tightening its grip china announces plans for a major election reforms in hong kong. come about this and this is all just here a live from doha also coming up media reports say at least one person has been shot dead in myanmar as the latest crackdown against anti cooed protesters. historic trip pope francis heads to iraq to support one of the world's oldest and most

persecuted christian communities. street battles in senegal protesters are demanding the release of an opposition leader they say is falsely accused of rape. china has unveiled plans for a major overhaul of hong kong's electoral system in unspent was made to join the national people's congress the country's biggest annual political gathering the proposed changes would allow a pro china election committee to nominate all candidates to hong kong's legislative council the move will effectively stamp out any opposition in hong kong's parliament. well in his opening speech premier league is shying says china is against any x. terminal influence in hong kong's affairs beijing's under international scrutiny for intensifying its crackdown on political dissent in hong kong. we will stay true

to the letter and the spirit of the principle of one country 2 systems under which the people of hong kong administer hong kong with a high degree of autonomy we will improve the relevant systems and mechanisms of the special administrative region ensure the enforcement of mechanisms to safeguard national security we will resolutely guard against and deter external forces interference in the affairs of hong kong ok let's get more from katrina you in beijing that's premier league pitching this saying that they would stay true to the letter and spirit of one country 2 systems for the people of hong kong have a high degree of autonomy but in reality it doesn't seem as though these new moves are going to bring that in. no not at all and we're saying that this national people's congress is really about the communist party using this opportunity this annual event to showcase its strength and its

control over its territory in these this move in hong kong is just a part of that now beijing is saying that it's safeguarding one country 2 systems and it's ensuring stability by making sure that anyone who holds office in hong kong is loyal to beijing now at last year's national people's congress we saw the introduction of this controversial national security law which banned subversion and this caused a reckoning in hong kong as a result of that law we've seen dozens of pro-democracy figures in hong kong or arrested and charged or many of them have fled the territory and this law that we're seeing introduced at this year's congress is basically a continuation of that overall in overhaul in hong kong to ensure that beijing quaters any dissent and any opposition in the hong kong government now we're still waiting for details and we're going to hear more of that over the next few days as the congress meets and discusses this draft law but we do know that beijing is looking to dramatically shrink the number of seats electoral seats in hong kong

available to those who are directly voted in by members of the public and instead it will boost and increase the number of seats given to those who are supporters of beijing from various industry academic and social groups and at the same time carry law who is the beijing backed chief the executive of hong kong her team is going to be given new powers to allow her to essentially vet legislators in hong kong and then the analysts are saying that this is basically really a death cry for democracy in hong kong any dissent even moderate dissent is going to be quashed by this move and that china is by doing this is crushing the democratic freedoms or promise to the territory during the 1997 the handle. now in beijing's eyes it's basically just moving forward ensuring stability ensuring that hong kong is able to grow and this is really a message that we've seen not just in chung speech but in the folding messages that

we've heard from chinese politicians during the opening of this n.p.c. that china is focusing on protecting its own rights safeguarding its sovereignty boosting its economy becoming more self-reliant now this is all happening in the face of rising international criticism and hostility because of these political reforms in hong kong but because of other reasons too because of corbett and because of the treatment of we could for example and china is reacting to this moment not by backing down not by offering concessions but instead doubling down and hardening its stance in these areas and continue bringing us up to date from beijing. brown is in hong kong and he says the changes will have a severe impact on the democratic politics there the opposition here is effect leaping dismantles and of course that raises serious questions over the credibility of future elections not just for the chief executive but also for the

legislative assembly as well as the district councils and it's the district councils that have been worrying beijing keeping the leaders awake at night because 90 percent of those district councils are controlled by the opposition now there are a few other places in the world where district councils would command as much international attention as they are today but that is a measure of just how concerned beijing because people voted overwhelmingly for them in those elections in 2019 and what beijing is now saying is that these candidates who were successful were closely aligned with the protest movement and they're for. are not true patriots so if they want to remain in their job they can have to take oaths of allegiance and prove that they have a love of the motherland the question is will they also have to demonstrate a love for the communist party that hasn't been clearly defined we don't know whether you know expressing you know love for the motherland is the same as

expressing love for the communist party the former leader done shopping once said the people in hong kong wouldn't have to do that after the handover it was just enough to pledge love for the motherland so many questions still to be answered but certainly it does seem that hong kong is moving a step closer to having no political opposition there are reports at least one person has died in myanmar as city of mandalay mob to protesters clashed with police many have been defying a crackdown and marching to demand an end to the military coup activists are out in a number of cities 38 people were killed on wednesday and that's also sparked international condemnation scott hylas got more from us from bangkok and scott talk us through what we know so far about what's been happening. we know so far that this according to local media in mendel a that's the 2nd largest city in myanmar this media outlet is reporting that it was a 20 year old male who was shot and killed during

