at except of us why are you willing to go for pay out of all because there are other people that need me people that are sick and dying and that isn't right people shouldn't be dying when there are people who can help them. giving hope for afghanistan's peace talks the president says he'll approve the release of 400 taliban prisoners paving the way for a new negotiations. calipso rommany what yards are alive my headquarters here in doha also coming up seeking a way to rebuild lebanon's capital international donors started meters angus simmers in the city devastated by a port explosion. europe's longest serving leader tries to hold on to power in a delarue selection that's brought an unexpected challenger. and donald trump

sidesteps congress in size executive orders for financial relief for the millions made jobless because of coronavirus. bought into the program we begin with breaking news a new hope for the afghan peace process president ashraf ghani says he'll approve the release of 400 taliban prisoners which paves the way for negotiations to begin now his announcement comes after the country's highest consultative assembly called the loya jirga made it the recommendation on saturday and danny says he'll sign the order in a few hours time their release was a precondition for the armed group to take part in talks about the future of the country. on top of the top story it's an explosion that's estimated to have caused billions of dollars worth of damage now lebanon is hoping

the international community will help it rebuild its capital a virtual donor's conference hosted by france and the united nations will be held in a few hours time the capital was devastated when $2700.00 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded at the port on choose day $158.00 people were killed and 6000 injured around 300000 have been left homeless by been on what was already mined in its worst ever economic crisis well many in the country blame the government for the blast and thousands of people were out on the streets on saturday to demand change was also there and reports from beirut. they stood their ground in the face of power. relentless tear gas by security forces at times live ammunition. but protesters didn't leave too angry at a political class they blame for tuesday's blast that killed dozens and destroyed and damaged many neighborhoods in the lebanese capital the authorities were aware

that thousands of tons of highly explosive material was stored at the beirut port for years we have survived the explosion but part of all of us has died to be honest but what can we do i am one of the fortunate ones who can leave and establish myself outside but all these people cannot so what can we do what they did was return to the streets they have been demanding a new leadership for months many were injured in running battles that lasted for hours but this time they say they won't be silenced they want justice and revenge for the victims of the explosion and believe a government led inquiry into the disaster won't hold senior officials accountable . we are not leaving if either of them are us in this country and you know what the people always do things and we will fight we want revenge and all revenge is by putting all the political class either either on the high ground she will see over there or in the dust but we want them out. protesters also storm 3 ministries state

institutions people say are run by corrupt politicians who they blame for draining the state's treasury they say they want the state and a competent government currently levanon since the 2 sions are controlled by political parties and there is a parallel state run by the iranian backed hezbollah the prime minister has sandia who took office earlier this year is now offering a way out of the crisis conclusion as making ability when you know we we cannot face these problems unless we have a really elections to elect a new politicians and a new parliament we need a new political elite and a new parliament we need to work together to overcome the stiff aperient we know and i know the people have questions about the catastrophe and how the government plans to handle it the catastrophe is way bigger than anyone could imagine the impact might stay forever. over. early elections have been one of the opposition's demands but there are concerns the sectarian based political system and elect torah

law won't give independent candidates a chance. the early elections as good as a good step but i'm afraid that the political parties although they still have the power over the people and a soul about the system like i'm afraid that they will have just we will have the same people again i thought the 1st time central beirut turns into a battleground between the people and the establishment the struggle for change is not new the anger has been building for years. many feel those in power caved in by proposing early elections the governing alliance is not just facing pressure from the street the state is nearly bankrupt and the international community won't help unless politicians fight state corruption for now many people here feel they won a round in what is likely to be a long battle. beirut. the presidential election is underway with

alexander lukashenko facing a tough test to win reelection for a 6th time his main challenger certain to kind of skier went into hiding after top aides were detained several activists were also detained during a recent government crackdown the president's dismissive response to the krona virus pandemic and the worsening economy is causing widespread discontent step bassam has more from the capital minsk. election observation belorussian style. i. independent observers have not only been detained but also been barred from entering polling stations nonetheless they have found irregularities in the voting process that started on tuesday and will have its peak on sunday at the 1st day of the elections. 39 people fired the evening protocol. mission so

