watch al-jazeera english streaming live on the future channel. plus thousands of our programs the winning documentaries and the dead loser folds. subscribe to you choose forward slash al-jazeera english. voting is underway in republic of congo's presidential election but the leading opposition candidate is in hospital with cave 19. this is out 0 life and also coming out of more violence in myanmar as anti coup protests continue the un's top official echoes calls for sanctions against military leadership. coronavirus restrictions and triggered protests in europe as countries

brace for another wave of infections. and thousands are ordered to evacuate australia's most populous state as it experiences its worst flooding in decades. so that the polls have opened for republican congress presidential election president had any success to newgate so is widely expected to extend his 36 years in power the internet has been cut ahead of the poll some opposition candidates they're either in jail or have refused to stand but one candidate ski but he's perfect who's in hospital with kevin 1000 is people to get out and vote. compared to. my dick i'm partly it's i'm in a difficult situation i'm fighting death i demand that you guys open go vote for change fight don't give up the fight rise up please do this from

a message let's speak to marc webb who joins live from brownsville america what's the situation a pulse of open the numbers behind you by the looks of it. scan numbers indeed you will be into a couple of other polling stations in other parts of the city and it's the same story for example of people voting at this school all of the people we've spoken to here over the last week anticipated that there would be a low turnout because many people. don't see their enemies being an opportunity for change even government supporters i think of any of them are very confident that denny sutton grasso is going to stay whatever happens that is strikingly different pictures of what we saw exactly here just a few days ago when soldiers voted in this school in the entire schoolyard was full of soldiers in their hundreds lining up to vote in a process that rights activists say wasn't transparent settle they also complained of problems with the electoral register problems with the election process but they

their rights groups here say even even before the whole electoral process began there was already a climate completely unsuited to having a democratic process to the opposition candidates from the last election the challenge the result was sentenced to 20 years in jail accused of trying to start an armed insurrection they complain of rights activists being targeted arrested and disappeared they say there's no real freedom of speech and so no real possibility of having a democratic process at all tell us more about this this dramatic hospitalization of the opposition candidate. so was been reportedly feeling on well earlier this week he missed his final campaign rally here and brought her veil on friday he didn't set up didn't come to the stage and then saturday evening he published this video message a dramatic video message that we saw his fee minutes ago in a hospital bed with an oxygen mask calling his supporters to vote saying that he

was in trouble now before the internet it's off at the moment the internet it's been off since early this morning the roads are closed there are police and soldiers out people are only allowed to move around on foot so that is that you know it's a lockdown going on here but before the internet went off supporters were already speculating online that he had been poisoned and distrust of the government runs so deep that certainly any threat to its health or serious threat to his health or wellbeing will be met with that kind of skepticism that certainly poses a risk of tensions particularly in the back ongoing region where a house many supporters and where he comes from so with definitely monitoring what's happening there in the hours ahead but it is difficult to monitor things when all of the internet is turned off indeed all right malcolm back with you as the day progresses thanks for the time being mark webber in brazzaville there's more violence in miramar with 3 more protesters killed and others critically

injured on sunday the increased use of force by the military and has not stopped the anti queue demonstrations the people mandalay have gone rallying to minimize the risk of confrontation with security forces about a 100 doctors nurses medical students and pharmacists they lined up on a main road to chant slogans the un's mean margaret presented of its own drew kirkwood says people want the un to impose sanctions and send peacekeepers to end the violence. or to the chairing is in bangkok and has more on this. those protests in mandalay that took place at the crack of dawn this morning again because the protesters want to minimize the risk of confrontation we've heard in the last hour or so that there has been further confrontation in men lay in the own pin lower districts around 159th street the area apparently was surrounded by security services not just police but armored vehicles as well and since then residents have

been seeing a lot of black smoke rising there saying that some of the barricades the protesters have put on the streets but also houses have been set on fire and they're hearing a lot of gunshots we've got confirmation of one wounded so far but a lot of protesters appear to be trapped in that area it's a developing situation them information is very hard to get out of the moment also because mobile internet service is a down of what sort of wife i access people can get is very patchy too. but it does appear that the security services having let those protests go ahead they are now closing in on the protesters elsewhere we've seen lots of other protests going on in money watch in. the 2nd region the smalling the security services crackdown on the protests there one fe town see confirmed from a head shot 2 others in critical condition and again we are seeing lots of people in these protests being killed with and injured with head shots which suggests the

use of army snipers as we've seen in many places as the security services of crackdown but protesters are still going on. countries across europe are returning to long towns is the concern grapples with the surge in a corona virus infections many people are protesting against the restrictions and calling for them to be lifted. as this. 3rd wave of coded 19 is forcing new lock downs. to spread across europe but with the restrictions comes resentment and resistance to the new rooms. in germany police used water cannon and pepper spray to disperse and he looked down protestors in the city of castle chancellor angela merkel has wound new restrictions will likely be imposed with cases of the virus rising exponentially but protesters say the measures such

