and that's really that we meet with global news makers and talk about the stories that matter just 0. 0. 0000. 00 hours after syrian rebels celebrated a significant win did live government forces launched a counter offensive to push them out. again i'm peter w. watching al-jazeera live from doha also coming up with the coronavirus now reaching around the world nations react with tougher restrictions on travel and trade. hindus and muslims bury loved ones in india after 33 people died during street battles in riots also.

only. through the eyes of children a sneak peek at 2 critically acclaimed films deviling of the berlin film festival. the syrian government has launched a counter offensive to recapture the town of such a keep in italy province. it was seized by turkish bank rebels overnight to turkish soldiers were killed by airstrikes jurong that fight. well here's why it is significantly important and since on the junction of the m 4 and m 5 highways which are mostly controlled by the government whoever holds the roads gains considerable military and economic advantages the m 5 links aleppo with the capital damascus in the south the growing red areas are controlled by the government the shrinking green or rebel territory yellow in the north and

the west that's controlled by the kurds shortly we'll go live to al-jazeera as correspondent on the turkey syria border 1st shahla bellus tells us more about the ongoing situation in what is syria's last rebel stronghold. syrian troops on the move it live province is the holdout the one place president bashar al assad is yet to claim that village by village it's coming within reach. we are curing on towards more villages of months are we are we are still in action stores are in spite of the turkish support to our enemies using foreign arms and ammunition these russian backed syrian government soldiers are fighting turkish backed rebels now turkey is facing a challenge with its observation posts in the province around it and president richard type one has ordered his troops to push back. russia does not

want to accept humanitarian sensitivity the time that we gave to those who besieged or observation posts is ending we are preparing plans to liberate our observation posts from the surrounding forces by the end of february 1 way or another. he also warns that turkey will attack government forces anywhere in syria if another turkish soldiers injured 16 have been killed in syria this month his speech came as a russian delegation arrived in turkey to discuss the crisis and it lived with though president vladimir putin has ruled out a summit with the turkish german and french leaders the fight for control of the province has forced nearly a 1000000 people from their homes since early december the u.n. says more than half of the people now living in places like this a children. we left our area about 20 days ago we left under airstrikes with only the clothes on our backs we were left out in the open and spent some time under trees we went towards the city of al-bab but we didn't find any place to live

and no one who would let us stay on their land. in the 9 years since the war began many people have fled frontlines for the relative safety of it lib now the front line has come to them they're increasingly squeezed against the border with turkey the syrian forces inch forward shelling residential areas early one has intervened worried about another potential refugee crisis. we are not going to take even a little step back in the ad lib we will push the syrian regime forces out of the areas that we designated and let people return back to their houses but for now that's not an option at least $26.00 people including school children were killed and more than $100.00 injured this week the white helmets risky group says 8 schools and kindergartens were deliberately targeted with cluster bombs syrian forces have captured dozens of towns and villages and any pushback by turkey may

leave residents in the crossfire shallop bellus al-jazeera. live. on the turkey syria border hashem should be framing this as the imminent for all of . while this is exactly what is happening according to our sources on the ground after taking over said arcade the rebels have managed to take control of near other villages in the southern our skirts of sirte archive and they seem to be now moving to words martin or man we don't know whether this is a large scale military operation by the rebels to take over all the areas they lost over the last few months they have been they have been evicted from a huge territory in the past of aleppo southern parts of of those those massive losses pave the way for the syrian army to advance to words in

the city of live and we don't know whether this is a large scale military operation was just a tactical move by the syrian opposition to maintain control over. give themselves some time before this side their next destination and from a tactical point of view how is it accurate to say whoever controls that m 4 m. 5 joule corridor or controls that part of the country. indeed that's the highways this explains the geo political importance of the city of south africa because the it is located on the 2 major highways and those highways are vital lifeline for the syrian military in particular because it is determined to take over it needs constant logistical military support convoys military equipment thought to be sent ships from the capital damascus all the way

