kenya. south africa's zulu queen has died just a month after her husband's death led to have being appointed to the royal queen that month. was 65 years old and had reportedly been admitted to hospital after a brief illness she was appointed regent in march while a successor to the monarchy was chosen she was the 3rd and most senior wife of the late king goodwill so we. could look at main stories now afghanistan's interior ministry says 21 people have been killed and 91 wounded in a truck bomb attack this happened in the city of the capital of logar province which lies south of the capital kabul no one has claimed responsibility for the attack which is one of the deadliest in recent months but it comes a day before u.s. and nato start withdrawing their remaining troops from the country cause of crime

for a public inquiry in israel of the country's largest gathering since the pandemic ended in tragedy at least $45.00 people killed in a stampede at a religious festival at mount mare and tens of thousands of ultra-orthodox jews had gathered there on thursday night for the annual like their marriage commemorations people became trapped in a narrow passageway with sheets of corrugated iron torn from the walls to try and help people escape work is ongoing to identify the victims. well this precipitous pathway is the bottleneck on the way out and one of the main events that was taking place last night it's where thousands upon thousands of people were squeezing their way through trying to get out of the event itself and it seems the focus of the scrutiny is now on as they came down this path where they were confronted by these steps and beyond them these metal sheeting again we saw

images of police ripping those downs with a little bit to get through this tiny garden and try and save themselves the 1st shipment of medical supplies from the u.s. has arrived in india but it's not likely to stop the country's deepening crisis more global infection records were broken there in the past day with more than 386000 new cases and 3500 deaths vaccinations are now being opened up to all adults but several states say they have run out of doses and then in another of the world's worst outbreaks brazil has recorded 400000 coronavirus deaths activists have protested on copacabana beach in rio de janeiro bearing flags and mock body bags a quarter of those fatalities have been recorded this month alone as the headlines this hour i'll have more news for you at the top of the next hour at 21 at 2800 g.m.t. in 25 minutes time after outfront which is next. 100

days into the presidency of joe biden are we seeing the beginning of a transformative era or is it business as usual i'll ask one of the country's most outspoken progressive politicians. marc lamont hill also on the show the absolute devastation caused by cold at 19 in india has shocked the world but could it be even worse than it appears i'll talk to a mumbai based investigative journalist who says the government is hiding the real

numbers but 1st it's been 100 days since joe biden took office and the u.s. president is being painted as a progressive hero but is he really a visionary or is he just not donald trump this week headliner former ohio state senator and co-chair bernie sanders 2020 presidential campaign you know turner. need to turn to thank you for joining me on front when president biden ran for office he said that he would be the most progressive president in american history now we're just 100 days in and people are already making comparisons to franklin delano roosevelt f.d.r. and l.b.j. lyndon baines johnson who introduced some of the most sweeping progressive reforms in american history we're talk about somebody who basically was the architect of the crime bill someone who helped put us into iraq someone who bailed out wall street in 2008. is it even possible for someone with bad history to be

mentioned in the conversation among progressive presidents that will say is that this is certainly the beginning process here i will say that by an administration because of the push of the progressive movement we came in sight of the fact that the progressive movement all of these things are brought to you by the progressive movement there the push in some of the things that we heard last night is because aggressive movement is out there making these demands i think the 1st 100 days are just that we've got a long way to go because what you are mainly things that you just numerate those things were put into place by policies policies that he supported and so now he is the president of the united states of america and this provides him a spectacular opportunity through public policy to undo some of that damage and some of that especially on the crime bill had generational impacts so this is a great time to be able to undo some of those things but a pushing for family paid medical leave and leave and medical leave for up to 12

