somehow i'm a sinner i'm a bad person. that's machine on al-jazeera we understand the differences and similarities in cultures across the world so not so what we do to the news and kind of for that matter to you. this is al-jazeera. hello i'm about to sin and this is the news our live from doha coming up in the next 60 minutes u.s. and chinese officials are on their way to alaska for their 1st face to face talks since president joe biden came to office. a meeting in moscow puts russia back at the center of a ghana stance peace process. gives its approval to astra zeneca is covert vaccine

but says reports it can cause blood clots and need more study. tanzania is set to swear in its 1st female president after the death of john. the government says he suffered heart failure. i'm. telling you can you imagine from a stage of imagine say a full months before the m.p. games and italian. have all of 1st team activities suspended after a coronavirus outbreak of the club. then we're going to begin this news hour with a meeting that's likely to set the tone in relations between the world's 2 largest economies top diplomats from the u.s. and china are going to meet in alaska be the 1st face to face discussions since the by the ministration too cautious in january and it comes just after the u.s. sanctioned an additional $24.00 chinese and hong kong officials for what it says is

beijing's continuing crackdown on political freedoms in the territory diplomatic editor james bays is joining us now live from and courage in alaska james it's notable 1st of all that this meeting is happening a toll but given the fact that both sides seem to be publicly so far apart one wonders what they can actually achieve. well i suppose you could say things can only get better but they're not necessarily all going to get better because these are the 2 worlds superpowers some are warring that we could be facing a new cold war certainly relations in the last 4 years between the us and china at the time of the trumpet ministration of being pretty poor the idea is now to start a new relationship to try and build some parameters for a relationship and set the tone for relationship now it's pretty clear that the buy administration hasn't come in saying we now want to have

a report more with china we have no problems with china whatsoever they have significant problems with china they have problems with what china is doing at home with its human rights with its treatment of the weaker people with what's going on in hong kong and clearly there is deep concern that by the u.s. am by the other members of the g. 7 of the black sliding in democracy in hong kong taiwan the relations between china and taiwan the south china sea all of those issues are issues which are particular potentially issues of confrontation between these 2 countries they know that but they think that they can work a new way the biden ministration 1st they're going to work with allies they're going to have all their allies together and get a common position and that's why you've seen the u.s. secretary of state with the u.s. defense secretary touring asia before coming here to this meeting but they're also hoping that they can confront china on some issues and at the same time civil

tenuously work with china on other issues there you've got things like climate change where they think they can work together with an important climate change meeting coming up at the end of the year they also think there are other key regional issues myanmar for example will be one that is top of the agenda right now that where there could be some work together the iran new could. good deal remember china is one of the signatories along with the u.s. to the iran nuclear deal they might be able to work closely together there so i think they're trying to do a case by case approach to china so they can disagree on some issues but that is not going to destroy the relationship it's at this meeting working out the parameters working out the red lines of both sides i'm going by what you are saying it is important to remember that this is essentially just a 1st step in what is going to be a very long process there are going to be meetings after this but it is going to take time. yes what is interesting is

quite often when you have a big meeting like the one that's going be taking place in the hotel behind me and we think it's actually going to sit they're going to sit down in about 3 hours from now they try often to come up with a joint statement or a joint communique we're hearing there's going to be a likely they'll be no joint statement at the end of it we might hear some words of welcome in about 3 hours time when both sides sit around the table and then at the end of it both sides will brief separately they don't. think that we're going to come to any agreements on any issues it's simply trying to set the tone but that isn't so important when you're dealing with the 2 most powerful nations on earth james thanks very much indeed that said james bass talking to us from. from anchorage i should say in alaska. christopher hill is a former assistant secretary of state for east asian and pacific affairs he currently teaches at columbia university he's joining us live by skype from new

york city it's good to have you with us on. it's fairly clear from the way that the u.s. is behaving on in the hours immediate immediately before this meeting with the. sanctioning of an additional $24.00 chinese and hong kong officials that the u.s. is setting out its stall very clearly where do you think that there is room for maneuver on both sides with these talks. well 1st of all as as your correspondent made very clear this is a longstanding problem there are a lot of challenges china relationship it's also happens to be probably our most of course relationships so this is the 1st conversation i'm very pleased to see that the conversations coming after consultations with our partners and allies in the region so i think it's it's very important the earth i think the fighting ministration and say you know it too shares the news of many that there's

