these today people in power investigate expose these and question the use and abuse of power around the. country seeing. overnight raids in me and my main cities the security forces continue their crackdown against anti coup protests. hello i'm down in jordan this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up the u.s. senate finally passes president biden's 1.9 trillion dollars coba relief bill following a marathon and venting session. after meeting shia islam's most influential ayatollah pope francis heads to iraq's kurdish region to hold prayers for victims

of war. and with code inspections on the rise chile and brazil are returning to unpopular strict lock downs. me and ma security forces of storm the homes of protesters over night firing shots as they were rounded up after this. raids have taken place in several main cities part of a strict crackdown by the military human rights groups say it's a tactic designed to terrify people into submission but protesters are remaining defiant and continue to gather daily to call for an end to the military coup despite facing tear gas stun grenades and live rounds what tony chang joins us live now from bangkok in neighboring thailand tony so this isn't the 1st time the gent have used nighttime raids since the coup tell us what's been happening.

absolutely not and this is something that's been going on for some time but it's certainly been stepped up in the intensity in the last couple of days we heard a lot of reports in yangon a mandalay that this was happening last night before i went dark every night the internet is shut off at about 10 pm local time so we haven't heard anything in the last 6 hours or so but it does seem to be very consistent with a pattern that's emerging the security forces are going out after dark in forcing the curfew that's been in place since the military coup but also intimidating they clearly have a list of people activists journalist anyone frankly who's been shown to be publicly supportive of the protesters there trying to arrest and doing so in a very dramatic way kicking down doors firing stone grenades but i think also this serves to intimidate a lot of areas in these large urban areas have neighborhood watch committees that

have been put in place since the coup when a large number of convicts were released by the military junta from prison we saw a certain amount of violence in residential areas after that so people organized themselves those committees are now being targeted in the last few nights we've seen people who are trying to protect their own neighborhoods being arrested and being arrested quite violently and we're also seeing the destruction of property as the security services in there appear to be a lot more military on the streets at night clearly under the cover of dark the military feel more confident in showing themselves they're going around the smashing up cars smashing up private property again firing these stun grenades that on the quiet streets of a residential area reverberated very loudly a lot of this is being filmed by people from the balcony of the building so we can see what's going on but clearly the goal of the military at this stage is to

intimidate people and to keep them in their houses and persuade them not to go out on the streets in the daytime to protest i mean how are these raids likely then to impact on those ongoing protests tony do people remain defiant do you think. well we've seen them coming out day after day we've seen live fire being used on the streets to against coming in again and again you know the tactics of the security services are getting harsher and harsher every week. people are still coming out in those people who are on these wanted lists do seem to be aware of it many of them are hiding in. places where they think the security services won't find them. and i think it is working to a certain extent in that you know there is clearly a pattern of fear emerging people are very disturbed at night particularly with the internet can't offer i think they're feeling very isolated but the spirit of the

protesters remain strong they are going out and showing a face of defiance to the security services i think the security services are trying to say you can come out in the day you know you can try and define us but at night the streets are ours all right attorney in the thai capital bangkok tony thank you. u.s. president joe biden has achieved his 1st major legislative victory the senate has finally passed a $1.00 trillion dollar coronavirus relief bill by the now arista margins it will provide one of payments worth 1400 dollars to most americans the bill now goes back to the democratic controlled house for approval michaela reports bill is passed. the bill was finally passed in the process tired of vote a rama it was the longest vote in recent memory approval coming more than 24 hours after the role of members was called this bill will deliver more help to more

people than anything the federal government has done in decades we could work together. for our democratic college voters. their top priority one pandemic relief it was their washing and wish wish. the whole process began as it would largely continue with the deciding vote by the vice president camila harris to acceptable for debate breaking a $5050.00 deadlock along party lines the 1st major delay was among democrats with senator joe manchin holding out for more than 10 hours before reaching a compromise to president biden on unemployment payments i am at republican insistence the whole ball was read out in the chamber a highly unusual measure that in itself took some 11 hours then came dozens of amendments introduced by republicans presidents vote not needed many as

a republican senator from alaska had to return home for a family you will not agree to the amendments were rejected by 30 votes to 49 fortunately my friends on the other side have used the link tactics after the length arctics obstruction of structured obstruction some senators raising the issues as part of the abstraction should taxpayer money be set $1400.00 to every illegal alien in america provoking a heated response the statement of the senator from texas is just playing force force let me be clear the ball will go back to the house for approval and president biden is likely to get his big treat when i was elected i said really get the government out of the business of battle you know on twitter and back in the business of delivery for the american people. making

