series the no to 0. really understand the differences and similarities of cultures across the world so no matter what you see made in the news and current affairs that matter to you. the end. al-jazeera. fully back to all of this is the news hour live from our world headquarters in doha coming up in the next 60 minutes the u.n. human rights chief urges ethiopia to allow mondrian's into tikrit region to investigate reports of killings and sexual violence that may amount to war crimes protesters in myanmar mourn the dead after the bloodiest day so far and valid to

continue marching against a military coup iran agrees to a meeting about its nuclear program a hint of east tensions after it suspended some international inspections and also this hour security ramped up in washington d.c. and u.s. politicians council a session amid reports of a grant to breach congress. and on people's families over there sports news boss put a difficult week behind them overturning a 2 no 1st lead deficit to reach a copper del rey final. thank you for joining as the u.n. human rights chief has urged ethiopia's government to let monitors into tikrit it wants to investigates reports of abuses that could amount to war crimes michelle says killings and sexual violence are reported to be taking place in the northern region is. declared victory after launching an offensive against gray people's

liberation front in november let's go to markham webb in nairobi for us was covered this conflict into a great sense of a force. getting access to to great has been extremely difficult you yourself haven't been able to go get into t gray talk us through what's been happening there on the ground and these reports of the presence of eritrean troops who may be committing atrocities against civilians. when the weeks and months that have followed the declaration of victory that came from the syrian government the beginning of december more information's been coming out and a growing number of reports of atrocities committed by all of the different forces involved in the conflict just last week the rights group amnesty international published a report it said that based on dozens of testimonies of people that in the town of axum in late november said that eritrea and ethiopia and forces were responsible

for indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas of the town and then it said that eritrea and troops had entered the town and massacred about $800.00 men the civilian men and teenage boys eritrea's previously denies that its troops are integrated that contradicts numerous reports that have come from there it also refuted these report the government of ethiopia has said that it is investigating various reports of rights abuses across the region a lot of these reports were echoed in things in michele bashfully the un rights chief in her statement that came out just a few hours ago referring to the reports of mass killings extrajudicial killings widespread sexual and gender based violence and then reports recent reports of protesters being shot dead as well and also reports markham of fight is

deliberately trying to starve civilians raising concerns about food shortages and even a possible famine is aid getting into the region food aid. the humanitarian organizations do have some access to some of the people they say they need to help in some areas but they say that that access is inadequate just a few days ago the un's office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs with saying that humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate they say about a 1000000 people are needed food support the ethiopian government in the last couple of months has frequently talked about opening up parks this will now guarantee that for the whole region but according to the u.n. and other humanitarian organizations that access still isn't adequate and the situation for people there is getting worse thank you for that malcolm webb live

there in nairobi with more on the situation in ethiopia is not in tikrit region now according to an amnesty report every tree in troops killed hundreds of people over 2 days in november integrate the report says unarmed men and boys were targeted in the streets of the city of axum a priest says at least 800 people were buried but the number of deaths can't be verified as communications have been blacked out and access to the region restricted an estimated 60000 people escaped into neighboring sudan ravina some dishonesty is the spokeswoman for the u.n. human rights office she says there needs to be accountability from the ethiopian government. we as well as several other organizations have managed to establish you know through corroborating information that eritrean troops have indeed been involved in many of the most severe violations of human rights that have taken place on the ground including extra judicial killings on the ground right now

unfortunately there are no independent human rights monitors the high commissioner for human rights has been pushing for independent access for us for the un human rights office to the to gray region so that we're able to carry out an objective assessment of the facts on the ground failing that all we are seeing is very serious allegations and reports and blanket denials and finger pointing on all sides scene reports of quite a strong case is quite a lot of cases of sexual and gender based violence we have all we've received reports of some 136 cases of rape that have been reported but of course you as you may be aware in cases of sexual violence the number of figures that are actually reported tend to be the tip of the iceberg because many of these cases do not go reported we're also seeing door to door searches of individuals we are seeing continued killings and continued fighting is in many parts of to agree what we are

seeing so far is that there is limited access humanitarian organizations need to be able to establish that the aid is actually reaching those who need it most human rights organizations need to be able to establish the facts on the ground to be able to help towards accountability for these violations. in other world news a tsunami warning has been issued for parts of the east coast of new zealand's north island after what's being described as a severe magnitude 6.9 earthquake the epicenter was around 100 kilometers from t. adaora emergency officials say anyone living on the coast schoolfellows the quake should immediately move to higher ground well than 50000 people reported feeling the earthquake now and more now and protesters are back on the streets across the country a day after $38.00 people were killed in the worst crackdown since last month school the u.n. says the actual death toll since the military took power over

