these illegal of us are talking about just good hardworking people that want to live the american dream like our ancestors did these are going to refugees are terrified that they may be forced to return to me and mark. the national guard is put on standby as america's a big winter freeze wesson's causing power blackouts water shortages and chaos and texas. hello there i'm a stand here 10 this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up another mass abduction in nigeria more than 250 people are missing and feared kidnapped. if the virus is

a log you should grant my right to fire. bombs would be. great again and again the u.n. secretary general calls for a global vaccination plan and just g. 20 nations to lead the ethics. class the u.s. charges of 3 north koreans with august raising cyber attacks to steal more than $1000000000.00 from banks and companies. optic blast continues to cripple large swathes of the united states where now at least 30 people have been killed the once in a generation storm has left millions without power and 3 quarters of the country blanketed in snow the national guard has been deployed already across texas which is among the hardest hit states pipes that have bussed in the freezing temperatures and water treatment plants have stopped working 7000000 texans have been told to

boil their water now for over a quarter of a 1000000 have no running water tall the governor says it will be days before the situation there starts to improve most of the state will be below freezing to more morning. along i 10 and north were will remain in freezing through thursday night with ultra cold temperatures once again on thursday night we should across the state start getting above freezing on saturday. and you got to go now has more. snow and ice are wreaking havoc from ohio to the rio grande much of the u.s. now gripped by severe winter storms the states of louisiana missouri kentucky and texas of all reported deaths amid historic freezing temperatures in north carolina and georgia storms brought tornadoes across the rest of the nation millions are

without power as rolling blackouts continue this is this is the says the further west we're better and somebody is going to do some planning after all this is over and make sure there's an alternative source of energy texas is bearing the brunt of the arctic chill with power outages forcing people to use warming centers families desperate to keep warm have taken to lighting fires in sugarland texas authorities believe that's what killed a grandmother and her 3 grandchildren just incredibly tragic young woman 41 years old. family children it just doesn't get worse seniors to a struggling as care homes run short on medical essential slide oxygen for those already concerned about their parents amid the covert crisis it's a worrying time if we weren't here i can't imagine. because there's really not a lot of information flow the rolling blackouts in texas have led to criticisms

over the state of existing power grids many residents are calling for alternative sources of power others say that's a conversation for another time this week we have to get warned i mean people are losing homes they're losing food they're i mean we've seen absurd people have died so it's like we should concentrate on that 1st and maybe figure out the solution next week so it doesn't happen again the severe weather is hampering efforts to get people vaccinated for covert 19 focus to say another extreme cold front will affect south and central parts of the u.s. in the days ahead and again. because al-jazeera now speak to russ ramsey he's the executive editor of the texas tribune and he joins us now from austin russ thanks so much for being with us i just want to start by asking you where you are right now and how are you holding up over that hey i'm in austin and i've been unexpectedly lucky our power hasn't gone off we've got water we've got gassed everything's ok but you know

a bunch of people on our staff around the state and around the country have been shut out and this is a really tough time there you know some of them have been out of power pretty days it's really cold outside texas really haven't built for this kind of weather i know a lot of texas cities a currently under boil water and are just as i see the mayor of houston very recently tweeted saying that was a precious very low please do not run water to keep pipes from besting be conservative on most usage today it's needed the hospitals and fires are fast the power at now the water. right it's become a compound problem you start with the electricity is inadequate for the demand the supplies drop at the same time that the demand for peak a lot of the things that depend on that electricity went with it natural gas. wasn't flowing properly so that wasn't our natural gas plant it turns out a lot of homes mine included are heated by natural gas and then because of the freezing and because texas isn't really built for this kind of storm

a lot of pipes reverse thing i know in a couple of places around the state main water lines have burst and so now you have water problems and you have problems with when you can get water it's not necessarily purified enough and that's why the boil warnings come up well that tweet also suggests that they're potentially expecting more strain on hospitals and potentially than the death toll to rise. i think that's right i think you know we're going to find out as we get toward the end of the week what all has happened during the week this all began really at about 1 o'clock in the morning on monday when the power supplies were cut when the what we're supposed to be rolling blackouts began and people began at that point entering a period for many of crisis and those crises are now moving toward hospitals and and worse well speaking of crises evil facing disruption to corrected by a fax national out to multiple states any idea when they might resume and texas.

