has come up with a safe new venue. the passers by were given an impromptu symphony from balconies in the pause. the orchestra says the gesture is meant to honor colleagues. they have lost the virus and to help people struggling through the pandemic. the virus has killed more than 16000 people in the and the nation. it's also infected. 400000 ah . the headlines on al jazeera, a fire burning beneath the collapse building in surfside, florida, hampering efforts a finding survivors. 5 bodies have been recovered so far. 156 people remain unaccounted for. well, it's been 3 days since that building collapse and an anxious wait for many families desperate for a miracle. john 100 reports from surfside, florida. there is

a reconciliation center, but very few people have been reconciled. most of the people who are waiting in that center are waiting to hear news about those 156 people who are missing firefighters. say they are continuing to search through the rubble. but of course they've been doing that since thursday. and the chances of finding people alive decrease over that time and at a certain point it becomes a recovery mission. the u. k. is health secretary has resigned after breaching social distance and guidelines. might hancock had been under intense pressure after a newspaper obtain video footage of him kissing and embracing a women in his office? he'll be replaced by former chancellor at such a javits. i understand the enormous sacrifices that everybody in this country has made but you have made. and those of us who make these rules have got to stick by them. and that's why i've got to resign. i want to thank people for that

incredible sacrifices and what they've done, everybody working in the n h s. across social everyone involved in the, in the vaccine program. and frankly, everybody in this country who has risen to the challenges that we've seen over this past 18 months. johnson and johnson says it will stop selling it's opioid painkillers across the us. it's part of more than $230000000.00 settlements made with new york state and exempt the company from a major trial on the opiate epidemic. starting in a few days, supporters of peruse presidential contenders are holding rival rallies and lima. pedro castillo has claim victory. in this month's presidential elections after the official count gave him a narrow lead, but his rival, okay, go for him or disputes that those are the headlines on al jazeera, more news, right after the listening post, thanks for watching. but by the,

the health of humanity is at stake. a global pandemic requires a global response. w h o is the guardian of global health. delivering life saving tools, supplies, and training to help the world's most vulnerable people, uniting across the board as to speed up the development of treatment and the vaccine. working with scientists and health workers to learn all we can about the virus keeping you up to date with what's happening on the ground in the ward and in the lab. advocating for everyone has access to a central health services. now, more than in the world needs w. h. making a healthy world to you for everyone ah,

breaking right. you see has fridays presidential elections on my land. i want to be sure to make sure that she doesn't know what they don't, but i'm just trying to secure some of the 19th a stage manager process that virtually guaranteed with hello richard gilbert. and you're at the listening post where we dig into the coverage and look at how news is reported. here are the media stories we're examining this week. iran, new president elect is heading into the job, carrying some baggage from the past. that neither he nor country's state friendly news outlets care to talk about. the castro era is over in cuba, the country's new leaders are being challenged on the issue of freedom of expression. in egypt, 2 more women are jailed over their tick tock, videos. the targeting female social media influences continues and the inside story on life after lockdown. wow. wish i could for those of us who just aren't ready for

return to the outside world. iran has a new president coming into office after an election that had all the trappings of the democratic process campaign rallies, televised debates, minus the free and fair part ebara him ratio. victory was never in doubt. it was guaranteed after the government band, any candidate with a chance of beating him from running. that's why voter turnout was so low. adding to races legitimacy issues are persistent questions about his role in the mass execution of political prisoners in the 1900 eighty's involvement, that he denies and is rarely publicly questioned about since discussing the repression of the eighty's is a no go zone. for iranian journalists, rice sees when, however tainted represents a victory for the old guard and his mentor, the supreme leader, ayatollah hominy. and rice is background as a judge, his past record on cases pertaining to the internet. and what iranians are allowed

to do online do not bode well for the future of freedom of expression. our starting point this week is k rock. on the final day of the iranian election campaigns, there was the supreme leader, ayatollah hominy on national television, urging citizens to vote not for him, harmony, his name was not on the ballard. his is a job for life. he was talking about the presidential election. what was that you put it on the side and they should be better than that. he failed to convince because iranians knew better they had watched as opposition candidates, one after another, were disqualified from running by government official. effectively clearing the path to the president's office for harmonies choice, every game racing in the end voter turn out was drastically low. around 48

percent. the spoiled ballots out of it and it was more like 41 percent. it turns out that the voters in the islamic republic do not like it when election outcomes are pre ordained. there is an incredible mobile phone recording of a gentleman in iran, and it was amazing. he just most of the 100. and i think that kind of only all you need to know. i think it's, it's a great kind of motif how the elections actually run in their own democracy. but it's not, it's not perfect. i think we should try to be less sensitive about the low turn out the run because this happens just in the wrong. there are some reform is support is that didn't see the candidates run for presidency. that's why they didn't show up to vote everything that was set up from the selection of the candidates, but could be voted on you who selection of right. basically,