a month ago may be much higher than reported witnesses say they saw soldiers firing into crowds with little warning scott it's. like thousands of others justin nicknamed angel went out to protest on the streets of mandalay on wednesday less than 24 hours later people gathered for her funeral she had been shot in the head. according to the un angel was one of $38.00 protesters who died at the hands of myanmar security forces the most killed in a single day since the coup in february 1st aid agency save the children says 4 of the dead were children. in yangon bodies were identified and collected by family members this neighborhood of the country's largest city saw the heaviest death toll on wednesday there are reports that security forces opened up with live ammunition on the unarmed protesters without warning. but the protesters continued to put pressure on the gentle on thursday again building barricades to block the security

forces as they prepare for another day of protests young dealy is the former u.n. special repertory for myanmar she and 2 other experts have started a council to track the situation after the coup the behaviors the actions of this so-called military. are. terrorists like behaviors they have stripers and high high rise buildings around town buildings they aren't amy and shooting at. civilian populations is a question and she said that the international community needs to acknowledge the military's actions as being comparable to terrorism un. they should really ashamed of what they've done we not done you know they haven't been hearing to the un charter to protect and to restore it to maintain

order to secure peace in order. and the security council has have really not done its job. she went on to say that china and russia's veto power in the un security council is obstructing action that needs to be taken in myanmar so far the council has voiced concerns but has not condemned what's happened since the coup but there will be a further test of that on friday as another security council meeting has been called to discuss the crackdown on protesters this week scott hyder al-jazeera. is my wolf is the regional director of fortify rights and international human rights organization he says the violence perpetrated by myanmar security forces is part of a concerted campaign. it's important to be clear about what we have been witnessing there and i think what the former special report saw was just mentioning sums of terrorist tactics what we've seen here these aren't clashes these a systematic orchestrated attacks upon an unarmed civilian population i think it's clear that they're seeking to terrorize the population of me and ma into submitting

to this coup and we've seen videos as we've mentioned all of the social media we've analyzed a lot of that footage of what we've seen amounts to extradition killings of people so this isn't just a normal sort of you know sort of excessive force to clear protesters this is an orchestrated campaign it's happening across the country and suggests the chain of command and these are following orders so we've seen really really brutal situations all across the country and i think the concern is that we will continue to see more moving forward we see those protests coming out today with people that i've been speaking to that are part of these protests that are in myanmar they're saying that they are very well aware of the risks that taking. to go onto the streets to oppose the military but they think those risks are worth taking rather than living under a brutal military dictatorship so i think there's a reality a realisation and i think there's a formidable strength within the population of me i thought so think it's important to point out that the protests on the street are just part of a wider operation under the sort of civil disobedience movement as have been tagged

and i think that's really hitting the jobs even harder strikes people within the government within banking sector within the trade with imports and it's really grinding the arms of the states will hold. court has granted bail to iran a 3rd of $47.00 pro-democracy activists died with conspiracy to commit subversion and warning came after 4 days of marathon hearings which have led to some defendants falling ill on kong police have arrested exactly $100.00 people under the controversial national security law which beijing imposed on the city 8 months ago. yemen's southern separatists say a combo has killed and injured people it exploded in aden and is said to have hit the security belt forces of the u.a.e. banks southern transitional council the un the chief of the un's nuclear watchdog says iran has agreed to hold a meeting in april a softer european nation said they would drop plans to condemn tehran over its

suspension of some i.e. inspections efforts are underway to revive the 2050 nuclear deal between iran and world powers president joe biden said he is willing to bring the u.s. back into the agreement after former president trump withdrew in 2018 starting this process. of of focused i'm not lease's of this situation with technical meeting which will take place in iran the beginning of april. which i hope will be followed by other technical or political meetings as agreed by both sides we have to start the process and see how far we can go assad big has this update now from tehran. well it will be welcomed by the government her president has and ronnie early in the week spoke with the his french counterpart president emmanuel macron and he warned that any

and constructive moves at the i.a.e.a. against iran would result in new challenges and further complicate the matter now we've had the foreign ministry spokesman come out just now saying that this is a result of diplomatic efforts so the government will very much use this as a diplomatic victory because they are under a lot of pressure inside here in iran the parliament which is led by conservatives have heavily criticized president hassan rouhani and his government in fact the deal that was struck with the i.a.e.a. last month for that 3 month window that suspension of those additional protocols which restricted some of the. actions inside iran the parliament has said that the president hasn't rouhani had acted illegally and wanted to refer the matter to the judiciary and that that situation is only calmed down when it emerged that from the highest levels inside iran meaning the supreme leader ayatollah khamenei had