well you know one of the problems with this is that we're also not built for transportation at a time like this in northern states where they get a lot of storm and weather you know the buses still run the cars still go in texas were just not made for that so getting people around is difficult queuing people up for coronavirus shots has all been done outside you can't do that when it's 10 degrees there's a lot of things that would happen in a place were built for winter that just aren't happening right now and that will have to start up when it warms up probably tomorrow and friday at well so not getting reports that potentially another storm could be on the way texans bracing for this to go on for some time is there a sense of anger about how this has been dealt with. well there is a sense of anger because you know if you've got a storm that's when you need power most and that's when you need heat most and when you're stuck in your house that's when you need all of these other utilities so there's a sense of anger about that i think the sense of anger comes from less from the idea of the weather did this to us then we set ourselves up poorly for this kind of

weather and the response to this kind of weather hasn't been good ross ramsey that the executive editor of the texas tribune thanks for taking the time to be with us russ and do keep well thank you. now u.s. president joe biden has spoken to israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu by phone for the 1st time since he's taken office a long delay a few old accusations of a frosty relationship but both sides downplayed the issue during the call the leaders said they'd work together to strengthen defense cooperation and biden also emphasized support for israel's recent new relations with other arab countries. a rescue operation is underway in central nigeria where gunmen have kidnapped a group of students the exact number of those taken by the gang is unknown but hundreds of missing it's been confirmed that one student was shot and killed in the attack on the state run school and kagawa images reports now from

a preacher. at the hospital got out doctors the street would be students and teachers at the guitar science college kids the parents gather. elsley in town security is stepped up just as the state government ordered the closure of schools in those areas prone to tikes school saying creasing be targeted as they offer an opportunity to take many students hostage in nigeria this totally absent absence of look at government administration which has become very difficult for the locals to have and want to run to another plane yet as that they also. bought their surrounding most parts of that area if you look at what is happening internationally and like in places like chart and kind our own especially in sabah and cameroon this countries have not been able to hold the security military onslaught for too long this is the 2nd mages could keep napping in us many months.

in december last year gunmen stormed a school and abducted hundreds of students in president behind his home state of cuts in. the 6 years before that in 2013 in a case that made headlines around the world more than 270 goes last snatched from a schoolteacher book at least 100 are still unaccounted for the armed group claimed responsibility and for years after that enabling you will state the group took more than 100 students from a school in dept. kidnapping for ransom is no big business in nigeria from the north down to the country south hundreds of nigerians are kidnapped every week for ransom and despite military offensives against what officials the accord bandits the problem continues to grow on monday 18 personages were seized while traveling in a bus killer not far from where the latest kidnapping took place 8 have since managed

to secure their freedom although there are no official statistics it's estimated 20000000 dollars was paid in ransom money 2020 to kidnappers and this is in a country africa's largest economy where poverty is on the increase or decrease al-jazeera which are. now only 10 countries have administered 3 quarters of all of the 19 vaccinations and hundreds of millions of people are being left behind that's according to the head of the u.n. he's calling on wealthy nations to help kick start a global vaccination plan secretary general antonio terrace says the crown of ice will keep mutating if it's allowed to spread in poor countries and in conflict zones out of there as diplomatic editor james bass reports. refugees being vaccinated for covert 19 in the camp in jordan but this the u.n.