a difference in the lives. everyone achieved so far the chance but made very clear is that any legislative process depends on a raise that the majority one that could be threatened should any single democratic senator go against the party line by kind of al-jazeera washington for term foreign as executive editor of news god he says the passing of the bill should help president biden's popularity it's an extraordinary amount of money we're using figure 1.9 trillion it's actually a little bit more if you look at about $300000000000.00 that hasn't been spent from some of the trump outlay so figure out how to learn $2.00 children dollars money directly going to $150000000.00 american households of course for a family of 4 say living in the state of massachusetts with a total household and some of brown maybe $55000.00 not much at all with one person

unemployed they are going to get basically direct payments of $22000.00 that's a huge amount it doesn't even count i don't want to know that that person may already be getting it is a staggering amount of money of course you've got some economists who are in this country you know disputing about whether this would all will overheat the economy and lead to inflation but i think bottom line if you're joe biden is that most polling suggests right now that not only do about 60 percent approve of your performance which is a lot higher than his predecessor ever thought but of approximately 70 percent even higher approval where you fear to be handling and them. pope francis celebrated mass in baghdad's chaldean cathedral as the latest stop on his visit to iraq earlier the head of the roman catholic church delivered a message of peace to a nation wracked by years of war and religious divisions the prime minister mustapha hard to me has declared march 6 as iraq's to have tolerance and

coexistence for pope francis was also in the where as a somber binge of a reports he met iraq's top shia cleric fall. under strict security pope francis enters not just one of the holiest cities for shia muslims another historic 1st for the leader of the catholic church as he met iraq's grand ayatollah sistani's a reclusive leader who is rarely seen in public he's iraq's most revered cleric and his proclamations have influenced many since the 2003 u.s. invasion the plight of those being persecuted in the region including palestinians and syrians they discussed. short of equal rights for christians in iraq and peaceful coexistence the meeting between the pope and grand ayatollah ali sistani is symbolic and significant although the merger of the religious authority says it plays no role in politics has played a pivotal part in iraq recently whether it was urging people to take part in

politics in elections whether it was to tell them to pick up arms against isis and more recently in the favor of the protesters. clerics in najaf say the pope's visit has highlighted iraq's central place for all religions and is a brave gesture from pope francis in the face of security challenges and the pandemic and home. clerics through their words and behavior convert the message of peace and love and convince people to stay away from extremism this is what we did in iraq in the last 2 decades and not just doors have remained open the pope's visit to niger will boost the spirit with our partners the christians in iraq. as part of this pact 3 day visit the 4 went on a pilgrimage to or the city is the birthplace of prophet abraham the patriarch of all abrahamic religions. in a meeting with leaders representing sunni's sheers christians disease and save for francis called himself a messenger of peace advocating harmony and faiths. believe is

a strong element that unifies us terrorism and extremism has nothing to do with religion terrorism exploits religion and it is up to us to find solutions and is up to us to face and deal with those who betray religions the ancient city of the province where there have been frequent protests and violence but on saturday the message from politicians and religious leaders there was of tolerance and peaceful change many iraqis say they're ready for such a transition and hope it will also has reduced corruption and bring more jobs some of the. lebanon's caretaker prime minister has on a day as threatening to suspend his duties unless a new government is formed have been demonstrations for a 5th day in the capital beirut as lebanon's currency slides to record new lows. politicians to put aside their differences and address a worsening economic crisis and the how relatively the car the filaments really yet

it's an attempt to avoid responsibility which leaves me with the option of halting work amongst this disruption that we are facing now to work on matters in the country so i can put pressure on to form a government if it helps to form a government i am prepared to resort to that option even though it goes against my principles because it will hold the whole country back and will hurt the lebanese. the family of a black man whose death sparked protests around the world has given an emotional press conference ahead of the trial of his alleged killer the man seen kneeling on george ford's neck is set to appear in court in the coming days isn't. it. and the thing. we're here to see. you do have to be to change when you have the who are maybe saying so. but listen to me. i want.

you. to put take them. you can make. time for a short break here and al-jazeera when we come back. the netherlands holds its 1st music festival since the pandemic began to see if major events can be covered provide us jonah hole in belfast northern ireland where post breaks the tensions have caused loyalist paramilitary groups to with rule their support from the good friday peace agreement. it's time for the perfect gentleman. sponsored plan qatar airways now it has got cold temperature is the forecast be only 10 degrees in tokyo having

been up as high as 20 couple of days ago but that cold blast is now cut off in fact if anything tempers rising rapidly harbinger of her freezing beijing's up to bat plus a to me get keep going up in fact in china the cloud is building again another period of rain mostly light rain is moving steadily east as a might which is far north as beijing and tokyo up 14 by this time harvard's up to plus 6 i think the thaw is under way south of this question the moment the philippines sees isn't showing very much action that we should probably watch it so discussing the shows of the philippines some parts of southeast asia but still it's rainy season the malays in indonesia surprisingly and some action in the skies in the finals of india and pakistan mostly it's in the foothills of the himalayas down through nepal and stretches that's where bhutan to the northeast of india not much in the plane but there is in the forecast the new delhi a hint on sunday of showers or thunderstorms around which might briefly change the air quality but it's become still quite rather poor by the time we get back to

