ah, plus thousands of our programs. award winning documentaries and index news reports . subscribe to youtube dot com forward slash al jazeera english. ah, a democratic transition that put to the test, eager voters in the gambia joined the queue to elect their next president. ah, hello barbara, sarah, this is al jazeera light from london, also coming up, the french president of visits, saudi arabia saying he will work with gulf states the end, the diplomatic ra, with lebanon. also, i'm from the, the manor as a vaccination. st. say into hannah's, but as the south african government is trying to drive up vaccinations amidst

a 4th wave of coven 19 and growing concerns around the army con variance. and $150.00 people are arrested after a man accused of blasphemy is beaten to death in pakistan. the prime minister in wrong con, calls it a day of shame. ah hello, welcome to the program in what's being seen as a test of the gambia transition to democracy. holes have closed in the 1st election since former president, p r. u jump fled the country after 22 years in power. the incumbent president adama barrow is seeking another term but faces 5 rivals, including his former political mentor. we saw new their boy nearly a 1000000 people from a population of 2 and a half 1000000 are registered to vote with results expected on sunday. we did

receive more now from the capital bun, jewelled. the turn out was really, really important. talk to can be important, he will tell you that this election is very important and significant in many respects. this is a false sunday voting in close to 3030 years with lots of freedom of choice, lots of freedom of expression. they were in fact, p. s of things going wrong during the campaigning period. nothing like that happened on election day. there was a few incidents not violent incident and a way, but we are waiting to see exactly what happens tomorrow when the election results. i was expected to be announced if you missed the counting of the pilots and seeing the models in practice. what is happening right behind me. in fact, police officers election officials who after counting the balance and ceiling this boxes, initially this here is where the marble is placed or put into the

box and goes in there and rings a bell. and then at the end of the voting process, everything is counted here. now the process has been concluded. what's happening right now is that these officials are ceiling, they followed drums that the bellowed boxes, i called the ballad drum cx. so after feeling them, they're taking them to our coalition center, why they're going to meet up with the election officers who have might have concluded their voting process. and then the results of all the sentence will be tied together. they have about 1500 centers and more than 7000 election officials have been used to run this particular election so far. what we hear is that the elections have been peaceful, largely peaceful, and most part of the can be and voting has ended officially and counting is continuing, especially in those areas that started late security forces in molly have been sent to the scene of an ambush in which at least 31 people were killed on friday. women

and children were aboard of truck, which gunmen sprayed bullets and set on fire near the town of marty. it was then torched. leaders of the transitional government are vowing to do everything necessary to catch the packers in the rest of the hell region or attack sling to both i saw and al qaeda are common. but neither one have claimed this attack. ah, french president, the manuel marconas in saudi arabia where he has joined a phone call that's been hailed as an important 1st step towards resolving ties between the kingdom and lebanon. micron has been speaking with crown prince mohammed been some man. and the leaders also spoke with lebanon's prime minister. it's the 1st such communications since saudi arabia, of the gulf, countries and lebanon, became locked in a diplomatic dispute. on friday, lebanon's information minister resigned, hoping to ease the dispute,

inflamed by comments that he made about the war in yemen. now g re kathy underlined the importance of the call with micron and been seldman was in a hoarder has more of this from beirut. there is no doubt the new page has been opened, the relationship between lebanon and saudi arabia, a phone conversation between the saudi crown, prince mohammedan, and the lebanese prime minister. and as he mathee, of course, the french president crow mediated. and so it really helped bring about this, this development. it is the 1st time a saudi official speaks to me since he was appointed prime minister in september. it really is a change in strategy and policy on behalf of the our policy has been for us. it is useless to engage with a government that is controlled by the iraqi and back has the law and government is dominated by has the law along with its allies. so now the crown prince,