there were 89 so they added 50 people is the mood on this new president alexander lukashenko has been accused of stealing previous elections but this time he's facing an opposition on a scale has not witnessed before led by this woman 37 year olds but learn at the hand of sky she reluctantly decided to run for president after her husband a popular blogger was jailed to post the elections were going to be free and free or how many percent of the vote would you get i suppose $6.00 to $5.00 said. he would be a big winner then. i would be awarded. but the woman who attracted large crowds does not expect this to be the official election result she has promised that if she becomes president the 1st thing she will do is call for free elections even if this. doesn't happen

now. because elections will be. new way. i don't think he will. because. i don't know how can a person. country where people. softly speaking like him just. most of them. and. but will he go quietly. the tough. guy has accused the opposition of trying to cause a bloodbath and russia of provoking violence but analysts say these accusations are made to hide the country's real problems. in the last 10 years they're going to meet has gone down and society is not happy and basically a level 4 society are united against look at shankar despite their ideological position their values and their political priorities all of them think are the main obstacle for development is look at shankar. but as long as the president is still

backed by the military and high ranking officials he believes look i shan't i will remain in power the moment of truth for a look i shan't go will not be on election day but on the days after that if as announced large crowds protest what they believe will be another fraudulent election here at this square the threat of violence can then become reality a scenario most belorussians want to avoid step al-jazeera menthe. let's turn to our top story the afghan president having signed off now on the release of 400 taliban prisoners leading the way to long term perspective peace talks with the government and with the taliban in the days ahead joining me now is moshtarak founding member of afghanistan's affairs unit an afghan think tank joins me now from kabul good to have you with us on the program so the president has signed off on releasing these 400 taliban prisoners is that now the only obstacle

to sit down talks between them and the government. well yes no that was the only hurdle between the. between. the man that was signed between god and the americans and the start of a trial one talks that's the most important part of the peace process and i think that hard has now been removed by you doing and you're going to see as you know where they have. agreed to a $400.00 prisoners there was a bone of going in contention between the out one government and the taliban and that was. to engage me in joplin docs how much pressure was on the issue of danny how much was the how much pressure has he been to agree because he has often said that he felt that his government wasn't included in the initial talks and the agreement that was signed between the u.s. and the taliban back in february. when yes he was under pressure because from one

side he was freeze to a legal hurdles for the ease of 400 prisoners and it was serious issues around 400 and ease from a legal perspective but from the on the site all these sides were putting pressure on the government that i'm listen and actually happens that in taiwan talks were not going to start so that's why everybody was do marni to each of those prisoners so he was caught between iraq and hartley's and that's why one can say that he was under pressure but now that pressure has been released thanks to the really agenda indeed he will sign in the coming hours. to such but is the bull now partly in the taliban's cold gunny is proposing a cease fire will not happen. well not necessity because the agreement or was made that once the 5000 prisoners are released the

entrance i want done should begin and during that. cease fire will be discussed but expect decision is that are different more destructive and b. that is their direction and while it is can be something people are sure to know by both sides because the taliban at least for the dying being cannot compromise their military position and cannot go into ceasefire and more just because they want to maintain your hold on the conflict context and i do there sure are but any misunderstanding of progress don't expect them to engage in a ceasefire so well in time being one can see that. general considering who resent all the basic thing is that we are all safe for the entry of our talk which should be a watershed event in the current peace process that's going to open the way for negotiation among outlines in order to settle on

a future outlook on the outline or to go sit down and read on. giving up on the armed while ns and engaging in political processes and indeed in terms of engaging in political processes the us needs this certainly as a foreign policy success ahead of the us presidential election if it does seem that we are heading towards into afghan talks how much of this will be used do you think in mr president trumps campaign to be reelected. well certainly he already has some sort of. campaign material available to him in terms of an agreement on bringing the troops back yes to the americans have already started production and i want it's time he can use that secularly the star don't reach out and box definitely gives him you know for a limited g. and more media to tell the american people that he has been able to reach a stage at least to give a chance to the peace process and give