weeks when we had 0 and other industrialized nations are ahead of us on that is a good thing talking about infrastructure is that all of those things are a good thing but when you are on the path to good you've got to keep going and in some cases we've got to run like our last opinion on it so this is a star process is not in it hence the 1st 100 days we've got many more days to go you mention last night of course you're referencing a time of this interview to president biden's speech before the joint session of the u.s. congress he talked about his agenda one of the things that came up in that was his american families plan he talked about his plan for the economy he took out a lot of stuff but as you said some of it as a result of being pushed by the progressive movement but as we set to lower the bar for him are we measuring him against the progressive movement or are we measuring him against trump who left it up fairly low bar to measure against. and you bring up a great point the country or at least part of the country because let us not forget

that mr trump did amass 74000000 votes so let's just say the other half of the country was very pretty but president trump that the world was pretty hot president trump and so i will give president biden credit in terms of his very presence changes that that mimic that we are no longer dealing with a neo fascist to be sure any of fascism had to be dealt with affront but now that we are in this moment that democrats control all the levers of power that they ask for so now is the opportunity for the democratic party to get a better way to go be and this is no time to shrink power must be used it does not last always and so you must use it now you say we got rid of the neo-fascist president many would argue but we have a new liberal president someone who still worships the market someone who still doesn't really believe in the kind of socialized response to to suffering that many

people would advocate for on your side of the aisle if that's the case is biden the person to lead a progressive movement can he do that. well it's not about him leading aggressive movie i mean he is who years where he has shown best our administration that they are listening and capturing the pulse somewhat congress right now they've got to do what they need to do on the inside and then we need that outside leader to continue to push and have the courage to ask the more that's the key we haven't said yet had the courage to ask more and you can also say if somebody is moving in the right direction those things are not mutually exclusive we don't know something and then have to ask the more one place i'm wondering is are we moving in the right direction on immigration biden is continuing mass deportations at the u.s. border by continuing the trump era title $42.00 policy one of the most restrictive

immigration policies ever implemented it's now being used to expel hundreds of thousands of immigrants at the border including families and children now the democrats have called it racist and shortsighted but now the biden is administration is using it to deport people what a mess particularly people from haiti for example there were 100000 expulsions in march and you compare apples to apples month to month that's just as much if not more than trump during that time how can democrats in general not just by democrats in general claim any high ground on this issue now you know well we can't at this moment on that. i can't miss words there now we can't and our haitian sisters and brothers in particular if other of our sisters and brothers from the black diaspora are not treated the same there are many immigration reports and studies that show that there is a racial lies and a tad blackness if you will when it comes to the immigration of our black sisters and brothers from the diaspora and particularly haiti and that is

a problem it must be fixed so again democrats have a tremendous responsibility and an incredible opportunity to make things right and in that particular area we are not doing that is not being done in this moment but that doesn't mean that the way that it is right now is the way that it has to continue to be so we must push on that as well let's move to another issue that president biden probably doesn't in fact certainly doesn't see eye to eye with you and many other programs on and that's the define the police movement he has again just like with medicare for our just like with every new deal president biden said i don't support the defund the police movement you have been very vocal in support of it given that how optimistic are hopeful are you that this can actually be a plan that we put in place there is no doubt. that we must address the white supremacy 'd the and top lack of this and the caste

system not just within policing in america but it every single basket of american society and what we see happening there in law enforcement right now with the killing and shootings of an armed people particularly unarmed black me is a reckoning and finished business in the united states of america so the department of justice investigate police related shootings period that should be better be the powers that should be the way to that ministration bar none connecting and putting demands on any funding that goes to police departments or law enforcement agencies in the united states of america so that those are some things that happen on the federal level and less demilitarize ballasts have them members who are in in law

enforcement or have been a long course and so i do understand this from multiple lenses i get i will say this finally on this point there is good tremendous good in human nature and there's also tremendous evil in human nature so we would be naive to say that we don't need police we do meet police but people are asking for particularly the black community is to be treated with dignity and respect and for police officers not to be the judge jury and executioner that must happen and those types of policies have to be pushed not just on the federal level but also on the state level as a and also the local levels of government as well let me push you and i just for a 2nd so if we can reimagine the system why can't we reimagine abolition. i mean i'm not saying that we cannot we imagine that yeah let's have the conversation but on the other end of that we do have to admit that there are some people in society where police are necessary you know when i think about babies who are being killed

