iran's supreme leader says u.s. promises have no credibility and repeats the only return to the nuclear deal if washington ends all sanctions. i'm about this and this is all just here on live from doha also coming up voting for a president in the republic of congo the man who's been in the job for 36 years once another town the leading opposition candidate has got covert 19 and he's in the

hospital. the palestinian authority finally begins its covered 100 vaccine roll out after getting 16000 those is through a u.n. led program. and more violence in myanmar as anti to protest continues the un's top official echoes calls for sanctions against the military leadership. iran's supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei has described u.s. sanctions as criminal acts adding that washington's promises to lift them can't be believed how many once iran to become more self-reliant and says economic blockades should be turned into opportunities he also says iran's economy shouldn't be based on whether sanctions will be eased the supreme leader was addressing the nation for the persian new year. how many also addressed the iran nuclear deal specifically attacking the tactics employed by former us president donald trump method.

the maximum pressure of the united states has failed the previous idiot hope to put iran in a weak position so that iran could be brought to the negotiating table and he could impose his will on a weaker iran but he last very disgracefully his departure came with a lot of descriptions he disgraced not only himself but also the united states with the dignity given to us by god this nation is going to move on and they should know that the maximum pressure has been failing so far even in the future if the new administration in the us continues to carry on the maximum pressure this will be their future as well they will also those and they will also fail and day by day iran is becoming stronger and stronger i said bags into iran and he said the supreme leader delivered a defiant message. there was a focus on the elections that's because last year in the parliamentary elections the country saw the lowest voter turnout since the revolution in 1989 and it was

a rallying call not only for the political establishment but for the country the supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei said that the voter turnout is about national dignity is about authority home and abroad and he encouraged those candidates that want to stand for presidency to pay attention to the economy and that they shouldn't depend on the sanctions being been lifted and that's an important message novo the economy has been affected by the sanctions something acknowledged by president has been rouhani the supreme leader said that the silver lining to the sanctions were that the country's domestic production had increased and in fact he's called this upcoming year the year of production support and the removal of hurdles hurdles and what the supreme leader is essentially telling the people here he wants them to come out mostly to them to participate because that gives authority to the political establishment in this country but also he said he was

referring to the j.c. the 2050 nuclear deal and he said that we're not in a hurry on isn't in a hurry if the united states continues iraq can wait it out 10 fact he he criticized just slightly has been rouhani administration's approach to the j.c. people is saying that they were in a hurry to sign that deal indicating that he's preference was to move move forward with that deal step by step that the united states does something then iran does something rather than the fully comprehensive deal to syria no for a child has been among 5 civilians killed after the shelling the hospital by regime forces it happened in city in western aleppo countryside attacks on health care facilities are common in the region and they're mostly blamed on the government and its allies the w.h.o. says there have been more than 300 attacks and medical sites in the past 5 years. the u.s. secretary of defense has met the afghan president during an unannounced visit to

kabul lloyd austin said his main reason for visiting was to hear the president on his concerns that's ahead of a deadline agreed with the taliban to withdraw u.s. troops by me the 1st and in terms of an end date or setting a specific date for withdrawal. that's that's a domain of my botched that's the but. you know the decision that the president when it gets some point in terms of how he wants to approach is going forward and i want to try to my boss job for him you need for me to do that i will put continue to dissipate in a very meaningful way interview that's going. on israel continues with one of the world's fastest covert 19 vaccine campaigns palestine has only just begun ates rollouts to the general public the palestinian authority's president mahmoud abbas was the 1st to get a shot health authority receives more than 60000 vaccine doses on wednesday through

the international kovacs scheme which helps put a countries is able to him his more from ramallah. and then. the age of $75.00 and then. finish their treatment before they get. that many. and it comes at a really difficult time because never. been to the medical centers we're standing in front of a medical. city where we've been seeing tens of people. waiting to get. someone even under 75 and they were trying to negotiate their way in to get.