an uncontested front runner has given the feeling, but this is very much a pre ord gained plan for them. many are interpreting as great e being prepped to harmony in since 2019 every him. right. you see has been in charge of iran, judicial he rose through the legal ranks in the 1980, the early years of the as womic republic when it was also an or with a rank. it was a time of suspicion and violence. when political opponents disappeared executed in their 1000. this week, amnesty international was among the human rights organizations calling for runs next president to be investigated for crimes against humanity for his involvement in what some iranians call the bloody deco. 1980. very hiring times. you could be

going to jail for owning to vcr, were wearing a t shirt for using foreign wars that the country are suspect political often and very true that in large numbers said in supreme leader, i turn the whole maney gave an order that basically said, you know, kill as many political prisoners as you can as quickly as you can. not for people are on a disc panel that decided to execute as effective. abraham racy was one of the bloody decade. the very histories, i mean, contemporary history is considered to be a public secret. on the 1980 was the inception period of the atlantic republic. this is the time where they were building a narrative of credibility was anticipating. and this branding effort depends on the 1980 is being told in a certain way. but i was a kid you could already talk about in the years since, because of a spread of blogs and internet and a lot of victims coming out of iran and being able to speak about it publicly.

there is more information about it and more people know it took iranians almost 30 years before some of the truth came out. then we can get the loan. the other one in 2016, an audiotape recorded in 1988 was broadcast by radios. i'm a ne, a person language station base in amsterdam on it. one of the leaders of the revolution, ayatollah hall, say, now the monitors area confronts, right? you see over the part he played in the max execution left on the shows and, you know, you got to call to talk in the monastery later resigned. but the tape was released by his son who was then prosecuted under abraham races watch the race. he has at times either denied his role in the execution

or argued that they were justified under legit ruling issued by former supreme leader, ayatollah homemade. the president elect clearly wants that story left behind and can usually count on the iranian media to cooperate. but 2 days after the election, racy was questioned on his pan, at a news conference attended by the international meet on the day you elected international. you should be investigated for crimes against humanity. do you think that these issues will be difficult for you when you interact with will need to write these response to that question? was very telling her mom in the want to commend that, even with the detriment yet. and john go down. hum water that to the fall as a shadow in sunday, he actually tried to walk and during that event, as a commendable because he was protecting the islamic republic of iran. and this is

a narrative, read it around the 1980 massacres, which was they were getting rid of karen. so it is a very frightening prospect. the that he would kind of whitewash these crimes against humanity in that way. back. can you to speak with someone like him at the helm? there are going to be very dark forms of repression in iran. ah, the real power in k, iran lies not in the presidents, but with the supreme leave, toler harmony and the clarity surrounding him. the president's role includes representing iran in its dealings with foreign governments, including those currently imposing sanctions on the country over its nuclear program. exceeds half sunroof connie in the drive through honey, was considered a modern, but his 8 years in office did nothing for news organizations. and their freed

conservative factions, loyal to ron's leadership control, the majority of influential media outlets from state television to key news agency . there's always been space for reform. it's newspaper, challenging authority, but only up to editors from some of those papers met with right the prior to the election. no one has reported what was said, but they're critical coverage of the candidate suddenly softened thereafter on the racy my own prediction is that we won't see further restrictions on the press. iran is already one of the last 10 in most global index. the hotter to really go lower than this, what he's looking for a fight. obviously, he knows he's been elected to be a circumstance that and the economy is key here because right now the economic deprivation in iran mean that's very few people are interested in political defense as much as just trying to make ends meet. i have one state that on media outlets

for the past 20 years or so, the government doesn't have any kind of control over the media. and you've on the only thing that the government can control you. daily newspapers in both english and persian. but that is really the saw how big the current government paid to control the media. i don't think that this is going to do that. given the fact that he was just in the position of head of judiciary 2019 to present. he has also been responsible and had contributed to the deterioration of internet freedom . we also saw that his, you, this year he signed off on an order to spencer. we were different for and messenger the banding of signal the encrypted messenger. for example, there has been a policy to implement a tiered system of access towards the internet, different kinds of access, depending on your profession. and it's very much expected that underwriting

ministry, information, communication, and technology. this policy is very much they're expected to be late. me a president elect who has already shown attention for curtailing expression on line a new face of the old guard, part of whose past remains journalistically off limits a hard liner who all the signs and photo suggest is on his way to being the next supreme leader the election results in iran was never in doubt. the prospect and future of free speech in the womic republic. very much in, in the egypt key, young women with sizeable followings on instagram and tick tock have been convicted of human trafficking. you know, actually, robbie's here with the details mean these are serious charges,

