>> this is al jazeera. ♪ hello. this is the al jazeera newshour. breaking out of saudi arabia. a number of high-profile members of the royal family have been detained. the number of concerned coronavirus cases passes 1000. the world health organization calls for more to be done. calm as theuneasy cease-fire still holds. and antigovernment protesters return to the streets of file's

capital over rising inequality. ♪ anchor: breaking news out of regard. the saudi crown prince has detained some of the most high-profile members of the royal family. that includes the former crown prince. as well as the younger brother of the saudi king. reports are that they've both been accused of treason. now likely under the threat of life imprisonment or possible execution. the could have rivaled crown prince to the throne. jamaal joins us live onset now. what do you think prompted this? >> very good question. we are only left with

speculation right now based on the way in which the crown prince has ruled, the trajectory politics has taken. he runs a tight ship in terms of lack of free press, lack of transparency. it is difficult to know exactly what happened. these members of the royal family locked up, there hasn't been any clear record of what went down behind closed doors. monarch is king. you see him on air when he does do those public appearances. because these two figures, the former crown prince who was next -- althoughake over

not so prominent in the public figure, but extremely senior within the royal family, being the only remaining son of the late king, those are significant personalities who could contest that succession question if the case is that people perceive either the king not being as well as he is or -- anchor: is it your assessment that this is another moved by the crown prince to consolidate his power, given both men were once in line for the throne anyway? >> i would go beyond consolidating power. he very much consolidated that when he did away with all his opponents, either through arrests or killing them in consulates, or through other means. this is essentially wiping away any other voice within the main

institutions of saudi arabia. rulership belongs to the person who is able to merge support from fellow institutions. then you have the religious institutions and all the scholars and so forth. and obviously, you need support from the main ally, the united states of america. the one thing he has been unable to do is to get the total loyalty of the royal family. he managed to put away behind bars religious scholars who are opposed to him. he obviously has the support of washington. the royal family was the missing link. anchor: how will this be seen in

alliesital of key saudi like washington and london? >> that is going to depend on the current status of those governments themselves. unlikelyd states, very therwi be any blowback. if anything, they possibly had been given a heads up, as we've kushnerore with jared and how he's been linked with mohammed bin salman. capitals, not so much. and that is where there may be some sort of concern, even if it is just within the royal family. anchor: just a final thought from you. due to tensions coming at a ,ensitive time for the kingdom

his plans to modernize the saudi economy haven't delivered much so far, so there are rumors of rumblings. >> despite being in charge of salmaning, mohammed bin has so far been unable to deliver such high expectations that he himself sets out. but bear in mind, it is not necessarily the economic issue, but the social isolation that saudi finds itself in. the fact of the matter is, unless he's able to find some sort of consensus, the only part he's going to continue on is the one that he's been doing, which is essentially doing away with opposeswho, not just him, but it is not enough to stay quiet. quickly,ust very trying to get the former u.s.

ambassador to the uae in a second, just tell us a little bit more. the youngering that brother was the former crown prince. >> he was described as washington's man in riyadh. the united states foreign policy , wasded on him so much so so significant, but the fact that he convinced the u.s. administration to do away with its ally is testament to how close that relationship is between the crown prince and this current white house administration. anchor: thank you very much for your insight. , deputying in david assistant secretary for middle east affairs. he joins us on the phone from washington, d.c. what do you think of this move

by the crown prince? know why the timing might be significant. i think the timing is a bit of a risk on the part of king salman and men, did someone -- and mohammed bin salman. they're good contacts in washington, the people who seem -- president trump, his son-in-law jared kushner, and a few other people. most people in washington who dealt with the saudi's over the years were far more comfortable prince who hade been the minister of interior, had a very close relationship with the united states government in dealing with counterterrorism in particular.