secretary general told a meeting of the security council is the exception rather than the norm progress on vaccinations has been widely and fans just scam countries ever administered its 75 percent of all coveted 19 vaccines meanwhile more than 130 countries had not received a single dose. and those affected by conflict and insecurity aren't but people risk of being left behind. the current president of the council the u.k. is proposing a new resolution calling for cease fires in conflicts around the world so that vaccines can be administered and by calling for vaccination seized by the by calling 1000 bucks nation plans to include all high risk populations including refugees in this resolution and this council really has an opportunity to. help get back into distributed to the most vulnerable communities across the planet

both the state councilor of china and the u.s. secretary of state took part in the meeting both stressed the need for global solidarity even though there's still real tension between the 2 nations this perhaps an indication that it won't further stall global efforts on covert 19 the un secretary general is now calling for a global vaccination plan he believes the g 20 is the best body to finance this and he's calling on the cheese 7 leaders who meet on friday to kick start this process james al-jazeera of the united nations. well still ahead here on al-jazeera was the. using their cars to drive home their message and to protest as a near law ignore military warnings and continue demonstrating for a return to democracy. and the longtime critic of rwanda's president credited for

saving hundreds of lives during the genocide goes on trial. it's staying cold throughout the u.s. and canada for almost every state this is just an example of the result of the cold and every night again the charges snow that comes through the snow is 3 week spell for very many decades in chicago that was the picture of the night and then the following day says they will see more snow out of the mississippi valley and beyond that the appalachians there is rain to the east that is still relatively warm in florida the junction between snow and rain those where you get the freezing rain which produces ice on contact brings down trees brings out power lines and anyway we have power cuts in many places notably in texas where it remains subzero by the even on the south coast and that is just too much for the power supply the

picturing certainly does see things move out to the eastern seaboard and snow in the sales snow in new york and behind it all tempers remain low those laws they were maybe used to be a trend it is but i mean it's a saturday it's almost back to normal in texas or least represented by houston but in new york what also you could you call it normal it's a brief nor'easter northwesterly so the forecast for new york state about about freezing snow on friday sunshine by sunday. for. a place along the our world so you're not going to lecture will artists and activists mean where ideas are smart and history is made in america has to out in iraq to have brought al-jazeera world tells the story of 4 iconic

cafes and their role in the arab societies as objects of creativity debate dissent secrets of the arrow cafe on alleges eva. the the and. let's remind you about top stories this hour an arctic blast continues to cripple large swathes of the united states where at least 30 people have been killed now millions are without power and under boil water advisories the national guard has been stationed across texas which is among the hardest hit states. an unknown number of people are feared kidnapped or missing in nigeria after an armed group

attacked a school several wounded students were taken to hospital. only 10 countries have administered 3 quarters of all covered 19 vaccinations with hundreds of millions of people being left behind that's according to the head of the u.n. has called on wealthy nations to help kick start a global vaccination plan. well speaking of vaccines south africa has launched its long awaited inoculation campaign beginning with health care workers and the 1st country in the world to administer vaccines for manufactured johnson and johnson the initial roll out will form part of a study to establish the effectiveness of that job for me to measure has more now from johannesburg. hours off to the arrival of 80000 doses of the johnson and johnson covert 1000 vaccine so much because president. was one of the 1st to get the job the government says it wants to allay fears. those they represent a real growth for us and some of these are finally the road scenes i hear

and they are a menace. or the problem for me is that you are far. ahead of this consignment is one of 4 expected in the coming weeks the government says it plans to administer up to half a 1000000 of the single dose vaccines as part of a steady mainly targeting health care workers south africa's water 7000000 more doses for use later in the year at this vaccine sentence of which are 28 health care workers have registered for their shots and if any care works in the covert 1000 ward at the chris hani barak or another hospital in the world and been troubled by this disease and i see the disease and then the bones of it is that only serve this is just those that are in there i know it should the johnson and johnson jab has shown it's almost 60 percent effective against moderate to severe

