that's. 0. hello i'm barbara starr this is the al-jazeera news hour live from london thank you for joining us coming up in the next 60 minutes top u.s. officials flying to alaska for the 1st face to face talks with their china chinese counterparts since president joe biden took office safe and effective europe's medicine's regulator gives its verdict on the astra zeneca vaccine after several countries suspended its rollout over safety concerns. a meeting in moscow puts

russia back at the center of afghanistan's peace process. i'm gemma nash with sports it emerges from its state of emergency 4 months before the olympics and what i say is confirms it will allow up to 10 russian athletes to compete at the games and neutral flag. top officials from the world's 2 largest economies are holding talks in an effort to repair relations that are at their lowest point in decades it's the 1st time level meeting between the u.s. and china under president joe biden's administration and the discussions are expected to be difficult delegations from both countries are in alaska for the summit including u.s. secretary of state anthony blinken lincoln will be pressuring china on a range of security and human rights issues he says the country has to address

before relations can improve but beijing says washington must lift what it calls on reasonable restrictions in the form of sanctions and tariffs to encourage further cooperation well the diplomatic editor james bays is live from that summit in anchorage in alaska so quite a lot of difficulties between the 2 parties and the talks they are going to be holding away expecting anything concrete to come out of the summit. no we're not expecting any concrete decisions to come out of this summit or concrete agreements or even a joint statement but that does not i think affect the importance of this meeting here we are in anchorage just over 6000 kilometers from beijing just under 6000 kilometers from washington d.c. these 2 countries that 2 biggest powers in the world are so far apart on so many

issues and relations have certainly got a lot worse under the 4 years when president trump or was in power and so the idea of this meeting which starts literally in moments we're going to see i think the start of the meeting in just a few moments here in the captain cook hotel in anchorage the idea is to bridge some of those gaps and also to work out the parameters on a future relationship they don't want a relationship that is totally soured by their disagreements they want to have a situation or at least a biden ministration do where they can agree disagree on some things they know they're going to be adversaries on some issues they know china is unlikely to back down on things like human rights and on hong kong and its view on taiwan but they believe there are other issues that they can put to a different side as collaborative issues for example climate change for example the iran issue remember china is one of the signatories to the iran nuclear deal that

the u.s. is now talking of rejoining there are issues like afghanistan remember china is a neighbor of afghanistan and it is also a neighbor of myanmar and after the coup of the u.s. and much of the rest of the international community want the support of china to pressure the jointer that are running myanmar right now. and james of course this is the 1st step meeting between the 2 nations in a sense as joe biden became president of the united states how much do we expect that to be a sort of reset at least the opportunity for a new dimension in the air for the relations between the 2. well i think you have to ask how china saw the last 4 years under president trump and i think to begin with they perhaps welcomed the the unpredictability of the trump presidency because certainly it confused many of america's traditional allies

but i think after a time and the relationship got worse and worse china realized that this unpredictable president was causing all sorts of problems for china now they're back to a much more traditional u.s. foreign policy i was outside morell argo almost 4 years ago it was actually in april for the 1st big meeting between the trumpet ministration and the chinese and that was done a president trump president xi level very different we've gone back to a process and teamwork and i think that sort of approach is something we chinese are going to welcome remember the 2 figures from the u.s. side on the blink in the secretary of state jake sullivan who's the national security advisor on no new comers for the chinese they were very senior officials in the obama administration they are known quantities whereas 4 years ago the chinese didn't really know who they were dealing with with the trumpet ministration . james peyser diplomatic editor there live for us from that summit in anchorage in

alaska where of course a high level meeting between the u.s. and china the 1st since said joe biden became president will bring you the latest as we hear anything to come out of that meeting james for them and thank you. and earlier blinken and the u.s. defense secretary met with leaders in south korea they've reaffirmed their shared goal of a dream nuclearize that north korea iraq mcbride has more from seoul. this mission to north east asia ended as it had begun with the u.s. directly accusing china of aggressive behavior in the region but the u.s. and south korea also confirmed beijing's importance in the denuclearization of north korea but china has a real interest in helping to deal with the south has an obligation under the u.n. security council resolutions the u.s. and try to open a dialogue with north korea ahead of this trip but without success north korea has