speaking to the prime minister of lebanon, the prime minister of lebanon, tweeting that this is a new beginning is, will help revive relations with a fraternal a brother of brother brotherly relations. because we have to remember golf, our states where the traditional allies of lebanon, we talk about this latest crisis that led to saudi arabia and several gulf states severing diplomatic relations with, with lebanon. but the relationship has been strained for years from what saudi arabia percy's is. the iranian control and domination over 11 east politics. so a 1st step has been taken saudi arabia now showing that it is willing to engage at least what the prime minister. but it's too early to say whether or not the relationship as it used to be will be restored. despite the growing reach of the on the constraint of the corona virus, the world health organization says no deaths have been reported so far. but in south africa, the only con and delta strains are fueling

a force way with the government. now scaling up it's vaccination campaign for me to miller reports from johannesburg. this is one of a few 100 vaccination centers in the halting province in south africa. and how ting has been hardest hit by the rise in coven, 19 infections, between 70 and 80 percent of new infections across of africa in this province alone . and that is why authorities are saying that people need to get out and get vaccinated. there has been some level of vaccine hesitancy, about 42 percent of people who are eligible for a vaccine have actually taken that up. but that number dropped to about 36 percent for people who have taken up 2 doses, who are fully vaccinated. the government has set up a number of drives, door to door awareness campaigns, trying to create awareness around why the vaccine is important, especially because so little is known around the army kron variant. and the

greatest concern there is just how easily it spreads. and that is being reflected in the spike in numbers that south africa is experiencing. one area of concern, while hospitalizations of people has remained relatively low, a number of young children under the age of 5 are having to be admitted to hospital . now becoming ill after contracting cove at 19 this recruiting a number of students $12.00 to $17.00, since it was open to to that age group a month or so ago that has come in now for, for the vaccinations coming in with parents coming in as families for their husband that we have to him, an optical number off infected the kids at the surrounding schools over year. so i think parents are exercising quarter a week ago this vaccination center had about 50 or 60 people coming through every day. and now that number has doubled, so that is encouraging for people trying to make sure that south africans are getting vaccinated. but we've also been to several vaccination centers in this

province. some entirely empty, some with people trickling through and others more busy. so there's still an issue around vaccine hesitancy, but certainly a significant proportion of the sub african population has been spooked by this new ami kron variant. and more people are coming out to get a job. thousands of people have been marching through the dutch city of utrecht to protest against corona virus lockdown measures. the government introduce tighter restrictions a week ago on top of an existing partial lockdown. the country has been reporting record cases of coven 19 recent demonstrations have turned violent in the netherlands. but this march was held without incident australia to is facing resistance from a section of people who don't want to get vaccinated. thousands of people have been protesting and rallies, both for and against cobit vaccines. more cases of the on the con, variant are being detected across the country. gillian wolf has more,

ah, calling for their freedom in melbourne. large clusters of people on the streets of one of the shrill is biggest cities waving the flags of many countries. demonstrators who now call us truly a home demand, a reopening of their communities, but oppose a mandatory vaccine host teacher for 30 odd ease. and vaccination was always of a voluntary thing for parents and kids to make it all strategically. he, it was just so we have to just learn to live with this and get all the things we can't just came. locking us down, you know, just because as a new varian, that always be a new variance. viola john doesn't realize is the freedom jose with certain social responsibilities. yes, really i would largely close at borders when the corona virus pandemic began is now dealing with an outbreak of the army chrome variant. the new emergency is further testing government efforts to boost the economy. following cove had lockdown. i

expect us to see further spray communities spread within australia in other parts that will, but that may not necessarily be a bad thing because it will give us a lot of opportunity teeth to understand how this barrier works in highly vaccinated countries. in the state of victoria, where full vaccination has become mandatory to access most things, it is the and vaccinated who make up the majority of people in hospital with cove it. but most of the trillions are in support of vaccine jobs. with nearly 90 percent of everyone over 16 being fully vaccinated. at the moment there's lots of anger after this covered crisis and i think it's being directed at the wrong side. we're seeing, you know, health care workers being talked, you know, bookshop workers and it's really important. i think that we say actually the majority of us did support these health restrictions that saved millions of people's lives. and the majority of us actually do stand in social solidarity with each other. for a country whose coven,