actually given a green light for that so the reformists led by president has done rouhani will use this as a victory a diplomatic victory but the conservatives will say the deal only reason the europeans back down was because of fear of retaliatory action by iran because if that motion had been passed president hasn't rouhani feared that the parliament may say that that 3 month deal with the i.a.e.a. would no longer be on the table which would make any further diplomatic talks very very difficult to moving away from each other but iran is still adamant that any talks can take place unless the united states lifts those sanctions or sanctions that were imposed by previous u.s. president donald trump. plenty more ahead on this news hour including germany's chancellor lays out a cautious path out of lockdown after months of tough restrictions democrats in the u.s. congress passed a bill that would make voting easier better as it heads to the senate to sponsor

acts look dam and the pakistan super league has been postponed indefinitely peace will be here to explain why in schools. the u.s. capitol police and other agencies in washington d.c. on high alert this thursday following thread set x. train a school bus are planning a new attack on the capitol building for those days u.s. house of representatives session has been canceled because of those concerns groups like your own on believe march the 4th is the day donald trump will return to the presidency alan fischer reports from washington. there's been tight security around capitol hill since the day the complex was attacked high fences razor wire national guard backing up several police services know there's to be increased security after the f.b.i. and others picked up reports of another possible breach the idea is donald trump will be installed as president on march 4th the date of the 1st inaugurations in

the u.s. until it was changed to 933 the rumor spread on conspiracy websites on their stock a protest to back it up the current security posture for the capitol and we are working with our long partners as well as the national guard to provide a robust security around the campus of course that security posture is. we have an outer perimeter as well as an outer be seated the new security measures announced as the senate tries to figure out what went wrong on january the 6th the latest to give evidence the head of the national guard in washington major general william walker says local officials. played for help he called the pentagon for approval to send troops a final decision inexplicably delayed by don't trust team at the pentagon i learned at the us army senior leadership at the request of the approval for chief science

we course would eventually come from the acting secretary of defense and be relayed to me by army senior leaders and 508 pm about 3 hours and 19 minutes later this congress continues to investigate an intelligence failure which appealed to support the threat on january the 6th one leading f.b.i. figure insisted there was nothing concrete to act on none of us had any intelligence suggested individuals were going to storm and reach the capital and that was the intelligence that we lacked and with the new threat a warning of why defenses are being increased agri anytime an adversary is successful others pay attention and so we're worried that this would be an inspiration capitol police say the threat has been assessed through increased internet chatter but there's nothing to suggest that there's any group ready to head to washington d.c. with a plan of protest or violence but after january the 6th no one is ready to don't play the threat or take the risk of getting it wrong alan fischer al-jazeera on

capitol hill or less bring in. outside capitol hill for us not far from it anyway heidi these security threats force house counselor session today tell us 1st about the atmosphere around you and what the scene is like. well fully as the hours tick by on this march 4th so far there has been no indication of those alicia groups coming to d.c. to storm the capitol as the intelligence report had warned of a possible plot instead what we're seeing is a very quiet scene that continued lockdown of the capitol area the barbed wires and the fencing that have surrounded this complex since january 6th heavily guarded presence with military vehicles from the national guard continuing to protect the perimeter and inside the capitol dome itself as allan was saying there are no lawmakers today they as well as staff members instructed to remain home today with

that late decision yesterday evening of the members of the house of representatives finishing their legislative business early for the week and of course the continued presence of the national guard troops some 5000 members of the guard remaining in this area since that january 6th again this was a possible plot that security forces had warned wide today will march 4th was the original inauguration day for u.s. residents in the constitution that was switched 88 years ago to january and to this computer the conspiracy theorists the extremist supporters of trump had picked today saying that he would come back to the white house why i can assure you that he is still in florida and this conspiracy theory that is spread by cuban on followers of course these are the same people who believe that democrats drink the blood of children obviously completely. because conspiracy theory that has no

validity whatsoever right a conspiracy theory but nonetheless you know. sense of something you know might be happening and security has been stepped up to get that this is you know all these barriers around the capital is that going to be taken down any time soon or is this going to be the new norm now after what happened on january 8th 6. well i remember d.c.'s mayor saying that this was going to be a new normal after the insurrection in january as far as the specific physical barrier is will these are a band-aid until the planners come up with a more comprehensive and permanent reform of the security surrounding the capitol and we know that there is a draft report pending on that very question that will be analyzed by members of the house and some of the recommendations expected to be included there include

hiring some 2000 more capitol police officers that will be both here in the capitol and for protecting lawmakers in their home districts it would also include a rapid response team made up of local national guard members here in washington to quickly and that's the key word here now not the 3 hour delay that we did see but very quickly respond to an escalating security threat and also more physical barriers but of course this u.s. capitol building is known as the people's house and so leaders very aware of that want much of this eyesore protective measures to disappear though the building certainly will be hardened in its security posture going forward only heidi thank you very much for that live for us a from outside capitol hill we want to take you to senegal now where anti-government protests have turned violent that softer opposition leader goal was arrested for participating in an unauthorized car and he was arrested as he was due