considering these women have been posting short videos online. they are indeed richard hunting. hassan, who is 20 years old and has more than 900000 followers on, picked up, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. a co defendant mother either who is 20 and has more than a 1000000 followers, has been sentenced to 6 years. both women have been accused of quote, using girls in act, contrary to the principles and values of egyptian society with the aim of gaining material benefits, which according to the authorities conscious human trafficking. this is not the 1st time the state has come after these 2 women, her son who is a student at the university of keitel with 1st arrested last year for violating family values. after she posted a video telling her female followers that they could use like another video content creation platform and make money. the authority said that she was encouraging women to sell sex online. mobile, the other was arrested for the same offense, a month later after she paused to reduce the price of dancing and lips,

thinking to popular music. quote, the women was sentenced to jail time and find, but their convictions were overturned and they were released earlier this year. but the authorities were clearly not done with them. there's a larger pattern at play here objections, women being arrested for what they're posting online. yes, ever since 2018, when a new cyber crime law was passed, numerous women have been arrested on vague charges of violating public morals. he just, prosecutor general, justifies it by seeing forces of evil would have using the new virtual electronic space. we're talking about influencers. what about journalists and the policing of their social media activities in egypt? this still under the gun just 2 months ago to freelance journalists, philip maggie and her husband, homicide, was released after 17 months in pre trial detention for allegedly disseminating false news and misusing their social media accounts pre trial, the cancer in egypt, that can mean anything. journalists have spent years in jail and never even got to

try. absolutely, as we had just eaten only 122 months ago when raoul castro gave up the leadership of cuba, the communist party at mark the 1st time and more than 6 decades. the country has not had a castro in charge. his successor miguel diaz can now inherited some familiar challenges, struggling economy sanctions imposed by the united states. as well as a pandemic. he's also dealing with a growing demand for greater freedom of expression in cuba. political demonstrations are rare yet towards the end of the castro era. as access to the internet improved that began to change. the protesters are diverse. they range from artists and other intellectuals who support the revolution. to more radical activists like the santa c dro movement, it's demanding fundamental changes and its methods from hunger strikes to viral videos are attracting the attention of authorities who have traditionally treated descent. with

a heavy hat lets me post daniel touring now on the struggle over freedom of expression in post castro cuba. ah, it's the twilight of the castro era. an unusual message is spreading through cuba as online community, a full throated defiance of the communist party. in february and a group of rapid dissidence have released the protest. so on youtube, pottery i v dot or homeland of life takes aim at fidel castro's revolutionary slogan, homeland, or death. the with the 1000000, the current success court, the government of god. i 2 months later,

the police descended on havana, impoverished son, his neighborhood to arrest one of the rapids. michael a sort of feel. but when they tried to take him into custody, they got another surprise. all hope of the police were going to arrest him and the neighbourhood came out in his defense miko managed to break behind us and rafe, his fist in the air for up with dying. and it was an amazing event because it was the creation of a new symbol. i put all the same amount re pacheco, like michael, soba is part of the sunny sea drug movement, a collective of artists demanding greater freedom of expression. the group got. it starts in 2018 after the government passed the law decree 349. that prohibits

artists from working either in public or in private, without obtaining permission from the ministry of culture. for mama, we will find that was when we set up our group as a way of protecting culture from these attacks and to address artists rights and human rights. rachel had to go. rachel, we founded a space that would allow us to connect with activism and politics. you know, maybe he also, i think 2018. we've seen the introduction of several new laws that could tail freedom of expression on my own. i feel penalties for people that dissent include arrest house arrest. you can also have your internet cut. these have become standard police measures. there's been a hardening of the states repression. and we're now seeing a struggle between the forces of gemini and those of autonomy. a going out on the sanity dro artists and not be only cubans calling freedom of speech. last november,

hundreds came together and protest outside the ministry of culture. in most countries that would barely qualify as a new story. but this is cuba point where it's not like it seems the fidel castro lead revolution in 1959. the island has been ruled as a one party state with few political or cultural freedoms. 5 years before coming to power, castro saw the role that the u. s. and a c. i, a backed radio station played and overthrowing the democratically elected left with government. what amana some are problem is that all the cube is revolution. castro became the latest target of washington's anti communist crusade. and having seen how the media could be weaponized, he took no chances on freedom of expression. castro nationalized all private, the news outlets. and over the following decades,