there waslieve that ever such a close relationship one of the older princes, very much a peer of and not anybody who i don't think had a particularly active role working with the united states. treason, i think there will be a lot of skepticism in washington, particularly from the congress as well as various parts of the thinkive branch, and i there will also be a lot of hostility in the u.s. media. anchor: what do you think of the

possibility that this all relates back to the king. he's not quite old. he's quite frail. he's been ill for some time. if he were to die, the crown prince would have a clear shot to the throne, wouldn't he? would appear to be the case. i was in two meetings with king salman. i was highly impressed by him. i thought he was the ideal person to be the link between the older generation of the founder of modern saudi arabia and the grandsons, because he was the youngest of the sons, and seemed to be very modern himself, hard-working, had a good reputation, never accused of corruption. who areme of his sons

half brothers of mohammed. i never met mohammed bin salman. his reputation in washington remains a pretty checkered reputation. anchor: david, we have to leave it there. thank you for your thoughts. the number of cases of coronavirus worldwide is believed to have reached 100,000. more than 3000 people have lost their lives, most of them in china. italy has the second-highest number of deaths, followed by iran. the global economy is feeling the pinch. reporter: the global infection total since the start of the coronavirus outbreak has soared past the 100,000 mark. while there are positive signs in china and south korea,

elsewhere it is speeding up. i ran recorded a dramatic rise of 1000 cases with the authorities said to be preparing travel restrictions to add to widespread cool closures. 3300 livesore than lost around the world so far, most have been among the elderly. france, where new infections jumped on friday, president macron visited a retirement facility. i am asking all fellow citizens to act responsibly, to make the sacrifice. i know it is sometimes heartbreaking, but we must avoid visiting our elders as much as possible. reporter: the european union is proving a haven for the spread of coronavirus. italy remains the worst affected country but germany is catching up.

vatican city has reported its first case, as has serbia, and in britain, boris johnson has announced an investment into vaccine research and faster testing methods. early signs of the virus continue to spring up in africa and the middle east. cameroon and senegal join nigeria and south africa in registering their first cases this week. as coronavirus continues to create panic around the world, i've been telling the european leaders, you don't have enough money set aside to address the needs in africa and the middle east right now. downturn,n economic it absolutely could be a catastrophe. i mean absolute devastation. reporter: with european health ministers meeting in brussels,

there are concerns about a shortage of medicine and protective equipment. not helped by larger countries like france and germany. anchor: the u.s. president has signed a bill providing more than $8 billion of emergency funding for coronavirus. donald trump visited the cdc in atlanta. at least 15 people have died from the virus in the u.s. and there are more than 250 confirmed cases across the states. trump said the number of deaths from the virus is much lower than the common flu. >> when people have the flu, you have an average of 36,000 people dying. i would have been shocked. i didn't know people died from the flu. 36,000 people died. and again, you had a couple years where it was over 100,000

people died from the flu. in the u.s., passengers on a cruise ship barred from returning to port in san francisco await results of tests for the virus. at least 35 have reported flulike symptoms. kits on friday, testing were flown by helicopter to the ship. the ship has been linked to two cases of the virus from an earlier voyage. how much concern is there in the u.s. about this lack of testing kits? health officials are now saying this has become a huge problem. >> there is considerable concern and it was one of the questions that dominated the 46 minute press conference that the president and officials from the department of health and human services and the centers for disease control and prevention

were having in atlanta. the idea is that they are trying to get 100,000 test kits shipped around the country as well as trying to work with private laboratories to provide a test for covid-19 or the coronavirus to as many people who might need them because of their symptoms. but they were taking umbrage with the criticism that has been coming from health-care workers who themselves have come down with symptoms. they say that in a country of 330 million people, the fact that there have been a minuscule number of tests available and that there seemingly has been a delay in bringing these tests to the u.s. public is unconscionable. anchor: the outbreak is spreading fast. pressure is the

president and the administration under over this lack of resources and slow speed of response? >> there is pressure building. you could see it during this press conference. the officials were having difficulty trying to reassure the public that the spread of the coronavirus is under control. we've been learning that at the sxsw arts and culture festival in austin, texas has been canceled. there said that they could not put the lives of attendees at risk and they declared a local emergency. there's also been five cases of coronavirus just announced in the past hour in houston, the country's fourth largest city. cases were also announced on friday in the states of maryland