towards those areas and eventually for the syrian army also to take over rural parts of. later in the future to move to the northeast some part of the country now deny that access is going to be a major setback and this explains why today. the fight is focused in particular of that area now the rebels control important in fire there's absolutely no way for the syrian military to move. north or north east from $4.00 and $5.00 because now it is under the control of the rebels will the rebels be able to hold ground this is going to be the biggest challenge facing them because as we speak the russians and the syrian army up pounding rebel positions to ensure that they don't build defense lines inside are could be in the coming days. thank you. moving on border closures travel restrictions and trade routes suspended

governments are imposing ever tougher measures to control the spread of the coronavirus south korea's confirmed another 505 cases meaning it's overtaken china in new delhi infection numbers in the middle east is halting visas for the pilgrimage and restricting tourist travel from affected countries iraq has closed schools and universities and banned public gatherings as well as flights from several countries now in iran 22 people have died donald trump meanwhile has promised the u.s. government will spend whatever is needed to deal with the break he's put his vice president mike pence in charge of the american response in europe italy has confirmed its 12th death there was a 2nd in fromm's overall 82000 factions have now been recorded in 44 countries and territories worldwide live now to so and our correspondent rob mcbride so rob how are the numbers unpacking there.

absolutely this is something of a grim milestone it's being seen as here in south korea really know that in mainland china the numbers of new infections have gradually been declining in south korea they have been gradually increasing and it's this day this thursday when these 2 graphs have crossed as you mentioned there 505 new cases being reported today thursday in south korea compared to the 433 of china it is what reading if you want to though find something positive in this figure it does show that there is now mass testing taking place especially in the epicenter of this the city of daegu down in the southeast of the country literally 7500 tests have been carried out in the past 24 hours so they are getting to all of the people they suspect might be now infected and in particular we know that it is this one church group

that is particularly affected that accounts for over half of all of the infections so far in south korea and health officials have been explaining today that the reason possibly why we're seeing this big spike in the numbers yesterday today is that we are about 11 days into the incubation period from a big church service that took place on the 16th of february when we knew that that was when a lot of these infections took place possibly from what they call a super spreader so we're seeing those infections now manifest themselves and be a part of the numbers what's going to happen in the coming days well possibly if all of the measures that are put in place and we're now a week into this emergency when the church members were told to self quarantine and other measures were taken health officials will be hoping that maybe that will be reflected in the numbers numbers in the coming days but if we continue to see big

spikes once more that what that will tell us is that. all of the original infections have been accounted for what we're now seeing a secondary and tertiary infections which is a lot more worrying and if they're not heading into a period rob i guess of a downhill ride into a lower infection rate if it carries on climbing might there be a backlash reaction against the government despite the government being completely transparent and very very stringent measures. there is it or is already signs that president mungy in his popularity has suffered badly in this has been accused of not handling it well but the government to keep stressing that it is taking all the measures that it can it feels as though certain countries in this now 40 countries across the world that are of introduced various travel restrictions on south korea are unfairly targeting south korea because they say look yes we've got a crisis but we are being absolutely transparent we are reporting the numbers and

we are putting in place all the preventative measures that you would expect a responsible country to do and just to quickly point point that out the they now say that around 500 extra medical volunteers are now fighting this outbreak down in the southeast and the health professionals there are looking at their tree argy and how they how they select cases for urgent treatment to get sent to hospital and who doesn't really as almost accept the fact that around half the the new cases that they are coming across if there are symptoms are not too serious if they're mild enough then they have to be treated at home because quite basically a lot of the wards a lot of the hospitals are simply filling up rob thank you for staying with the coronavirus the australian prime minister says it's not a matter of if but when the virus becomes a pandemic the definition given to a disease that's taken hold worldwide still scott morrison certain people to carry