a 'd there's a deep seated problems in this relationship but it's also committed to the idea that it's going to be some diplomacy to look for ways to to emerge from and i believe that this we should set the expectations of this meeting very low but at the same time i would like to see not a situation where people are just staring at each other but rather where they talk about some areas of common interest obviously climate change is one of those but i would put north korea there as well as the chinese or any interest in seeing north korea consolidate that status as a nuclear power so i think perhaps there will be some effort to find some common ground there but i want to emphasize is going to be a long term process and i'm just pleased that there's also going to be a diplomatic back to it because there was an inadequate diplomatic track of the ministers i was talking just shortly before hand to. an advisor

periodically to the chinese government on economic issues and he used the phrase it's difficult to shake hands when somebody with somebody while they're kicking you in the shins and if china is taking that stance surely there's an indication then that it's up to the americans up to the u.s. to try to give some sort of where the room for want of a better phrase in order to move these negotiations forward if the u.s. is determined that that should happen. you know in my experience of diplomatic negotiations you're always have the perception of one side saying well we can't do anything aside as long as you keep kicking at a so please stop kicking house and then maybe we'll do something in fact the of if they want to do something i'm sure there would be an interest that the u.s. seeing this way should ship improve on the basis of issues that we we believe need to be addressed and that would include some of these issues such as hong kong south

china sea etc but if there's a mutual interest in this i think they can figure out a way to shake hands over his things you know the problem is not that there are misunderstandings here the problem is that there are some fundamental disagreements and they've got to war that through and that's why i think it's very important not to set too many expectations for the 1st meeting and i'll encourage alaska the body ministrations referring to china as a competitor rather than an adversary that's a fairly regularly used phrase and also joe biden's national security adviser said last week that the u.s. needs to put less focus on trying to slow china down and more emphasis on trying to run foster itself do you think that is going to resonates with china and that might at least give some indication of some sort of opening that the by the administration might be prepared to give some sort of relaxation in the sense. yes but i i agree but i think. it has the added advantage of being true i don't think

the us is trying to hold 'd china back i think the u.s. needs to gain some an understanding from the chinese that we have to thrive as well and the chinese have not made it easy to do business with you know economic and commercial terms and often they're not meeting us halfway on some of the issues that we need some we need some work on such as such as environment so i think it's a very accurate turn of phrase by mr sullivan and i hope the chinese do pick up on it as a as a constructive approach because i do believe the binder ministration is is interested in a constructive approach a child is not going to disappear for a large country to put it it's going to be around and the u.s. there's are a lot to be gained from sitting down and out of working through these issues and seeing if we can't bind some patterns of communication patterns of cooperation that

i think a been sorely lacking in recent years as always it's good to get your thoughts on this because of how we appreciate it thank you very much indeed thank you well the day after joe biden likened his russian counterparts to a killer vladimir putin has responded to the russian leader said it takes one to know one exchange began when biden accused putin of ordering the poisoning of opposition leader alexina vallone he also said last who will pay a price for election meddling on behalf of former presidents don't trump russia has recalled its ambassador from washington. in war u.s. president joe biden has hinted the remaining american troops in afghanistan may have to stay longer than the may 1st deadline to withdraw the taliban insists the troops must leave by that date as agreed with the previous u.s. administration talks and now being held in moscow to restart the stalled peace process. has more from kabul. shop owners in

kabul are getting ready for the afghan new year after 20 years of conflict and a dire economic state they welcome a chance to celebrate a happy occasion. this could also be the 1st year american troops will not be here to help local forces keep the peace. if we will reach an agreement among us there will be no need for the americans to stay here if we we will be able to bring security ourselves. u.s. president joe biden is facing a may 1st deadline to withdraw all american troops from afghanistan as agreed by donald trump's administration the white house is now scrambling to have a peace agreement in place between the afghan government and taliban before it fully withdraws its troops concerns have been mounting that without one afghanistan could plunge into another civil war. if there will be no peace we are obligated to

have america here until there is security the violence is increasing multiple bombings and assassinations the target civilians especially in kabul have become a daily occurrence but it's not only the war that makes the future here look bleak be uncertain. future is exacerbated by a humanitarian crisis all struggling to survive and poverty. 400. 20 years. we do analysts some politicians have expressed fears the afghan government could collapse without the financial support of the international community on the ground there are more battles between the security forces and taliban fighters afghans are angry they're demanding peace. you'll reach an agreement among the americans should leave

afghanistan the foreigners are came here and destroyed our country other is the same sentiment calling on the americans to leave. the presence of americans will not benefit afghans anymore is this day for the last 20 years to don't have any benefits because they did not have an effective plan. but america has signaled its desire to get out of afghanistan soon and whether that's by may 1st or a bit later it is the afghans who are likely to suffer the consequences for many years to come contrary al-jazeera kabul. but more ahead on the news hour including a plea for help leads to me and was military charging the deposed ambassador to the u.n. with high treason. one year on italy's prime minister visits one of europe's 1st coronavirus hot spots and pays almost to the victims it's ac milan against manchester united in the stand out tie in thursday's the open league games were