, just outside washington, colorado, and minnesota. even though officials are struggling to say the virus is under control, they also admit that as they get more tests into the hands of doctors and nurse practitioners and local laboratories for analysis, the number of cases will be going up. the pressure is on the trump administration to try to not just respond to this health crisis, but to respond to the growing sense of panic in the united states. anchor: thank you. on friday asunged the world's biggest producers failed to agree on how to deal with the impact of the virus outbreak. opec has been pushing to stabilize prices. to supportrefused the move. major stock markets reported losses on friday.

let's bring in lena when, professor at georgetown university school of public health. how prepared is the u.s. administration to deal with this rapidly growing outbreak? top health officials are saying there is a dire lack of testing kits. this is a very quickly evolving situation and it is easy for us on the outside to look in and say, they should have done all these things differently. i think the u.s. government has done some things very well, including their initial aggressive response to try to contain the outbreak. thate other hand, i agree the lack of testing is a major misstep. ifre are probably hundreds, not thousands of people in the u.s. who have coronavirus and don't know. so there's a lot more to be done

and i'm also worried about our health care system and what happens when it becomes overburdened. anchor: let's talk about leadership issues. president trump appointed his vice president as the person leading the charge. in times of national emergency, people look to the president. do you think trump is shifting responsibility just in case things go sideways? >> i think it is good that there role whody in a senior is the point person leading the response. pence, is vice president that is not necessarily a bad thing. here's what i'm concerned about. i am concerned that there isn't a consistent, clear message from the administration. i'm talking about public health experts together with politicians.

they should have a clear, consistent message. emergenciessis and are the times that we depend on our leaders to be clear, honest, and transparent. that is what the american people expect. with the trump administration, we are hearing a lot of mixed messages. anchor: we have over 100,000 cases globally. fromcan the u.s. learn other countries about the importance of rapid containment? from china, we know that rapid containment is possible. china did impose some rather draconian measures that might not be possible in other countries, but it has worked in slowing down the spread of the disease. that is something the u.s. can learn from. it is possible. south korea has done

extraordinary work with testing. that is a lesson for the u.s. getting those tests out there quickly will give us a fuller picture of what is happening. we can also look at countries like singapore and all the work they have done to trace contacts and to help their patients. that is all the work that is ahead of us. the next few weeks will be crucial as we get more information about tests and what the extent of the disease is really like in the u.s. anchor: thank you. lots more still to come on the news hour, including -- >> people are dying every day. anchor: a woman running a hospital in syria. and why dozens of displaced ro engine are facing criminal charges.

sri lanka. that is all still to come. ♪ for the first time in three months, there have been no airstrikes in syria's idlib province. a cease-fire used to be holding for now. there have been reports of fighting in southern parts of the province. many syrians believe the fragile truce may not last for long. >> how am i supposed to believe there's a truce if i'm listening to the sound of jets and bombing? there's no real truce. >> i'm not at all hopeful. i'm not expecting anything from it. agreement, wehe don't feel at all reassured. it won't hold because there have

been many agreements that the regime hasn't respected. russia saykey and they will establish a security corridor on the highway that cuts across rebel strongholds. there are doubts about how far they can cooperate in syria. reporter: the rebels were hoping that with the backing of turkey they would be able to regain those areas. that didn't happen. this explains their frustration over the terms of the agreement. turkey said in general this was a good agreement because it will protect the borders, it will protect the turkish army, it will pave the way for the resettlement of the hundreds of thousands of people displaced since the start of the offensive in december, and it will also pave the way for more

cooperation between the russians sides ofurks on both the highway. but then we have to wait and see to what level can the turks and the russians bring their cooperation as far as idlib is concerned. that will be indicative of whether the cease-fire will continue. there have been deals in the past that collapsed when the syrian army decided to retake the city. anchor: the u.s. has blocked a security council statement supporting that cease-fire. washington called the move premature. kristin has been following that meeting at u.n. headquarters. reporter: russia shared details

of the cease-fire agreement behind closed doors. given the history of this conflict, no one was ready to celebrate just yet. russia's ambassador was hoping to get a statement formally welcoming the deal. past agreements have fallen through. we hope this time it is durable. provided that all parties maintain their commitments to the protocol, that still does not exempt terrorists from being targeted. reporter: u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo had nothing to say when asked about the deal. we are told by diplomats that the united states called the statement premature. other countries raised objections as well. the united kingdom ambassador said it was a helpful development, but --