on with their daily lives. there is no need for us to be moving towards not having mass gatherings of people you can still go to football you can still go to the cricket you can still go and play with your friends down the street you can go off to the concert and you can go after chinese mail you can do all of these things because astride has acted quickly a stride has got ahead of this at this point in time but to stay ahead of it we need to now elevate our response to this next phase well as more news when we come back including the army deploys across guinea ahead of a vote that the president's opponents say is a clear power grab also ahead. i've got a jewish and economic and political station is still out there lebanon's protests may have windell but the government's being warned that could change as people suffer in a deepening economic crisis. welcome

back across southeastern parts of asia we've got the usual rush of showers that we would expect has been a very wet day include ching in malaysia in borneo for instance 90 millimeters of rainfall in the space of 24 hours and across western parts of java are getting some big rainfall totals here not exceptional but nevertheless obviously with the situation in jakarta and the flooding in the city we could do without rain as things stand it looks to be fairly typical for this time of year some big storms around sochi carter will see it rainy again on and off through the course of the day on friday and you notice across borneo so across more southern and western areas it looks as though it's going to be pretty wet heading down into australasia here we've still got our circulation from the remnants of the cycler ester still support rainfall total have seen about 150 millimeters across parts of northern

territory fortunately sparsely populated by i think for those living there could be quite nasty at times and still lines of thunderstorms extending across parts of queensland but those generally clearing away during the course of friday sydney should be dry and fine across into new cd we've got 2 weather fronts there pushing on the western side of the south island on the north island and so if the north on a look so the brother west at times during the course of stuff a but for the south it should be fine in christchurch highs of 22. migrants in uniform volunteering their labor to appease locals and combat the anti migrant sentiment. people in power travels to the north of italy where a bold experiment is underway. with an unconventional approach to integration. italy's migrant boot camp on

a. welcome back you're watching al-jazeera a reminder of our top stories this hour the syrian government has launched a counter offensive to recapture the town of sirte a keepin it live province it was taken by turkish backed rebels overnight 2 turkish soldiers were killed by airstrikes during that fight. saudi arabia has suspended beezus for the oem rob pilgrimage and respected tourist travel from countries affected by the coronavirus the u.s. and south korea have a joint military exercises. meanwhile south korea's confirmed another 500 in 5

cases meaning it's overtaken china in new delhi infection numbers. the number of people killed in days of violence in new delhi has now risen to 33 after some critically injured patients died in hospital relatives of some muslim victims of accuse the police of standing by as hindu crowds attacks allegations the government denies there been months of nationwide protests against a new citizenship law seen as anti muslim is tony berkeley. and the look after the street battle subsided wednesday was a day hindus and muslims mourn the loss of loved ones after some of the worst violence delhi has suffered in decades this is the funeral of mohammad for can a father of 2 who was killed when the violence began a few days ago he was on the way to shops to buy food for his kids at a bus stop i received a call saying that my brother has been shot i couldn't believe it i was with him an hour earlier i rushed to the hospital but i found that he was already dead he

doesn't know who was responsible. then both sides of the community hindus and muslims have suffered outside the morgue of the state run hospital relatives await the completion of post-mortem examination is on victims so they can take the bodies for cremation or burial. this man says his nephew died from a bullet to the neck he says it was fired by a muslim as. someone who was well over but when he was pressed he says he never witnessed the killing the of the violence stopped after a group of muslim women were persuaded to abandon their city in protest that have blocked a busy road and angered hindu nationalists and the government sent in paramilitary forces and rapid reaction units to reopen the suburbs. the death toll is rising and hundreds of injured people are being treated in 3 local hospitals many of the dead are said to have died from bullet wounds it's not

clear who was responsible. there was a. physical cost to these of the scarred remains of muslim owned businesses in cardwell nagar in northeast delhi some people have lost everything the major violence may have stopped at least for now but it's been so damaging the question is how long will it take communities both muslim and hindu to heal and how can they ever fully restore trust lawyers have started the legal process for those who were sponsible for inciting the violence to face justice the protests against the new citizenship law which started in december were joined by people from all religions and minorities across india there is a concern now that hindu nationalists may try and turn this into a religious issue i am seriously concerned about this is the players from there this movement is going to be given a religious shape which is in fact not. after 3 days of silence prime minister