member that we're talking about. they're not going to be everyone. but many. before. some of these. so many. make sure that everyone who has a relative old and wonderful that they would get the. voters in the republic of congo are electing a president denise. is one of the world's longest serving leaders and is widely expected to stay in power 7 people are vying for the top job but some opposition candidates are in jail or are boycotting the poll the internet's been shut concerns the vote is not transparent one candidate. is in hospital with 19 but

he's urging people to get out and vote. difficult situation. that you. fight the fight. please do this for. marco might be joining us live from brunswick markham have people been showing up to vote. so in some of the polling stations you went to very few people it's over there been more. in the suburbs to see a lot of the opposition leader who just so we're not video message the one who's sick in hospital he's very popular here in the last few people is just voting right now and a few minutes from now they're close again anyone is still inside is still allowed to vote after that i did mention the internet being off for the whole day also all businesses have to close the roads are closed there are barricades and checkpoints

people are only allowed to move around on foot so it's quite hard to find out what's happening in other parts of the country but a short while ago we did bump into the government spokesperson in the hotel just downtown and i asked him why the internet is off and he raised his hand and he walked away saying we didn't get an answer to that but the soul of the internet was switched off which was early this morning some of the supporters of collapse that opposition leader is ill in hospital he started speculating that he had been poisoned by the government and the certainly no evidence that that's the case but there is a deep mistrust of the government and it's certainly a possible cause of tension or even on the rest of his supporters throughout the part of the country very popular if they were to believe that he had indeed been harmed that could cause some problems in the event as seems to be widely expected that the current president. is going to stay in office well how do you think his

opposition is going to react to that. i mean it's certainly possible that they're able to challenge a will question the results it's very difficult to monitor what happens with the data once the votes are counted here at the polling station after the incident itself break in is very hard to see what the electoral commission is doing and it's that lack of transparency that activists say is just one of many things that make this process potentially not very democratic it's all. of the prominent opposition candidates who run in the last election they challenge the result. accused of trying to overthrow the government sentenced to 20 years forced labor. rights activists complain that frequently targeted arrested no freedom of speech and the basic catholic church on the local civil society groups were banned from observing the polls and they were probably among the only observers anyone expected to say

anything critical at all so a lot of those rights activists and pro-democracy activists say that even long before this election was planned there wasn't really any chance of having a democratic process in the 1st place. talking to us from brussels thank you. still ahead on al-jazeera heavy rain batters parts of australia as new south wales in what's being called a once in 100 years event. and battling illegal fishing on the high seas argentina's efforts to protect its catch and marine environment. it's time for the perfect gentleman the weather sponsored point qatar airways well all the weather who is the rain and the snow and the wind underneath this massive cloud is on its way eastwards it's followed briefly by

a cold breeze are still snow showers the western side of honshu which of course will show themselves on the hearts of high ground not in lower ground and then the sun takes every move things up as it's doing quite readily in the korean peninsula and throughout china watch these temperatures tickly hop and jump a few degrees between monday and tuesday now hong kong in contrast has cooled down and up to 30 last few days then to low twenty's now an increase in cloud and few showers seems likely in this part of china also elsewhere it warms up there's been some early rain in the form of big thunderstorms are still there on monday running west through thailand to me and ma and this on shore breeze quite a strong one still that northeasterly legacy of the last season if you like is introducing more showers the coast of vietnam which suffered so much flooding a few months ago well it's starting to rain again but there's no hint of flooding just yet is just seasonal as are all the showers throughout malaysia and indonesia

there's a westerly disturbance coming through northern pakistan which will disturb the air and improve things in many places islamabad particularly when affected. sponsored by the qatar airways. chains one a one east returns to. christ church to find out how those most affected are coping . and surviving a massacre on al-jazeera. if you want to help save the world. sneeze into your own.

for 0 to 01 of our top stories this hour iran's supreme leader ayatollah khomeini's says u.s. promises of lifting sanctions have no credibility addressing the nation of the persian new year he added that the country should work to turn the economic blockade into the opportunity. voters in the republic of congo are electing a president denice us in this or is expected to extend his 36 years in power some opposition candidates are either in jail or have refused to stand. the palestinian authority has just begun its covert 19 vaccine rollouts to the general public they received more than 60000 doses and by the state to the international covert scheme . a natural disaster has been declared in parts of the australian state of new south wales after the worst flooding in decades dozens of people have been forced to leave their homes and more heavy rain is expected reports. from the air an

