not yet that forces heard on the international news channel to be very proud when we covered the polish quake 26 days a terrible natural disaster and the story that needed to be told from the heart of the affected area to believe that to tell the people story was very important at the time. china holds its annual policy congress in unveiled plans to overhaul hong kong's electoral system. this is al jazeera life and also coming up. 'd 6 street battles in senegal protesters are demanding the release of an opposition

leader they say is falsely accused of rape. the pandemic pushes more people into poverty in brazil as a coronavirus curfew was announced in the 2nd because city. pope francis is heading to iraq as a pilgrim of peace take a message of comfort to a country has seen a drop in the number of christian. china has unveiled plans for a major overhaul of hong kong's electoral system at the start of beijing's biggest political gathering the proposed changes would allow a pro china election committee to nominate all candidates to hong kong's legislative council this will effectively stamp out any opposition in the city's parliament announcement was made during the national people's congress where the chinese government sets out its plan for the next 5 years the treaty is in beijing and she explains what impact the changes would have. according to this draft law is

that several hundreds of seats will be added 300 seats in fact but what beijing is going to do is shrink the number of seats given to directly elected officials and increase the number of seats given to people from various industry groups academic groups that are probate jing so essentially they're going to remove much of the democracy in this democratic system in hong kong which had been a giving rise to the opposition and ultimately the protests that we saw currying during 2019 and in the lead up to 2020 those are very embarrassing to beijing it consider that a threat to beijing so they're really eliminating many of those elements in the hong kong electoral system we're also going to see a new powers given to the beijing backed chief executive of hong kong carry land and her team shall essentially be given the power to vet candidates to the legislative council in hong kong which is hong kong's parliament now many people in

hong kong already contributing criticism to this draft law one who make it currently in hong kong said this was may just surgery on hong kong system now china for its part saying that all it's doing is maintaining the one country 2 systems policy and ensuring stability what they want to do the core of its goal is to ensure that all of those holding public office in hong kong a loyal to the chinese communist party and they'll be forced also to pledge allegiance to beijing when they hold office but of course of many disagree with this missing many rights groups many western governments have come down on china saying that these are simply moves crushing the democratic freedoms that were promised to the territory during the handover from the u.k. to china that is katrina you let's bring in that rich broke use director of the university of hong kong's journalism and media studies center and joins us via skype from hong kong. first up this overhaul of hong kong's electoral system all

part of this idea of so-called patriot governing hong kong and general overhaul of the way home call is governed. absolutely it's a complete make over you know i'd like to say the 1997 handover to china was the handover this is the take over this is the beijing basically decided they want no more opposition out of hong kong though this was prompted by those 2019 street protests where you had you know up to 2000000 people at one point going through the streets those protests became increasingly violent and increasingly directed against mainland china who sort of defacing the chinese emblem we saw the protesters their own flags the chinese flag into her ear while we saw chinese banks and other establishments being attacked and beijing just basically said enough is enough and what they're doing is they're even ruling out a moderate opposition they want absolutely no dissent years just yesterday a year to be thursday in hong kong we had 47. of

the marquess the activists the politicians some of the best known on trial and there are just the most of them are actually did i bail so they remain in prison under national security law they've been charged version of this was a complete make over of off yeah and try to vaccines in hong kong going to face a lot of criticism and not only that it's also internationally increasing international condemnation of homeowners policies in several arenas. well that's right i mean you know you know the interesting thing is though all of these actions have been you know criticized by the united states with the sanctions on certain politicians by the european union but china is undeterred they see this as a matter of their national sovereignty over hong kong but more importantly they see that the leadership ruling role of the communist party being attacked by these dissidents these pro-democracy activists who they say they want total control i mean they don't even seem to want you in moderate opposition voices they were 'd

