plies returns with stories of those striving to reduce the negative impact on the planet has president joe biden kept his campaign promises we'll have special coverage and in-depth analysis of his 1st $100.00 days in the oval office april on al-jazeera. al jazeera. if. we will by my 113 office have admitted to 200000000 shots and his 1st news conference as u.s. president joe biden sets a new vaccination target defends his handling of the situation at the southern border and says he expects to run again.

our intake of his al-jazeera live from london also coming up. fears it could take weeks to move the container ship blocking the suez canal and a new setback for global trade somalia struggles to cope as it's hit by a 2nd wave of code 19 cases. and hundreds protest against china's treatment of weakened muslims as the foreign minister visits turkey. and in his 1st news conference 64 days after taking office u.s. president joe biden a set a bold new target in his fight against coronavirus he's up his vaccination goal to now inoculate 200000000 people by his 100th day taking questions for around an hour he said he intends to run for reelection in 2024 and said influx of migrants at the

southern border was being addressed but he began with his pandemic plans. under summary. hope to get 100000000 shots to people's arms in my 1st 100 days. we met that goal last week by day 5842 days ahead of schedule not a damn set is 2nd goal and that is we will by my 100 day in office have administered 200000000 shots of people's arms that's right 200000000 shots in 100 days i know i know it's ambitious twice or original goal but no other country in the world has even come close this cost i want house correspondent kimberly hellcats and kimberly and i have time waiting for him to do this news conference and he devoted a lot of it to the situation at the border into. yes the questions asked by reporters a lot of them focusing on the situation on the southern border the flood of

migrants from guatemala honduras through mexico and attempting to enter the united states the u.s. president saying that he's flattered that his policies immigration appear to be welcoming and that he seems to be a nice guy but he says the truth is that's not the reason they're coming he says that he reminded reporters and the world really that this does happen every spring that there is a surge and this is the optimal time to try and make that treacherous track into the u.s. so he sort of just spelled the notion that it was his policies or at least fought back against his critics his conservative critics in the united states that say that the other thing is that he would not commit to the transparency that he has promised with respect to opening up some of those crowded facilities where children are being held saying that he was not able to do that just yet that he may in the future and he also blamed his predecessor donald trump for some of the root causes

of this migration saying that there were funds that could have been spent to help stop this surge but the donald trump didn't do that so he pledged to rebuild what he says is a broken immigration system and at the same time he also reminded those that are watching the border is closed contrary to popular opinion and that the majority of families will be sent back. we're sending back the vast majority of the families that are coming here trying to work out now with mexico their willingness to take more of those families back but that's what's happening they're not getting across the border and those who are coming across the border who are unaccompanied children were moving rapidly to try to put in place what was dismissed and i said for example of all the children coming across the border over 70 percent are either 16 or 17 years old we're not talking about people ripping babies from mother's arms

and little 3 year old stand on the border less and i think it's one and a half percent. it can be one of the main subjects that came up i think that on the foreign policy there were a couple of headlines number one. that may 1st deadline for that deal that was put in place under the trumpet ministration looks like whether or not the united states will still be withdrawing its remaining troops in afghanistan the president previously said he wasn't sure if he could meet that may 1st deadline now saying that it is very much in doubt and when a reporter asked whether or not u.s. soldiers would be in afghanistan next year he did not rule out that possibility so a lot of interest there in that outs or given the fact that many people have grown quite weary of having soldiers in overseas conflicts add to that north korea where we've seen 2 different tasks in less than a week the u.s. president saying that he is prepared to respond if this situation continues to

ask a late but at the same time he's open to diplomacy with the goal of denuclearize ation of the north korean peninsula and what was his overall performance like. well it's really important to talk about this given the fact that here domestically a lot of the president's conservative critics have said he's too old he should be president he is not in good health you remember last week he briefly stumbled getting upon air force one and that continued to heighten those fears so there were a lot of questions about how the president would perform in this press conference with reporters him despite maybe losing his train of thought briefly on a parliamentary procedure known as the filibuster which quite frankly i might also lose my train of thought on because it isn't the easiest to digest he showed that he was very knowledgeable and adapt to discussing a myriad of poly is the policy issues you have to remember to talk for more than an