>> there are questions about how it will work in practice, what is happening, and has the syrian government formally signed up, and will the syrian government be following the provisions of the cease-fire? reporter: we are also told that russia was not willing to negotiate on the wording of the statement, which made no mention of the dyer humanitarian situation. the security council will monitor the situation. the first syrian woman to run an underground hospital is urging the international community to stop the humanitarian catastrophe. she and her staff were forced to evacuate. of work has been the subject an oscar-nominated documentary. the harrowing asumentary follows a doctor

she runs an underground hospital . dedicated, exhausted, and at times terrified, staff battled to save lives as syrian forces relentlessly bombed the area. the hospital is a target of bombing. a lot of the children, we couldn't help them. a lot of them died in the chemical attack. 2018ter: at the time in the head of the united nations called eastern group to under the bombing hell on earth. >> i think it was like that. it was a very dangerous place. before we in 2018, were forced to leave, they

bombed every second. reporter: she battled prejudice from men who believed a woman shouldn't be in charge of running a hospital. feel, there you are saving lives and you have men saying -- >> it is frustrating. it made me very angry. but i insist to stay. cannt to prove that women do better than the men. reporter: the cave was nominated for an oscar that put the side like -- the spotlight on her. intensified bombing of the area by syrian and russian forces has killed hundreds of people and left millions in desperate need. >> i'm not optimistic.

we need the international community to put pressure on them to stop killing people. the situation in idlib is a catastrophe. people are dying every minute. reporter: after paris, she will visit other european capitals to urge governments and people not to ignore the millions of civilians, particularly children, trapped in what seems like an endless war. migrants attempting to cross the border have been hit with tear gas as riot police try to keep them away. tens of thousands of people have been trying to cross, when turkey declared its borders with the european union open. those trying to enter are doing so illegally. turkish police have been deployed to try to stop the pushback. there is a makeshift migrant campsite on the turkish border

with greece. the bus: we are at station. it is one of the places where refugees and migrants have been congregating as they try to determine what to do next. people have managed to set up tents. they are in blankets trying to stay warm. there are campfires here. it has been a week since turkey opened its borders and it has been a tough week for this people we've been speaking to. we've spoken to many people who managed to make it across the border into greece only to be deported back to turkey. they have shared stories of cruelty. people said that the greek police have mistreated them. amputee to an iranian who says the greek police fired warning shots into the air. he was unable to run. his friends did. greek police found him.

he says they beat him severely and threatened to confiscate his prosthetic leg. the turkish government has deployed 1000 members of a special police force to the region. the turkish government says this is an attempt to prevent the greek government from pushing back migrants into turkey. turkey says it is also a way to try to minimize what it describes as the poor treatment of vulnerable people here and a possible violation of international law. anchor: when we come back, dozens of killed after shots are fired in afghanistan. force's evenice more difficult. the latest six nations rugby match. ♪

ananchor: welcome back. in north america, the main feature is this rapidly deepening area of low pressure. there's a possibility we could be flirting with southeastern parts of new england, bringing strong winds and heavy rain. with the wind coming from the north, it is not particularly warm for either new york or washington. but as that system moves away, temperatures will rocket up to 15 in d.c. should be fine in chicago. we will lose any chance of lake effect snow. we've got some showers across the desert southwest. should be a fine day in san francisco. heading down into central america, quite an interesting feature here.