a chance for full withdrawal from afghanistan so definitely using a good position as far as the outline once it disconcerting and he will be able to cash it in cash in on this during his campaign we should see what happens for the moment so it's good that your input will start ringing joining us from kabul thank you tony. still ahead here on ars or defying the kremlin protesters in the far east of russia protests for the sister consecutive weekend of the arrest of a popular governor. and so on the line to was described to south africa's other pandemic the point to stop gender based violence those stories after the break. hello there pensive clear sunny skies across much of europe the hate is still very much in place but at the same time we're still seeing want to cheat on his own

every been popping up a quite frequently across the southeast of europe and so much so that this amazing photograph was captured not far from the capital scope here in the north of macedonia but of course we've also got the clear sunny skies this is in the southeast of england thousands of people flocking to the beaches and send the scenario across into southern spain as well the more organized you can see that we've got plenty of sunny skies struck the rest of sunday what we will see is going to pop up thunderstorms late in the day generally because of this hole that is in place you can see these a rash of sort of scott it is rain showers across areas towards the south and then a 3 month at the time which is still holds very much in the late thirty's mid thirty's i will see really in the way there's got a chance and thunderstorms fairly widespread across the germany and as a system doing its best to push in across more western regions of the u.k. but doesn't make a great deal of headway here is the heat it shows you just how warm things also for the next few days in london we have got mostly sunny skies and the temperatures

still look at this about 10 or 9 degrees above the average for the next few days and a similar story in paris of anything warmer but again we have got the chance of thunderstorms and maybe some scattered showers. talked to al jazeera we as is the government not taking the necessary action to really address some of the structural issues we listen i still think that air travel is the safest mode of travel and to spend that we meet with global news makers and talk about the stories that matter on the old a 0. a diverse range of stories from across the globe from the perspective of our networks journalists on al-jazeera.

welcome back i want you on to say with me still wrong a reminder of our top stories of goddess stones president is back in the release of 400 taliban prisoners afghanis says he respects the decision of the loya jirgah consultative body to proofing so-called hardcore taliban fighters their release is a taliban precondition for peace talks with the government. international leaders will hold virtual talks to raise money for lebanon the wake of an explosion that killed 158 people bus demonstrations have been held in beirut to call for justice and political change the prime minister has called for early elections and polls open in belarus his presidential election has its longtime leader 66 the main opposition candidate has gone into hiding hours before the vote after her top aides were detained by police. when the rajapaksa has been sworn in as

prime minister for the 4th time his ruling party won the parliamentary election in a landslide he'd been serving as interim prime minister after being appointed by his brother who's the country's president 2 thirds majority means they can push ahead with promise changes to the constitution but critics fear that will lead to autocracy there has been alpha manders was at the ceremony in the capital colombo. and mahinda rajapaksa is prime minister she like a once again his 4th time around in the job obviously he swept the general elections concluded on the 5th of august with one of the highest number of preferential votes for a candidate ever over 5000000 votes now this paves the way for the s.l.p. be led by the rajapaksa to carry on with the work programme set out by president go to have a rajapaksa in his election bid in 2019 it's called the stars for prosperity and

aims to take sri lanka forward dealing with some of the. the pressing issues that this country faces now obviously the consolidation of the rajapaksa hold on power has been confirmed with the swearing in of my in the rajapaksa as we saw here at the calorie temple a little while ago but it also shows the kind of dynamic the family is now in charge and even when we saw the swearing in of the prime minister you had the president go tubby rajapaksa his younger brother who went around the table and actually worshiped his brother once he saw him in as prime minister these are some of the kind of ways the family operates obviously a number of siblings all of them involved in sri lankan politics now there have been some concerns about a potential reversal of some of the democratic institutions the achievements of the last constitution because the right boxes have said that with control of parliament

and a 2 thirds majority one of their targets is going to be the constitution that they're going to bring changes that allows them to get on with the business of government as the map it out so it's going to be interesting times for sri lanka as the new government takes power. u.s. president will trump person for executive orders which he says will provide economic relief to millions of americans the move bypasses congress and it includes eviction protections student loan relief and an extension of unemployment benefits democrats say provides little help to some lees and will reduce desperately needed support for the unemployed mike turner reports from washington d.c. . fresh from around on his course the president held a news conference at his new jersey golf club which are a number of the clubs members forming and admiring crowd heaped blame on the democrats for the lack of agreement in congress ignoring the fact that the house