officially confirmed it had received those requests but didn't respond it's 1st vice foreign minister and he saying there can be no dialogue until the u.s. stops what she called its hostile behavior making it clear pyongyang is waiting to see what the new policy of the biden administration to wardes it will look like this mission is intended to help formulate that strategy it's also a restoring and repairing relations between the u.s. and its traditional allies in northeast asia i mean i'm working new partners and as the u.s. has repeatedly said the trilateral security cooperation between seoul tokyo and washington is crucial considering the international situation and newly emerging security threats our relations often severely strained during the previous administration of donald trump very advantage for the united states has been

greatly. during the 4 years of trump pardon me astray so it is important for the biden are the means to restore the. united states has and china does not one of the last acts on this visit a cost sharing agreement for the basing of u.s. troops in south korea disputed for years by the trumpet ministration its final signing seen here as evidence of an alliance restored love mcbride al-jazeera sold . well cynthia watson is an asia pacific analyst she joins us now from annapolis in the us via skype adam thank you for joining us here on al-jazeera that almost became the trademark of the trumpet ministration that i guess he would rattle relations with his traditional allies you did it in europe and he obviously didn't as well how easy do you think it is going to be for the biden administration to try to consolidate those relations again. it's going to thank you for the opportunity

it's going to take some work because there are a number of divergent positions or divergent interests that are cropping up between some of our allies and the united states i think it will be substantially easier in the sense that president biden with his long experience in the senate and then the individuals that he has running both the state department the defense department as well as jake sullivan all have extensive experience working with allies and partners but the truth is that what the trump administration unveiled for us was the fact that there are certainly more tensions within the united states about alliances than i think what most people anticipated before he was elected in 2016 he personally indicated that he was not interested in predictability and i was

somewhat amused by your correspondence comments about china welcoming his i'm predictability in 20162017 because i am not sure i agree with that but the truth is that the biden ministration has some things that they've got to work through with these allies and partners in order to return to something that looks to be far more predictable and far more smooth in its ability to confront some of the growing problems that many people see an end to support to only worsen in the asia pacific when you say these problems a worsening for some of america's allies how linked are those worsening problems to china's continued emergence and the extending power and do you think about outweighs some of the issues that the u.s. may have with south korea or japan. china is feeling very confident in foreign policy and china and is feeling very willing to push

boundaries and foreign policy ironically this is exactly the time when the communist party is showing a great deal about prevention about its own people domestically but china is more than willing to use coercive actions against states that differ with it on ultimate objectives. china has also been willing to use a number of incentives such as its much lauded vaccine policy to share vaccines around the world the problem comes in where china's willingness to coerce or certainly to push back at states that might differ with it on ultimate objectives the problem becomes that those states are also closely tied to china economically so mad at china if any for it is erupting always just slightly and running out of time because of course there is that meeting

presumably starting now between that china and the us in alaska what do you think america's allies in asia south korea and japan would want the u.s. to stress that china at this meeting right now they would like china to respect the interests of all of the states in the in do asia pacific and that is something that washington can continue to reiterate but it needs to be a united view instead of picking on certain issues that may be of more importance to the united states than to some of the states that are in the region near to china. well be interesting to see what does come out of that meeting for the moment cynthia watson asia pacific analyst joining us from annapolis in the u.s. and madam thank you for sharing your views with us thank you thank you and again a reminder that we are waiting for for some kind of a statement possibly not