grades pale in comparison to other develop nations. for these, the st. louis and the time to return to normal is long overdue. julia move, i'll just 0. so to come here on al jazeera o pushed back against plans to sell a land to a mining giant, and a religious statue returns to its home in the pool or decades after it was stolen and taken to the us. ah, hello there, let's look to europe and it's more wet, windy and wintery weather on the way this week. and those cold conditions are going to bring temperatures down across central and northern regions. but the south isn't

gonna escape. we're seeing that wet and windy weather continuing to plague in the mediterranean, but for some day it's going to be the north west. the seas really chilly conditions come into play. we've got a weather system in moving into iceland. we're going to see heavy rain and snow and by the time we get into monday that will slam into britain an island with some of the heavy snow falling in scotland. now those wintry conditions push across into scandinavia, the snow from norway as well as the denmark. we are going to see the tempt, just come down to sweden and the baltic states in the days to come. it is going to feel very chilly. indeed. now the south doesn't escape, as i said, we've got those wet and windy conditions pulling into france and northern parts of spain and heavy snow. here it is. by the time we get to monday, but it's going to pick up for it's me once again, the south thing a lot of that wet weather as well as coastal areas of adriatic sea in the balkans is going to see a winter remixed blow east by the time we get in some monday,

now it's wet or weather for grief. from tuesday we are going to see that rain effect northern areas of africa. ah, a going ecologists work. this is here in the areas of conflict. is not the only us guilty. he's also known for delivering babies and treated women who medical services are limited. you're truly a doctor of humanity and hope to see world what was the doctor medical mission, syria, him and, and so been turkey. don't to report all now to sierra lou ah,

reminder now of the top stories on al jazeera votes are being counted in the gambia presidential election. it's being seen as a test of the transition to democracy. incumbent president had them a barrow seeking another term, but faces 5 rights french president amendment kronos joined, a phone call that's been hailed as an important 1st step towards resolving a rift between saudi arabia and lebanon micron. mit crohn principle had been sell mine and the leaders spoke with lebanon's prime minister, prime minister, nat geo, mcafee. the world health organization says no bets from the on the con variant of the corona virus have been reported so far. governments around the world are stepping up there. inoculation efforts that the us says. iran has back tracked on compromises it made and talks to try to revive the 2015 nuclear

deal. but that washington will push on with its diplomatic efforts. a senior state department official says that walter iran is asking for more concessions. it may be an opening position. she a brit pants. he has the details from washington dc. you might be thinking of these, these talks in vienna there on the rocks. the u. s. is going to walk out and store matt and blinking suggested they already did on on friday, which was gonna belied by what everyone else was saying. who was that the talks? but in fact, when you, when you talked and listen to this background briefing by an anonymous to you state department official, we had a very different turn. it was a real commitment to the talks. yes, he said, the iranians came to these talks, they renamed got all the compromises that already been made. they made no new constructive proposals. i just also moved from us and so on. but what kept on coming out from this, this official was the commitment to the talks. yes, there may be some dramatic exit. he wouldn't rule that out. but it was that we will

carry on carry on talking while emphasizing that, even as the us talking, they do have the punishing sanctions on iran, which is great, and such humanitarian problems for the country. so i live up to try and short circuit the, the sense from the near columns. and in fact, just of the, the, the main see we have a democratic body that, that the buyer maybe being soft on iran though you said, you know, he's assured them, no, no, we're making them suffer. we're making the people around suffer. but we want to talk at the same time, even if they're being transferred. thousands of people in serbia are protesting against government plans to sell land to a mining company. they say will have devastating effects on the environment. the mining giant re a teen til has been buying land in the west of the country after discovery that lithium reserves in 2006. it plans to invest at $2400000000.00 and the project that is waiting for government approval on janes r h is in belgrade. what you can see behind me is the men international highway in