to appear in court to face a rape charge which he denies and says is politically motivated as spring in our correspondent in dakar nicholas hawk who is in the streets of. the streets of the car right now tell us about what's been happening i see quite a few people behind you there and some smoke. that's right we're in downtown the car come with me this is a special brigade that's just been deployed because in the distance right there this is the university and most of the people there are throwing stones are supporters of opposition leader we spun song which currently being detained by the police and just earlier on the protesters came in and just over around the police had to retreat so they called in reinforcements they're firing tear gas and you can see on the ground here there are stones everywhere it's been like this

since yesterday since the arrest of response focus and now this is a major artery at this time of the day it's a bustling with traffic and look at it. now it's happening on each side of the. just here you see even the police are throwing back rocks at protesters to quell this angry crowd and it's not just happening here by the university of car it's happening across the city and also in major cities in the country during the night they also ransacked several. supermarkets that are owned by french companies as well as gas station why will because it has been very critical of the government specifically the link between the president and these international multinationals link to friends so that has really been the bedrock of this said and so the protesters that we that we spoke to say they will continue to do so

until the opposition leader is released and wisconsin cole has been accused of rape . he's been accused of rape and he was due to appear in court an accusation which he says is politically motivated. that's right he said that's a little politically motivated the government says it's a private matter that needs to be dealt with by the justice system but right now he's being held because he the police or the prosecutors of the state says that he's behind what we're seeing right now which is on authorized protests remember the coronavirus restrictions public gatherings are forbidden and so the government are saying that this is a matter of health and safety to ban these types of protests tomorrow there is a gathering organized both from civil society and member of the opposition they accuse these police and these paramilitary troops that are on the streets of heavy

handedness they accuse the government of really shrinking in the space of of political freedom and that's why you see so many young people out. protesting right now and it seems that these protests despite the call for calm from the ministry of interior and government as well it seems that it's going to be very difficult for the police in the right and the right police right now to quell this angry crowd they've just fired tear gas trying to to to to get the protester to leave this perimeters but they're there standing still and you can see the army and a.p.c. unit number personnel carrier right there the continue to fire tear gas volley certainly some 10 scenes there on this receptor car this. nicholas hoc thank you very much for that update we'll continue to keep a close eye on the situation with you of course throughout the day here on al-jazeera. and still ahead on the news hour we'll have more on why loyalist

paramilitary groups in northern ireland have renounced the good friday agreement francis is heading to iraq for his 1st overseas trip since the pandemic started and baghdad is on high alert in sports a hat trick followed by 6 sixes in a row action from a thrilling game of cricket coming out just stay with us we're back after this very short. once again it is time for the levant to not feel choruses doris's it could do this bit of a blast coming in front of clouds and show focusing more on maybe lebanon syria and the far north of iraq this is jury in the whole lot is moving east was leaving the sunshine behind a bit of a breeze the same time introducing quite a strong breeze down through the gulf that will be the start of

a model which will affect the weather all the way from kuwait down towards us so particularly dusty one but it will at least be windy otherwise it's sunshine as you can see that a change take place on the northern turkey day that's cold air coming out of europe . now we have seen that attempt at circulation in the mozambique channel mis is the picture on the us is a forecast chart and we expect this thing not to form into a proper tropical anything really just a lot but it will increase the rain to potentially flood levels on the western side of madagascar marga trust in the capital as well its red prices mistily but this is particularly heavy rain the good news going in that direction it's leaving behind just a rush of a few showers from mozambique and a good part of zimbabwe's zambia and even south africa and our adjacent countries where you look at dry and fine weather.

since its inception in 1961 the kuwait fund has been supporting people's livelihoods in over 100 countries by funding projects in an array of sectors. ranging from infrastructure to health and education. these initiatives ultimately help to eradicate poverty. and promote sustainable development. 9 years ago al-jazeera was the 1st major network to find evidence of genocide and me. when the tragedy of the ruling was mostly unknown. will. it in genocide on al-jazeera.

you're watching al-jazeera i'm fully back to bo a reminder of our top stories on this news hour the u.n. human rights chief has his government to let monitors into tiebreak to investigate reports of abuses that could amount to war crimes michelle says killings and sexual violence are reported to be ongoing in the northern reaches protesters are back on the streets across myanmar in defiance of a violent crackdown by the military 38 people were killed or when say but the u.n. says the actual death toll since the military took over a month ago may be much higher than 3 or ticks and u.s.