had passed a new stimulus bill back in may that the republican controlled senate declined to vote on the 1st stimulus bill was passed in march in a bipartisan vote but a number of its provisions expired at the end of july. among them the $600.00 unemployment benefit which the president has reduced to poor $100.00 in his executive order why did you decide on $400.00 when previously families were receiving $600.00 now that will be a hardship for many what do you say to them well no it's not a hardship this is the money that they need this is the money they want and this gives them a great incentive to go back to work and controversially he's demanded that the states many of which have been economically devastated by the pandemic pay a quarter of the new benefit one of the points of disagreement in congress was the democrats' proposal to offer financial assistance to the country states that have largely been forced to come to the pandemic with limited federal assistance legal

experts argue the president does not have the constitutional power to cut payroll taxes as he's done in addition these taxes go to social security and medicare and it's not clear now how these programs will be funded. the house speaker nancy pelosi and senate democratic leader chuck schumer issued a scathing joint statement president trump still does not comprehend the seriousness or the urgency of the health and economic crises facing working families they say we're disappointed that instead of putting in the work to solve americans' problems the president instead chose to stay on his luxury golf course to announce unworkable weak and narrow policy announcements to slash the unemployment benefits that millions desperately need. the president's executive orders will face a series of legal challenges and it's uncertain when or if they will come into

effect. my couch is hero washington. government protesters in the far east of russia have rallied for a fist consecutive weekend demanding the release of the regional governor. he was arrested last mughal suspicion of murder laura birdman reports. that. the rallying cry from this man took all russians to take to the streets others calling for president vladimir putin to resign and signs everywhere the freedom. carpet offs governess are gay for a girl was arrested on july 9th on suspicion of involvement in murders his incarceration in a moscow jail galvanized thousands of people in a city of just 600000 and they've been protesting daily. just another get let me get at it you need actions not just empty words actions must be taken 1st of all there should be a fair trial and cover ups and there should be at least some answers from the

kremlin because they can just sit and do nothing it's not right it out of a question of just reaching to should i go to every rally i think that it's my civic duty because my position as a citizen is to defend the interests of the region and the citizens of the region who have elected their governor reelected him honestly we love him. to situated along china's border and it's more than 6000 kilometers from the captain mr frugal has become an unlikely symbol of the city's resistance the former businessman served as a legislator for a decade the liberal democrat party in september 2800 he won an unexpected victory when he defeated the main kremen party united russia to become the city's governor but the kremlin's response was swift 3 months later it changed the far eastern federal capital from capital of ska to plot of course talk. in 2900 focus county

again beneath the united russia party. in legislative elections authorities then raided a firm previously linked to fergal during his business days a full partner testified against simple food motive between 20042005 charges which he firmly denies but. protesters call it politically motivated and their anger has shifted from his arrest to blasphemy pretend like you've had it up to here corruption lawlessness deception this propaganda people are just that up the movement has started spreading all over russia i'm telling you seriously this won't stop with posters reading i am for purple people here say they will continue to make a stand against the kremlin until further returns from moscow nor about him on the al-jazeera. thousands of west true slim staged another protest against the israeli prime minister for weeks demonstrators have demanded benjamin netanyahu step down

while he stands trial over corruption charges they've also voiced frustration about the government's handling of the corona virus outbreak. china's angered by the expected arrival in taiwan of the us health secretary alex is ours 3 day trip is being hailed as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation in combating covert 19 china's warning donald trump that the visit in dangerous peace and stability in the region is the highest level visit to the island by an american diplomat in nearly 40 years. every 3 hours a woman in south africa is killed gender based violence is a major problem and the government is working on legislation to change that but activists say change is not happening fast enough there's still a way off for me to report from johannesburg. this small group outside the order put to magistrates court in johannesburg is trying to bring attention to what has been called a pandemic they're protesting against gender based violence in

