there by. the way that you tell death story is what and make a difference. lebanon's information minister becomes the latest politician to quit over the port blast as a powerful religious leader says the whole government they need to go. columcille rahman you want to be all just there and use our live from doha coming up paving the way for peace talks in afghanistan the president agrees to set 400 taliban prisoners free. also a move that inflaming u.s. tensions with china a top trump official visits taiwan. and europe's longest serving lead to try to

hold on to power in a bellary selection that's brought an unexpected challenger. welcome to the program the calls for complete political reform in lebanon growing louder and louder after the beirut port explosion that killed at least 158 people lebanon's information minister has become the 1st senior member of government to resign since it happened on tuesday when those some odd says that all hope to change 6 m.p.'s have now resigned and maronite patriarch bashar trust the other guy is urging the whole cabinet to quit the political upheaval comes after mass protests blaming the government and corruption for the glass the demonstrations descended into hours of street battles with security forces the igniting of 2000 so . $100.00 tons of explosive monium nitrate cause billions of dollars of damage in

just a few seconds and a virtual donor's conference seeking to raise money for a rebuild will begin in less than 2 hours it's because to buy fronts and the united nations senator is following events for us in beirut and she joins us now saying of course except he's resigned what since the blast now including now the information minister how damaging is this for a government in crisis. undoubtedly damaging this is a blow to the prime minister has son jeb who has been struggling for his government to have credibility and legitimacy not just at home but abroad but what we understand is that the prime minister as we speak is holding a meeting with his ministers and the possibility of a resignation is on the table so you mentioned the information minister resigning earlier this morning there were unconfirmed reports that other ministers are going to tender their resignation the government has not been able to cope with this

disaster just look behind me the desperation among people they've come to martyr's square just to to get any help that they can receive from volunteers from n.g.o.s from civil society groups the government is absent the government is cash strapped so you can see walters' sandwiches people have lost so much 200000 people were made homeless by this blast and calls for a government resignation are growing louder now the optics may look good if the government indeed does resign i mean this is the demand of the people they've been demanding this for some time now even before the blast but many believe that behind the scenes a political deal is in the making especially after the visit of the french president to beirut he did talk about a political initiative and the french president was not just speaking on behalf of france he came here on behalf of the international community so it seems behind the scenes there are negotiations possibly to form a what is known in lebanon as

a national unity government what that means political parties from across the political spectrum come together but that's exactly what protesters don't want they don't want the political class to return to power but let's listen to the information minister she is the 1st official to apologize to the lebanese people. in 130. this is the point of no. return people are starving the economy has deteriorated the economic crisis is heightening our families children friends have just been left behind fear and disappointments lives within them in this fateful moments we cannot just sit behind we have to stand in dignity together as a nation i feel that i need to send an apology to the lebanese people because we failed to achieve their ambitions due to the difficulties i have worked with my colleagues in the cabinet according to the directions of the prime minister who is

following all the details with a lot of was done in order to respond to the demands of the people but no way does the reality go parallel with the ambitions after the barrier earthquake that has shaken the nation and due to the displaced the martyrs those who are still hungry i respect all of this and i submit my resignation to the government and i wish all the best to lebanon and stability and unity in long live lebanon. variety of faiths but one of its major is the christian moment patriarch has been speaking how are his words going to resonate across the country. well the maronite patriarch is an influential figure he has been calling for a new government for some time now the blast even before the blast the country was suffering from economic hardships that people were not able to make ends meet 50 percent of the population below the poverty line 32 percent of the workforce unemployed businesses are closing and isolated government the man i pay truck

belongs to the opposition camp what he has been saying is that the government needs to change its policy it was he has openly criticized for example hezbollah this is a group that's backed by iran he blames has a law and its allies for for this isolation he says why should your fighters be engaged and regional conflicts why should you interfere in the affairs of arab countries said. so actions only isolate lebannon so the maritime patriarch really leading this campaign against the governing alliance here is a man who is also backed by the west when the french foreign minister visited beirut before the blast to speak to politicians here and to tell them that they need to fix corruption in state institutions he did meet the maronite patriarch who is calling for lebanon's this association policy to be implemented that's the only way for lebanon's traditional allies. to help the country indeed we've been