serbia. and the spark that goes to belgrade has been blocked for more than an hour . and actually this is just one of more than 50 locations across the center. we are not to have been blocked to day citizens of serbia as well as the green activist and the local bullet. top was issue politicians protesting against 2 laws that have been adopted in the serbian parliament last week. they seeing it as a lying ground walk for the lead deal mine of the international company, a real dean dog in our vast sir b. as you can see, there are thousands of people here as well as one of the other blockages. and the more to raise in serbia so far there have not been incidence unlike the last to me read also at the same brought this happened and that many accidents are cured, especially in a city in shabbots, in less than so be our when a group off must people even try to go to demonstrate services, the bulldozers,

one of the people here are calling for to day also is to bring to just these people that have, are docks to demonstrate. there's last vague, but today's brought us by so far, ease going peaceful. some 11000 of people are on the streets of many citizens. soviet a palestinian man has been shot and killed by israeli forces after allegedly attempting stabbed, and israeli. the attack took place just outside damascus gate in occupied east jerusalem on saturday. video shows israeli police pointing guns ad paramedics and preventing them from treating the palestinian israeli medics, however, were eventually able to treat the stabbing victim, who was later transferred to a hospital. clashes between palestinians and is really police a ruptured shortly after harry force it is at the scene in occupied as teresa. well, please say that this was a stabbing attack or they released cctv video of

a palestinian man walking across the crossing behind his here. and then being followed by an altar orthodox his railey man, the policy man turned and started striking the ultra orthodox man. it was impossible to see from those images whether or exactly what he had in his hand. but police say that this was a stabbing the man then confronted is really security forces. he was shot and fell to the ground as what took place. after that though, which is provoked such outraged, especially among palestinian social media, they continued to fire at him from several meters away as he lay almost motionless on the ground. now these are the prime minister, natalie bennett, has praised the security forces, saying that they acted with speed and did what was expected of them. however, one of his own ministers, this is a broad coalition government, a left wing minister, a palestinian israeli himself has express concern call from investigation, said the police should only fire to save life,

not to take life. and there are calls from the opposition saying that this was an extra judicial killing. it does remind some of what took place in 2016 and hebron in the occupied west bank when a soldier shot a palestinian knife attacker a several, a good period after that attack took place. and again, he was investigated, prosecuted, spent several months in prison after being convicted. so there are similar calls for investigation this time. but for now, these are the prime minister, is supporting the actions of the security forces. russia has stopped exporting, call to ukraine, saying it has too much domestic demand this year here. depends on last, go for the resource to how power it's electricity. stations, ukraine, as long accused russia using its vast energy resources as a weapon. now there are fears about blackouts as winter temperatures begin to drop . char stratford reports now from threats in eastern ukraine. whole mind close to

the front line in eastern ukraine. mines such as this one, have helped fuel industry in the danverse region and across what was the soviet union, the over a century. but ukraine remains dependent on russia to meet its energy needs, especially coal, which is vital for fueling ukrainian power stations. in 2014 pro russia, separatists seized control of the majority of the mines. further depleting, ukraine's access to coal decades of neglect means much of the mines infrastructure is close to collapse about, although not just thought the equipment we have is from 1958 lack of investment and government negligence is one of the reasons why we face a shortage things could be difficult this winter. another problem is that russia caught ukraine's coal supply. last month. russia has recently stopped exporting

coal to ukraine, saying that there's just too much domestic internal demand, all the natural resource. some analysts so describing this is nothing short of blackmail. and an effort by russia to weapon eyes, it's vast, natural resources as a means of putting pressure on ukraine. and it's not just coal that russia is using to try and control your grain. these a gas pipelines similar to those that transport russian gas across ukraine to europe. europe relies on russia for around 35 percent of its energy needs. and ukraine gets paid transit fees, which were around 2000000000 dollars last year for those days on nearly over the nord stream to pipeline, which is expected to be operational next year, bypasses ukraine. instead transporting gas from russia to germany under the baltic sea. russia trying to divide euro's for

energy relations was different states separately rather than with then go the european union from your perspective. this means that russia will. ready have has free to this to belie station in the brain more actively. germany has warned russia not to use its gas exports as a weapon, but has been criticized by other european states and ukraine for exposing here to more economic pressure from moscow. so analysts say, russia's aim of trying to keep ukraine in its spear of influence is impossible. it is simply not possible to have that sort of control away our neighbors. we've all with investing huge resources military as well as economy. because in the end, as i see on gracie, i think it moscow and age to modify its aids because we're simply not really