hour unscripted so i think it overall it was a strong performance and it will dispel a lot of the concerns about his age and this health relative to whether or not he is fit to be president jimmy how to thank you very much indeed. is one of the key on trees that keeps global trade pumping carrying around 12 percent of the world's goods but the suez canal could be blocked for weeks by a beached congo ship administrative cost to the global economy of some $3000000000.00 a day the $224000.00 ton ever given has been stubbornly wedged for nearly 48 hours and salvage teams have flown in from around the world to shift it here's why it's a problem the 193 kilometer canal cuts through egypt and human mediterranean and red sees it means there's a route for goods from southeast asia to the markets of europe the takes around 3

weeks if it's built for a long time the only other brooches around the cape of good hope thousands of kilometers and at least a week longer. has been a shift. 400 metres long and weighing 200000 tons stuck in what's often described as the most important shipping lane in the world a maritime accident with global implications the ever given container ship became wedged across the suez canal and choose day when high winds blew her off course about 12 percent of global trade passes through the 193 kilometer long canal which connects the red sea with the mediterranean providing the shortest link between asia and europe the vessel carrying around $20000.00 containers is registered in panama are operated by the taiwanese transport company evergreen marine it was sailing from china to the port city of rotterdam in the netherlands when it got stuck the japanese owner has apologized but says the situation is extremely

difficult and there's a citizen that will present the traffic along this year's canal has been disrupted due to the incident and local authorities are working under the issue using tugboats but there is no smith had time for it to be dissolved this image posted on a ship tracking website shows the backlog of at least $150.00 vessels stuck in the northern entrance of the canal at ports 8 in the middle in an area called the bitter lakes and at the southern entrance at suez the vast majority of oil from the gulf is transported to europe along the canal oil prices rose sharply on thursday. industry experts are warning of a flood of insurance claims covering the vast amount of cargo being held up including automotive parts and consumer goods which option officials say at least 8 tug boats are trying to dislodge the vessel which experts say could take days if not weeks but a few days of course is very very costly each day and people have made estimates of

$3810000000000.00 of trade going through the suez canal absolutely fundamental for europeans ply chains not just about oil it's just as important the goods coming from arms china and so on china number one trade with the european union containers may have to be offloaded in order to lessen the weight. ships now face the prospect of having to travel thousands of additional kilometers around the southern tip of africa a huge cost and potentially delaying delivery of goods by weeks it's a cork in a bottle and there's no way to go in as you've described the ships that are stuck throughout the canal and at the north and are in a precarious position i'm a name may not be able just to turn around and take another course as long as it's an expensive as it is to go from the mediterranean around africa and vice versa the su is cannot authority says around $20000.00 ships pass through the canal last year

earning egypt billions of dollars in toll free revenue the ever given is one of the largest container ships in the world but for every hour of every day it remains stuck on a reef and stationary there are concerns about the financial fallout and impact on global trade chance trafford al-jazeera. turkey's foreign minister says he conveyed the nation's sensitivity and sort about the treatment of weak and muslims to his chinese counterpart during talks in ankara where good muslims across turkey protested against the visit of chinese foreign minister wang ye some $40000.00 readers live in tacky and hundreds came out to protest against the treatment of the ethnic minority in china turkey is becoming less vocal about their plight in recent is as has developed economic ties with china in december beijing ratified an extradition treaty signed years ago by the 2 nations have begun this attempt we are here to ask about how families why can't we get in touch with our families are they

dead or alive or marked where are there other camps or outside where are they we cannot get in touch with or we are here to ask him this question to get on. nike and the swedish fashion giant h. and m. facing boycotts in china after old statements resurfaced in which they expressed concern about reports of forced labor engine jang a branch of china's communist party drew attention to the statements which were made last year in march 2028 of them said it would stop buying cotton from where foreign governments say more than 1000000 people are confined to work camps as of nike tumbled 4.8 percent following the backlash on chinese social media on monday several western nations impose sanctions on senior chinese officials over human rights abuses against weakness. so to come is half hour seeking a pop out of a shared crisis here binion he does discuss how to get the vaccine supply is going