illness caused by a new more contagious variant identified in south africa while it's not yet been approved elsewhere south africa's health products regulator authority has allowed its use for research but many people including in the health service remain skeptical the reality is that there's very different levels of understanding is obviously a lot of fear associated with the vaccine because of the confusion with the initial one been approved and then moving on to another bechstein so staff have been very confused inferi south africa suspended its planned rollout of the astra zeneca vaccine a local study had shown it didn't provide enough protection against the new variant once health and essential workers and of honorable vaccinated the rollouts expect is to be extended to the general public and getting everyone on board is where the government may face its greatest challenge it hopes to vaccinate 2 thirds of the population with about 40000000 doses of vaccine to achieve the so-called herd

immunity but it may be many months before south africa manages to reach their target for me to al-jazeera. well japan has now kicked off its covert 1000 vaccination drive just a few months before it's supposed to host the olympics around 40000 medical workers are being vaccinated in the 1st phase they'll be followed by senior citizens japan has recorded more than $7000.00 deaths from the corona virus that still follow a than most other major economies but the fate of the olympics and the billions of dollars at stake has made this vaccination campaign even more crucial facebook has blocked astray from viewing or sharing news on its platform because of proposed rules that make tech giants pay for journalism it's also affected the accounts of several government agencies and emergency services whose pages carry warnings on coronavirus and bushfires they went blank the move comes a day after the australian government suggested negotiations with social media

giants were making progress. the man who inspired the film hotel rwanda has gone on trial in kigali facing charges including terrorism and murder porousness a beginner who is a critic of president paul kagame e is accused of supporting the armed wing of the rwandan movement for democratic change he's all the court can try him as he's no longer a rwandan citizen but prosecutors say he never renounced his nationality says a beginner is credited with saving more than a 1000 lives during the rwandan genocide after hiding people in his hotel you know . i am here illegally because i was kidnapped when the case don't tell me are we not in my room the national t.v. on the have to be judged elsewhere the libyans have marked the 10th anniversary of the start of the revolution that toppled leader moammar gadhafi crowds gathered in the country's 2nd largest city benghazi as well as in tripoli's martyr square the revolution sparked fighting between get off his forces and libyan rebels killing or

injuring thousands but earlier this month that rival factions agreed to an interim unity government until elections in december. well hundreds of thousands of people could be displaced an offensive by yemen strafe the rebels to take the northern city of aid workers are warning they don't have the resources to support them and washington is calling on the to return to international negotiations to end the country's 6 year war. reports. aid workers comp put tents up quickly enough but this newly created camp for internally displaced people on the outskirts of. fear is this oil rich area was a refuge for people escaping the fighting in other parts of yemen but the heat these are now trying to seize the city the internationally recognized government's last stronghold in the north there are $125.00 i.d.p. camps around in recent days 4 have come under attack.

i was displaced and arrived at camp 5 years ago it was very basic there and suddenly there was a hoodie attack and real left everything behind and came here. we were displaced from on run we are now is all come for 4 years but due to the fighting in various attacks we moved to a camp and more of. the un says an assault on the city would force hundreds of thousands of people to leave aid workers who are already struggling to cope say they aren't prepared for a large influx of new arrivals. over the past 2 days we've received many displaced people who were forced to leave camps including else who are hundreds have arrived here some stayed others were moved to different camps they are staying in the open air under the open sky and as you can see they lack basic essentials. the united states has called on the these to stop their advance. and washington special

envoy to yemen says he is easing back channels to get the booth east to return to international negotiations. these have accused the yemeni government of being the aggressors if diplomacy fails the u.n. is warning of unimaginable humanitarian consequences victoria gate and be al jazeera. police in manaus 2nd biggest city in mandalay have shot at railway workers protesting the military coup they were blocking the tracks to a railway station when they were confronted by police and the latest in a civil disobedience movement that's continued their financial troubles and yangon protests there were the largest seen in recent days they're angry over the continued detention of elected leader. scott hype that reports. in a creative move by antic who protesters in young gone many pretend that their cars have broken down in the city center parking in the middle of streets and on bridges an act of civil disobedience to vent their anger at the military for overthrowing