a joint wonder from the u.s. secretary of state anthony blinken who is in alaska to meet with the chinese foreign minister and state counselor why the that meeting are meant to be getting under way right now we'll bring you more developments and analysis as we get it out of alaska. there's also much else is still ahead on the al-jazeera news hour another defiant a day of protests in myanmar as the military accuses a top diplomat of treason and agger at vacs cheaters why the u.s. government is warning people against jumping the queue for covert 1000 vaccines and in sports the gemma will be here with the action is india look to keep their t 20 cricket series against england a light. the european union's medicine regulator has ruled that astra zeneca has vaccine is safe

after more than a dozen countries suspended their role at student safety for years the european medicines agency found no evidence of a higher risk of blood clots and people who received the jab france italy germany and bulgaria now say they will resume administering the doses from friday but the e.m.e.a. also says it can't definitively rule out a connection to a rare blood disorder still the agency insists the benefits outweigh the risks. 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 from hospitalized nation outweigh the possible risks the committee also concluded that the vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of throwing a public event or blood clots the view there from europe meanwhile chile is putting

half of the country's population back under lockdown the number of coronavirus cases is on the rise the spot a quarter of the population having received at least one dose of the vaccine are latin america editor lucien human joins us live now from santiago with more on that it's obviously good news that a quarter of the population has at least one dose of the vaccine but worrying that the country has the go back into some kind of lockdown. exactly you see we seem to go 3 steps forward and 3 or 4 steps back the number of infections is just skyrocketing more than 6000 new infections and less than 24 hours and that's a lot for a country to lose population and the highest death toll since last june which was supposed to be the peak so right now we have one out of every 3 chileans under permanent lockdown 95 percent of the population will have to stay home on the

weekends indefinitely and it's just been announced that a further number of counties and cities around the country will be going under a lockdown as well in 24 hours that would leave that means that more than half of the population in total will not be able to leave home and they don't know for how long and that is certainly going to take a huge toll people's pocketbooks on their purses because there are already. huge amounts of unemployment people are demanding to be able to go back to work children go back to school that was just starting now and as you can see the streets are empty once again. a worrying side will use the will have a huge impact on the economy as you say i'm wondering walt if there is such an issue as a vaccine hesitancy there is well like there is that other parts of the world maybe of the whole saga that's been happening here in europe over the astra zeneca vaccines in general has had an impact there and how worrying that is because

vaccine campaign is ultimately the best way out of a locked down. exactly where the president has come on television many times to urge chileans to get their vaccination also underlining that it's safely here most people here are getting the signal back the chinese vaccine but there's also pfizer and pretty soon also the johnson and johnson vaccine most people are actually not reluctant i've been surprised at how long the line. people whose turn hasn't come up yet are saying oh i can't wait to get my vaccine so that's not really the issue the issue is the huge amount of infections which seems to be going faster than the an ocular process which won't really kick in for at least another 2 perhaps 3 months once 80 percent of the population has been vaccinated. to see a new man or latin america editor speaking to us from santiago in chile lucy as always thank you. italy's prime minister mario that id has attended

a ceremony in lombardy the region that became europe's covered 1000 hot spot one year ago more than 100000 people have died across the country over the past year and that toll will rise as the country prepares for another wave of the virus andrew symonds reports. dignity worn year after the chaos and death that consumed the long body region of italy the food european country to be hit by covert. 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 from our will he pays homage to 3500 lives lost in this region and nationwide the total of more than $100.00 files. this is a day full of 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 with disbelief over the. convoys of military trucks filled with coffee. this sounds. ominous silence such emptiness. yet avoid daily births of support from medical school. looking back to the time his church was filled with confidence this priest reflects the will. and that's one of the really if you will really are people see really for you become an area where nothing can be done and he was a year ago time stopped at a point which is. in the hospital is overwhelmed to 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 our. life changes. so if faith. community what you need to think of priority i think sometimes through. we don't have markets fell 50 m. back. we have more capacity than we think we have. 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. let's take you live now to anchorage in alaska where the u.s. secretary of state anthony blinken is to meet with this chinese chinese foreign minister a counterpart and state counselor why you we're seeing people gather there now we don't know whether they're going to make