going to build up to that one sport. european regulators have ruled astra zeneca is covert 19 vaccine is safe in the european medicines agency found no evidence of a higher risk of blood clots in people who receive the job several e.u. countries have suspended its use over concerns about side effects meanwhile britain's warning of a significant reduction in vaccine supplies by the end of this month the health secretary says the vaccine rollout is still on track but deliveries have been slowed because of supply chain problems back in just a moment we'll get more 'd from neve barker who's outside a vaccination center in london 1st let's go to dominic kane who's in balinese been monitoring that announcement by the european medicines agency dominic what are the potential consequences of this very important decision.

for much of this week the european medicines agency has found itself of the center of attention placed there by a succession of e.u. member states declaring that they had concerns about the use of astra zeneca amongst their populations because of the incidence of blood clots that had occurred in a select number of patients and let's be clear we were talking about ratios of one to around 170000 doses administered would lead on to blood clots and so they remitted the decision about the safety of the vaccine to the am a wondering what the e m a's review might produce well now we know what the a.m.a. is review has actually produced and this is how the head of the a.m.a. introduced their findings a little earlier the committee has come to a clear scientific conclusion this is

a safe and effective vaccine its benefits in protecting people from covert 19 with the associated risks of death and hospitalized patients outweigh the possible risks the committee also concluded that the vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of throwing a baloch event our blood clots don another that decisions being taken by the mayor what happens with the astra zeneca vaccine in the in u. . well the interesting thing here is to delineate those countries who are already using astra zeneca and did not suspend its use for example belgium which carried on using astra zeneca and then some of the other bigger member states such as france and germany who were determined to suspend the use of it temporarily now we have not heard excuse me we've not heard from the german government since that ruling from the e m a but there is

a great deal of pressure building up in germany on the general sense of the speed with which the people are being vaccinated so for example one leading conservative politician in this country the prime minister of bavaria a potential chancellor candidate markers or had said that if the ruling had been negative that perhaps the vaccine should have been used anyway and that the people receiving it be told ok it's up to you if you want to take the risk such as the desire for the vaccinations to gather more pace also bear in mind that you have some here in berlin one 3rd of all the vaccinations centers are currently closed because of the temporary ban on the use of astra zeneca so there's no question that certainly governments not just the german government but many others have astra zeneca in their minds as a key weapon against covert so if it is able to be used then the

pressure on them to use it will grow and grow and as i say there is a growing feeling in germany that the government here has been slow in getting the population vaccinated people see what has happened in the u.k. and they wonder why it can't happen in germany and to a certain extent the same can be said about other e.u. member states the e use line is that they have a right by that i mean the institutions we heard from the president of the commission sort of from their lion yesterday that they have. have acquired and will be acquiring very many millions of doses from the vaccine manufacturers and here in berlin the pressure is growing tony thanks very much donna came in and i want to go over to barker who's live for us in london is dominic saying that the the weight now in the used to see how countries in the new are going to react to this one has been the response in the u.k. . well of course also the prime minister has

given his briefing in downing street just a short while ago and that was something of a sigh of relief really from the british authorities and of obviously the the teams that have developed the vaccine that they now feel that work has been vindicated it's got the backing of the european medicines asian c of course the the u.k.'s medicines agency and the w.h.o. of also now given the green light to that it was very important i think at this downing street brown briefing to hear the kind of work that has gone into ensuring the safety of this vaccine the head of the u.k.'s medicines regulator body was there confirming that the work is only going that they continually checking its safety as the vaccine continues to be rolled out across the country there have been some anecdotal cases of vaccine hesitancy when it comes to the oxford astra zeneca job i think the government very keen to nip any doubts in the in the bud before

they're allowed to escalate the message across the board so that this vaccine is safe that on the balance of probability the side effects of very very negligible compared to the overwhelming benefits need thanks very much indeed this new box onto this one down. italy's prime minister mario draghi has attended a ceremony in longer a region that became europe's covered 1000 hot spot one year ago more than 100000 people have died across the country over the last year and that told except to rise as the country prepares for another wave of infections and $0.02 reports. dignity one year after the chaos and death that consumed the long body region of italy the 1st european country to be hit by covalent. italy's prime minister mario draghi having imposed a new lockdown is only too aware of the threat posed by another wave of the virus