. and a 2nd day of fighting near a multi-billion dollar gas project in the unstable north of mozambique. hello there we got something of a mixed bag and i wear the still across europe it's slushy settled and dry across central pasta we have got that wintry mix down towards the southeast at key northerly wind blowing in here with some snow and it will turn colder up tools and all west got a cold front that blue line that'll make its way in for the weekend in the showers say will turn wintry at the moment those showers are generally of rain we've got temperatures of around 12 celsius in london starting to cool down in glasgow would be getting up to double figures here over the last couple of days 7 celsius for friday night is something of a wintry mix coming on as we go on through the course of friday some rain there in

sioux positive fronts of course northern areas of spain fought in trying to central parts for the most part and there's that so wintry mix and snow there on the side of the black say that will tend to ease away as we go on into sas day prizes guys coming in behind temperatures still struggling. with a way of wet weather coming in across the low countries easing across since you were poland was about 6 days and that comsats blast of showers as we go on through the course of the weekend blustery showers a rattling in is a few blustery showers through its northern parts of egypt but for much of north africa it's fine and dry. but. you are dealing with a very powerful people people in influential positions in government where we know there were elements within. the police completely. were getting scared that we were getting too close to some people higher up the line. to the top of the sun.

it is essentially the perfect park you have a diplomatic bag that caught the eye and it can't be searched al-jazeera investigates the poachers pipeline. or much of the top stories here now jazeera a series canal could be blocked for weeks by a beached cargo ship at an estimated cost to the global economy of some $3000000000.00 a day salvage teams have been flown in from around the world to try to shift the 224000 ton ever given. in his 1st news conference since taking office u.s.

president joe biden has pledged to rebuild the immigration system this as it struggles to contain a surge of unaccompanied minors at its southern border. biden also says a new coronavirus vaccine goal of 200000000 shops within his 1st 100 days in office . the number of people have died from the corona virus in mexico has now passed 200000 is the 3rd country in the world to reach the tragic milestone following the u.s. and brazil mexico as a population of about 130000000 it has recorded 207 deaths on thursday. india's daily infection rate has risen to a 5 month high with more than 50 strat 3000 new cases and 251 deaths reported on thursday and follows reports of a new variant described as a double mutation found in the country's hardest hit state of the russia despite

the surge in cases india's government has denied reports that it plans to delay exports of astra zeneca vaccine doses produced locally. denmark has extended its suspension of the code 19 vaccine by 3 weeks out of 40 say they'll continue to evaluate a potential link to blood clots reported in some recipients it's despite european union regulators clearing the job for us following their own investigation max nations will resume for people over 65 in sweden after the country suspended its rollout of astra zeneca jabs last week as the vaccine rollout has dominated talks at a virtual european union leaders summit members are discussing ways to ramp up vaccine supplies and ensure fair access within the union a proposal to block the export of locally produced doses to countries with higher immunization rates is also been up for debate there is said she. has to be

proportionality and rissa prosody that's why i'm convinced the commission's proposals go precisely in that direction we cannot afford to waste a single vaccine or to transfer vaccines to countries that do not need them and that perhaps need vaccines to do business that is not the right way to use vaccines about and joins me now from paris sen has anything been decided to on vaccines. e.u. leaders are still deep in talks in their summit it is being held by video conference it can be held in person because a covert infection rates of just been soaring in so many countries now what leaders are looking at is the vaccine rollout in the european union it has been desperately slow in some parts of the european union they're also looking at how they can boost production of doses and looking at this this controversial but necessary say some