a joint statement but at the see the we will hear either one or both of the representatives speak this of course the 1st high level meeting between the u.s. and china since president joe biden has taken office while our diplomatic editor james base is in anchorage or at that summit do we even know if they will be speaking together james. yeah we think that we're going to see the start the very start of the meeting what they need the state department the question of the pools and we're expecting barry brief remarks from the 2 sides worth telling you who we have here because we have a pretty high level delegation from both sides from the new biden administration and you have been to the brink in who is the new secretary of state you also jake sullivan has the national security adviser been on the chinese side you have.

sure who is the politburo member in fact the top official with regard to foreign policy in china and then the one that you see more often around the world why ye who is the state council and foreign minister they are rough approximate according to the u.s. is that in the past they've had meetings with the chinese i mean just start and then they had started putting some of that jamie. let's listen in to what's being said tomorrow because the issues that will raise are relevant not only to china and the united states but to others across the region and indeed around the world. aren't ministration is committed to leading with diplomacy to advance the interests of the united states and to strengthen the rules based international order. that system is not an abstraction it helps countries resolve differences peacefully a coordinate multilateral efforts effectively and participate in global commerce

with the assurance that everyone is following the same rules the alternative to a rules based order is a world in which might makes right and winner take all and that would be a far more violent and unstable world for all of us. today we'll have an opportunity to discuss key priorities both domestic and global so that china can better understand our administration is intentions and approach will also discuss our deep concerns with actions by china including and john hong kong taiwan cyber attacks on the united states economic coercion toward our allies each of these actions threaten the rules based order that maintains will stability that's why they're not merely internal matters and why we feel an obligation to raise these issues here today. i said that the united states' relationship with china will be

competitive where it should be collaborative where it can be adversarial where it must be. our discussions here and it likes in alaska i suspect will run the gamut. our intent is to be direct about our concerns direct about our priorities with the goal of a more clear eyed relationship between our countries moving forward thank you for being here. so heart fit i see it actually. and the one who are sort of in which and who are now fit are when you need chilly church hard are loud and i sit out. while you're sure can't get all that well. are student give up. on your or her. which i see in our women among your do you mean

me out how linda each sure if you seem chewed up the merry. wind. up with me where you really are that the year was meant the truth that article monday of all what that may true true she elections are we just heard from the start of the us. link in his state which is now being translated into chinese for the chinese delegation and we will be waiting for a response some of the things that anthony blinken mentioned was that they were going to discuss the priority of the new administration with the chinese that they mentioned it be alternative to a rules based world is a world war might is right winner takes all and that that was not what they wanted at the many of the issues that they will raise with the chinese delegation

situations in german kong taiwan and then the impact of china's economic outshone is on their allies cannot be considered just the internal issues so we heard that from antony blinken of course the u.s. secretary of state this just to remind viewers is the 1st higher level meeting between the u.s. and china under president joe biden's administration so we are just hearing there are translation in the chinese of. and the new link in the comments. by your. bank you do you want that. so you support it it will soon may do you should see it they believe. women and i'm. this year 20 trends there to do should you go through in mind i wasn't hearing him now this is

a high level meeting between the u.s. and china are taking place in alaska and courage we've just heard from anthony blinken who is of course the u.s. secretary of state these are opening remarks of the talks are due to take place yet in the coming war as along with the u.s. secretary of state of course top officials from both of the countries. 2 of the world's largest economies let's go to our diplomatic editor james bay is actually let's listen in because the chinese labor claiming they are kind words were dating younger and don't want to see a map. sort of in. your flat thank you mr secretary and welcome to director young and state council long it's fitting that we're meeting here in alaska we may be far from the continental united