monday otherwise it's warming up nicely it's getting quite hot in places showers are confined to the far south or sri lanka. at ways. things are set and it's time for a different approach one that is going to challenge the way you think on the ask me questions now as a new host of the next season of the show that's got no space for sound bites only time to do list leave simplicity to the headlines join me as i take on the lies dismantle the misconceptions and debate the contradiction. i'm marc lamont hill and it's time to get up front right here on al-jazeera.

welcome back a quick amount of our top stories here at this hour a 1000000 miles security forces have carried out night raids against opponents and several main cities stun grenades and live rounds are reported have been fired activists say at least 1500 people have been detained since the coup on separate the 1st. the u.s. senate has now only passed a $1.00 trillion dollar coronavirus relief package the building includes one of payments of $1400.00 to most americans emergency unemployment benefits and billions of dollars for increased vaccine distribution. and pope francis will visit christian communities who suffered on the ice or in northern iraq on the final day of an historic visit to the region on saturday the senior shiite cleric ayatollah ali al sistani. senegal's opposition party and civil society groups are calling for 3 days of nationwide protests starting on monday they say the arrest and charges

against opposition leader. are politically motivated are also denouncing violence by the security forces the reports from dhaka. in decors affluent neighborhood this is what is left of a french supermarket following another night of riots and lost for words i have tears in my eyes laments this cashier as she watches people including young children take away what they can a bag of past there for her and door and unemployed carpenter who in the looting saw an opportunity to find a meal for his family tonight but it's not just about shooting for. the youth are suffering we are jobless countless people have lost their jobs we need a little something to get by and feed our families. protesters set the supermarket on fire following days of nationwide demonstrations it all started after the detention of opposition leader last wednesday. he's accused of rape inciting and an

authorised protest and public insurrection but his supporters say these charges are politically motivated. this part of himself as the establishment politician has been very critical of the relationship of big corporations with the state and the government specifically the president himself accusing him of corruption the government wants to see and then to the violence with the interior ministry warning the looters they will face arrest several local t.v. stations have been taken off air for inciting violence while journalists perceived as supporting the government have come under attack. the government calls on all the nation citizens and forces for calm and serene outi. while the internet monitor net block says social media messaging apps are being restricted supporters of song go civil society activists and the opposition have joined forces taking their protest both to the streets and online with

a hash tag free senegal one to defend our democracy because we at really outrage you see how our government our allies and even if i don't need to get out of senegalese people our young people have been organizing fighting in the streets standing up to say enough is enough. they believe people are looting because they're hungry and are calling for more peaceful demonstrations across the country starting monday in what appears to be not the end but the beginning of a movement nicholas hawk al-jazeera. nigeria's president has received his 1st dose of the astra zeneca 19 vaccine as part of an effort to boost public confidence . was an ocular 80 days after the country received almost 4000000 doses through the global kovacs scheme a program was created to ensure low and middle income nations receive vaccines

that's been marred by delays and limited supplies for coronavirus restrictions due to cases is causing chaos in parts of latin america and paraguayan the president has asked the cabinet to resign following clashes between police and protesters while argentina's governments being condemned by rights groups of the police violence in brazil tighter restrictions have been imposed in the country's 2 most populous states. reports. clashes broke out on friday in a border city in northern argentina following the imposition of new coronavirus lockdown restrictions police officers used tear gas and rubber bullets against a crowd injuring dozens for the most is one of argentina. and had already been hit hard by an economic recession before derives all of the virus a year ago many protesters were informal vendors demanding to be allowed to work.

human rights groups have denounced what they say was indiscriminate use of force by the police but. the protestors were responsible for the violence. no. nothing justifies these violent actions we call for reflection and invite you all to make your claims in a peaceful manner. similar scenes on the same day across the border and ways capital s. and where thousands of angry demonstrators confronted police throughout the night protesters burned road blocks around congress demanding president beneath this resigned. resign forgot. earlier in the day the country's health minister was the latest official in the region to give up his post but that wasn't enough to quell people's anger over the government's handling of the global health crisis but why is experiencing record