for now though he pays homage to 3500 lives lost in this region and nationwide the total daid of more than 100000. this is a day for the sadness but also full of hope and i want everyone to feel close through the sadness and hope. the images emerging from this region exactly a year ago were viewed with disbelief all over the world convoys of military trucks filled with coffins. the sounds. and the silence such emptiness. yet a void filled with daily outbursts of support from medical staff. and looking back to the time his church was filled with coffees this priest reflects the even. and that's one of the only people really are people similar for the young to visit

own become an area where nothing could be done any more as a year ago time stopped doing it. in the hospitals overwhelms the breaking point a year ago the staff talk of a new confidence medical directors say they have more control despite another wave of infections all of. life's changes. that you've paid for but coastal communities what you need to think of priority i think sometimes through the. markets fell 50 m. back really we have more capacity than we think we have. but similar scenes to this will continue with the rollout of vaccines having a long way to go not just here but all over the world andrew simmons al-jazeera.

tanzania's opposition is calling for a quick succession of power after the death of president jiang not before me officials say the 61 year old suffered heart failure but opposition leaders suspect he was sick with covert 19 vice president. is set to become tanzania's 1st female leader under subpoena reports. thank you for the word go the last time john pomfret megaphone he was seen in public he was carrying out official duties and not wearing a mask not long into his 2nd term in office he suddenly vanished from public sight after 3 weeks of speculation came the announcement from vice president's son on state television. where we lost our leader president of the republic of tanzania the owner. who parted this life from heart complications in hospital in dar es salaam rumors had been swirling that magnify had sought treatment for covert 19 largely fed by opposition leader to lease to and kenyan

media the government denied the reports and arrested at least 4 people who speculated about his health on social media. when you were told his government no one wears a mask including me it proves that there is no corona virus and god loves this nation president maggie foully was more than a coronavirus skeptic his government stop sharing data with the world health organization last year and declared tanzania covert free divine intervention the official tally still stands at $509.00 cases and $21.00 deaths all these months later he displayed a disregard for health advice focusing on prayer and local remedies while also claiming the vaccines were dangerous this true condemnation from the w.h.o. and the roman catholic church. denial had turned into policy for a nation of 60000000 what we have that the ministry has no plans to receive vaccines for cave in 1000 which are already in use in other countries. the w.h.o.

has repeatedly asked the government to adopt preventative measures such as wearing face masks to start reporting cases and to share data foreign embassies began warning of a significant increase in the number of kobe 1000 cases that could overwhelm tanzania's limited hospital capacity in late february maggie farley finally began to change his tone warming to the idea of wearing locally made face masks that was just days before a shocking press conference from his finance minister. which was called to address rumors that he had died of corona virus. tanzania has refused to join the kovacs program which has delivered millions of doses to $22.00 african countries it will be up to some e.s.l. haasan to decide whether it remains an outlier when it comes to protecting its population and that of neighboring countries. al-jazeera still ahead on al-jazeera no relief in sight while levels economic crisis is getting worse and it's pushing more people into poverty. assert memorials held for south africa's zulu changed to

his death last week and formula one reveals its fastest and longest street circuit ever that's coming up with gemma sport. but. how i once again it's been fired and dry warm and sunny across much of the middle east even by our standards here we see temperatures well above the seasonal average going to $33.00 here would go on friday but we've touched 38 for the last couple of days losing the influence of the warm southerly wind further north in toowoomba toll we've had raised the snow across a good parts of turkey and that's a wintry mix that will continue to drive this way further east which is we go through sas day around the caucasus you can see some snow there coming into georgia maybe into armenia possibilities rain sleet and snow to into afghanistan took many

stand pushing up towards stand as well down across southern parts of the finnish overstays fine intro than $32.00 celsius in doha as we go on into the weekend not bad at all and not to bad across central parts of africa we have got the usual showers now just around the equator but today's off the economics of course the point when the sun crosses the equator so you can expect to see the showers across this area and they are there bang on time so you can get hit i shall stand up towards the gulf of guinea or right the way across to northern parts of the mozambique channel not too bad into south africa at the moment got some showers just skirting with the southern cape making the way further east. join africa's largest trade investment and rwanda into african trade to give the access to more than 1100 exhibitors 10000 visitors in bias and more than 5000

conference delegates from more than 55 countries participate in trade and investment deals with $40000000000.00 u.s. dollars as business and government come together to explore business and networking opportunities at the international exhibition boat by african export import bank and their premium partners the i 80 s. 2021 transforming africa. jump into the street there is a lot going on in and julian global community when i talk about the misinformation i think we all want to feed the hungry 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 and would love to hear the new in each week be part of today's discussion this stream on out is there.