idea by the european commission a proposal to curb the export of covert vaccines from the e.u. what the commission head of underlaying has been saying is that it's simply unfair that what we're seeing in the e.u. is something of what she calls a one way street where. vaccines are being produced in the e.u. shipped off to other countries but then they're not being sent back she uses britain as an example more than 10000000 doses have been shipped to britain but person hasn't sent a single dose back now to then saying look this isn't about vaccine nationalism because the e.u. has actually sent exporting nearly 80000000 doses to some 33 countries since december what she says though is that the e.u. desperately needs doses it is having problems with pharmaceutical companies the route with esther astra zeneca the british swedish company failing to deliver doses says the e.u. and that is why it is looking at this measure it is there as i say controversial some leaders and countries italy france among them support the measure they say

it's a good idea it is necessary those are countries that are really battling a 3rd wave in many regions other countries the netherlands island they're more cautious they don't want to see the e.u. employed in any sort of vaccine war and so many politicians are saying look a lot of this is perhaps just a talk by the e.u. commission to try and ramp up the rhetoric to force pharmaceutical companies to deliver the doses that they were contracted to do and president biden is addressing the summit soon what's that going to be about. yes a special guest if you like the u.s. president joe biden addressing the e.u. summit he was invited by the head of the you council osho michelle to take parts and it is being seen by both sides really as an effort to revitalize relations between the united states and the you are after many years under the trump administration where the relationship the transatlantic relationship really deteriorated so joe biden says he's very enthusiastic to share his thoughts the 2

sides looking at how they can better and more closely cooperate away understand they're going to talk about the pandemic climate change and other issues including russia and china but about to thank you very much. africa's 2nd wave of coronavirus was far more aggressive than the 1st according to a new report in the lancet medical journal and scientists say understanding why it could be key to fighting a 3rd wave in mid july of last year africa was reporting an average of more than $18000.00 new cases per day that rose to nearly $24000.00 by the end of december it was an equal there was a 403 percent rise in daily cases between the 1st and 2nd waves in $24.00 of the 40 countries that were in a 2nd peak that could be because a 3rd of countries mostly north african were missing the target of 10 tests per case by december as just and it just wasn't enough testing but the african centers

for disease control says the 2nd wave saw less mask wearing and social distancing and many countries put open borders for trade before managing who was crossing. of authorities in somalia say the country is in the grips of its 2nd wave of code 19 infections cases arising and more than 300 people have died from the virus in just the last 2 weeks but with no official system for tracking deaths the exact numbers aren't clear catherine story reports from neighboring kenya. this is the main cemetery in mogadishu and it's filling up fast mostly with people who are say to have died from 1000 complications. this family is just the latest to bury a loved one. so mali is struggling to deal with a 2nd wave of covered 1000 cases but health experts say with limited testing and data collection it's hard to know the true extent of the pandemic here if for the

past 2 months we had just over a 1000 people not all of them have died of the disease but these are numbers we've never witnessed before the pandemic. hospitals like de martini and isolation center are also overwhelmed and oxygen is running out. somalia has one of the world's most vulnerable health systems the world health organization says just about a quarter of somalia's 15000000 population can access basic health care doctors are worried the situation is getting worse a machine filled with people do not believe in the existence of the covenant in virus in somalia once they get sick if misused traditional medicines to solve it by the time they are coming to the hospital they are critically ill. the government has ruled out a vaccination program health workers the elderly and people with underlying conditions are getting there fast those are the astra zeneca vaccine under the un

backed cosmetics initiative the government hopes to vaccinate at least 20 percent of its population as soon as possible. but despite the severity of the situation and forcing how 3 strictures has been difficult these are some of the city's popular cafeterias people are reluctant to socially distance or where are mosque on the 1st and foremost young muslims and a religion tells us that when people become very sinful some are known diseases will spread around the world only god can protect his people. apart from the pandemic somalis also continue to face the threat of violence from al shabaab a humanitarian crisis caused by reason flooding and a desert. locust infestation that has left around 2600000 without enough food. some are hoping the vaccinations will help prevent new infections but with only a fraction of the population able to access medical help their fear is things might