states but there are a few places that are as quintessentially american big hearted resilient intrepid this is truly a fitting place for us to host this meeting. secretary blinken and i are proud of this story about america we're able to tell here about a country that under president biden's leadership has made major strides to control the pandemic to rescue our economy and to affirm the strength and staying power of our democracy we're particularly proud of the work that we've done to revitalize our alliances and partnerships the foundation of our foreign policy just last week president biden hosted the quad leaders summit that spoke to the can do spirit of the world's democracies and committed to realize the vision of a free and open indo-pacific it is through partnerships like these that all of us can deliver progress and prosperity for our peoples secretary bring blinken laid

out many of the areas of concern from economic and military coersion to assaults on basic values that we'll discuss with you today and in the hour in the days ahead will do so frankly directly and with clarity these are the concerns that are on the minds of the american people but it goes beyond that we've heard each of these concerns for from around the world from our allies and partners in the broader international community during the intensive consultations we've undertaken these last 2 months will make clear today that our overriding priority on the united states is side in is to ensure that our approach in the world and our approach to china benefits the american people and protects the interests of our allies and partners we do not see kung-fu conflict but we welcome stiff competition and we will always stand up for our principles for our people and for our friends we look

forward to discussing all of these matters with you in the hours ahead thank you. and that was jake seller vern the national security advisor for the u.s. again they're making their statements or the opening remarks of the talks between the u.s. and china the 1st talks since joe biden has taken office let's go to a diplomatic editor james james right now we're just waiting for the translation for the chinese delegation what have you made of the comments by anthony blinken and jake sullivan so far. i think they're saying what they have been saying before they got here which is they have been consulting with allies they're still coming up with a wider plan of how to deal with china but they want to have a meeting to set the promises of the relationship they are very clear that they're not going to be soft on china and in some ways the criticism that's come in the

trumpet ministration from the things that china is doing wrong in view particularly internal issues is china sees them like human rights they are going to continue they're going to continue under this new administration but they also say that there are issues where they can work much closer together so they'll agree to disagree on different issues also worth telling you barbara why we've got to 2 officials from both sides why we've got to take sort of a bit around the blink in both representing the u.s. the national security adviser and the secretary of state that's what happened before this format and i'm told by the u.s. side it's because in the past they feel the chinese have played off different members of the u.s. side against each other and have had their favorites. of being tougher with others so they've decided to get a joint message to the chinese from the 2 top officials on the u.s. side with regard to national security. it's interesting and we are now waiting to

hear what the chinese will say they also have 2 representatives there why need the foreign secretary and it's interesting i mean they've also brought 2 people then literally to the table yes. yeah and one use the one we see mostly go around the world attending summits on behalf of the chinese but actually the man next to him young she is is more important and is well known to the americans because he was previously trying to some of us the back. years ago and in fact george stop george w. bush used to call him tiger got to know him when he was in. the u.s. and when he was based in washington d.c. so it's well known to the americans and he's a member of the politburo says actually the most senior official in the chinese system who deals with foreign affairs yes these are the big guns on both sides very

big issues going to china set out that stall and i'm sure it's going to say our internal issues are none of your business that you can be sure i think you're going to hear when we hear the chinese the 2 chinese delegates this very important meeting speak shortly barbara. and we are waiting to hear them now or just to explain to the viewers right now we're hearing a translation of the statement that was made earlier by jake sullivan the national security advisor. who. called the coliseum 3. very council under the invitation very stage crinkled we. come to the. creech in alaska to. discuss with too few about

a strategic dialogue. we hope. this dialogue. will be a. an affront one. china and the united states. those. countries in the in or out for the world and regional peace. can for development we with our own. responsibilities. in china to confidence it would cost. a fortune 6 year. planning and then we had ovations for 2000. and indeed we. plan for the future and at the moment china is at the crossroads of the 2

centuries to malign him targets and killed 2000 thought china will realize basic modern audition and by the year of 2007 china will live over old motivation. we all. know. in terms of. dealing with. pandemic we have achieved. great strategic result and also in terms of. in the end of age from 'd poverty we have achieved a great deal. and personal income average person. in china is only counts one 6th of that of the united states. we have achieved the goal of