were charges in a reminder of our top stories this hour in the next few hours the u.s. and chinese officials will meet in alaska for the 1st face to face talks since joe biden became president comes just after the u.s. sanctions 24 chinese and hong kong. senior members of the taliban and afghanistan's government are meeting in moscow russia the us china and pakistan have called on them to discuss an immediate cease fire. european regulators have ruled astra zeneca is vaccine is safe here pain medicines agency found no evidence of a higher risk of blood clots in people who received the job several e.u. countries have suspended its use over concerns about side affects. but variations are underway in thailand for an expected influx of refugees fleeing violence by me

and more as military people traveling from the bordering current state would force us to their converted football stadium officials have told reuters news agency they've set up areas with capacity to shelter more than $43000.00 people in may sought district where more security forces have killed at least $217.00 people so far as they attempt to end opposition to the coup. we now have in that there is a possibility that the protesters might cross the border to thailand if there is a clash also if there is a war which will create a major influx of people. we have assessed the situation and prepared an area for those who might come due to the cove in 1902 ation we have to create more space for the arrivals. well to some protesters in the fight back against the security forces violent crackdown the military has announced treason charges against the deposed to the u.n. kill moton was fired

a day after speaking at the un general assembly last month but he called for help to remove the army from power scott hydel reports. the industrial zone of yangon has emerged as the main flashpoint between protesters and myanmar security forces it ignited on sunday and has continued throughout the week . the protesters now arming themselves with makeshift weapons slingshots amala tough cocktails fighting back as they appear to be facing live ammunition and tear gas this part of the city is home to migrant workers at the nearby factories some of which were torched on sunday leading to the most violent day so far in the 6 weeks of protests martial law has been imposed in some areas. the military has announced another member of former civilian leader aung sang suu cheese and now de party has been charged with high treason mian mars and basser to the united nations giacomo tune is facing the charge for his speech during the un general assembly on the situation in his country and that february 26th beach he called for the fight

for democracy to continue more international pressure on the junk and raise the protest movements 3 finger salute he was fired the next day. myanmar state television has aired an interview with the man who says suchi accepted money from him while she was in office. i mean according to my weight he had given. for payments $100000.00 in may $218150000.00 in may $21950000.00 in february 2020 and $250000.00 in april 2020 take to link $550000.00 per turn he called the bribery accusation groundless in a logical this is the 2nd corruption allegation in addition to charges already made against including illegally importing walkie talkies and breaking covert 1000 restrictions. in a further move by the military to control with seen and heard inside myanmar

internet services are becoming increasingly limited mobile networks have been ordered to shut down and the speed of the internet has become very slow. scott hardly al-jazeera turkey is defending its decision to strip an opposition politician of his role after he was sentenced to prison for spreading terrorist propaganda it comes amid a move to try to ban his procrit as political party prosecutors filed a case against the h.t.t.p. party on wednesday senior politicians including the president's office say it's a front for the kurdish p.k. k. group which ankara considers a terrorist organization. has more from istanbul. this is not the 1st time that a kurdish party in the turkish parliament is trying to beat assault or it's appealing itself since the ninety's at least 5 of them were shot down and 3 of them to also discontinue their political life but this time it's different the peoples of the critic party h d p is now being accused by the ruling party the government of its links to the

outboards kurdish fighters group the p.k. k. however the governments the ruling party and the h d p wants a light for a kurdish peace process that failed in 2015 and after 201548 began accusing the kurdish party after it allied with the nationalist party actually the h d p denies any involvement with the p.k. k. however disowned by the state prosecutor's office with the constitutional court one of the kurdish m.p.'s in the party who was stripped of his seat in the parliament in a chip is a 3rd largest party at the turkish parliament while denying any involvement with the p k k it says that this is against the marketization and the ruling party is just trying to use its leverage and digit disher to shape the domestic politics on the other hand the u.s. and the european union criticize the government for this they said that they are

observing the situation and some other critics say that the ruling up party is already losing ground because some of the if former party members all of the splits and establish their own parties there is an economic decline there is a global pandemic and the fall in the domestic support is pushing them for an early election and that's all the nationalists revolt but they could depend on. lebanon's worst economic crisis in decades is pushing people deeper into poverty the minimum wage has now reached less than $50.00 a month and is in the heart of reports from beirut there's no solution in sight for the country's politicians failing to form a new government. levanon is crumbling much of the middle class is now poor forced to rely on food handouts from charities the economy's collapse began in late 2019 the local currency lost 90 percent of its value since then 20 percent in recent