there even to your way the right people just to run for the legislature if you believe the reports coming out of the nationals people's congress they they don't want separation of powers which is then kind of the heart here where you have a judiciary a legislature and a chief executive now giving his youth executive powers a nominee those who are going to serve on the legislature or the candidates basically create a totally system and then of course that executive will be handpicked by maging and the economy away from the center of these these congress meetings and the role that china plays an ag getting its economy to meet its pledge to be carbon neutral by at least $26.00 deal all part of it. that's right you know and they're aiming for a rather ambitious 6 percent plus growth rate for the year which probably made it that they were about 6 and a half percent the 4th quarter of last year and this was the get and emic a minute getting of the year every economy of china to basically shut down if you

want to get our kids to this is basically showing that they've beaten back that endemic and they can come back again and they the other thing that mention the. prime minister is that they also want to become more self-reliant in technology and in science and this comes at a time of increased tension with the united states this idea of software alliance so well i think they want to make that target of the chinese government is no for announcing growth targets they're always meeting those targets so 'd expect them to make that target of this is really a sign that they think they've beaten back. even the fact it was 1st discovered in china have beaten it back and they've come roaring back a kid raised by discredit your analysis do appreciate that thanks about a new day the fight to free 7 goals leading opposition figure has turned violent to protest and have been killed in battles with police the deaths of the 1st since the arrest of those minutes on co 2 days ago it was because more now from bucko.

supporters of opposition leader months on co shelter inside the cars shake up university they chant free song go and call president mikey selling a dictator the. police respond by firing tear gas but the crowd is defiant. outside the police station where some code is held for questioning security forces struggle to control the situation dissent even these people are tired and the dupes we are being manipulated by the government they say songkhla is creating public disorder this is all an excuse to arrest the political opponents of the president's real standby song go in early february sancho was accused of rape he denies any wrongdoing saying the case is politically motivated followed by his supporters song co was arrested on his way to meet the judge sparking nationwide protests. mr sankoh has not committed any act with

a view to disturbing public order he was on spring the summons of the court and you will all witnesses to that. song co a former bureaucrat turned politician was the youngest candidate in the 200-1000 presidential election where he finished 3rd he describes himself as an anti establishment politician accusing the political elite including president mikey sell of corruption he has denounced french corporations saying they make profits off the back of poor cynically following his arrest demonstrators looted french supermarkets and gas stations with several officers injured swat teams were dispatched to stop the riots now protesters are throwing stones in this area of the university and right behind me for the last 2 days the security forces have failed to enter the premises oh the university and demonstrators say don't continue this protest movement. is free to. the military has

called in reinforcements. to protect strategic sites the government says these demonstrations are authorized to television stations were taken off air for broadcasting the riots public gatherings have been banned to prevent the spread of the current virus but these protesters see the government measures a ploy to silence them and in the court case against an attempt by president mikey cell to eliminate a popular political opponent defying the political system nicholas hawk al jazeera out to car. after days of red cold coronavirus deaths across brazil its 2nd largest city has announced its toughest measures yet to curb the spread of covert $1000.00 for friday restaurants and bars in rio de janeiro will close at 5 pm and an overnight curfew will be imposed it follows a decision by south paolo's governor to shut non-essential businesses for 2 weeks from saturday well as brazil faces its worst phase of the pandemic it's also seeing a sharp increase in poverty. of reports now from rio de janeiro.

there are no people standing in line in front of the banks and increasingly more lying by the door on the sidewalk like 33 year old bad about her and her soon to be born baby boy. i lost my job as a cleaning lady when the pandemic began but at least i could rely on the government american see age now i have nothing or in me a child on the way. government handouts benefiting 60 percent of brazil's population stopped abruptly in january but the effects are beginning to show now is a buzzcut me so the brazilians will return to poverty by the end of the year brazil went from one extreme to the other from having the most generous emergency aid program in the region benefiting 60 percent of the population to having none the question is how will people survive until we are all texan ated street vendor paul