a protest by security forces now this is you know mandalay is the 2nd largest city as i mentioned and it's also been a site of many protests throughout this month since the coup on february 1st we also know that there are protesters out on the streets across the country not just in mandalay we know in yangon they are out we've seen some footage of protesters kind of in a front line again building barricades protesters on one side and then the advancement of security forces firing tear gas firing rubber bullets even into some homes firing tear gas into homes that's been happening in parts of yangon and we just got a report before we came on air that one section of yangon someone was walking and saw at least 30 police riot police on the street so there protesters are out as well as the security forces but again this is the 1st death as you mentioned since we saw that very bloody day on wednesday where $38.00 protesters were killed so now we're looking at more than 50 protesters have been killed since the coup on

february 1st in scope of course we're focusing on the military crackdown on the violence on the streets in the protests but there is a backdrop to this is well this is that there is all this stuff going on in the background just talk us through what's been happening there. sure again what's very interesting and not too clear as to why there has been electricity outages around the country across the country actually from the north the south east to the west including the capital neighborhood or that's where the joint is is orchestrating this crackdown we're getting reports from all parts of the country that there is a blackout we don't know to what extent it is we don't know what the reason is behind and there hasn't been really any reporting on as what the cause was so it's very curious. needs to be said though in myanmar it does not have the best electricity grid and depending on the year depending on usage there blackouts are frequent power outages are frequent and sometimes even scheduled so it's something

to keep an eye on right now but we really can't connect the dots obviously it's a very suspicious time for this to be happening also another development rob and that is that you tube has announced that it's taking 5 channels backed by myanmar's military off one in particular is the is the state network now that's something we saw a move similar to what we saw facebook do last month a couple of weeks ago right after the coup because both entities citing the the military is using those channels was using their channels of communication to spread this information so they have taken that further step to to remove those channels those military myanmar military backed channels off you tube rob scott thanks very much that's called hi-lo talking to us from bangkok pope francis is on his way to iraq where he's going to fulfill a longstanding promise to become the 1st pontiff to visit the country the 3 day visit his 1st trip outside of philly since the pandemic began he'll be welcomed by

the prime minister in baghdad before meeting president bush himself at the presidential palace and head of the roman catholic church says he's going as a pilgrim of peace and the number of christians in iraq has dropped in recent years partly due to them being persecuted by al qaida and eisel they hope their struggle to survive will get a boost from the pope's visit some wonderful scene reports from baghdad. 10 years ago louise 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 i look at i thought it was the last seconds in this life there were very difficult moments you take a shot towards the room where we were in one hand grenade exploded that's when i was injured some of the project also stone my head in my chest. lewis and his son the were among more than $100.00 worshippers trapped inside the lady of salvation

church in baghdad as gunmen laid siege to the building al qaida 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 eisel 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 nia she says there is nothing for her to return to. and now 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 see one awful to al-jazeera but at. still ahead on al-jazeera denied its doses why australia is missing out on a quarter of a 1000000 of these vaccines. tsunami warnings issued across the pacific 3 powerful earthquakes forced people to move to higher ground and. it's time for the perfect gentleman the weather sponsored plan qatar airways has been a spot of spring in the air throughout a good part of europe but temporary going to damp down on not much of the year is coming ses some like 10 degrees colder than already exists this is the cold from

the tells that story ahead of it and all the heat is going to be increasing cloud it is snow particularly in eastern europe so from austria through ukraine south of it a little bit of rain in misleading since concert northing for the alpine parts of both germany and switzerland is nice but a rain in spain a few showers but in the algarve that's rather more persistent rain in southern portugal but the progress of this front will make a big difference for example take bucharest 18 degrees on friday down to 5 as the front goes through on saturday and we don't improve very much even on sundays if it was shocked but it's springtime weather it tends to flip flop like that and i think the biggest change during saturday is going to be also in the north of turkey istanbul suddenly feel much colder wetter and windy behind it all jenny speaking just cold a bit far in but there's plenty of snow for norway in finland and fairly strong winds here and the immediate future it means that that rain circulating around the algarve will affect morocco possibly bringing some light snow so the atlas

mountains. sponsored poll qatar airways jump into the story there is a lot going on in this and julian and global community when i talk about the misinformation i think we are more afraid than we are and be part of the debate don't ever take anybody's one word because there's always a difference when no topic is off the table we have been disconnected from our land we have been disconnected from who we are good enough to keep the new in the to be part of today's discussion this dream on out is the era.