weeks conditions worsen as politicians refuse to work together to form a new government that will implement reforms to stop the financial meltdown our. i can't support my family any longer i own a minimum wage $50.00 but due to the economic crisis they slash my celery and hearth look what they did to us going to help us survive what is to come. prices of essential goods like bread and fuel have been rising in a country that imports almost everything officials warned of further scaling back on subsidies on some food items as the central bank runs low on foreign currency reserves. even before they live subsidies everything was a ready too expensive the worst is yet to come the situation is getting worse by the day i am an informal worker and earn $3.00 a day how can i afford to live. people have returned to the streets as salaries lose purchasing power the minimum wage is now less than $50.00

a month. at home or not as i please we are begging you look at us and our situation where starving we are dying even those who have money can't access their savings because of banking controls more than half of the population of 6000000 people are poor. the crisis has affected commanders there is around soldiers and security personnel are now nearly worthless crime is on the rise electricity cuts last 12 hours a day and if money is not found. into total darkness by the end of the month for more than a year people have been demanding the removal of what they call a corrupt leadership that has governed for decades but politicians won't relinquish power and their ties to iran and saudi arabia entangles lebanon in a geopolitical struggle. saudi arabia want to assist lebanon financially if

hezbollah is represented in the government all while the iranian us struggle continues as well as discussion over syria's fate and has influence in lebanon it appears hizbollah has an interest in the total collapse of the state since it wants to impose a new power sharing agreement. it's a battle for power that could take time to resolve lebanon and its people don't have. beirut. in the netherlands prime minister has claimed an overwhelming victory in parliamentary elections if you can form a coalition it'll be worth 4th government the 3 day vote was the 1st big of action in europe since the start of the pandemic managing the crisis was a key issue in the campaign including vaccinations and growing anger about locked on restrictions and has more from. the netherlands has chosen for continuity despite the fact that the government of marketa was tainted by these serious scandals like the child care benefit scandal but the most surprising

outcome of this election is the winner of the former u.n. diplomat who has actually challenged market directly by saying we need new leadership in this country and i want to be the 1st female prime minister in this country and what it also means is that her party is much more euro e.u. friendly than the market this party is so it could mean that there will be more openness to the e.u. but on the other hand what we can't can conclude is that the left wing parties have lost dramatically and that the right wing parties especially the far right has really won this election one party it was a small party to form for democracy who has campaigned solely on this down and is tantamount against it has now 8 seats in parliament which is actually the largest win in this whole election so it is also a significant far right move here and that also could mean and they are of course a very euro sceptic that also could mean that this whole debate in parliament about going more open to the e.u.

and have a more international view on topics could also be hampered by this the 1st native american cabinet secretary in u.s. history has just been sworn in as interior secretary paul and will oversee national parks and other government. should also be in charge of washington's relationship with more than $500.00 tribal nations as a congresswoman representing new mexico hollande focused extensively on climate change which is expected to continue to be a central figure in joe biden's cabinet. civil rights activists in the us say a tidal wave of voter suppression laws are being proposed in more than 40 states after the record turnout in november election at least $250.00 bills mostly put forward by republicans could restrict voter access after unfounded allegations of election fraud and reports from miami. voter turnout during the 2020 presidential election in the state of georgia shattered records millions voted

early or mailed in ballots now the state is ground 0 for an avalanche of bills that could sharply restrict voter access the bills proposed by state republicans would cattail mail in voting impose strict identification rules and limit the use of ballot drop boxes similar legislation is being pushed in over 40 states civil rights groups and democrats say it's a deliberate attempt to suppress black and brown voters will be in the lead the fight of march 4th on my head was the rookie. and i will. do that then we will let you know if you fight out here we will. we will stop this deal republicans say the new laws aimed to restore faith in the electoral process for months former president trump and his allies made baseless claims the election was stolen to mark the recent 65th anniversary of bloody sunday

a turning point in the civil rights movement president biden signed an executive order ain did expanding voting rights the house of representatives also passed similar legislation but the so called for the people act is likely to face a tough battle in the senate the blood of john lewis and so many other brave and righteous souls that was spilled in selma on this sunday in 1965 sanctified a noble struggle. and when the country saw those images that night america was forced to confront the denial of democracy the fierce urgency of justice other republican backed bills in georgia would restrict early voting including on sundays traditional souls to the polls day for african-americans we're still going to vote in record numbers we're going to turn out we're going to organize our people but