narendra modi sent out a tweet calling for calm and for peace and harmony to be restored the streets are quiet but the death toll is expected to rise and the repercussions of what happened here are likely to affect not just the capital but also the whole of india tony berkeley al-jazeera delhi. and there's anger about the indian government's decision to replace a judge who was hearing cases related to the violence high court justice. at all to investigation zones where the leaders from the governing b.g.p. incite attacks against muslims he also criticized the police transfer was ordered 2 weeks ago but only happened on wednesday night after he'd made his comments. months of violence in guinea will come to a head on sunday when a referendum is held over whether to allow the president to run for a 3rd term of a condo. the constitution but the main opposition coalition says he's just trying to hold on to power and it's urging voters to boycott it as the story was

a turbulent times in guinea they are just days left before the west african nation votes in a constitution referendum and now it's 81 year old president afrikan day has suggested that he could run for 30 m. in office the main opposition coalition says it will no longer recognize him as a legitimate president it wants people to boycott sunday's vote. if indeed he carries the aspiration of the people of guinea and have decided not to recognize mr conti as the president of the republic of guinea and demands his immediate and unconditional departure from power. more than 30 people have died in months of often violent protests against gandhi his mandate ends in december protests to say the referendum is just an excuse to hold on to power this is cement from this week until alpha condé leaves. how are we're going to fight him because

he's no longer the legitimate president he violated a co us which prohibits a coup d'etat and he made a constitutional could a thai. army has been deployed across the country ahead of sunday's vote condi is giving his 1st democratically elected leader since his independence from france and decades of authoritarian rule he says sunday's fort will lead to a modern constitution. but protesters fear it may push me into political uncertainty. al-jazeera. the representative of libya's eastern administration which is loyal to the warlord after all has insisted his side will not take part in talks the un's been trying to bring them together in geneva with their rivals from the internationally recognized government based in tripoli here's a diplomatic editor james bays. the u.n. will not confirm exactly who is attending these talks we know they were going to invite 13 delegates from the house of representatives now that is dominated by

those who are loyal to general haftar and they say they're not participating currently in this process on the other side the government of national accord well their states council 13 members of that were invited again they say they're not taking part that leaves the 14 members invited by the u.n. representing civil society it's not clear whether they're here either and how many of them have turned up for these talks south africa is one of the key members of the african union dealing with the issue of libya its deputy foreign minister told me everyone needs to come to geneva for these talks libya is important farces the chairperson of the african union because. if there is no peace in libya it adversely impact politically and economically in the entirety of the region in africa so our core to all the peace activists is there to aggressively pursue

engagement on. immediate. cessation of hostilities the u.n. special representative ghassan salami who's running these talks is clearly trying to get some momentum into libya's diplomacy but it leaves an important question if the key players who can end the war aren't here what is the point of these negotiations. overhaul of governing system of recent weeks new government is putting together an emergency economic plan but international support and action on the streets could return if things. planes. lebanese are becoming poorer there doesn't seem to be a clear way out of the country's worst economic crisis in decades shortages of dollars have driven up the price of basic goods the consumer protection agency reports increases of at least 40 percent which is how much value lebanon's local

currency has lost on the black market in recent months. the milk used to cost $12000.00 the beast pounds it is now $40000.00 prices are increasing but our salaries have not increased and we are not being paid. official say they are working to address the financial hardships people face even though they have warned it will involve unpopular measures the new government is battling a crisis of confidence at home and abroad there is no reason a country this blessed with so many gifts including incredible human resources does not have in 2020 modern waste management system 247 electricity for everyone a single armed force under the control of the state and a growing economy. dollar reserves are drying up which makes it hard for the state to pay back the public debt and import basic supplies like wheat medicine and flour

the prime minister trying to secure financial aid to lebanon and. he is accusing his opponents of convincing arab and western nations not to give help but. clear. the government commitment to serious reforms and. that has been the demand of anti-establishment protesters who have been on the streets for more than 4 months their numbers have dwindled and the movement has lost momentum but that can change we believe. the station is still. and there will be. people try to bring down the symbols of the state and overthrow the old political class the state fought back but as more and more lebanese become economically drained and warnings of a potential collapse approach reality these walls may do little to protect those in