in which you got to see it a reminder of our top stories this hour china's unveiled plans for a major overhaul of hong kong's electoral system to ensure only what it calls patriots are in charge a probation election committee the nominee to all candidates to the self-governing territories legislative council. there are reports of at least one person dying in miramar a city of mandalay after protesters clashed with police many have been defying a crackdown and marching to demand an end to the military coup $38.00 people were killed on wednesday. pope francis has left rome for iraq where he'll become the 1st pontiff to visit the country 3 day trip comes amid fears about the coronavirus pandemic and security. a campaign to free senegal's leading opposition figure has turned violent at least 2 protesters have been killed in battles with police the deaths of the 1st since the rest of us when the song called 2 days ago because he

has more from dakar. supporters of opposition leader months on co shelter inside the cars and 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 a political opponent to the president's real stand by 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 go 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. protect strategic sites the government says these demonstrations are authorized to television stations were taken off the 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 it attempt by president mikey cell to eliminate a popular political opponent defying the political system nicholas hawk algis iraq to car libya's taking a key step towards unifying the country the prime minister submitted his choices for government posts to the parliament for approval the house of representatives is expected to vote on the proposal on monday the formation of a cabinet as part of a un backed plan that includes holding national elections by the end of this year the war torn country has been divided between ministrations supported by armed groups and foreign governments.

after days of record coronavirus deaths across brazil its 2nd largest cities announced the toughest measures yet to curb the spread of covert 19 from 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 palos government to shut non-essential businesses for 2 weeks from saturday brazil's facing its worst phase of the epidemic yet pushing its hospital system to the brink of collapse. well as brazil faces its worst phase of the pandemic it's also seeing a sharp increase in poverty one of reports 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. so there are brazilians who 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. that way 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 was the bills public debt is 63 only 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 providing and with it the fear that the high unemployment and poverty

rates will lead to an increase of violence which is already on the rise. of al-jazeera rio de janeiro. at least 17000 frontline health workers have now died worldwide juju coronavirus than a c international reported the figures on its calling on governments to speed up vaccinations for health care professionals it says cleaners and social care workers are often ignored and inoculation drives and should also be given priority and it funds worth is vice president of the council of the americas he says 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 and from ways affected the most i mean and that makes sense because they're the ones who are exposed to it there are the they're 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 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 financial space in the 1st place they really don't have a whole lot of excess liquidity to be able to devote to 'd either vaccines or pete and that 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 the facility and through some direct contributions and 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 like i think that's the ultimate answer but it does take time and there are no simple solutions here it is government has blocks the export of an astro seneca corona virus vaccine shipment to a strain now a strain is fighting back and so is the european commission to review the decision over concerns of a trend towards a protectionist approach to vaccine supply mccullagh aids reports. a story as cope at 19 vaccination program began just under a fortnight ago but it's already behind sched chill and is now eternally supported by the european commission has bought the planned export of 250000 doses of the astra zeneca vaccine to. this signalling from europe is very. out of that magic that as of this that times and many many couples in the world will be replying on. that say it's the 1st thing to bench an of its current design

to crack down on big pharmaceutical companies that fail to deliver on promises applies astra zeneca reduced its pledge doses to hear opinion earlier this year and italy has blamed its decision to block the astronomy and bound vaccines on supply problems saying is it in a stronger position with few code 19 caissons australia has rightist the issue with the european commission through multiple channels and in particular we have asked the european commission to review this decision the government says the block shipment one to affect its vaccine program a locally manufactured beijing of astra zeneca made by company c s n l is set to be available light this month with the aim of producing $1000000.00 doses each week it's a very serious with $30000.00 steps

a nation 1st 5 days of the program. has been shared access. saves with. lots of that saves and we start that. absolutely if you like general practices and found the locally produced doses will provide the backbone of the strategy is inoculation program which officials hope to complaint by october this trial has also committed to helping vaccinate its neighbors in the pacific nicola gage al-jazeera. tens of thousands of people in new zealand fled their homes on friday after a series of earthquakes triggered a tsunami alert many have now returned home but as wayne here reports from toronto others are still worried. around many parts of new zealand a peaceful friday morning was interrupted by tsunami sirens the calm waters provided an eerie backdrop to the warning about the danger that could have been on

its way people in coastal communities in the north we're most at risk and we're told to head to higher ground where some captured a tsunami arriving from an 8 point one magnitude earthquake hundreds of kilometers away near the kermadec islands what we are asking people is to try and stay calm touch price of people make you love check on the people that you know might be most at risk and really just listen to the advice that is coming through for some this was the 2nd tsunami evacuation in hours early on friday morning another large quake struck much closer to new zealand and was felt strongly around much of the country by our jumped out of being stuck in the doorway and my staff was up as well as question wrong it took forever to start the quakes and tsunami alerts came less than 2 weeks after new zealand is marked teen years since an earthquake in christchurch that killed 185 people new zealand's location and the pacific ring of fire means that to an extent people here are used to earthquakes and because it's

an island nation many people live on or near the coast and live with the constant threat of a tsunami in the end the tsunami was minor and the alert was lifted after a few hours allowing people to return home as aftershocks continues meaning many will be nervous about what the next few days might bring wayne hay al jazeera told on a new zealand. this is our desire these are the top stories china has unveiled plans for a major overhaul of hong kong's electoral system to ensure only what it calls patriots are in charge a probation election committee will now nominate all candidates to the territories legislative council adrian brown has more from hong kong on the significance of this move by china. the opposition here is effect leaping dismantles and of course that.