wind between the mountains. we couldcific side, see some strong winds developing . one to watch out for. as for the islands of the caribbean, generally fine for cuba, but to the east, heavy rain. ♪ anchor: welcome back. the saudi crown prince has reportedly arrested high-profile members of the royal family. they include the former crown prince and the youngest brother of the saudi king. the number of cases of coronavirus worldwide is

believed to have reached 100,000. the outbreak has led to travel restrictions and the global economy is feeling the pinch. in the u.s., president trump signed a bill providing more than $8 billion in emergency funding. the number killed by the virus there has risen to 15. thousands of people suspected of having the virus have been asked to stay in quarantine. the hope is that isolation can help stop the disease from going viral. much of the content they've shared online has going viral instead. reporter: it is a waiting game. carl goldman has been in quarantine in the u.s. since leaving the diamond princess cruise ship in japan. he is documenting his journey on his blog. his most popular post is when he announced that he tested positive for coronavirus. >> the worst symptom was the fever.

about eighty for hours. like every fever after that, i was drained, lethargic, dehydrated. they were pumping me up with a ton of gatorade. i've been through every color of the rainbow of gatorade. reporter: today, his doctor handed him yet another post-it note. the + tells him he tested positive for corona again. it has been more than 30 days. carl's wife was released from quarantine. whenys she was threatened she returned home. the spread of coronavirus has also led to racist attacks. jonathan mark, student from singapore, was beaten in london. on facebook, he said he remembered them yelling something about coronavirus. another headline tells a story of a chinese woman attacked in the netherlands.

in vietnam, the government is taking a social approach to tackling the virus. viral and hast been turned into a popular dance on the social platform tiktok. the world health organization lists handwashing as the number one way to stop a respiratory illness from spreading. quarantine is another. >> the government is telling people not to go anywhere basically. we are basically sort of locked in our house. i am a college professor. i'm not teaching right now. my kids are in kindergarten. we are basically just stuck in the house. reporter: for those in quarantine, the psychological impact can take a toll. >> it is mentally and emotionally draining.

not to get lost in all your thoughts of contracting the virus. [inaudible] reporter: as for carl, he will have to stay in quarantine until he recovers and gets a note from his doctor that clears him to go home. anchor: antigovernment protesters are rallying in chile with mounting anger over rising inequality. protesters say the president has done little to address their demands. unrest prompted heightened security measures. let's go live now to our latin american editor in santiago. what has prompted this move by the protesters? they had started to calm down, but only just

slightly. february is summer here. it is the holiday season. there were less people in the capitals. before they left, they warned they would be back in force starting in march. this was the initiation of the in major cities throughout the country. there were thousands of people here. they are beginning to leave now. it was a very carnal atmosphere. ,eople were dancing and singing at the same time hurling unrepeatable insults about the president, and continuing to demand deep structural reforms to the economic system, to the political system, so that chile will have free and quality education. the list is very long. what is also very long is the

schedule for the protest that will take part, that is supposed to take place here in march. the next major one will be on sunday when hundreds of thousands of women in chile are expected to take to the streets to mark international women's day. this has not gone by without trouble. there have been teargas canisters. there have been clashes a few blocks from where i am now. it is possible that some of the more violent clashes will begin to take place as well. we know that the riot police are in the area. right now the majority are leaving peacefully. this all playing out politically? what response are you likely to see from the president? reporter: this is supposed to send a message to the president that people have not grown tired demanding theand

things they've been calling for since october. at the same time, we are inching closer and closer to a for a new constitution. they will have to decide whether they agree with that or not. there is a large political campaign underway with the more saying that people is the only way chile can guarantee the change of the country needs. anchor: thank you. there's been an explosion outside the u.s. embassy in tunisia's capital. tunisia's ministry of interior has put security forces on high alert. no group has yet to claim responsibility for the attack. l have claimed responsibility

for an attack in afghanistan's capital. the head of the peace council was giving a speech when shots were fired. attack since the taliban signed a peace deal with the u.s. tensionst escalating between the u.s. and iran could have a longer-term impact on iraq. province. went to the swat team members have been searching for fighters in the south of muscle. reporter: early morning in most of, the swat team members get a final briefing before they set out to look for fighters. we accompany the specialist police unit as it heads into the countryside. was forced out in 2017 by iraqi troops with support from the u.s. led coalition and the