power. 2 critically acclaimed movies of the berlin film festival are selling stories through the eyes of children the way their lives have damaged by corporate greed one is set in mongolia the other in nicaragua dominic kane explains. on the wide steps of his home an 11 year old says fatherhood cathal his is a traditional mongolian community. but while he likes it out on the step and are also likes to have fun he dreams of winning prizes for his singing. this song is called golden things a reminder of the abundant natural resources under this land but others want that land to mining companies who offer small compensation to buy amorous trying out of

their own land when his father dies suddenly faced by a world of deceit of doubt and of danger. his father's legacy means he must grow up fast and for the film's young star there's one overriding message then i can only. also sample i hope people will realize the dangers that mining can bring to our world there are so many mining companies and because of that the rivers are drying up and this means that farmers and herders can't keep their sheep and goats and cows fully fed and watered people who live in the city really don't know about this . amorous struggle against the odds in veins of the world opens up a window on the struggle and the demonstration of childhood resilience it's a theme we also see in the documentary peril about a child in the cargo or struggling again against adversity at the start we see

farrow with his grandmother in their community close to the jungle then we follow as he explores the environment around him where his natural curiosity takes a. up river alone we see him playing with friends on sandy beaches but it's clear this path must soon. because a vast new transoceanic canal is coming and perils school must close meaning he must go to live with his arms in the big city once there it's clear this is a journey of sadness and of dislocation which the film's director believes the world audience must see i want to show microcosm the last. to be so deep connected to the nature and their surrounding am i think this was for me the most important project something and yet to tell this story about this boy in this special microcosm the directors of both films believe modern life in the developing world is defined by adversity and how those who face it must show

resilience to survive dominic king al-jazeera at the berlin film festival. recapping our top stories here on al-jazeera the syrian government has launched a counter offensive to recapture the town of sort of keep in providence it was taken by turkish by rebels overnight to turkey soldiers were killed by airstrikes during that fight. has more now from the turkey syria of all. the rebels how he managed to take control over the city of sirte are a while ago they posted a video or one of the top military commanders. in the area along with syrian rebels saying that the rocket 1st determine to move forward to words another city which is now either to not mind however i think one of the biggest problems that the opposition we face is to maintain hold of the city of this

syrian army along with the russians are now men wanting. offensive pounding rebel positions and trying to hold the advance to words moderate or not many it will be extremely difficult for the rebels saudi arabia has suspended visas for the pilgrimage and restricted tourist travel from countries affected by the coronavirus the u.s. and south korea have postponed joint military exercises meanwhile south korea has confirmed another 505 cases meaning it's overtaken china in new delhi infection numbers president trump says the u.s. is ready for any coronavirus outbreak and he's promised the government will spend whatever is appropriate to fight the virus. the indian government has replaced a judge she was hearing cases related to violence in delhi he criticised both the central and state governments as well as the local police at least 33 people have been killed in fighting between hindus and muslims during the past 4 days. a

representative of libya's eastern administration which is loyal to the warlords after has insisted his side will not take part in talks the un's been trying to bring them together in geneva with their rivals from the internationally recognized government which is based in tripoli amnesty international says at least $210.00 people died last year across the americas during a wave of protests against inequality and corruption most were killed in haiti followed by a venezuela bolivia and chile a report by the rights group found military tactics were used to crackdown on dissent those are the headlines up next its people and power i will see you very soon. we understand the difference is an similarities have cultures across the land. so no matter. how disciplined bring you the news and current affairs that matter teens how does iraq.

mass migration from africa in the middle east has become a toxic issue in italy inspiring rising xenophobia and to search for solutions to the challenges of integration so one italian city is taking a radical approach to a cloak of it's a boot camp that aims through disparate and hardwork to make migrants board excepted into the local population but can it really be an antidote to intolerance .