capitol police and other agencies in washington are on high alert softer threats that extremist groups are planning a new attack on the capitol building groups like your non-belief march the 4th is today donald trump will return to the presidency. and the news loyalist paramilitary groups in northern ireland have told british prime minister boris johnson they're temporarily withdrawing support for the peace deal they say is because trade and commerce between northern ireland and the u.k. has been disrupted by bricks set in 1900 good friday agreement brought an end to the 3 decade conflict between catholic nationalists and for the stunt unionists a whole is live for us in london so how seriously under threat is a good friday agreement after this withdrawal. i'm not sure there's any realistic immediate threat to the integrity of the good friday agreement itself after all this is an agreement that's backed by public support as much as anything else or no

nor is there any sense that the parties to the former troubles really want any return to the troubles or resumption of violence but this being northern ireland it's impossible to say where things like this might go where they might end so we're talking here about the loyalist communities council the l.c.c. this is numberless a group that represents what remains of a number of loyalist paramilitary groups that were largely disbanded certainly disarmed under the good friday agreement of 1998 the l.c.c. as you say writing to the british and irish governments giving notice that it's withdrawing its support from the good friday agreement because of concerns about the so-called northern ireland and protocol a key piece of legislation underpinning the post briggs it trade deal between the u.k. and the e.u. and you may recall the protocol involves new customs checks brand new checks down the irish sea on the trade of goods between northern ireland and the rest of the u.k. remember this is meant to be one big economic entity and that was

a way of avoiding a hard border on the island of ireland and that in itself was a precondition of the peace now there's been problems brewing with this protocol since the beginning of the year concerns about a shortage of goods on the shelves some trade disruptions and so on and the l.c.c. says particular concerns in the loyalist unionist communities about a breach of their rights because this new relationship between northern ireland and the u.k. is something they were consulted on and didn't consent to which is a right of theirs guaranteed under the agreement so they want their rights restored they say their protest will be peaceful and democratic but they're essentially threatening here with whatever power they may have that anything short of a fundamental change to the nature of the protocol could result in time to the destruction of the good friday agreement and they are a supporter jonah is yet again at the center of a dispute between the e.u. and the u k. yes not unrelated to what we've just been talking about the northern

ireland protocol frankly the e.u. and the u.k. have not either of them been very good at getting the local communities to embrace the northern ireland protocol earlier in the year it was the e.u. that triggered an emergency brake clause that ultimately would have brought the protocol down over a vaccine's dispute with the u.k. and in turn that might have set up the conditions for a land border on the island of ireland outraging everybody it was widely seen as a katter cataclysmic mistake it led to the u.k. government calling on the for certain easements in the checks that were to take place under the protocol particular the timelines of bringing those checks into place they didn't reach an agreement to the u.k. has now unilaterally said it is extending the grace period on certain checks in raging the e.u. the e.u. has cried foul saying this is tantamount to a breach of international law there's talk talk of legal action through the european court of justice even of the european parliament delaying its vote to

ratify the trade deal which hasn't happened yet if indeed that were to be derailed altogether or not go through well that could ultimately leave the u.k. finding itself with no trade deal with its biggest trading partner the european union john i thank you for that well let's discuss this further now with donna kupp over back on who's the director of research at the school of law and government at dublin city university thank you very much for speaking to us so as john has said there are a unilateral move by the u.k. what exactly is it doing here by extending the rules exemption on trade across the irish sea and who are they doing it for is there any justification for this. well the british government is presenting this is something technical that is simply having teething problems with the provision of goods and services between britain and northern ireland which are both of course part of the united kingdom there are many however in the european union and indeed here in ireland who suspect that

perhaps this is something political that this is pandering to elements within the british conservative party and the do you peon northern ireland who are on happy with this northern ireland protocol which is a part of the the whole agreement that breaks that agreement and i think it's the fact that this is only expected that this was on the herald yes i think that it confirms the view from many in the european union indeed in ireland that this johnson that government this is an unpredictable government it's a moderate government and it's one that cannot be trusted to keep the commitments that it enters into only 10 days ago the united kingdom government committed itself to working to put a call in full and now we have this very unexpected turn of events so besides the posturing then on all sides how much damage does it actually do to this newly developing by natural relationship between the e.u. and you kate. well i think it does a lot of damage because you know we're only now 2 months into the post-race that

divorce i think it is very much like it's a force between 2 people and what kind of relationship develops now is going to be largely based on what actions are taken you know we released on the crossroads here there's 2 growth steps that we can go down we can go down a road which is one of trust and and and cooperation are there is another road which is one marked by perpetual conflict not for money and certainly this unilateral move going against the this erosion the lesser of the agreements that have already been entered into certainly brings us down that role to a conflict and again one has to last one so why is this occurring and i think this is mission is again largely this is because of dynamics within westminster and so it is the northern ireland and they have their job graphically of course on the same island as island but they're politically part of the united kingdom they have a non border with the e.u. but a bound to the u.k. has rules does this make irish unification all the more possible because of the