as the closing of non-essential shops hotels restaurants and gyms are a threat to their freedom. and i consider corona virus to be a serious disease just like the flu but to make a pandemic out of it as we are experiencing now with many restrictions on our basic rights i don't think that's justified. in neighboring switzerland more than 5000 protesters gathered in the town of elite still to demand an end to cave age restrictions which have shut restaurants and other public places for months i mean because we want our lives back we want to live we want to live in a democratic and we want our children to be free and safe elsewhere in europe more and he looked down protest on saturday from bulgaria to remain in serbia to croatia. but i'm here because i'm fed up with the lies coming from ignorant people is not only in croatia it's across the world they want to force us to stay in our houses and not to go out not to breed not to work not to

eat what they want from us to crawl on the floor enough is enough. in the u.k. dozens of antelope down protesters were arrested on saturday as campaign has defied police warnings a march through central london under current restrictions it's unlawful for groups to gather to protest these demonstrators want those rules changed as to more than 60 m.p.'s who signed a letter to the home secretary to ease the wounds and allow peaceful pray. yes. but some global health experts say that would be a mistake right now what we need is continued restrictions as it isn't just that because i know that it's not a popular position but we need to continue a few more months with these restrictions and we need to see x. nation much much more rapidly which means we need to increase manufacturing vaccines there's frustration with the slow rollout of vaccines in the european

union and to die warning from the german health minister that there aren't enough vaccines in europe to prevent a 3rd wave and despite these demonstrations it appears tighter measures are on the way victoria al-jazeera. police and brazil's largest city of south paolo breaking up illegal parties to try and slow the advance of covert 19 curfews have been imposed in several major cities to prevent the spread of a local variant that's helping drive a surge in infections in 24 hours brazil red said more than $79000.00 new cases and close to $2500.00 deaths the situation is getting worse in other parts of latin america chile is reporting infection rates close to the record highs last seen in june 1st despite most of the nation being under a strict lockdown and argentina has imposed restrictions and is short of vaccines so. there's one is there is and has more in the situation in brazil. 79000 new

infections in the last 24 hours that brings the number of infections up to nearly 12002400 deaths that brings that up 229-2000 deaths the i.c.u. beds in the brazilian hospitals breaking points 95 percent occupancy in rio de janeiro a similar situation around the country hence these measures by the author it is in rio de janeiro to close the b. is there also stopping buses coming into the city bringing tourists to those beaches they've done that before the question now is whether they will police it whether they will stop people massing on the beaches they also have to put up with the president of the country job also nado encouraging people to go to the beaches and take in the sun he's saying that's a good idea so they can soak in vitamin d. which will allow them to fight the covered 1000 virus so that is a problem always in brazil you have the national authorities led by the president

telling people to go back to work ignore the measures not wear masks and then you have city councils state governors trying to fight against the virus telling people to stay indoors and not work so a difficult situation there as the numbers continue to rise. still ahead here on al-jazeera the harsh terrain in remote villages how america's largest state of alaska has managed to become a leader in vaccination rates. and 9 lives cut short in one day families of activists killed by security forces in the philippines call for justice. there has been some rain recently in china not much admittedly but it's just pumped a bit of motion the atmosphere the result that is probably we're going to see significant showers run through this mainland part of southeast asia big shout

maybe in bangkok and then a focus on the coast of vietnam which has been remarkably dry for months after a very wet spell if you remember the end of last year otherwise the showers are distributed as you might expect track the philippines malaysia and into these use in heavier ones maybe in borneo and possibly south in sumatra and java but the really heavy and persistent rain of the last few days has been in new south wales and it's just this massive cloud here hinting at it there are still warnings the extreme weather has been extensive flooding north of sydney on the lowlands and evacuations we've had at worst 700 millimeters of rain recorded now give you an example 2 to put that in context sydney's average is 170 members of the whole a batch so well exceeded that hence the flooding and there's more to come on friday of the next couple of days it will keep raining steadily the winds are quite strong the surf is up which is not good if you think of coastal erosion but the rain itself will get worse and worse until the end of tuesday by which time we've added