following events with you from your location throughout the day started off pretty quiet after the overnight scuffles of course we're seeing people looking for handouts now it's becoming a real focal point isn't it for people to vent their frustration. yes the epicenter of the protest movement which began in october for months people were in the square are demanding change demanding an end to corruption demanding a state because state institutions are controlled by political parties this whole area 6 there have been running battles we've seen scenes like this so so many times it's not clear if there will be further demonstrations today and maybe if the government does resign it's unclear how the street there's going to react but let's have a look to see what kind of you know scenes we saw last night here in central 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 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 will 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 you go to them or us in this country and you know want the people always and we will fight we want revenge and all revenge is by putting all the political plus. either either on the huygens to see over there or in the dust bins 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 to state and a competent government currently have an answer institutions are controlled by political parties and there is a parallel state run by the iranian backed hezbollah the prime minister has sandy who took office early 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 my stay forever. over. early elections have been one of the oppositions demands but there are concerns the sectarian based political system and electoral law won't give independent candidates a chance. to early elections as good as a good step but i'm afraid that the political parties although they still have the power or 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. there's new hope for have come peace talks were present shotgun he says he'll approve the release of $400.00 taliban prisoners which paves the way for negotiations to begin with his announcement comes after the country's highest consultative assembly called the loya jirga made the recommendation on saturday only says that he'll sign the order in a few hours time the prisoners release was a precondition for the group take part in talks on afghanistan's future. the plan. that grim today i will sign the decree that i did not have the authority to sign before now i will sign the decree to authorize the release of the 400 taliban prisoners based on the request of the loya jirga and they will be released. is an

afghan journalist based in kabul he says the loya jirga assembly gave voice to people suffering from the ongoing war every day you hear about strikes night raids suicide attacks indiscriminate mortar attacks killing entire families roadside bombs the country really needs rest fired from violence and then you are talking about a process where a future government will be discussed amendments in the constitution is something that we expect will be brought up so no one actually thinks that this is a peace process that will be done in an overnight you're looking at a number of sticking points from now on for example what happens to the powers in thousands of taliban fighters do they become part of the afghan national security forces where does afghanistan go from here does it become a republic what happens to the rights a woman to the several society to media because afghanistan today is

a changed country from the one that the taliban were ruling still ahead here on al-jazeera. i'm going hey in bangkok where the government is facing the double threats of a collapsing economy and a protest movement that is vowing to intensify. south africa where the pressure is on to stop what's being described as the country's other fundamental to stay with us. hello the rain is still very much in the forecast across the korean peninsula but also plenty of cloud trading back into the central areas of china and as we go through monday that rain again in china becoming very heavy at times working its way steadily east was a very wet day in shanghai but not as wet as it will be across the korean peninsula some very heavy downpours that will just add to the flooding problems and then

through choose day that rain continue cross much the korean peninsula but you notice plenty of rain farther to the south now this is a combination of 2 things we have got a tropical depression heading towards taiwan that will tend to be pulled northwards of by that front as it works its way eastwards and then across into india plenty of heavy rain here of course this will also continue these monsoon rains particularly vigorous this year we've also had plenty of rain across areas of pakistan so plenty of pictures like this coming out of kharaj but as we go through monday it should be a dry day generally across much of the pakistan some heavy downpours to the north later in the day and then you can see with the heavy rain will be through endear you all the way from not just on through majia pradesh on towards odisha but also some very heavy downpours continuing down the western gas and also extending further down into carolus so again we could have more flooding here on your wet day not cool with a high of 32. frank

assessments saying back in yemen the 6 percent of the relation why it didn't suit this it's an informed opinion is ethiopia on the verge of breakdown many parts of the omeo region are actually under a de facto state of emergency and critical debate of that is a proxy he does not have recently enters the bill if you people in-depth analysis of the day's global headlines inside story on al-jazeera. but the marquis watching are deservedly cell run the reminder of our top stories

lebanon's information minister has become the 1st senior member of government to resign since the explosion in beirut on tuesday 158 people were killed when 2700 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded and afghanistan's president is backing the release of 400 taliban prisoners of guard he says he respects the decision of the loya jirgah consultative body to approve freeing so-called hardcore taliban fighters. the presidential election is underway with alexander lukashenko facing a tough test to win reelection for a 6th term and his main challengers atlanta defined off scale went into hiding after her top aides were detained several activists were also detained during a recent government crackdown now the president's dismissive response to the coronavirus pandemic and the worsening economy is causing widespread discontent step vasant is at one of the polling stations in the capital minutes. this is the polling station where the main opposition candidates for climate kind of sky is