basic poverty elevation in china under other countries such as developed countries will do. as well. in china now we have achieved great historic. results. in achieving. basic prosperity china chinese people 'd. they chinese told me let's party trying to play our own value basic human value peace development justice not and. just shortly and. democracy what would you call the international society for the case. based international system placed by the united nations it's

based. into the snow lol it's not they small number of countries but at least on that route i don't loose i'm based there whose based international was pasted on their lives. china. has its own way of democracy america has its own way of democracy china the united states democracy democracy in the united states was not only evaluated by the united states people in the united states and also will be evaluated by the people in the world how china is doing it's not evaluated not only by the united states achieved. was through reform and opening up we have achieved and develop a great deal of very aspect is that should i say we have contributed

a credit to you in terms of regional and load case development. trying to achieve the couldn't find a great deal for they go set by the united nations so money was created but other countries have. made the people great still on the child now want all the countries to. peaceful development and all foreign policy should be placed. peaceful development not based on its own little trip power to kill to other countries and to. him. that don't look just to let you take government all. but on the country not to kill people in other countries all to

you what they are doing is not good for the united states. so what united states should do is to change their image not to push its own so-called democracy money people in the united states as the confidence with the democracy. in the democracy being the united states there are so many of us about democracy in the united states. they shove it in the united states chinese then that is. traceable mostly by the chinese people so other countries cannot. the other countries doing to. defame the chinese way of democracy is not going to work and only makes the chinese people.

around even tied around the communist party with all tat will keep all of road of moving forward and started in 1952 when. she started the 50 plus 5 year plan and i now we are the 14th for your class we will keep our will forward what we'll do now is not only to protect the chinese people's interest also we want to. she grew truth should we believe development in 21st century child are you not a series of pretty countries we are all very paltry record of the good. jong il of one of the chinese president's top adviser speaking there these are opening statements in this summit between the u.s. and china the most high profile and high ranking meeting of

leaders of those 2 nations since president biden took office some pretty strong words there from the chinese representative especially about democracy both in china and especially in the united states our diplomatic editor james bays has been listening in ears in alaska and courage add that summit what did you make of what president advisor said there. well this is the top member of the politburo in charge of foreign affairs the foreign minister next to him is the more known face of china's diplomacy because it travels all over the world this is the senior man talking talking about different types of democracy in china and the u.s. many i think would really question whether there's any democracy in china what you've got to remember when you hear a speech like this is it's not intended for us to listen to right now the reason

that he makes a speech about the great achievements and march forward of china is that for this is to be going to be clipped up and shown on chinese television in the coming hours showing the meeting with the u.s. and what china said to the u.s. certainly he is right china has progressed greatly in its economic power and in its military build up in recent years and that i think is what the u.s. is trying to work out how to deal with because certainly you've got a much more assertive china under president xi in the past room done job paying a previous chinese leader but china should hide it strengthened by it it's time well i think many in china believe it's time now it's now. james bays but the latest there from that summit james of course will be monitoring all developments there the 2 sides are meant to begin talks now will be interesting to see what if anything comes out or if they'll hold

a joint statement at the end of those talks for the moment there james bays life for us at abc ranch thank you. now senior members of the taliban and afghanistan's government are meeting in moscow to try to resume stalled peace negotiations russia the us china and pakistan have called on both sides to consider an immediate ceasefire washington sent a senior official the 1st time they've been represented at regional talks convened by russia. where u.s. president joe biden has hinted at remain that there's hinted that the remaining american troops in afghanistan may have to stay longer than the may 1st withdrawal deadline the taliban insists the troops must leave by that date as agreed with the previous u.s. administration fear control fori has more now from kabul. the 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 while a lot of them. if we will reach an agreement among us there will be no need for the americans to stay here. we will be able to bring security or selves. u.s. president joe biden is facing a may 1st deadline to withdraw all american troops from afghanistan has 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 of ghana's down 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 the uncertainty over afghanistan's future is exacerbated by your money tarrier prices all afghans are struggling to survive and poverty is on the rise but a business same time before an $800.00 trees were lied on for 20 years is also being reduced 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 us the americans should leave afghanistan the foreigners are killing here and destroyed our country. others recall the same sentiment calling on the americans to