by drive by as you know my heart aches with that you know i served as a cleveland city council woman and there was a situation where a skirmish happened at a park and the people part of that took it to the streets where kids will run bicycles and do and have scotch and shot through a house and shot 2 young children under the age of 6 so for me to be naive and to say that there is not some need to have policing that's not it but it is the way that police are socialized in this country that is the problem and also the total disregard of disrespect but black labs that was built into the system from the beginning the other day during his address to the joint session of congress president biden said that the middle class built this country what say you. working poor build this country but i'm not going to separate the middle class and the working poor i'm not sure what he means by the middle class but what i will say

is that welcome people built this country and i want to go into further than that historically we know who truly built this country had to manage nature of this country came on the backs of chattel slavery that is real and we must deal with that as we progressed as a nation working class people built this country and you know that middle class people work i mean we separate i don't like the separation let's just go ahead and put the working people together somebody in the middle of that of that yes is somebody at the top of that yes or somebody at the bottom but it is working every day people are getting a raw deal let's increase the minimum wage let's make sure that we have universal health care in this country that will give relief to middle everybody in this country and will also help our businesses there are lots of big and bold policies that we can do as at that as a head to my nation and we must do it but only be quickly you were the national campaign co-chair for bernie sanders who pointed out that 2 years after obama took

office republicans quote did phenomenally well the same was true after 2 years under clinton he says it's because democrats fail to use their power to benefit working families but the biden understands this you're running for congress this year hoping to represent the 11th district in ohio a state that donald trump comfortably won do you think biden has done enough for working families enough that democrats could pick up congressional seats based on his record. well we lost a seat because of the census you know that's happening right now in ohio some 2022 we will have one less seat and so what i am running to do is to keep this movement going in the congress because i do have the courage to ask for more one in every 3 children in my district are living in poverty many families are living in poverty this is a district that has extraordinary wealth of one ear and extreme poverty on the other and so for the working side of my district the poorest people in this

district they need a 15 alan our minimum wage increase we've got to do that and can't blame a parliamentarian let's just go get it get that done they need universal health care but i'm never going to do that enough to get those because the argument here is that democrats when they don't serve the working people and so then they look to republicans as an alternative have the democrats in particular by the ministration done enough now so that they'll look to democrats to pick up the seats as opposed to saying you know what let's try this republican way again but we've got to continue to earn that i mean my state you're right not only did it present a truck when a 2020 creases lead in 2020 we've got to speak the love language of the working class people not just the great state of ohio but all over the country and we can do that because we control 'd all the levers there and there's more work to be done and i'm laying out that work 50 now in our minimum wage universal health care medicare for all and cancelling student debt so that we can get people disposable

income in their pockets we can do it we have a limited power we cannot waste that power when the public is our power base use it and so i want to see my democratic colleagues and i will be there to join them to continue to have the courage to ask for more to use their power as such a way that we leave no doubt who sat the democratic party is our main attorney thank you so much for joining me on outfront. thank you for having me. the devastating wave of covert 1000 infections is overwhelming india hospitals in crematoriums are overflowing with bodies and an untold number of people are scrambling for oxygen cylinders medicines and hospital beds india has become the epicenter of the global pandemic with more than one in 3 new cases in the world now in the country and over 3000 deaths a day but that's just the official count and many believe the real numbers are far higher so what accounts for this devastation and how did india get to this point to