thrift. well certainly that has been a real issue cation environment is now talking point you know way that it was never before breaks and there is an argument there the logic of united ireland has much greater force now falls breaks us and that aren't as a as an economic unit as something that's accepted in the individual that we can that there can be a tall order our border 'd and the structure of border 'd between north and south now that just nation there was i'm clear what this does is this particular arc that we're talking about today what it does is that it deepens divisions within northern arns your reporter said power loyalists in northern ireland what withdrawn their support the friday agreement because of the protocol national supporters have reacted to about so both sides are mobilizing and of course when both sides mobilize and norm armed it's never good news so whatever about a united ireland be more possible i think that certainly the likelihood of some kind of intense political conflict developing between national committee developing

within the north korean government we certainly on the part of the near future thank you very much for talking to us about this missile back on i thank you for your insight. the coronavirus pandemic now in germany has agreed to a plan to gradually relaxed over $1000.00 mr actions chancellor i'm going to merkel and state leaders how talks for 9 hours on wednesday on a step by step plan to ease measures from monday people be allowed to gather in groups of up to 5 and some shops can reopen public support for a section boss fallen but curbs will be reimposed if infections increase the many cane has more from berlin. after american talks with mr president's anger america presented a plan which points a way out of the pandemic for millions of people around this country many people who've been hoping for an easing of the lock downs that are in place for been in place for many months but in agreeing that there should be a way out when numbers fall to the requisite level angle america was very clear

that although there is going to be an easing there will also be the need potentially for an emergency brake to be brought in in places where the incidence reaches a particular number this is how she presented this plan when you think the off go deputy going down out task now as politicians and this is what we discussed over many hours is to take the next steps wisely that these steps should be reopening without facing ourselves back during this pandemic there are many examples in europe of a dramatic they had waved and we shouldn't delude ourselves this danger also exists for us we must always keep this in mind yes i can say that the spring of 2021 will be different from the spring of a year ago some elements in german industry have reacted with dismay to parts of the plan particularly as it refers to the emergency brake that may be imposed in areas where the infection rates reach

a particular threshold there's also questioning going on in germany about the vaccine program about the speed with which it's being administered people pointing to the astra zeneca vaccine i asked angela merkel has said that she believes that maybe it would be safe to administer it to those over the age of $65.00 remembering of course that she herself is over the age of $65.00 these are all issues which are definitely being debated in this country and indeed in parliament on thursday the parliament is hearing from all sides about vaccination strategies and how the government intends to go forward combating the pandemic. brazil's most populous state is closed to all nonessential businesses for to close for all non-essential businesses for 2 weeks as the country registers a record number of coronavirus stance for a 2nd straight day governor says the health system is at breaking point with a patient being admitted to incentive to intensive care every 2 minutes brazil

recorded nearly 2000 deaths and more than 70000 infections on wednesday driven by a variant that originated there in canada medical experts are recommending 4 months between coronavirus vaccinations so more people will be able to receive a 1st stolz their advice applies to is using vaccines made by pfizer medina and astra zeneca but critics say extending periods between doses is an experiment with unproven consequences canada is one of the countries with the largest number of maxine's ordered per capita but is experiencing shortages foists rollouts. says he'll fight his conviction for corruption to the end the former french president was sentenced to 3 years in prison on monday with 2 years suspended for influence peddling and attempting to bribe a judge speaking on t.v. for the 1st time since he was convicted he said there's no proof he did anything wrong. well francis is going to iraq for

a 3 day visit it's his 1st trip outside italy since the cone of eyes and then it began as sake a closer look at the sketch artist schedule over the coming days the pope will be welcomed by the prime minister when he arrives in baghdad on friday he'll then meet president as well as religious leaders and representatives of civil society at the presidential palace the next day the pope will fight to the city of najaf and meet grand ayatollah sistani maitreya's celebrate holy mass in baghdad and on sunday profile and states will travel to erbil the capital of iraqi kurdistan he'll meet with religious and civil leaders of the a thomas region a correspondent osama bin jotted reports from the iraqi capital on security preparations ahead of his visit. baghdad is on high alert for the 1st ever visit to iraq by the leader of the roman catholic church still faces security threats and attacks from isis and militia groups which means iraqi security forces have their

work cut out for them francis will be in 6 cities in 3 days. all requirements have been secured through a plan drawn up by the joint operations command to secure largest tickle and security matters for all the places that the pope will visit whether they are in baghdad not just. all places pope francis has frequently traveled to muslim majority countries and in iraq he will meet one of the world's most influential shiite clerics grand ayatollah ali al sistani the pope's visit is meant to expand on his message of interfaith dialogue and bring hope to iraq's christian community but it also comes during a pandemic to a country which has not started vaccinating its people and is imposing partial lockdown to try and stop the spread of covert 19. the vatican the massive aid to iraq who would have escorted the pope to all his appointments has already tested positive pope francis and his entourage have been vaccinated and organizers say they will strictly enforce crowd limits at public events. but with the sharp rise