$200.00 millimeters typically then it will start to dry up. for afghans with ties to international organizations. this rate has never been greater. left exposed by the withdrawal of foreign troops. may be the only path to 15. in the nation makes home feel ever find their way. part of the viewfinder is a series on al-jazeera. you're

watching out to 0 or might of our top stories this hour and pulse of opened in the republic of congo's presidential election president dennis assumed gay so it's expected to extend his 36 years in power some opposition candidates are either in jail or have refused to stand in miramar at least 3 more protesters have been killed and others critically injured the increased use of violence by the military genter has not stopped the protests people at mandalay held the dawn rally to minimize the risk of confrontation the security force. protests have been held across europe calling for code 1000 restrictions to be lifted as the continent struggles to cope with another rise in infections many countries are returning to look. it is america's largest state but alaska is sparsely populated and is known for its harsh terrain some villages or any accessible by boat or by plane it is being hailed as a vaccine success story daily 40 percent of its people have received at least one

dose and the lascar is the 1st u.s. state to offer the jabs to everybody from the age of 16 diplomatic editor james bays reports from anchorage. with an outside temperature of minus 15 degrees celsius this is a drive through vaccination center in anchorage the biggest city in alaska the u.s. because of its wealth and power has vaccinated a higher percentage of people than most countries and this state which is more than 1700000 square kilometers is the largest state in the union has done better than nearly anywhere else in the nation we are very fortunate alaska that we have actually been able to open eligibility up to everyone 16 and above at this point how did you get to that point it has been an incredible effort throughout the state in a lot of incredible collaboration with our local and state partners those receiving the vaccine seem appreciative of the state's cephus they've taken it very seriously

from the onset because of the native population and the potential for that outlying communities in the native villages to be decimated for all. the bad virus and we've seen things like this happen before so they're taking it very seriously which is great 1000 percent of people here have been fully vaccinated and already life is returning to a kind of normality with restaurants retailers and sports facilities all back open for business the figures for alaska are amazing this state has vaccinated a far larger percentage than most us states and just compare this possibly populated state with many countries for example alaska has vaccinated more people than nigeria a country with a population of over 200000000 people a real achievement for the health care workers in a state with 800000 residents but at the same time clearly an indictment of the way

vaccines have been distributed globally james pays al-jazeera anchorage. hundreds of people have protested in the u.s. city of atlanta over violence against asian americans the rally on saturday was prompt enough to 8 people including 6 women of asian descent were killed by white gunman 21 year old robert aaron long is facing murder charges. we. think and i think i have killed many. in the way. of heat. if i didn't know. was.

that. that was. the only way. he was beat was only. by leaving. a court in pakistan has sentenced to men to death for going rate that triggered public outrage in new laws the men attacked a mother in front of her children last year when her car ran out of fuel on the motorway near the hole the 2 men say they will appeal against the sentence. hundreds of people being protesting in turkey after the government withdrew from a european and women's rights treaty say the istanbul convention is crucial to fighting problems like domestic violence but critics argue it's incompatible with. the landmark treaty protecting women from violence bears the name of turkey's

largest city now in istanbul there's anger that turkey is walking away from the accord it was 1st to sign a decade ago and run because it will let up on your own they said i wasn't feeling safe as a woman even before this and after this i feel like i'm in the unsafe environment at least there was a law a decision that i was leaning on but now i feel like i don't have any support i feel vulnerable in 2011 more than 45 governments promised to take tougher action on domestic violence marital rape and female genital mutilation. but conservative groups and officials from the governing ak party have long argued it's inconsistent with turkey's values and undermines the traditional family unit tayyip erdogan ordered his country's withdrawal and a presidential decree the government says turkey's laws are enough to protect women and their rights but not everyone agrees that on. every day women that killed in

the streets in the bus in the car there are women who are beaten by the lovers in an elevator when you get to that place they say it's ok is your husband forgive them for the sake of your children but when that woman with the same police offices there a day off to take a to have funeral how they're protecting us rights groups say violence against women and deaths are on the rise in turkey there is being. last year only last 100. 170 cases were unidentified so women are saying well. investigate why we have we are being well why do you. turkey's not alone in turning its back on the istanbul convention conservative and populist governments in hungary poland slovakia and bulgaria have all moved to prevent the accord from being ratified when you have

a situation where people in charge think they can score political points by withdrawing even nominal protections for women and vulnerable populations you have a situation where people who would like to target them believe they can do so without any sort of penalty. protesters like these in istanbul say they'll fight on insisting their years long struggle won't be a race by the stroke of a pen. alexandra byers al-jazeera. the families of 9 people killed by state forces in the philippines earlier this month a calling for justice they say their loved ones were peaceful activists targeted for criticizing the government the police say they were communist rebels who resisted arrest and as a story from another. it was the worst day for activists in the philippines in recent years on march 7th a series of operations conducted by state forces resulted in the deaths of 9 activists in several parts of the southern loose on reaching across the in the

saloon douglas says she was asleep with her husband melvin the sick girl and their children when police force their way into their home melvin sands she says was behind his head it was an act of surrender she says but melvin was still shot several times by what it was so they say you have weapons we don't even have money for food we are dependent aide after our house was there were stated by 80 food unless the same or they stripped us of our humanity and our dignity have you no heart no conscience you kill us like animals because we join release markley because there was a friend and colleague of melvin was also killed he lived across the street people here tell us it was around 4 30 in the morning when they heard a group of armed men forced their way inside mark leese house they say they heard his family pushed out of the house before markley was shot several times right here