winter is just beginning kia is so worried about the potential electricity blackouts that it's been forced to start importing cole from as far away as the us columbia. so analysts say economic and energy pressure from russia will continue, because the more ukraine talks about future nato and e u membership. the more moscow sees red. josh, dr. al jazeera tourists, eastern ukraine. police and pakistan have arrested a 150 people after a mob tortured and killed a sri lankan man accused of blasphemy. he was a factory manager in cl called in the east and was attacked by employees. the prime minister in mankind described it as the country's day of shame and says he is personally overseeing the investigation can well, hydro has more from islamabad, shock waves and condemnation, a cross bargain on even the religious right. leadership has criticize what it said

was indeed an act of injustice when factory worker in an industrial down and god took mattered into their own hands, killing a longer manager of the day. he told them that they should clean up the factory. he apparently, according to the board, tried to remove some stick from the machinery red inspection what to do. and i thought it was a strong reaction from the factory worker to our tag, the manager, then a mob lynched him, and his body was burned. soon other protested, also came on the said, the police force, of course, were not able to control the situation. the country prime minister said that the nation head bowed in shame over this incident, is called for an inquiry and exemplary punishment to the perpetrators of this horrible act. and that industrial down buckets on foreign minister also said that

they entered in brilliant, did be investigated. 150 people have already been arrested. an investigation that under way which of course are being overseen by the countries prime minister. the iran han him says people in nepal have held the ceremony to welcome the return of an idol that was stolen nearly 40 years ago. the statue of 2 hindu golds was in a u. s. museum and investigation by the f. b. i resulted in the return on saturday from the limber reports now from the peoples of political gotten waited a long time for this to catch a glimpse of a long lost and much loved. idle. the 12th century sat you of luxembourg with worshipped with centuries before it disappeared from the town in 1984. i guess we were sad when the day she worshiped disappeared. what happy to get it back later, it is back where it belonged to statue was briefly seen at sotheby's auction house

in new york in the early nineties before vanishing again. it then reappeared at the dallas museum of art in texas and an artist and researcher joy in david, bought it in an online image 36 years ago. since then. she's been working with nepali heritage activist and f b i. agents to ensure it's returned to me. it feels like a bit of like a bit of justice from the world. and also just as a wonderful happiness to see that she had returned and actually back in worship again in the original tempo. and it's, it's a dream, it's a dream come true for many of us students conducted religious right before reinstating the statue in its trying. women thought about square a unique world heritage site. in the past, dozens of cut monday that these venerated babies have disappeared from here into private and museum collections abroad. what may be optics of art for many had deep cultural and spiritual significance for generations of nepalese. the 19 eighties

and nineties saw the plunder of bronze deities and stones cultures from gut monday valley region, 2 important books, the gods and leaving the country and stolen images of the pon, have painstakingly documented more than 200 missing artifacts. the books raised awareness about the surface and trafficking in cultural heritage. heritage activists say there is increasing pressure on western collectors and museums to return upon stolen treasures around with brandy. see how we worship and take care of our deities. i'm sure people will be happy to return them when they release what they haven't stolen. they must feel guilty while only a small percentage of nepal stolen idols have found their way home. activists welcomed this happy homecoming as the start of a positive trend from yet the limbo edges. eda gutman do a total solar eclipse as well complete darkness to antarctica. the icon current

usually experiences continual daylight from mid october until early april. but that eclipse brought a rare darkness for a few minutes, for a total eclipse to take place the sun, moon, and earth must all be in a direct line. a partial eclipse could be seen and other parts of the southern hemisphere. ah, and our reminder of the top stories on al jazeera votes are being counted and began via's presidential election. it's being seen as a test of the transition to democracy, incumbent president at them, a barrow is seeking another turn, but faces 5 rifles admitted races more now from the capital bun. june the tunnel was really, really important, talked to our gumby importer. he will tell you this election is very important and significant in.