in iraq school with 1000 cases in a week health care system critics have questioned the effectiveness of social distancing as it's expected crowds will gather to see the pope. some people close to the pope believe that the visit should be perspiring treat the pandemic and security situation but the pope insisted on his visit iraq needs his visit and he feels the pain of the people who are suffering. iraqi authorities say all necessary steps to ensure the safety and security of all involved are being taken. out of the civil defense plan has 2 components 1st part is protection firefighters and rescuers will be in all places to be visited by his holiness and the 2nd part is sterilization of all places and without exception it will be in court a nation with those in charge of churches and holy sites that will be included in the visit of his holiness iraq at christians can trace their lineage to the earliest days of their religion they are a diverse group with syriac missourian khaldiyeh and armenian and communities since

the 2003 us invasion and later the persecution suffered and rice in the visit is a rare opportunity to lift broken spirits among the dwindling christian population but iraq is of all faiths are excited about welcoming pope francis as he is affectionately known in arabic and some other job with al-jazeera back to. the u.s. house of representatives has passed a comprehensive election reform bill it addresses key lecture on issues such as voter registration and campaign financing but it remains to be seen whether when enough republican support to make it smoothly through the senate our white house correspondent kimberly halkett has more from washington. what's getting the attention right now is a piece of legislation that will try to rectify some of the problems that we saw in not just the 2020 us election but the 2016 of the one before that because it appears that there are constantly is this concern of voter fraud there's

a debate over whether or not there needs to be a higher level of voter i.d. when people cast their ballots so democrats who control the house and narrowly the senate say that they're trying to rectify all of that putting in place reforms that will make sure that there is an established early voting period that people have options to vote by mail or online and also unify the redistricting system that can be used in such a partisan manner by both parties so this is the piece of legislation now it does not look as if it is guaranteed to go through the u.s. senate here is why conservatives or republicans in the united states are pushing back on this legislation not because they don't think there's a need for reform but it has to do with the u.s. constitution the fact that this is typically something that is overseen by the states not the federal government and so they are accusing the democrats in the u.s. congress of trying to federalize the system that the constitution guarantees right

now should be controlled by the states venezuela's opposition has accused president nicolas maduro of me sending gold reserves to evade american sanctions and representatives of the opposition leader one by domain the allegations before a u.s. congressional committee a lot america tennesseean newman has more from santiago. venezuela's opposition foreign commissioner has held a news conference in which he revealed what he calls are the details of a cash gold scheme being carried out by president. in venezuela in order to circumvent u.s. economic and banking sanctions it deals with sending tons of gold to countries like the united arab emirates on russian planes sometimes countries like mali or other countries in africa this is not the 1st time that these allegations have been made but this is the 1st time that so many details have been spread been

spilt out board just did not make any of the documents public but he does say that he gave them to the u.s. congress to the u.s. office of foreign asset control or as well as to the u.s. state department interestingly this coincides with the 1st face to face a we presume meeting between opposition leader and the nude u.s. secretary of state and this was followed by an announcement by the white house that it would continue to regard venezuela as a threat to u.s. national security and this is the mechanism that used to justify all these wide economic sanctions that were 1st imposed during the barack obama administration. said ahead on al-jazeera a shark attack the n.b.a. legend who's now showing off his skills in the wrestling brain that's coming up next with peter.

move the all. caps was not us peter thank you very much for spanish giants barcelona a through to the fall of the cup of del rey they've overturned a 2 know 1st leg deficit against severe to put a difficult week behind them cups for a president who was arrested on monday for his role in the so-called bossa gate scandal a social media smear campaign that targeted certain players including star manley and el messi the argentine did not score on this occasion instead monday in bel-air and gerrard piquet netted piquet's 90th minute goal levelled the match on aggregate and then martin braithwaite scored in extra time to send boss

a to the final but i study behind and thought to get out of this is one step forward to try to win an important title after our 2 nil deficit from the 1st leg we needed a complete performance match and we did it as a coach you cannot ask for more than that from your players we fought we created chances we played very physically until the last. i think we deserved to go through we deserve to play in the final for being the best team over these 2 matches in italy ac milan have missed the chance to significantly cut into city rival into the lead in city on on wednesday malone hosted in a.z. and could have narrowed the gap to just one point had they won in stayed if i won no behind thanks to the ego because 2nd of go and he didn't like the 7th minute penalty versus deliberate handball. from casey making no mistake from the spot the 2nd in 3 points behind him so who now have a game in hand. cricket's pakistan super league has been postponed indefinitely the

decision was made following an emergency meeting of the 3 more players to the positive for corona virus 7 people have now tested positive inside the bubble 6 of which will play is less than half of the 34 games they have been completed the pakistan cricket board had been considering moving all the remaining matches to karate before announcing the postponement. the franchise owners were adamant that the play is had lost a lot of confidence there was a lot of anxiety in the cap and they were they were not in a mental state to play so on the back of that we took the decision to postpone the event with every intention to find a date later on in the. and india have dominated day one of the 4th and final test against england in the arm the bad the indians won the last 2 tests and only need a draw to claim the series in and were all out for just 205 after winning the toss not into bat x.