what we are saying right now is that bees voter suppression bills you know is bad for democracy and we shouldn't even have to be here fighting the same battle all over again for both the democrats and the republicans this is now a fight for the soul of democracy many on the right believe the 2020 alexion was stolen despite evidence to the contrary those on the left want to expand and enshrined the right to vote if these measures are passed they will potentially put hurdles in place for tens of millions of voters i think alec are all jazeera miami florida. 0 king good world has been laid to rest in south africa the late king led the nation for more than 50 years it was buried in a private ceremony in the early hours of thursday morning from of the miller as war . zulu warriors bid farewell to the only king most of them have ever known these men up call the arm up a little they've come to the royal palace in northern causal in

a towel to pay tribute to king goodwills realty need from across south africa tribal chiefs objects and well wishes gathered after the king's private burial ceremony but only close male family members attended by living in luton villa it's important for me to be here as our father the king has left us so we're here to mourn him by about and get a bonus and making some of my fellow worry as we heard they couldn't be here because of the current coronavirus not all of them could be covered $1000.00 restrictions mean many have stayed away and unusual time for mourners and the royal family revered throughout the course alina tell province goodwills well a team is a memorial service has begun within the palace grounds like sides the areas i might have gathered they say they're here to praise the king they've fiercely loyal but at the gate the palace police keep them back instead they perform rituals outside inside the palace stigma trees and family pay tribute to. the passing of his

majesty means that we've lost that of year the girl who had the distinction of leading this people for half a century. the significance of his long reign and his legacy is not lost on us while his role was largely ceremonial with at least $11000000.00 subjects' as well a teeny had significant political influence which couldn't be ignored by both the apartheid and democratic governments often 1904. from the 1st. while some say the king was a peacemaker others argue his influence led to further bloodshed during volatile times it's really a t.v. was known as a traditionalist often promoting the data culture but he was criticised too for

comments he made in 2015 saying that foreigners should return to their homes he also publicly condemned homo sexual relationships the king was also one of the largest landlords in the world through a special trustee controlled nearly a 3rd of the land in province people who live here don't own the land controlled by the trust last year activist groups took the trust to court they want more rights for tenants but many here remain loyal tradition and the monarchy and despite the criticism people here say they've lost a king from al-jazeera not gone mark was alone at all. still ahead on all desire on the line look at how some people in the u.s. are cheating the system to get their cover 1000 vaccinations. on the wimbledon tennis championships will be missing one of its most famous elements this year and it's not strawberries and cream jen is going to have the details of the sport.

org. site for support. thank you rob let's start with the olympics and the japanese prime minister has confirmed that the covered 19 is state of emergency will be lifted on sunday as welcome news for the organizers of the games which starts in 4 months state of emergency it was announced in january and extended twice but it's now ending because the availability of hospital beds has improved in types yeah because you know what up however the number of new infections remains at the same

level slightly increased and in some areas there's also an increase of people going out they for there are concerns about a rebound of new infection numbers and we also need to stay vigilant about the spate of new variants. and then pick the organizers a set to meet on saturday to decide whether overseas fans will be allowed to attend the games despite concerns they may spread coronavirus the torch relay is set to start on choose day which involves $10000.00 runners crossing japan it for 4 months in the build up to the opening ceremony. england manager gar southgate says football authorities can no longer be complacent when it comes to the safeguarding of children in the sports southgate was given his reaction after an independent review into child sexual abuse allegations found the english football association did not do enough to keep young people in the game safe between 19952000 the report it described the f.a. as having a significant institutional failings for which there is no excuse and everybody's got to reflect on

a period of history where things were different and were done differently and not with the level of care that every child that play sport deserves so i think there is recognition of error is being made in the past which was important to acknowledge. i think we are in a different place now. italian the gators in somalia have had all 1st team activities suspended for the next 4 days as the club deals with another 19 outbreak 2 will players have tested positive which makes it 4 in total local health officials have requested that the next is syriac and again saswata on saturday people spend interest players also won't be allowed to join up with the national team's well into as a big rivals ac milan are in action later in the stand outside of day's europa league games they host manchester united in the 2nd leg of that last 16 time sutton abraham of it is back from injury and he could feature against his former side

a man's coach says the striker won't play 90 minutes day this one's even a poised 10 going into the match live if you go to other managers around the it will be difficult because of our opponents' levels we know their qualities we know how they play they haven't lost in the last 11 or 12 matches there to be feared and we will have to play great football with great personality and pace if we want to try to win. from one. you know we fortunately got kids of of the champions the focus was to win you over the you know anything less than the team and all that stuff and we're not going to be happy when even less and not so. we're going to do a salute bust to win it on. fee 1st player of the year of $11.00 is unlikely to be able to play for poland in the world cup qualifier against england because of cove in $1000.00 restrictions the game is on march 31st in london but levon dusty plays for by munich in germany but travel rules would force him to quarantine for