. their home is abandoned now and in the other parts of result province poor boy and pull on the low crews were cousins who advocated for the rights of indigenous peoples they were killed the same way among those killed 2 were the couple shyly meet the evangelista and they're here live on the least they're from but on this province both were killed by police just meters away from their son and on sunday and in targum unity grieved the death of money as unshorn was a known labor rights organizer for many years. the police say all of the victims were killed because they resisted arrest and that led to what they call an armed encounter but rights groups here say this narrative has long been used by police since its so-called drug war began in 2016 the government has ordered an investigation into the killings burial of the president. the order of the president

was correct kill kill kill if your enemy has a gun to be shot and killed it is not the way elation under international humanitarian law if a soldier fires at that i'm gone minister but this is there a distinction between activist and they're both of course there is a human rights activist say those who died had one thing in common they were freedom fighters who were outspoken critics of the government. dogon al jazeera manila. saudi arabia states buying 2 oil companies says its profits nearly harmed in 2020 m. blames the sliding global prices during the prime demick so iran co posted a 44 percent drop in profits down to 49 $1000000000.00 the company has seen its annual profit for every year since they were 1st announced the 2018 oil prices have run in recent months to prepare levels of they fell to a critical low in april last year. severe strain in the state of new south wales

are experiencing some of the worst flooding in decades house was seen floating down a river near the northern coast many in the region have been told to evacuate their homes in his turn to rain continues people are evacuating sydney's outer suburbs donovan howard's a senior meteorologist at the australia bureau of meteorology and he explains what's causing these heavy rain very dangerous a significant flooding event on 40 across new south wales and including the biggest city of sydney are we have seen 2 wrencher right over the last number of days and at least 4 major flood warnings out covering parts of western sydney and on for to the right is coastal anytime soon has a massive accusations and the main dav dam had to basically be stilled overnight and so i think like a situation there right now across northern australia there is a tropical lawyer sitting just over the normal process within australia that's driving a lot of tropical moisture into central parts of australia and there is

a warning out rainfall across the northern territory and as you say this is the australian interior so this is the desert we are seeing a potential for flooding over the next few days and this is just the systems i should have moved into eastern parts of australia over the coming 24 to 48 hours and this will link up with the system across new south wales and basically create a multi-state a couple 1000 kilometer long right under storm band on monday and tuesday and it could rain be right some of the. same so incredible totals over the last couple of days since there's a the highest who we have seen is $860.00 millimeters that's about $34.00 inches of rain in just over 3 days so not surprisingly we are seeing these really major floods and how we get into wednesday we could see up to one meter of rain to some new south wales so it is going to be quite a beach and national. escape in $1000.00 wrecks much of the global economy many countries have plunged into their worst recessions in decades but as robot bride reports taiwan not only managed to buck the trend it's expecting further growth

this year. restaurants and stores are full shopping districts busy with people out spending it all points to an economy enjoying its own mini boom while much of the world is still mired in a pandemic flu just a year ago as countries were quickly closing borders because of the spreading coronavirus prospects for this small island so close to the pandemic source in neighboring mainland china looked grim. i am going to taiwan where i experience a certain downturn where our kind are software like a minus 4 percent g.d.p. of course instead taiwan grew its economy by more than 3 percent last year growing faster than mainland china for the 1st time in decades with 5 percent growth predicted for this year success is due in part to the economy's reliance on

semiconductor chip production which has boomed during the pandemic but it's underpinned by early and decisive public health measures that have created a safe haven that's encourage companies to relocate from the mainland in line with government policy there clearly a lot of job opportunities especially high tech industries because that the government policy is trying to encourage it also high tech. back to taiwan then there were the taiwanese living overseas returning to avoid the effects of the pandemic elsewhere i have a lot of friends that came back from new york from california a lot of part of the world so our decision to come back was for safety or for the freedom because we can you know still have a normal life here while we're young chief how is a real estate agent from chicago now doing business remotely online from taiwan it

means dealing with a 12 hour time difference but it keeps him earning money that he spends in taiwan u.k. you know be with your family you can take the public transportation and live your normal what he like so many people here largely enjoying the kind of normal but for much of the rest of the world is still a memory problem bride al-jazeera. so this is these are the top stories the polls have opened in the republic of congo's presidential election president. expected to extend his 36 years in power some opposition candidates are either in jail or have refused to stand his latest now from presidential and one of the things that a lot of people we've spoken to here over the last week have anticipated is a low turnout because a lot of people feel that this election doesn't really bring.