and his wife used to live in a shack in the slum until last week when their savings dried up and their customers stopped buying. it it's a vicious cycle we can't pay the rent or clients quit buying or finding a job now things are going from bad to worse is almost impossible. brazil's economy minister says the solution for the disease and the economy is the vaccine but president. has always downplayed the pandemic and political infighting has delayed binocular lieschen campaign less than 5 percent of the $210000000.00 population has been vaccinated in previous year rio's oldest slum people are wary of promises. we have less money food is more expensive and vaccines will take a long time to get here brazil's public debt is 6 trailing high and the government

says it could not maintain the emergency but economists say that dropping it all together can be doing for us. the specter of recession already looms over pretty decent and with it the fear that the high unemployment and poverty rates will lead to an increase in violence which is already on the rise. of all just sera rio de janeiro. still ahead here or not as you are living and dying for the job new figures show the global pandemic total front line health care workers. there whether in the levant reason is in pretty poor cold wet and windy once again it's improving now and the loss of that rain on its way through iraq into iran that

were last into saturday either but further south as it changes the complection it picks up a wind going down the gulf doha will notice it. showers cold because it comes in the north it drops the temperature and it tends to be quite gusty and sometimes quite dusty as well but beyond that when there's not a lot going on about how to get to saturday there's a change taking place in turkey those kawi are coming across the black sea from eastern europe so istanbul will suddenly feel much colder and be quite miserable. in southern africa the weather is fairly active but not so much in the mainland as over in the channel and towards madagascar that orange center suggest some heavy rain that seasonally correct and rain is always wanted to madagascar but this will produce flash flooding as it always does but beyond that over there is some intensity in the showers every down again in places like malawi or zimbabwe's a much more dry picture than you might expect even from

a week ago and that's true throughout most of southern africa whilst the rain continues here it's drawing from most other places. to make a change. change a life or the path of a country challenge the accepted truths if you want to create something you 1st break it continually mold it up turn the status quo and fight injustice shall all month iraq get. down to. witness personal documentaries not going to deception on al-jazeera.

but again you're watching al jazeera remind of our top stories this hour and china has unveiled a plan to overhaul of hong kong's electoral system that would stamp out any opposition in the city's legislative body giving beijing the power to veto any kind it was announced on the 1st day of china's biggest political gathering. to protesters have been killed in fighting between police and supporters of senegal's opposition leader some of the 1st and since it was minister on panels arrested 2 days ago. brazil's 2nd largest city has announced its toughest measures yet to curb the spread of covert 19th through friday restaurants and bars in rio de janeiro will close at 5 pm and that overnight curfew will be imposed. killings torture sexual violence and ethnic cleansing those are the crimes reportedly being carried out daily in ethiopia's to grow region the un human rights chief wants monitors to

be let in and she says the allegations of war crimes need to be investigated aid groups journalists and criminal investigators are all struggling for access that's as fighting continues between federal troops and there are a trend for forces on one side and soldiers of the region's former ruling party on the other. yes these are the people caught in the middle grounds say they're being wiped out by soldiers who act with impunity and say they're being forced from their homes and worse more than 136 cases of rape are reported in to grow hospitals in december and january with many more likely unreported washington's ambassador to the united nations has echoed the u.n. call to end fighting she says the humanitarian crisis must be urgently addressed. to be honest to prevent further atrocities and human suffering oh squarely on the ethiopian government shoulder we urged the ethiopian government to support any

immediate end to the fighting in tikrit and to that end the prompt withdrawal of eritrean forces and her regional forces from grave are essential steps and we urge the broader region to work fast libya has taken another step towards unifying the country the prime minister has submitted his proposed government to the parliament for approval the house of representatives is expected to vote on the proposal on monday the cabinet is part of a un backed transitional plan which includes holding national elections by the end of this year the war torn country has been divided between 2 administrations supported by armed groups and foreign governments in just a few hours pope francis will head to iraq the head of the roman catholic church says he's going is a pilgrim of peace for years now the number of christians there has been declining for the u.s. led invasion in 2003 they were about 1400000 that number has dropped by more than