numbers of cases with hospitals on the brink of collapse and few vaccine doses available. despite moving fast on vaccine distribution cases or on the rise in chile as well for a 2nd day the country registered more than 5000 new cases the highest infection rate in 9 months 2 thirds of the capital santiago is under strict lockdown as are a number of other regions. in brazil the worst hit country in south america local authorities. have adopted new restrictions and a curfew to try to control the brutal 2nd wave shops and stalls are shut as police patrol the streets this this by president. told citizens to stop whining and move on as he continues to downplay depend dammy. going through an extremely grave situation that could be catastrophic in some parts the result of a policy of denial and scientific platform and

a contempt for human life. the latest restrictions are expected to last here until march 11th but many were out on the beach in rio on saturday the find the experts alison that i'm. sweden has joined a growing number of countries holding onto lockdown protests police were brought in to disperse hundreds of demonstrators gathered in stockholm on saturday authorities said the rally was illegal as large gatherings are banned under coronavirus restrictions only gatherings of up to 8 people are allowed testers are demanding measures be eased and argue the rules restrict freedom. anger over the u.k.'s breaks that deal with the e.u. could spill over into protests and possible violence that's according to one leading opponent people in northern ireland who want to remain part of the u.k. say the deal was has driven a wedge between them and the rest of the country john holl explains now from belfast. in communities still divided protestant unionists from catholic

nationalist the past is hard to shake off even though we have a peace process here it's probably more of a negative piece of those days or a take and. it's not a part of the case because they still have grills in their windows if they're still there still are security zation around here community activists on both sides witnessed regular confrontations between young people who weren't even born when the good friday agreement brought peace to northern ireland in the 1998 has kind of frog back all that sort of old memories of traumatic times where that was a constant here as well and it is unfortunate that this is passed to another generation of young people who are basically going out and going out of their way to attack other communities the other community some fear that a fragile peace could falter with tensions raised further by post breaks it customs checks between northern ireland and the rest of the u.k. under the so-called northern ireland protocol for unionists it's

a stake through the heart of what they stand for causing loyalist paramilitary groups to withdraw their support for the good friday agreement any major decision affecting the north in our community hard to have the consent of both communities in the case of this protocol the fact is being given just to the national nationalist side of the agreement in other words there has been broader respect that this should not be hard for them on the island of ireland but equally there cannot be a hard border oregan entry border between north and island and the rest of our own country some players anathema to you know some so how much of a threat is there to peace in northern ireland well observers including the police force don't believe there are many among the former paramilitaries who want a return to violence but there's no denying that unionists and therefore harder line lower. lists have been badly let down by the briggs's negotiations and there's

very real anger about the feelings that loyalist activists warn shouldn't be overlooked if the concerns of young loyalists and the concerns of the way to unions community are persistently ignored then what's going to happen is the data is going to have nowhere to go and when you have all this pent up anger and you've no order to act and then you end a very dangerous territory and once once that genie gets out of the bottle it's extraordinarily difficult to put it back in again and that's a concern the good friday agreement is underpinned by public support and it will likely stand regardless of the loyalists move but as long as there remains no alternative to a seed border between northern ireland and great britain that anger will grow threatening to spill over into something worse join the whole al-jazeera belfast now one of europe's best known party spots has been dormant since the pandemic began but this weekend amsterdam's largest music venue. has come back to life more

than a 1000 people flooded in for the 1st of a series of concerts designed to test social distancing rules step was among them and a warning a report contains some flash photography. an explosion of energy was released after hundreds of the trustable france returned to the dance arena after a year of absence and with no social distancing it was just a party again no nothing really the very rugged you blabbered that. you were only. the love that you didn't have the love that it. was so amazing i'm still alive like the drilling is still in my body but i loved every 2nd the people went crazy. really amazing organizers divided 1300 people in 6 different bubbles and which different rules apply with sense of they gather data about their behavior at. he wanted us to get tested afterwards but researchers say

the results are not needed for the experiments to work and not interested in the real infections it's it's a mess magical prediction model what we are actually doing isn't that strange because that's the best proof you can get right if it's safe or not yeah but then people really become guinea pigs and i don't think that's the idea it's it's not set. before the event and 11 people pass a faceted with covert 19 they were not allowed to enter. the letter startling not the least likely. not. similar experiments will be held in the next few weeks if successful organizers are hopeful they can reopen soon we have the eurovision song 1st of all in may we have the euro. football tournament in june and we work want to build up the capacity step by step in order to have a summer with. hopefully

a full capacity and much will depend on a possible 3rd wave of infections many in the netherlands have urged the government to ease the lockdown which is one of the strictest in the region last tuesday an explosion took place at one of the testing facilities police called it an attack but with infection still high and night curfew remains in place the future now. to be honest i hope not i don't really want to go back to normal but if this is necessary why not for at least 1300 people i felt a little bit like normal again but however well calm it was shortly after a few hours on the dance floor they went back into lockdown step classroom al-jazeera and said that. they. are tough the headlines on al-jazeera mean miles security forces have carried out night.