leave. the presence of americans will not benefit afghans anymore is this day from the last 20 years did not 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. and a bus carrying afghan government employees as been hit by a bomb in kabul at least 4 people have been killed and 9 others wounded no group has yet claimed responsibility. thousands of people have marched across fragile controlled areas of syria's province for a forced day they've been marking 10 years since the start of the civil war because one of the world's worst humanitarian crises with more than half of syria's

population displaced protesters say that the spying to the years of conflict they're not giving up the fight against the government the 1st native american cabinet secretary in u.s. history has just been sworn in as interior secretary that hollande will oversee national parks and other government owned land should also be in charge of washington's relationship with more than $500.00 tribal nations as a congresswoman representing new mexico holland focused extensively on climate change she's expected to continue to be a central figure on that issue in joe biden's kaput. severe thunderstorms have led to several tornadoes in the u.s. states of alabama and mississippi local t.v. crews captured this dramatic footage of a twister sweeping across central alabama several people have been injured thousands of homes suffered damage and are without power tornado warnings are still

in effect in the region. south africans have been paying their final respects to one of the country's most influential traditional rulers zulu king good willis well a teeny died last week at the age of 72 from the abts from the miller has more now from long goma. zulu arias bid farewell to the only king most of them have ever known these men are called the. 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 with only close male family members attended by live. it's important for me to be here as our father the king has left us so we're here to mourn him by a baton caravan is some of fellow worriers with they couldn't be here because of the current coronavirus not all of them could be over 1000 restrictions mean many

have stayed away an unusual time for mourners and the royal family revered throughout the province even good as well it is a memorial service that has been. the catalyst clowns. who 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 dignitaries and family pay tribute to. the passing of his majesty means that we have laws that review the. who had the distinction of leading the zulu 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 subjects' realty had significant political influence which couldn't be ignored by

both the apartheid and democratic governments after $1904.00. for the 1st. while some say the king was a peacemaker others argue his influence led to further bloodshed during volatile times realty was known as a traditionalist often promoting the 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 inquisition a top 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 to tradition and the monarchy and despite the criticism

people here say they've lost a king for me to miller al-jazeera noncom are causal in a towel ok it's time to get on the sport now here is thank you barbara let's start with the olympics and the japanese a prime minister has confirmed the covert 19 as state of emergency in tokyo will be lifted on sunday as welcome news for the organizers of the games which start in 4 months the state of emergency was announced in january and extended twice but it's now ending because the availability of hospital beds has improved in tokyo. yes your honor 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 the food there are concerns about a rebound of new infliction numbers and we also need to stay vigilant about the spread of new variant us. organizers are set to meet on saturday to decide whether overseas fans will be allowed to attend the games despite concerns they may spread coronavirus what effect its president said coach

doesn't think a final decision on spectators should be rushed. i hope it's not made too early because i see no reason why decisions need to be force 'd fed when the world is changing vaccine use of being rolled out. and i think that's a decision doesn't necessarily need to be made 'd at this moment up to 10 the russian athletes will be allowed to compete at this summer's games as neutrals that's after world athletics reinstated a scheme allowing russians who meet anti doping criteria to take part under a neutral flag russia has been banned from competing in the nation since 2015 after a report commissioned by the world anti-doping agency found evidence of mass taping among track and field athletes earlier this month athletics' world governing body approved the country's $31.00 page plan for reform england manager says football

authorities can no longer be complacent when it comes to the safeguarding of children in the sport southgate was given his reaction after an independent review into child sexual abuse allegations found the english football association it did not do enough to keep young people in the game safe between 19952000 the report it described the f.a. as having significant institutional failings for which there is no excuse 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 errors being made in the past which was important to acknowledge. i think we are in a different place now. italian legal it is integral and have had all the 1st team activities suspended for the next 4 days as the club deals with another 19 outbreak