or patel the best bowler with 4 wickets for the home side at the close of play india were 24 for one. there was an incredible t 20 international between sri lanka the west indies in antigua and a day of highs and lows falls for lanka. first he took a hat trick to leave the windies 52 for 3 but then in the next over he was smashed out of the park current pollard hitting 6 balls in a row for 6 west indies caps and becoming only the 3rd batsman to hit 6 straight sixes in an international match after herschelle gibbs and yuvraaj singh pollard's efforts helping he's west indies team secure a forward victory with 6 overs to spare the next match is on friday. the tokyo olympics seem destined to take place with no overseas fans reported a japanese newspaper say the government has already made up its mind but officials say they expect a decision by march 27th before the torch relay starts earlier we spoke to dan all

wits who is a sports writer at the japan times. this is was supposed to be the pinnacle of japan's soft power efforts and they were making a lot of improvements to inbound infrastructure improving english excess ability for tourists signage cleaning up they missed landmarks there is a lot of renovations over the last few year of the successful 2019 rugby world cup was 1st be a big test you had tens of thousands of foreign fans coming in for those 6 weeks and they were expecting an even greater buzz surrounding these olympics but now it doesn't look like that's going to happen and most of the local organizing committees revenue are coming in from ticket sales or those overseas fans were buying a lot of hotel know the amount that they were expected to contribute to the economy is quite substantial so while the i.o.c. will be getting its broadcast fees because the games if they take place as

scheduled will go out and will be shown on t.v. the organizers won't reap the benefits of fans in the stadium of course you'll still have local fans but they won't be spending as much as foreign fans would have you getting into the v.i.p. packages and hold those sorts of situations so it will be a significant financial hit for japan. the world's best athletes are starting to ramp up their preparations for turkey regardless of where the fans will be present 5 time swimming gold medalist katie lahey return to competition for the 1st time in a year and the break seems to have done a good racing at a meeting in san antonio the american won the 1500 meter freestyle by more than 21 seconds they are 3 months until the u.s. olympic trials and ricky says it feels good to be back if not a little different. so 1st time i've really been around people so. their stuff my actual love of caution and had that when i was travelling and

everything as well. everyone's being careful and following the protocols and making sure we're keeping each other safe to the n.b.a. and james harden stored in his 1st game against his old team the houston rockets he left to join the brooklyn nets back in january of the publicly criticizing his he's been teammates and hasn't looked back or interact at these 8th triple double of the season is the nets won easily by 18 points for the rockets it's now 13 straight defeats. and we're finished with these pictures of n.b.a. legend shaquille o'neal showing off his skills in the wrestling ring he was making his debut in the only lead racing series in florida and despite being put through a table he did still win this tag team match at 7 foot one and around 165 kilograms it's no wonder the table came off 2nd best. for the sports news for now more later today i think he very much for that i said for this news hour on

al-jazeera do stay with us still plenty more world news coming up after this very short break including the latest on protests in senegal will be night from the car . when much detail arrives the green army comes to life but football is not all they shout about. a club where society's disenfranchised have the loudest voice. and political dissent take center stage. they own the rocco's resistance

the ultras of roger cossack blanca the fans who make football on al-jazeera. examining the impact of today's headlines it didn't matter you're rich or what your religion is you are battling this and you're staring at it in the face and you're dealing with it setting the agenda for tomorrow's discussions was it a coup unfolding on capitol hill international filmmakers and world class journalists bring programs to inform and inspire you each and any one of us have the responsibility to change all 3 of these place for the middle on al-jazeera. some people marry for love others it can be a commercial transaction. or $3700.00 euro payment just for the marriage contract al-jazeera world meets men and women using marriage as an illegal passport to europe you know just a secularist and for attempting it organize a sham marriage and a financial and emotional cost but then he left me for

a woman 33 years older than him marriage for sale on al-jazeera. be the hero of world news. washington. the un human rights chief urges ethiopia to allow monitors into t. grey region to investigate reports of killings and sexual violence that may amount to war crimes. you're watching al jazeera live from doha with me fully but also coming up police and protesters fight for a 2nd day in senegal capital after the controversial a restaurant.