get worse catherine saw al-jazeera soldiers in mozambique are trying to push rebel fighters out of the northern town of power which is close to a $60000000000.00 gas project was a mix defense ministry confirmed the rebels raided the town in the province of goddo on wednesday residents were reportedly forced to hide in nearby forests communication with the town has been caught making it hard to confirm the number of people missing or killed on groups linked to us or have been behind similar attacks in recent years. though i don't believe to be who you are we also call on the population to collaborate with the authorities denouncing terrorists and armed men for the utilization of the defense and security forces will do everything to ensure the well being of the population against the. perpetrated but while continuing to guarantee the protection of economic projects both the u.s. and u.k. of impose more sanctions on businesses linked to me and mas military or

a day which saw another 5 protesters killed the u.s. says the restrictions which hit mining and tourism firms ultimately funding genter are due to quote a bar and violence and abuses security forces again open fire as thousands of activists return to the streets of the largest city young go on and other areas earlier. in france and to cooper testers have called fake blood outside the paris offices of oil and gas giant total dozens gathered to denounce the company's continued operations in myanmar which they say helped to finance the jointer. israel remains in political deadlock off the final results showed no party winning an outright majority in parliament the election commission says prime minister benjamin netanyahu is bloc won 59 knesset seats in tuesday's vote needed 61 to claim victory a coalition of parties that wants to oust him got $57.00 seats and the show name is

live for us in west jerusalem so what does this mean. well in the short term it means that the political limbo that israelis have been facing for the last 2 years continues and already there is talk of a possible 50 election but this is what needs to happen next so 1st and foremost the president of israel has postponed postpone consultations that he would have in which the candidates come to him and say these are the 61 members majority needed in the knesset as you just mentioned who will form the next government to give the candidate in this case presumably netanyahu more time he's postponed those consultations until probably post april 5th after the passover holiday at that time again presumably netanyahu does have a very very difficult path but he may be able fees of masterful politician he may

be able to somehow amass votes and we can talk about that later but at that time once those consultation begin a candidate has 42 days to try to get the government together they can ask for an extension once of $21.00 days and if they still can't get the government to come together the president will look to another candidate to see if that candidate can form a coalition government and then obviously they have 42 days they can ask for a 21 day consultation and if that doesn't happen then israel is definitely headed for a 5th election in what would be just a little over 2 years so that what we're the situation that people are sort of dealing with now is is what happens behind the scenes so that not tonight who could possibly scramble to form a government so in indeed what concessions do you think he might use to to build

that coalition. so there are a couple things that are expected to be happening on election night netanyahu came out and said that he would be making overtures to members of the knesset who shared the likud party as ideology that was taken as a signal that now netanyahu is trying to win back formerly crude members who defected to other far right parties look there is a possibility that if they you mean a party joins his coalition that would mean that he has $59.00 seats so then he'd only be looking for 2 former likud members to defect and he could lure them to defect by perhaps offering a minister seat there's also the united arab list it's a conservative newcomer party that can bring 4 seats there's been discussion under way that perhaps. the leader has said he might support netanyahu but again the far

right elements of that tonight who block strongly oppose any arab support mission and thank you very much indeed. now after a delay of more than a year the olympic torch relay for the take you 2020 games has begun. the week the torch set off from fukushima to celebrate its recovery from the nuclear disaster of a decade ago it will travel through the country before arriving in the capital in july but spectators are mostly barred from what changes to the pandemic and there are still worries about how the games will go ahead safely this summer. in london our top stories are now to syria u.s. president joe biden has held his 1st news conference since taking office he set a new coronavirus vaccine goal of 200000000 shots within his 1st 100 days in office

taking questions for around an hour biden said he intends to run for reelection in 2020.