2 more players have tested positive which makes it 4 in total the next syriac game against on saturday has been postponed into his players also won't be allowed to join up with their national teams and for this month's world cup qualifiers into his big rivals ac milan are playing manchester united in the europa league right now a last few seconds of that one united league one there on the night's 21 on aggregate but sort them have been knocked out by dana grab a lead to nail going into the 2nd leg but a hat trick from all sit turned the time around for zagreb he went through to the quarterfinals at 32 on aggregate it's been quite a week for the croatian side whose coach resigned on monday after being given a prison sentence for fraud. first player of the year is unlikely to be able to play for poland in the world cup qualifier against england because of coded 19 restrictions the game is on march 31st in london but the plays of football in munich in germany where travel rules would force him to quarantine for 14 days on

his return the wimbledon tennis championships were missing one of his most famous elements this year it's to kick you organizers of the grand slam tournament to prevent fans from camping overnight or lining up for tickets because of coronavirus measures the 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 telling players they have to stay in official hotels instead of renting private homes staying with tennis and lloyd harris has become the 1st qualifier to reach the semifinals of the dubai championships the south african who knocked out the tournament top seed earlier this week became an issue corey in the quarterfinals this one went to a deciding sets which carries took 63 to win the match play a dentist shapovalov for a place in the final last month the australian open 7 finalist as logical as i was also into the loss for the russian wild card to be the number 16 seed yannick

siddha lost the 1st set of a tie break but he came back to win the next 2 sets 6362 compact on the next india have beaten england by 8 runs in the 4th t 20 cricket international in ahmedabad to tie this series to each so you began his international career with a 6 great start for him is $57.00 how to india post a $18058.00 the english chase was hampered by wickets falling at key moments shadowed taka with 3 dismissals as india won and in short a series decided on saturday at the same venue 3 regional qualifying tournament for next year's c 20 a cricket world cup in. they have been postponed because of teen 2 events in south africa and one in kuwait 2 originally going to be paid next month but the international cricket council has decided to move into october because of travel restrictions and quarantine rules in several of the participating countries. and

saudi arabia will host its 1st formula one race in december and organizers have now revealed the layout of the circuit in jeddah it will be the longest and faustus to street circuit in the sport's history the cars will race along the red sea coast potentially reaching speeds of up to 322 kilometers kilometers per hour of the longest straight the race on december the 5th will be held at night and it's planned to be the penultimate stop on this year's calendar looks very good that one doesn't add up and that is all you'll sport for me gemma thank you so much and that is it for this news hour do stay with us though i'm going to be back in just a few minutes with more of that they's news thanks for watching bye bye.

the latest news judge need to see there will be no closure on the justices so as the identities of those people highly evolved beings are revealed with details coverage there's something else to mitigate about this plot it represents and then the visible dividing line between the wealthier and the floor from around the world the man who knelt on his neck and his friend the week in a minneapolis corporal where the courts are selecting jurors to decide if he should be convicted of murder they offload the most hardcore all for. after egypt's

revolution the passion turned into something much bigger. on al-jazeera world. holding the powerful to account as we examine the u.s. its role in the world on al-jazeera. to make a change. change your life or the path of a country challenge the accepted truth you want to create something you push to break even you remove to turn the status quo and fight injustice down the old man sitting there. with

this personal documentaries that alter the perception on al-jazeera. the u.s. talks tough for the biden administration's 1st summit with china as the world's 2 superpowers try to repair relations that are at their lowest levels in decades. hello i'm barbara starr you're watching al-jazeera live from london also coming up safe and effective europe's medicines regulator gives its verdict on the astra zeneca vaccine after several.