thousands of cubans were jailed the descent with continued us aggression providing the pretext i had thought it. our gastro rule things have loosened up a little since 2011. when ro, castro succeeded his brother, fidel, the government is more receptive to pressure from below. and faced with the protesters outside his window last november, the deputy minister of culture and under rocca invited them in to discuss that concerns then thrown across echo lima. if our among the things we agreed was to open up a channel of communication between the so called independent art spaces, an official cultural institutions, we also agreed not to harass independent arts bases and to continue holding meetings without. we aim to keep up the spirit of dialogue and maintain this relationship with them. with the mountaineer and compact plumley important,

and this was really significant. seen all those artists protesting outside really shook the culture ministry to its core. the protesters ended up splitting into 2 groups. one group has been in dialogue with the ministry about potential reform. then there's a more overtly political group which includes the sanhedrin artist, some of them have a political agenda involving regime change. i mean, we must know by by cool valley bank the government has accused santa syndrome in bits of receiving support from the u. s. which spends around $20000000.00 a year on so called democracy promotion efforts seen by havana as a push for regime change. joke, organ wouldn't know me or not, but it's when you're bein or not. but i don't think demonstrating peacefully to express an opinion if the same thing is receiving logistical support from the u. s . embassy or verbal support from us institutions. those people who are acting

against the constitutional order of cuba with us backing deserve to be prosecuted in the same way as if it was an attack with a terrorist or otherwise against our independence. not a seal and what's in them. and see that i know louis manuel or gun since last october, the sanity drug movements leader us manuel or taro. i'll come to run as i've been in jail on the house arrest or confined to a hospital and security forces have disrupted several attempted hunger strikes the rules one of them. then there's the other weapon in the government, sauce, and old state media. our i don't see, i thought was, can you show not worry about well, but i think you know we have, but i am a futile they can any don't. luckily she'll they discredit you on tv. and there is no way of refuting any of the accusation. we call it public a fascination,

maybe beheadings and firing squads happen in other countries, but here they'll subject you to treatment and leave you like dead man walking home and why don't you cannot express yourself if you do try to get to you through your family and break down your relationship to help see only the winkler, family. the thing is that it isn't just the cuban government telling you that all canter gets his orders from abroad. it's the actual recording of a conversation between candra and somebody who's receiving us money now and no one has tried to deny these allegations. no one has stepped up to say, this is false, protest movement. but that has been i've seen the state media line, for instance, i've seen groman newspapers say that groups protesting violence against women,

a financed by the cia, and the must read him in theater, but a lie. so why should i believe any of the other things they say? cubans now have other sources of information and fingertips. the internet arrived on the island in 2013, but the biggest change came 5 years later with 3 g smart foods. as a result, alternative news website getting more clear. while social media platforms provide an outlet for descent, it was make of the canal ro, castro's former deputy, and now he's successful, who ever saw the launching of mobile internet. now the limits on freedom of expression in cuba, a being tested like, never before wonder to be in a sex history. and once people have access to the internet, censorship becomes futile. there is a system in place, very similar to the one in soviet union. and they are trying to keep it going to

keep the media under control as if the internet is something that can be controlled . they still haven't understood that their monopoly is over one point. and finally, in the immortal words of the clash, should i stay or should i go out? that is having been locked down for so long. many of us have grown a little too comfortable on our own. plus let's face it or communication and social skills. have taken a serious hit, we've been wearing sweatpants, tracksuit, bottoms, and leggings for so long. the genes suddenly feel like formal wear and the thought of returning to the office trading zoom calls for face time. the actual face time feels like too much too soon. these next 2 videos by content creators, haley morris, and laura wally capture the personal turmoil. a lot of people are going through over the prospect of life post locked down with the next time here at the listening

class. why you dressed like not going, sorry. well, i said we're going out, it's probably very much. oh good. so we all staying here this. we're not doing this, we'll definitely going. how do we go it to me all for a long time, for most people people. so many of these we do live on too much. no, it isn't too. ringback soon i'm sorry, but i'm saying i don't really. they don't blame me when we brought things to talk about exactly you. i'm going to play office israel. i know how to attach not to be dramatic. i will quit on on my well, i could let me know i haven't been vaccinated. i don't have any office closed, cuz i don't have the ability to control my facial expression. kim, what are your thoughts? kim? no, thank you. talk to al jazeera, we owe me we're attacking ring,

and now they're attacking everyone in me on my do you regret? well, it's like we listen. absolutely. nigeria with a woman press it would be great. we meet with global news makers and talk about the stories that matter on algae, sierra. ah, the collapse now a fire complicates the rescue efforts in the ruins of a miami apartment building. ah, i'm sammy. this is al, just they are alive from the hall. so coming up pharmaceutical, john johnson and johnson agrees to pay over $200000000.00 for their role in fueling a drug crisis in the us.