60 percent to fewer than 400000 they hope that their struggle to survive will get a boost from the pope's historic visit so manifold and as the story now from baghdad. 10 years ago luis francis a claim is survived one of the deadliest terror attacks on iraq's christian community it cost him his left ear drum $4.00 to $6.00 other christians their lives . about in the last thing and i live had that i thought it was the last seconds in this life there were very difficult moments the attackers shot towards the room where we were and one hand grenade exploded that's when i was injured some of the project also stone my head and my chest. lewis and his son the were among more than 100 worshippers trapped inside the lady of salvation church in baghdad as gunmen laid siege to the building. claimed responsibility for the attack one of many carried out against iraq's christian minority after the 2003 u.s. led invasion lewis is one of the few survivors of the church attack who stayed on

in iraq and. i don't want to leave this is my home. but preserving iraq's dwindling christian population can feel like a lost cause let me. there's no hope left for the christians and other minorities to reassure them all the political parties and politicians don't care about the citizens interests they just care about their own interests the denomination's interests and regional interests this is the our lady of salvation church where the 2010 attack took place the concrete blocks to shield it from suicide bombings are now adorned with paintings of pope francis' in anticipation of his visit but the very presence of these protective barriers 10 years on is a sign that iraq's christians still don't feel safe the church attacks were a prelude to even darker days ahead. in 2014 i saw swept through the name of our

planes in iraq's north forcing another exodus many christians fled abroad or to iraq semi autonomous kurdish region others came to the capital baghdad this camp for displaced was set up in 2015 and still hosts around 200 christian families who can't decide whether to stay for the sake of preserving the past or leave for a better future. i mean i came here with her son from the village of 100 she says there is nothing for her to return to. and nothing there are no job opportunities and most of the village residents were displaced there's nothing here for us in our street all the houses were destroyed pope francis visit may offer a rare moment of hope for the christian community here but few expect it will bring about political change and any guarantees for their safety. but that. in the united states police are reported to have asked the national guard to stay

on for another 2 months to secure the capitol building security forces in washington d.c. are on high alert after intelligence agencies said that they had uncovered a potential plot by a militia group to storm the building that prompted the cancellation of thursday's u.s. house of representatives session follows of the q and on conspiracy group believe march the 4th is the day that donald trump will return to the presidency i did you know castro is in washington with more on the security threats to the u.s. capitol. it has been nearly 2 months since the january 6th riot and the so-called people's house the u.s. capitol still remains behind the heavy fortifications of these fencing the barbed wires and the presence of national guards troops some 5200 members of the guard still stand protecting this capitol complex today and in particularly after an intelligence threat that an unnamed armed militia may have been planning to breach

the capitol again on this day march 4th why this date is so important to them because of the completely ludicrous idea that former president donald trump would return to washington on this day and be inaugurated that belief based on the fact that in the original u.s. constitution march 4th was inaugurated in day before it was amended 88 years ago this belief is shared by followers of the q and on conspiracy the same people who have believed that democrats drink the blood of children there is no thing true in any of these beliefs and up to this point there has been no indications that we've seen thus far today of any armed protesters or any demonstrators whatsoever coming to the u.s. capitol however receiving that intelligence report the security officials here took no chances after having been caught so flatfooted on january 6th and they increased the security presence in fact there has now been

a request made by the capitol police to the pentagon for these national guard troops to extend their deployment here originally these troops were to leave a week from tomorrow on march 12th now it's that they're being asked to stay here until may and another 2 months. tens of thousands of people in new zealand have fled to higher ground after a tsunami warning that was later downgraded followed a series of severe earthquakes say the biggest was an 8 point one magnitude quake near the chemical islands and followed a $7.00 magnitude jolt in the same area the 1st quake in the early hours of friday measured $7.00 except the center was around 100 kilometers from tara the threat to samoa and american samoa has also been downgraded gremlin it is a senior scientist at janus which studies a geo science in new zealand and he says advances in technology of helpful storage is one people of the tsunami threat it continues to improve every year we are