a country where government statistics say a woman is killed every 3 hours. in court the family of julia dakar waits for the appearance on camera of 2 men accused of her rape and murder as well as the rape of a 21 year old granddaughter of. a son pour shows us where just weeks ago he says the accused men broke into a home her portrait looks over the room where she was raped stabbed and later died . greg but mother would prefer in front of brutal rule. it just made me lose hope in memphis i mean how does one parent of 3 mil and go into an increment of. you know one long. in the last year 2695 women were

murdered in south africa that's slightly down from the year before but still a big number after the rape and murder of julia 3 other homes were attacked in just 48 hours in this block alone in one of the other breakings an elderly woman was assaulted and seriously injured people here say that only women and troll didn't live in the homes that were targeted with close 210-0000 followers on twitter number is a well known gender activist with strong views she's often come under attack even threatened with rape so it shows a 3rd reminder of what happens out there it's a reminder that gender based violence. is with us everywhere it can flip just like that i am was of african government is working on new laws to help protect women including harsher sentences for perpetrators and

strict to bail conditions but there are some who say more needs to be done to understand the rate of violence it's too easy to say it's a party to the cleanliness of obviously their payroll but what is their role how does it interact with prison how does a shift you know when the changes in the economy what is the impact of that history with the now in the present as this family mourns and struggles with their loss their say there's no except a bill explanation for the rape and murder of their mother for me to mullah al-jazeera janice burg. britain's armed forces are considering a government requests to help stem the flow of migrants crossing the english channel from france a record 235 people landed on thursday most of them from yemen egypt sudar and iraq critics warn the that calling in the royal navy to block boats will endanger people's lives. britain's immigration minister is expected to urge friends to take

more preventative measures during the meeting planned in paris next week. the last intact ice shelf in canada has crashed into the arctic ocean satellite pictures show the 4000 year old milne shelves collapsing to form huge icebergs it lost 40 percent of its area in just 2 days canada used to have a continuous i shove running across the northern coast of ellesmere island global warming has contributed to its break up over the past few decades. georgiades 0 with me as a whole robin a reminder of our top stories afghanistan's president is backing the release of $400.00 taliban prisoners of guard he says he respects the decision of the loya jirgah consultative body to approve freeing so-called hardcore prisoners it's a taliban precondition for peace talks on the future of the country international

leaders will hold virtual talks to raise money for lebanon in the wake of the explosion that killed 158 people must demonstrate sions have been held in beirut to call for justice and political change. polls have opened in bellary says presidential election as its longtime leader seeks a 6th term the main opposition candidate has got into hiding hours before the vote after top aides were detained by police. president donald trump has bypassed congress he's signed for executive orders which he says will provide economic relief to millions of americans they include extending unemployment benefits as well as eviction protections and student loan relief. mahinda rajapaksa has been sworn in as because prime minister for the 4th time his ruling party won the parliamentary election in a landslide even serving as interim prime minister after being appointed by his brother who is the country's president. and the kremlin protestors in the far east

of russia have rallied for the 5th consecutive weekend demanding the release of the regional governors through a girl who was arrested last month and flown to moscow where he denies involvement of the murders of several business men 15 years ago protesters want him either freed all tried in his home city of about ross china's angered by the expected arrival in taiwan of the us health secretary alex dissolves 3 day trip is being hailed as an opportunity to strengthen corporation in combating cave 19 china's warning that donald trump that the visit in dangerous peace and stability in the region is the highest level visit to the island by the american diplomats in the early 40 years those were the headlines and back with more news in half an hour here on al-jazeera next it's talk to al-jazeera do stay with us. on accounting because russia warplanes i'm surprised to see the role of libya biggest oil last lebanon's economic around the city and the devastating closure is

it time from our. last weaponize in place and this information to manipulate elections. counting the costs of al-jazeera from. the covert 19 pandemic force governments worldwide to impose lockdowns earlier this year. as millions hung for months normal life grounds were virtual holds. that meant a major reduction in and water pollution some animals even reclaim their stolen habitats. but as some countries start to ease emergency restrictions and governments implement plans to rescue their economies many are concerned that.