help us answer this we're joined by our own are you an investigative journalist based in mumbai and a global opinions writer for the washington post rather thank you for joining me on upfront you've covered so many things you've covered the devastating impact of anti poor policies on indians you have covered of course religious based riots you've covered extrajudicial killings and of course the 1st wave of cold it 19 in the country and yet despite all of that you write in time magazine last week of the current situation if the apocalypse had an image it would be the hospitals of india what makes this circumstance worse than anything you've seen before. well mark i've been reporting for the last 15 years but i have never and i've seen of course not in the movies so only own covenants of the carnage in the year 2002 as a relief worker but what he's doing to the country right now when it isn't in this devastation it is of like a writer friend said last evening it's

a holocaust. the prime minister has criminally abdicated his responsibility when the 2nd vive of with 19 has been devastating indians has has ravaged the rest of the country and the prime minister is fixated with elections in the country stretching into 8 pieces all over best bengal and assam from barrow we are recording the highest number of cases in the last one or 2 weeks the hospitals resemble a war zone are crippled torrijos are so full that the rich are trying to use their contacts to block book a slot in the crematorium because they're all booked for the next 3 days but it's no good left to light the fires of this only enough wood for the next 2 or 3 days that are more bodies than import and of course if the devastation the indian government is trying to hide as usual in

a scam approaching the free goods because it believes there will be a backlash and of course they will get a backlash because this year i'll be told the for the country would have been better prepared and specially when they were born ings by by specialist by doctors by epidemiologists that the 2nd rate could be devastating for the country the prime minister paid no heed and he just waved vibe you are very are i have never as a journalist missed demonstration scale than india well let's talk about some of those numbers because at the beginning of april we were saying $80000.00 cases and less than $500.00 deaths on the for. first day of april. now where we see 350000 cases and 3000 deaths a day and of course as you talked about. germans have documented that the body counts there exceed the death toll which suggests that the numbers simply aren't accurate you know metal grills used to burn bodies have melted down from overuse we

don't even have mines completely wrapped around how big of a crisis we're facing based on the official numbers do you have a sense of just how how big the numbers could be when i wrote this time magazine well b.s. mark 4 days ago i had there was an estimate that the depth of this estimate came from my conversations with journalist healthy shoes doctors across the country and i said the estimated number could be about 10000 in a day in the last 3 days i've been speaking to journalists into a lot of people in who were india including my own family members my entire ancestral family in oz and by which isn't the largest state of the british the entire family school with positive my uncle is critical arm on a ventilator and i spoke to a lot of doctors got to go through part come to come to about 20000 deaths in a day i don't listen to me a video. from a critic tory and he says close to $200.00 bodies are we could meet did at one

thing the british get out in a small city of a certain age one can only imagine what the scale of the devastation across the country it was at least 10 times more than the usual number of this government is i'll tell you many times and more i mean but again we don't have official records there's no official data collection here so would you say that the government is invested and keeping the covert death and the members. low for its own political interests. absolutely absolutely the government is invested into and out because the government knows that it has behaved in a mist in a manner which is criminal the indian medical association yesterday not intimately the prime minister of india as the soup was made all of the gliders in the country the metro bus i court has called the election commission of n b i which allowed not in tune with which was in cuts but not in the modi 8 pre-selection as. the high court has said that the election commission should be

charged with murder now that's a very very serious remark from what you can but you know you should be in india and that goes to prove that the cup meant no that's going to receive a backlash of distrust which is why it's trying to hide the numbers this is the reason why the health ministry of this country took a press conference just to tell people that the mortality rate is only 0.2 percent if that is the key is why is the government trying to delete information from social media why has it asked me to believe that speak about the number of deaths like i had the chief minister of the largest state in india you get it not asked for a distinguished people who talk about oxygen shortage of the number of deaths on social media this is a pattern oil there is a pattern or that the government does not want to review that the real number is not on screen see at all how much of this is about direction and dishonesty and descend from asia and how much of this is about poor planning and mismanagement the