assessment is made of the damage caused by french rain new south wales as capital sydney the largest town has overflowed flooding neighborhoods in the city's western suburbs further north of what was meant to be their wedding day a couple lost their home as it floated down manning river off to busting its banks emergency services have responded to thousands of calls from people who've been left stranded many more have been forced from their homes. and they're all warnings of more flash floods in the coming days with water levels not expected to subside until thursday and foremost priority is to save lives save as many properties as possible but also to give people enough warning of what's occurring and i appreciate in parts of the maid and north coast regions which are experiencing a one in 100 year event there's been sustained damage to infrastructure there's been sustained damage to how people communicate and. around and i just want to say to everybody in new stuff while she's experiencing that fear and that anxiety that

you. can. evacuate now in place and stretches of australia's east coast and hundreds of people especially no lying areas have been heading to emergency evacuation centers a survey warning is also in place just west of canberra. just over a year ago these areas of australia or many others were blazoned devastating bushfires scientists say natural disasters are becoming more frequent and more severe due to climate change and people are being urged not to drive through flooded areas because a strong car. into. saudi arabia state but oil company says its profits fell by nearly hoff in 2020 to $49000000000.00 that's a 44 percent drop and i'm called blames the sliding global prices during the pandemic oil prices of raw meat in recent months to preplan damage levels of the

hit a low in april last year the company has seen its annual profits fall every year since it started announcing them in 2018. to solomon is an international oil economist he says saudi aramco fortunes are turning the round despite the drop in profits. the current improvement in early prices will help call as saudi arabia and also the economy as. obscene it's in the last. naturally we have seen the most impressive is in early prices from 30 barrels in the 1st of december of last year i'm an. hour 16 there is a bell today at 65 how long have that last is a great improvement i will be bearish which leaves you with the current right as.

i look at the last deal in 2020 where their prices collapsed under $20.00 of course salad as well as i am going to. produce a does need their prayers are approaching eat it then have to look them too many objects however this is helping them at least for the time being using. feeling bad any budget cut out a monetary i have restored diplomatic ties which were severed more than 3 years ago when saudi arabia the u.a.e. bahrain and egypt imposed a blockade on qatar relations of the 4 countries were reestablished in january the placating countries had accused qatar's government of causing instability in the region and supporting terrorism claims doha strongly denied. police in brazil's

largest city cell pollo have broken up more illegal parties curfews have been imposed in several major cities to prevent the spread of a local covered 19 variant that's causing more infections in the past 24 hours brazil registered another 79000 cases and close to 2 and a half 1000 deaths a state of emergency and curfew have been imposed in the u.s. city of miami beach after a large crowds gathered there over spring break without following social distancing rules emeritus cried the situation is out of control police struggled to break up parties in restaurants and on the streets from saturday everyone must stay indoors between 8 pm and 6 am and businesses in the district today areas will be closed our city right now in this area has become a tinder and we cannot have a policy of simply hoping that it's not lit we have to act before one of those incidents happen we cannot act in the wake of some. mourners in tanzania appearing

their respects to the late president john the model fully is bodies lying in state at a stadium in the capital dhaka salaam the remains will be moved to other areas of the country so locals can pay tribute before burial in megaphones hometown on thursday his official cause of death is heart failure but opposition leaders believe he died of coronavirus protesters have again gathered outside israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu as residents calling for his resignation similar rallies have been held every weekend over the past 9 months they're looking to maintain pressure on netanyahu days out from israel's general election. it's going to be the 4th election in just 2 years and opinion polls suggest they'll be no clear winner once again in a tight race the prime minister is trying a new strategy he surprised many by publicly courting palestinian israeli voters out in force and has more. is not the 1st time benjamin netanyahu is focused on

israel's palestinian citizens during an election campaign in 2015 he tried to boost right wing turnout by warning of quote arabs coming to the polls in droves in 2019 facebook suspended a chat bot on his account which had our politicians wanted to quote annihilators all this time the message is very different with. a campaign video presents palestinian israelis supporting a prime minister who among other things is pledging to address the number one issue . a surge in violent crime sparking protests against the israeli police the failing to tackle it. really me i'm committed to bringing in into the violence and the crime in your communities this is a national assignment that touches each and every one of you and your children. in the northern city of haifa is reopening his restaurant after months of coded

