countries would seek to interfere in the vote live now to washington and our correspondent there patty cohan hi there patty so 4 years on the russians are still doing it it would appear . well that's what the intelligence community told this group the house intelligence committee and this happened last week but right now the president is responding to that because this is been reported by both the new york times and the washington post we haven't been able to dependently verify this but the president is reacting to this story that the house was briefed that russia is interfering into quote the times quote it was to try and get president trump re-elected this is

how he responded of course on twitter another misinformation campaign is being launched by democrats in congress saying that russia prefers me to any of the do nothing democrats he goes on to call it a hoax number 7 this is a president who's been treating a lot today everything from farmers to afghanistan to retreating about a bollywood movie that involves a homosexual couple which he retreated said great but then this is obvious other than the president and that long list of things he felt the need to respond to needed to respond to you here is why he takes great umbrage at the idea that russia helped get him elected in 2016 of the broader question in all of this is does this play into what's happening now with the director of national intelligence so it's believed that a republican member of this house committee told the president about this briefing and that he was brought in the acting director of national intelligence joseph mcguire to ask him about it but in the last couple of days we've realized that no grier is leaving his post as d.n.i.

he's been replaced by the german ambassador richard or now now the question is did this play into the choir leaving we don't know if i'm a choir it's a career intelligence professional he was in the acting position the acting position means you can only be there for 6 months so he was due to either be appointed the at the actual d.n.i. or he was going to have to leave at the beginning of march so that could have been a factor we have been able to necessarily connect this briefing with his leaving but there are big questions about colonel because he doesn't have any little. 0 intelligence experience and what he's known for is being a very vocal supporter of president trump now president trump responded that it's going to be temporary because it is a very controversial position i mean this is the person who heads up all 17 intelligence agencies to try to make sure another 911 doesn't happen so the president tweeting this is going to be temporary that they have 4 great candidates and that he will make his decision in the next couple weeks we're very very close patty of course to the actual full on election campaign does this mean that it's

about discussions around the world about the u.s. presidential election campaign will be about allegations of russian interference. well and that is the big question because it was came out in 2016 that the intelligence assessment was across the board they believe russia interfered using things like social media to try and so disk discord to try and discredit hillary clinton by hacking e-mails to try to get president trump reelected so in that 4 years really not a whole lot has changed especially when you look at what the federal government is doing they have task forces now and they look and they study the issue but as far as a broad overall approach that would have to come from congress and we've seen the democrats in the house they've passed measures that would give more money to securing the infrastructure around election but that's been blocked in the republican controlled senate so it doesn't appear especially now this close the election that really anything's going to be done so we do know that the f.b.i.

the intelligence agencies they're working on it but this is not one of those things where it's been bipartisan it very much is a republican issue versus a democrat issue the republicans that were apparently briefed on this committee really pushed back on the intelligence saying that's not true tribes been tarter on russia than anyone else there's no reason to believe that they would want donald trump to remain president and the democrats say of course they would want donald trump to be president they point to things he's done to help flood america so this is become a completely partisan issue and it appears that it's not going to change in the run up to the 2020 election. thank you the u.n. says political talks between libya's warring parties all jews will resume next week currently military tools are seeking place between the internationally recognized government and forces loyal to the warlord holy father have to al-jazeera as diplomatic it is a james bays spoke to the un's representative for libya hasan salami in geneva. we remember those military talks almost collapsed earlier on this week when the 2

sides gathered here in geneva and generals have to say forces at the same time started a barrage of rockets towards the seaport and the airport in tripoli well the u.n. managed to keep the jna delegation here because at one point they said they were going to walk out and right now the u.n. special representative gus on salami says there is some progress and he's pretty positive about next wednesday there being wider talks political talks but when i pressed him on general half intention he answered with a general answer about there being people in libya who had a plan b. a military plan b. i am sure that a lot of people in libya still believe that either they can win the battle through war or that they cannot stop the other side from waging

a war and therefore they are still trying to have new i munition and other quality of weaponry and superior quality of of weaponry and probably more medicine that is and the forces. but this as long as it is plan b. the challenge is on us to push forward with a plan a well those political top's are very much in the dari for wednesday next week but it's worth telling you that the military talks are not over yet they're still trying to work on a ceasefire and those talks will go on into the weekend the u.n. is warning the humanitarian crisis in syria will turn catastrophic unless the international community steps in and delivers aid immediately but the military offensive by the syrian army may slow efforts to reach hundreds of thousands stranded on the border with turkey a whole bara has that story from a thai. asim is the head of an extended family his originated from

the town in the south of italy when the town was have. him and his family fled a few days ago they arrived here in a rebel held village in the countryside north of it destitute he's planning to join the thousands of poor and displaced syrians living in orchards here in a live city. i need at least for my large family dog me to buy them but it's cost around $250.00 in pinellas fatima malise from hellfire a town in the rural hama when syrian government troops advanced closer to her village she says the family left a rebel stronghold in aleppo partners husband was killed 3 years ago now she lives in this brick built by turkish charities with financial contribution from germany.