reason i ask is because i'm thinking back a few months ago when the indian government says it was the current victory over a culvert in february b.g.p. passed a resolution stating it can be said with pride india defeated covert 19 under the able sensible committed and visionary leadership of prime minister narendra modi in march they said we're in the end game. it seems to me that that's partly about political posturing and and preparing oneself to advance a narrative but did they just get this thing wrong too was this. so just poor poor planning and poor measure they think they want to move and actually lost it's built the fact that you know when you have an accordion which we are which is surrounded by sacrifice. who as including the health minister and all minister are who has been in the back seat to allow happened india was creating this spectacle of prime minister more the being his greed world leader who is distributing vaccines to the world and not by men at all to bend into posturing that not into more the

had defeated why did the 2nd wave was actually catching up lucky our. 90 highlight googly exposed the fact that india has had its still completely collapsed there are no big deal it wasn't pleased the blood banks are running out of blood one just absolutely no planning wondered what had happened given that india will be in 2020 saying you know this came out of the blue and be quite unprepared a lot about 2021 how could he be forgiving and despite being unprepared the man goes around what action rallies and create this kind of august little who was defeated something that must figure to the indian democracy you had advertisement please in the leading newspapers across the country are declaring will be as the leader who has defeated god with $970.00 spent so much time ordering there is the time planning. before you go i want to ask you about everyday people who seem to be

silenced but when they push back against the government's handling of the court in 1000 crisis the government had twitter removed 15 posts critical of his handling of the pandemic you yourself had 2 tweets deleted facebook temporarily blocked content calling on the prime minister resign to resign the chief minister of pradesh even asked officials to seize the assets of people who spread what he called rumors and propaganda on social media what does it say to you about india that such a desperate humanitarian issue has been politicized and uses another side of repression it seems. i mean he replied also isn't calling the world's largest democracy but to have come across as this morally depraved country which has not been had its basic principles of humanity and please you know if the if the world had a semblance of law and order not in the mood you should have been tried for crimes against humanity but what you feel right now is is the chief minister of the largest state in india which comprises all through the n.t.

i'll bet every day patients are dying for lack of oxygen it is devastation and it's only pretty hard to tell hospitals that you're not putting as well as the message for all our young boy put out a message on social media yesterday saying my grandfather is dying i need oxygen there was a there was a police case registered against him what is the sea about indian democracy it says that we are somewhere a morally dead nation especially when it comes to our political blogs which has lost all semblance of humanity there are people trying to help each other out you know the s.o.s. calls and other hand you have done who don't party putting videos also mr what these election rallies that do india they don't reconcile and this is what modi has brought us to this place where it is to india at least to india to do not reconsider with each other around are you thank you so much for joining us for thank you so much. that's our show and that's also good for this season of outfront

i want to thank you for joining me marc lamont hill see you next season. on counting the cost of china's navy and its maritime militia dominated the south china sea as the u.s. lost control could the pandemic usher in the 4 day work week and environmental racism opposition grows to a u.s. pipeline. counting the calls on al-jazeera. a weekly critique of the

stories hitting the headlines the news media have been left to sort through mixed messages on a quite complex story from mainstream to street journalism the enemy objective is to get me through the tears and get to the wall to show them what's going on exposing real world threats to objective it's often of on neighbor it sounds from moscow earth $11000.00 people who were arrested listening post covers louis news is covered on a jersey. we tout the untold stories. we speak when office to. be caught up alongside us. no matter where it takes us a pretty familiar feeling of syria got on my own and power. and pasha ways tell your stories we are your voice your news your net al-jazeera.

talk to al-jazeera. you tell me what the government you represent is now illegitimate and we listen we do not sell the fence material any country during a conflict and yet we meet with the global news makers and talk about the stories that matter on al-jazeera. you know i maryam namazie in london a look at our main stories now we've been following developments in afghanistan for the past hour or so where the interior ministry says 21 people have been killed and 91 wounded in a truck bomb attack at. city the capital of logar province south of kabul no one has claimed responsibility for the attack which could be one of the deadliest in recent months it comes a day before the u.s. and nato start withdrawing the remaining troops from the country well securing.