$1000.00 in forced closure for him netanyahu is pitch is missing the mark he's a hypocrite if we say this 20 times it's not enough they don't want any alliance with arabs they never have they will never give us our rights. the same goes for the customers we spoke to even those who become frustrated by the palestinian israeli parliamentary block and so see un and dad i'm not entirely happy with the air parties because they haven't been working properly socially speaking things have been deteriorating especially the violence if you expect benjamin netanyahu to experience a sudden warm embrace from a group of voters that he spent previous elections casting is a threat to the prospects of a right wing government what he's looking for is just the tiniest slice enough voters to help him gain that extra one or 2 seats that could prove crucial to his chances of forming a coalition for activists and analyst jeffrey fara that means improving on the 10000 palestinian israeli votes netanyahu likud got last time of 660000 votes cast

more and more voters actually. support the forty's unless unless the. so i don't expect a really big. support enough and you know on the likud but still he can get. one. he may also benefit from a split in the joint list palestinian israeli grouping the breakaway united arab list says it may work with netanyahu after the election however that plays out one broader change is emerging in recent polling a growing acceptance of the political legitimacy of a sector of society for so long kept at arm's length harry forsett al-jazeera haifa israel. a top aide to multis former prime minister of muscat has been charged with money laundering and fraud he's schembri was $1.00 of many officials accused of corruption by journalist stephanie cutter want to go she was killed 3 years ago

when a car bomb targeted her vehicle supporters of quranic elisia prosecution is long overdue the journalist death sparked protests across the country and forced muska to step down. the families of 9 people killed in a single day by state forces in the philippines are calling for justice they say their loved ones were peaceful activists targeted earlier this month for criticizing the government but police say there were communist rebels who resisted arrest jamil and dog and has the story from manila. 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 region rosalee in the saloon douglas says she was asleep with her husband melvin the sick go 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 my body well that's what they say you have weapons we don't even have money for food we are dependent aide after our house was there was stated by 8 a fool 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 a wrong 4 30 in the morning when they heard a group of armed men forced their way inside mark lease 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 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 an entire community grieved the death of my lesson sean 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 then. 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 but then i am 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 were outspoken critics of the government. dog and al jazeera manila. illegal fishing is a constant problem across latin american waters and it's happening on an industrial scale a massive on regulated fleet made up of mostly chinese vessels is operating in the south atlantic it's threatening south americans fishing sector on the oceans ecosystem reports one of service and how argentina's coast guard is trying to control the issue. this lights may look like a city from the sky but their fishing vessels just outside argentina's exclusive economic zone. there are hundreds of them. argentina's coast guard say their main task is to control their movements so they do not cross into argentine

territory under darkened buna you have bases with argentine plugs and vessels with foreign flags all of these are ships that have been detected by our system when there is irregular activity they tend to shut down their radios but we can still track them with such a large. illegal fishing can generate millions of dollars in losses and costs irreparable damage to eco systems that's why it's $1.00 of the biggest challenges nations face today from this from argentina or forty's can money for what's happening in its economic exclusive zones but what authorities here are saying is that what's important is to regulate what's happening in international waters and. where most of this vessels that you can see here i located. the ships come mostly from china but also spain portugal and japan this year the united states launched

operation southern cross to combat illegal and unregulated fishing in the southern atlantic they participated in joint operations with brazil why angle yana. morag not only focus on training a qualification issues related to the cutter and crew itself oh i also focus on partnering with south atlantic. countries that have a like minded approach to curbing illegal on imported an unregulated fishing habits greenpeace argentina has been highlighting the damage caused by unregulated fishing in the area in 2018 the ship expands our reach to what is known as the blue hole where argentina's exclusive economic zone is located and captured images from the seabed biologists say it has been devastated by overfishing and inadequate policy of international waters they were months and. there's no regulate. there's no law in international waters we need a new treaty that's being debated at the un it will allow countries to create

sanctuaries international waters are 45 percent of the water worldwide only one percent is protected the treaty will be dead the un e nor ghost those who supported hope it will give nations more tools to protect their territories and the thousands of species currently under threat it is having one of. their option of a long dormant volcano in iceland is still putting on quite a display bursts of lava shooting into the air or forming streams flowing across a valley in the conference southwest peninsula the volcano is near the capital i.q. of it but authorities say it's not posing a threat. this is all to syria these are the top stories iran's supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei has described to us economic sanctions as criminal acts.