the government but also to make it difficult for security forces to move around the city as protesters gather for another day of rallies calls for the broken down car campaign came soon after the internet blackout was lifted at 9 am local time the 3rd straight nighttime blackout i campaign called off late morning to make way for this thousands of people gathering in the suit but go to area of yangon right next to city hall i believe the protest was announced late tuesday after the joint a spokesman said that the military did not stage a coup when it overthrew the civilian government led by on song suchi adding to that news that a 2nd charge has been filed against suchi on the night i'm going to terry told the public that he would appear in court on february 17th but they change it to get media attention we have assumed that the military has done to stop us so they can file one more shot against her to sister reason we are on the street again and those on the streets on tuesday in the southern township of faced rubber bullets

and tear gas fired by security forces the protesters gathered to call for the release of a detained school principal who have been taking part in the civil disobedience movement since the coup on february 1st hundreds of people have been arrested. back in yangon the punk rock band rebel right does more than just play music it also fronts the organization. food not bombs delivering hundreds of food boxes each week to those in need they've been busy since the coup. i mean more people are in trouble the economy is descending into darkness people cannot sleep at night can't even eat don't get in threatened there are people across generations. you have no fear that is why we have to oppose the job. and more and more people are showing up to show that growing opposition but the judge appears to be ignoring that instead further justifying its takeover and arresting more people who are organizing or

even just taking part in the movement to counter its coup got heiler al-jazeera the us department of justice has charged 3 north koreans for a series of global cyber attacks they are accused of trying to steal more than $1300000000.00 from banks and companies prosecutors say they also targeted a hollywood studio and revenge for a film depicting a fictionalized assassination of north korean leader kim jong un investigators believe the operations took place while the 3 were working said north korean military intelligence our white house correspondent can be health it has more now from washington d.c. . well what we know is that the biden administration has built on a series of charges that were put in place in 2018 just to underscore how much of a priority this is to the united states government in fact one of the top officials calling this a criminal syndicate with the flag referring to these state operatives that were working for north korea's military intelligence in addition to the canadian

american that assisted in this scheme and as you point out the amount is enormous 1300000000 stolen in cash or cyber currency through various means including extortion cyber hacking it was a sophisticated scheme and what this tells officials is just how much the same actions that are put in place by the united native nations as well as the united states have really had an impact because the amount is certainly significant in terms of the desire by north korea to get its hands on hard currency so these are charges that are again building on what was already in place and do have some connection to that 2014 attack by north korea on sony pictures here in the united states but we know that there have been other attempts as well as not just the extortion methods of the hacking we also know that there have been some spearfishing attempts by these individuals allegedly targeting the state department

the pentagon they operated under a number of different names the lazarus group as well as advanced persistent threat so the united states taking this threat very seriously that's why they have handed down and announced these charges. now the black owner of more than a dozen mcdonald's franchises in the u.s. is suing the company for racial discrimination from a professional baseball player habit washington says the fast food chain has favored white owners and denied him the chance to buy a restaurants and more affluent areas washington blames those alleged practices for large sales gaps between black owned franchises and those run by white americans mcdonald's it denies the allegations the holy book says there. may be cases where you don't know our producer polaroid restaurant. they are given the opportunity to hire more in restaurants which puts them in a position to be more successful their cost of running those restaurants is

a lot cheaper than example. a restaurant i have to here security. my car have a restaurant on the other side of town does not have to have security. while they're around that you can always find it much much more on our website including all the latest on the global vaccine rollout that's al-jazeera dot com. now that this is al-jazeera and these are the headlines and all to last continues to cripple large swathes of the united states where at least 30 people have now been killed millions are without power and under boil water advisories the national guard has been stationed across texas which is among the hardest hit states the governor there says it will be days before the situation starts to improve most of

the state will be below freezing to more morning along north were.