seeing more deep ocean pressure sensor dark voice which allows us to sense the way of moving over and calibrate models of a tsunami that may be coming like we have in recent decades been improving the connection of the seismometers around the world to get the size the depth and the location mechanism of these are quite so they can feed into the models forecast the earthquake that's coming and we are very closely linked for example between u.s. geological survey and genocides here amongst our seismologist airing a number of these very large lights and also between us and i mean scientists and so i mean warning center for example so we're opportunity actions new types of sensors and rapid actions of all improved vastly other recent decades and continue to improve this trailer is caught up in a dispute to have a corona virus vaccines for now it will not get a quarter of a 1000000 doses of the astra zeneca vaccine shipments being blocked from leaving the european union it is the 1st use of an export system designed to hold big

pharmaceutical companies to that contract the ban frustration at astra zeneca slow rollout of the vaccine reduced its pledge doses to the e.u. earlier this year citing supply problems and gauges in camber and she says the hold up isn't expected to have much of an impact on the strait is seen rolled out. these showing government has been quick to try to alight public concerns about what this decision could main for its vaccine rollout of course if we tried to have the block reversed but it does rise wider questions about the issue of astra zeneca failing to meet some of its back same targets the telly and the government has said the reason behind this decision is because if that shortage of astra zeneca doses in europe and the close it doesn't see as a vulnerable nation because of the lawyer number of that montane cases here

a bit this will come about because of the shortage of doses in europe whereby european based vaccine manufacturers need to seek approval from national governments if it wants to export vials outside of europe we understand that the italian government did inform the european commission of this decision to block the shipment to a strategy it could have skipped gene but it didn't nonetheless saying the rollout program is under white we're only just seeing the 1st doses of astra zeneca that same spacing rolled out and more manufacturing all of that vaccine is expected to begin at life this month at the same time we have the 5 is a vaccine being involved in a strategy so at this stage the government doesn't believe that this decision by easily to block 250000 doses of the astra zeneca vaccine will affect its rollout program in the study. and the 17000 frontline health workers have now

died worldwide due to coronavirus imus international reported the figures and he's calling on governments to speed up vaccinations for health care professionals and says that claim is in social care workers are often ignored and distribution plans and should also be given priority friends with his vice president of the council of the americas he says that health workers need more support. this is a real tragedy and it's particularly amplified because the people who are trying to address it who are literally on the frontlines of addressing it are the ones who are being the families affected the most i mean and that makes sense because they're the ones who are exposed to it are there working in the worst conditions in developing countries around the world it's really a bad situation and yet they don't seem to have priority in the context of having access to vaccines so it's a real desperate situation for many people it's a really difficult conundrum because literally there's 'd only so much money that

can go around and particularly again if you're dealing with developing markets who may not have a lot of access financial space in the 1st place they really don't have a whole lot of excess liquidity to be able to devote to either vaccines or p p and then if you put on top of that the fact that several of these countries 'd around the world are already have significant debt loads that will be difficult to service many are reluctant to add on top of that so there really is going to have to be international assistance both financial and also access to vaccines and access to p.p.a. we're seeing some of that through the kovacs facility and through some direct contributions of things like that but the real answer to this is 'd getting enough supply produced so that it can be distributed not just to developed countries but to developing markets alike i think that's the ultimate answer but it does take time and there are no simple solution here. a group of paramilitary organizations that

supports northern ireland staying in the u.k. says it's temporarily pulling out of the landmark peace deal the law is coming communities council says it's suspending its role in the good friday agreement because it breaks it is disrupted trade between north nylander the rest of the u.k. in 1980 deal and did the 3 decade conflict between catholic nationalists and protestant unionists. so this is a desert these are the top stories and china has unveiled a plan to overhaul of hong kong's electoral system that would stamp out any opposition in the city's legislative body the proposal giving beijing the power to veto any kind of it was announced on the 1st day of china's biggest political gathering contribute has more now from beijing many people in hong kong already contributing criticism to this draft law currently in hong kong said this was just surgery on hong kong.