planning to vote but the woman who has attracted large crowds in the last couple of weeks is now in hiding she left her apartment last night fearing arrest after her campaign manager was detained as have been dozens of her supporters simply by standing next to the road showing that opposition sign never before elections and valorous have been distance and never before president alexander lukashenko has been faced with so much pressure and such a big opposition force his popularity has decreased dramatically because of his handling of the covert 19 crisis saying it didn't exist and people simply should drink vodka while many have been have died and many others have also been hospitalized is handling also of the economic situation has deteriorated his popularity so the main theme here has been using during the campaign is violence and we have spoken to people here who have voted for the president saying that they

are worried that if the opposition wins there will be a bloodbath and that's exactly what i've been telling them the opposition is now calling on people to vote as late as possible this day to prevent any more fraud but everyone is convinced that president aleksander look i shan't go will be clear fake tree soon after the polls closed. circuitries just arrived in taiwan for a visit this angered china. 3 day trip is being promoted as a chance to strengthen corporation in combating covert 19 beijing president donald trump for the visit threatens peace and stability in the region so a clock has more. it's a much anticipated visit us health secretary alex as i was leading a delegation to taiwan to learn from the island success in fighting the coronavirus the united states has recorded 5000000 cases taiwan has fewer than 500 but analysts say the trip is not just about the pandemic it's definitely more the the optics and

the message being sent to the taiwan government and the people of taiwan as well as to the government in china as far as what what level the u.s. wants the relationship with taiwan to be obviously the health secretary's doctor learned much during a 3 day visit china claims sovereignty over taiwan and the island is a main irritant in the troubled relationship between the world's 2 largest economies was due to made taiwanese president clinton during his 3 day visit that's angut china's latest who object to all official contact between taiwan and the u.s. chinese government misses a warning the united states delegation to stick to the one china principle. i want to stress that the one trying to principle is universally recognized by the international community any attempt to ignore deny or challenge the one trying to principle end up in failure the trip is expected to further fry ties between beijing and washington both are at loggerheads over trade technology human rights

and territorial disputes especially in the south china sea it's possible that the mainland would look at the economic consequences reminding taiwan that if they don't want to play with the mainland that there are you know there's going to be a very very cold harsh harsh world out there china's government says taiwan is the most important and sensitive issue inside the u.s. relations this where high level visit comes as those relations have already sunk to the lowest point in decades sarah pac al jazeera. since. hundreds of packs or has been sworn in as prime minister for the 4th time his ruling party won wednesday's parliamentary election by a landslide the 2 thirds majority means that he has the power to make promise changes to the constitution critics fear that he'll lead though it will lead to an autocracy the prime minister was appointed by his brother and president got the buyer rajapaksa. all reported but often under saw the inauguration ceremony in the

capital colombo. and mahinda rajapaksa is prime minister of sri lanka 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 gautami 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 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 they map it out so it's going to be interesting times for sri lanka as the new government takes power. protesters in thailand say the arrest of 2 their leaders

won't stop their campaign to force the government out the pair were charged with sedition and breaking coronavirus rules before being released on bail that is when he reports the demonstrations are likely to grow into an even larger movement as the economy worsens. a prize bird is being groomed in the hope it can soon get back to work cockfighting is a tradition in thailand that dates back centuries and has grown into an industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars but it's a business in most provinces that's been closed for 4 months because of coronavirus leaving many fighting for survival. i wanted to sell my birds gradually but i cannot have to try to survive by finding other jobs but it's so hard because a lot of people are out of work. in fact as many as $8000000.00 times could be unemployed by the end of the year meaning lengthening lines for food handouts as government assistance dries up the dire situation comes at

a time when the government is coming under increasing scrutiny from opponents who say it came to power through a rigged election last year the 1st since a coup in 2014 thailand has a long history of political violence and turbulence which is why there is particular concern about this period the economy is collapsing street protests are underway and at times there is open discussion about the most to boost subject in this country featuring diet lords and spells protesters have been making thinly veiled references to the role of the monarchy in thailand it's a sensitive and dangerous tactic in a country where criticism of the royal family can lead to a long jail sentence the protesters want broad political reform and experts believe the economic situation brought on by the pen demick is highlighting and intensifying inequality more than 50 percent of the well held by the top one percent and so i think a lot of young people when they. look to the future for their opportunities don't