14 days on his 1st son it would be a huge blow for president if he can't play as he's their captain was in great form scoring 10 goals in his last 7 games they were put in a tennis championship missing one of his most famous elements this year it's to kick you organizers of the ground some tournament will prevent fans from camping overnight or lining up for tickets because of current a virus measures event was cancelled last year for the 1st time since world war 2 because of the pandemic officials at the all england club are doing everything they can to prevent that happening again this year including a telling players they have to stay in official hotels instead of renting private homes staying with tennis and after reaching the last 4 of the australian open last month as i'm correct serve as another semifinal to that 40 to the russian wild card number 60 seed yannick sit up in the quarterfinals of the dubai championships lost the 1st set on a tie break but it came back to the next 2 sets 6362 in

a match that lasted 2 and a half hours. 3 regional qualifying tournament for next year's a t 20 cricket world cup in australia have been postponed because of it $192.00 events in south africa and one in q e 2 a rigidly going to be played next month but the international cricket council has decided to move into october because of travel restrictions and quarantine rules and several of the participating countries as a new man in charge of rugby union world governing body world rugby has appointed alan gilpin as its new chief executive he's been interim is c.e.o. since his predecessor stepped down in january is main task will be leading the sport out of the financial turmoil caused by the. on that. and saudi arabia will host its 1st formula one race in december and organizers have now revealed the layouts of the sacket in jeddah it will be the longest and fastest street circuit in the sport's history the cars will race along the red sea casebook tenchi

reaching speeds of up to $320.00 say on the test alum the longest straight the race on december the 5th of a how that night was planned to be the penultimate stop on this is calendar that's great doesn't it that is only a sport for now i'll be back with more later. as coburn 1000 vaccines rollout across the world is so have scandals involving the rich the powerful and queue jumping the u.s. has been no exception from los angeles rob reynolds has the tale of the vaccine cheaters. with coronavirus vaccine supply still tight and demand overwhelming authorities in the u.s. are denouncing queue jumpers and vaccine cheaters in california an unknown number of ineligible people signed up for vaccine appointments using online clothes reserved for underprivileged and minority communities in florida officials say 2 younger women dressed up as grannies to trick vaccinators they were caught and

turned away not allowed here no more in maryland fights nearly broke out at a drive through vaccination center when people started cutting in line and in washington state the governor rebuked a hospital system that gave special vaccine access to administrators and that is not acceptable for us we need to give everybody a fair shot a beverly hills doctor who treats wealthy and influential people says he's bombarded by requests for special treatment hundreds of phone calls same washed younger. about seeing how we get. what we do a right to make donations cetera whatever's the right to do in order to. that's your home many shooters are there there's no effort numbers of people doing it probably would admit to it over time so we really don't know but i'm ready to say it's significant in terms of it's more than

a tiny handful of people public health specialists say cheating was made almost inevitable by the haphazard vaccine rollout at the beginning under the trump administration a lot of this was left up to the states and many states in turn left it up to counties and so that resulted in a whole range of systems and challenges and marry and who is eligible once you get into that kind of inconsistency you're encouraging cheating despite the outrage they cause there seems to be no punishment for cheaters people and say this jerk candidate whine even though he works from home and he has no exposure to 0 we just sort of nodded and we said you know that's the way it goes inequities in the u.s. health care system are widespread but authorities hope that as vaccine supplies increase the urge to cheat will fade it would be terrible if we come out of this and don't are important lessons from what went wrong and what went right because

there will be another pandemic hopes of lessons learned for the next time a new disease strikes robert oulds al jazeera los angeles. barbara starr is going to be here in a couple of minutes with more on all these stories on world matheson thanks for being with us good bye. most of. after egypt's revolution their fashion turned into something much bigger.

on al-jazeera world. examining the impact of today's headlines it didn't matter you're rich or poor 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 that are unfolding on capitol hill international filmmakers the world class journalists bring programs to inform and inspire you each and every one of us in the responsibility to change there's a place for them you know on al-jazeera. a young you know in ghana before a lot of bias when the heart of this equation. when we have the opportunity is the limit so the young girls go through secondary school with or to be able to see

and to play that's one thing in full to change. meet the women in ghana who are going places when it comes to education women make chains on. the. top chinese and u.s. officials are set to meet in alaska for the 1st face to face talks since president joe biden took office. hello i'm barbara starr you're watching the al-jazeera half hour of news live from london also coming up safe and effective europe's medicines regulator gives its verdict on the astra zeneca vaccine after several countries.