the place doesn't provide any protection from the rain and cold but when i remember what we went through and the day to bombardment this feels fine for me and for my kids this is what it looked like. in some other 3 months ago civilians converged on this town north of it live hoping for shelter food and warmth but when some of those attacked a few days ago the displaced dishpan till their talents and flat. the school this struggle to settle is now deserted for now thousands of syrians seem destined to continue their long journey looking for shelter and these for the hundreds of thousands of people who have recently been uprooted by the fighting the only way they can go home is if there is a ceasefire agreement one that guarantees syrian government forces will and the military campaign but cease fire agreements have never last long in syria and this

explains why people have lost hope in international efforts to solve the crisis diplomatically. how tie the suit to spry minister has failed to show up at court where he was expected to be charged in connection with the murder of his 2nd wife thomas to barney's secretary says he's in south africa attending a doctor's appointment to pull over to bonnie the shot dead near her home in 2017 the prime minister's 3rd wife must say or to bonnie has been charged with ordering double in those murder she has denied any involvement for me to miller is in the suit as capital maseru with more. this is where prime minister tom to bonnie was due to appear early on friday to face charges of murder and attempted murder following the 2017 shooting of his a strange why if. any once the prime minister didn't appear in court there was intense speculation around his whereabouts and if in fact he was still in the suit

to this is a prime minister would previously fled the country when there was an attempted coup when he said his life was in danger in this case time to bonnie in south africa where his office says he's receiving medical treatment the prime minister had to be taking to hold off for this emergency a medical check up because you deserve what is happening. yes i. especially he smiled and also taking into consideration that he's a really. good to beat up shit that's why we had to make sure that. the but when it comes back. he's. the magistrate he charges against him and lead me $1.00 to $2.00 plead it's likely that the court will set a new date for to barney's appearance perhaps in the next week or so but what

remains uncertain is whether or not to bond he will return to the suit anytime soon and make his way to this court to face those charges his wife. is also facing the same charges she appeared earlier in the week and is due back in court in the middle of march now both have said that they had nothing to do with the murder of deeper lower barney this is a development that really has caused a lot of political tension especially within the or bus it's a convention that's the governing party here in a suit to the party that leads this is a party that isn't united some want the prime minister to resign immediately while others may wait for him to leave office at the end of july when he says he will retire and when he spoke to people in

a suit is saying that he would retire and he didn't at any point deal with the charges he's facing nor did he say that is the reason he is stepping down. so those government is deployed $10000.00 police officers to ensure security during saturday's presidential election the incumbent form a symbol is seeking to extend his family's half a century in power for the elected it'll be his 4th term a new constitutional rules allow them to stay in office until 2030 minute recess has more now from the capital. now nearly $10000.00 policemen including special forces have been deployed throughout the program to provide security come up for the selection and 48 hours less than 48 hours to the vote the independent election commission hearing throughout the city has announced that it is just spending it's going to discontinue the use of electronic transmission of results from rural areas to the capitol which was in place in previous elections until further notice it is

now going to collect the results manually and have them delivered physically by election officials to the capital before the results are being announced the reason is advancing or the independent election commission is advising is that it has credible information about its service and the system of transmission of results has been targeted by hackers as a result it is discontinued the system and probably look at the merits of the demerits of it in future elections meanwhile at campaign has ended throughout and people more than 3000000 of told police are expected to come out tomorrow to vote or to cast their ballots in the election meanwhile security forces why expected to man this election will provide security cover for this election have already voted 2 or 3 days ago. flash floods hit the city of yogyakarta in indonesia just south of the capital jakarta 6 units were killed and 5 others a missing more than $200.00 students were on a field trip in the area officials have launched

a search and rescue operation in the u.k. more than 100 flood warnings remain in place after some areas recorded the highest water levels there in 40 years 2 storms caused heavy damage to a number of communities in both england and wales earlier this week at least 3 people have died. this is al jazeera these are the top stories the temporary deal that's supposed to be a significant step towards peace in afghanistan is due to begin in a few hours the taliban and the u.s. will begin what they're calling a weeklong reduction of violence from midnight rose jordan has more from washington d.c. there is no public standard that has been set for what would constitute an acceptable level of violence reduction in the next 7 days and that is significant because if there isn't some level that is being met either side could say you know

what we're not going to sign this next agreement and certainly it is something that brings to mind whether or not this is actually a real turning point in u.s. involvement in afghanistan. iran's extended polling hours in its parliamentary election by 4 hours now state t.v. is reporting what it calls a rush of voters the parliament set to become more conservative after thousands of candidates mostly reform and stand moderates were barred from running by the guardian council now surrounds constitutional watchdog iran's leaders have called for a high turnout as a show of unity. south korea has announced another spike in the coronavirus infection rate bringing the national total to $204.00 is now the worst affected country outside china the government is imposing emergency measures. the kremlin has denied meddling claims in the forthcoming 2020 us presidential election aimed

at boosting donald trump's chances it comes after us media reports say intelligence officials reportedly warned members of congress at a classified briefing that russia was again interfering in american politics the intelligence community has long warned that moscow and other countries would seek to interfere in the vote the city's prime minister has failed to show up at court where he was expected to be charged in connection with the murder of his 2nd wife thomas to bonnie secretary says he's in south africa attending a doctor's appointments to pull up to bonnie was shot there near her home in 2017 the prime minister's 3rd wife bonnie has been charged with ordering. up next it's inside story more news in 30 minutes see that.

9 people are killed in germany in the latest racially motivated attack the interior minister is adding a fight against what he calls the poison of extremism so how will the government tackle this growing problem bases inside story. however and welcome to the program i'm the stasi attained germany's leaders are promising a strong response to these latest racially motivated attacks a gunman killed 9 people the 2 sheesha cafés on wednesday night in the city of hama and he chose places that are popular with turkish and kurdish communities the 43 year old suspect who was later found dead.