see don't see any opportunities and so are are more willing to take risks right now to see some political change given the potential that economic hardship could see the protest movement expand way. beyond students the government appears particularly attentive this time the prime minister says he'll listen to and in gauge with the protests does that warn them to be careful what they say. many people say too much and may not be genuine sure this is a police matter to proceed with. 'd for now many in thailand are too busy trying to earn a living to worry about political change but as the economy worsens fighting to force the government out might become more of a priority when hey al-jazeera bangkok. 3 days of heavy monsoon rain has killed at least 50 people across pakistan flash flooding has damaged hundreds of homes across a number of provinces the military has come to the rescue of people caught in

rising waters but heavy rain is expected to come through next week. in the 4000 people have been forced from their homes in all start a career after more than a week of trench rain at least 30 people have been killed and 12 are missing in the south of the country in the past week most places in south korea have enjoyed up to 4 times the average rainfall recorded in 30 years. and the fire has killed at least 11 coronavirus patients in southern india the blaze happened run a palace hotel being used as a covert 900 for syllabi rescuers were able to help 30 others to safety this is the 2nd such incident this month. new zealand's marking $100.00 days since that stand out the spread of the corona virus the only new cases have been a few returning travellers who've been quarantined at the border prime minister just and has been praised for leading the efforts but warns that people must stay vigilant to avoid a 2nd wave. the world's the biggest oil exporter has reported

a 73 percent plunge in 2nd quarter profits saudi aramco says despite a partial recovery demand remains significantly down because of the coronavirus pandemic b.p. cut its dividend for the 1st time in a decade earlier this month royal dutch shell did the same with april for the 1st time since the 2nd world war. violence against women is a major problem in south africa on average one woman is murdered every 3 hours the government's planning legislation to reduce crime levels but activists say change is a long way off for me to miller has more 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 paul 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 . but mather would prefer info to brutally. it just made me lose hope in memphis i mean how does one account of female and going to 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 children 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 turd reminder of what happens out it's a reminder that gender based violence. is with us everywhere you 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 prisoners 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 tamala al-jazeera johannesburg. your challenges there with me still run the reminder of our top stories lebanon's information minister has become the 1st senior member of government to resign since the explosion on beirut on tuesday 158 people were killed when 2700 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded saying a quarter has more from martyr square in beirut we understand is that the prime minister as we speak is holding

a meeting with his ministers and the possibility of a resignation is on the table so you mentioned the information minister resigning earlier this morning there were unconfirmed reports that other ministers are going to tender their resignation the government has not been able to cope with this disaster just look behind me the desperation among people they've come to martyrs square just to get any help that they can receive from volunteers from n.g.o.s from civil society groups the government is absent the government is cash strapped so you can see water sandwiches people have lost so much the port explosion is estimated to have caused billions of dollars worth of damage a virtual donor's conference seeking to raise money for a rebuild is due to begin in less than half an hour now it's being hosted by france and the united nations i'm going son's president is backing the release of $400.00 taliban prisoners ashraf ghani says he respects the decision of the loya jirgah

consultative body to approve freeing so-called hardcore taliban fighters polls have opened in bellary says presidential election has its longtime leader 66 term the main opposition candidate has gone into hiding hours before the vote to her top aides were detained by police. u.s. health secretary alex as ours arrived in taiwan for the 1st high level visit by a top american official in 4 decades is expected to meet taiwan's president trying to claim sovereignty over taiwan and says the trip threatens stability in the region linda rajapaksa has been sworn in as prime minister for the 4th time his ruling party won the parliamentary election in a landslide he's been he's been serving as interim prime minister those were the headlines no rolled back a with more news in half an hour next it's inside story to stay with us.

is the relationship between the u.s. and saudi arabia falling apart the state the problem show support for a former saudi intelligence agency says the crown prince wants him dead will president donald trump be forced to stop supporting 100. this is inside story. and i welcome to the program i'm adrian finighan what's reported to be a forward mode applauses putting further strain on the relationship between saudi arabia and the united states a former saudi intelligence agent is suing the saudi crown prince in the u.s. saddle john.