iraqi government announced its territorial defeat soon after. thousands of fighters have retreated into rural areas where security forces are spread thin and where hills like these offer opportunities to hide. we got information that there is a cave that is being used as a shelter to carry out attacks on nearby villages. reporter: we are only hundreds of meters away from the target, but the vehicles struggle in the terrain and the men are forced to advance on foot. they are surprised to find the entrance blocked off. probably the result of a recent airstrike. what the unit needs is surveillance and support from the air. providedently that was

by the american led coalition in iraq. since tensions escalated earlier this year, those activities have largely come to a halt. >> for two months, the operations have stopped as far as our team is concerned. in the past we had training and air support, but that support has stopped and we are waiting for orders to resume cooperation. that cooperation is now part of a broader dispute over the future of american military presence in iraq. in response to an american , iraq's prime minister and parliament have asked for in troops to leave. negotiations are ongoing, but u.s. officials say they only received a few requests for airstrikes and have reduced movements outside of their bases. wasefore, our mission

advise and accompany. away seen the accompany go , but the iraqis didn't stop. they kept moving and rolling. that is the best thing that could have come out of all this. reporter: some iraqis fighting isil resurgence see things differently. says iraqifficials security forces have picked up the slack. there is little doubt that the absence of study coalition involvement is being felt on the ground. several officers told us they need american support if they are to fight isil effectively. civilians and security officials say the fighters have taken advantage of tensions to regroup. anchor: in myanmar, dozens of

rohingya muslims including some children have been charged. they are among many who tried to escape. reporter: in the first two months of this year alone, more than 200 rohingya have been arrested for not having identification documents and traveling illegally. those cases will be heard on the outskirts. 12 were brought to court on friday. the government does not consider the rohingya as citizens even though many have lived in the country for generations and they face increasing government restrictions. >> they keep claiming they can travel freely, there is no ,estriction, but in reality free movement is extremely restricted. reporter: advocates say it is

unlikely any of the rohingya will be acquitted. food couldn't get enough for ourselves. reporter: the rohingya are a majority people. the government launched a brutal crackdown, driving nearly three quarters of a million into bangladesh. the u.n. have accused it of carrying out the campaign with genocidal intent. the government denies this and says it was a legitimate attack. the situation there is even worse after fighting between the military and the army intensified. say they are fighting for more autonomy on behalf of another ethnic minority who make up the majority in the state.

the rohingya who already live under apartheid like conditions without access to health care and education are being caught in the crossfire. workers fear that many will turn to human traffickers. there have been many attempts to flee on dangerous journeys. people have drowned. some have taken overland routes. there have been incidences where they were kept in jungle camps. many died of disease and starvation. escapeen they managed to , many are at risk of exploitation. some sold into the sex trade or as indentured labor. there is no easy choice. they can choose to stay and face persecution or they can try to escape. anchor: time for another short

break. when we come back, we will hear from a veteran table tennis player. ♪

anchor: welcome back. championsgning world in sri lanka. andrew russell helped his country to a series victory. both teams are building up to this year's world cup in

australia. match brought together the last two t20 world champions. from the start, it was the west indies who dominated against sri lanka. china won the world title in 2014. the west indies all around her is a veteran of two world cup winning campaigns. partnership pushed the home team towards respectability. up.lanka finished the west indies batting lineup is full of power. before andre russell stepped up to the plate. from just 14 balls.

the wendy's winning by seven wickets to secure a series victory. is the world prize cup in australia which starts in october. anchor: one of the nfl's most promising young players had been charged with criminal possession of a weapon. williams was arrested as he was about to board a flight at the new york airport. the 22-year-old will appear in court later this month. police say the jets player didn't have the correct permit. the usa women's winning team are looking good ahead of their bid for olympic gold. they beat england in florida. this was the first time the two sides had met since last year's world cup semifinals.

the win extends team usa's unbeaten run to 29 games. is inrything this year preparation for the olympics. personally i would say it is another opportunity to keep welding this year. i am on a little bit slower build. having kind of a long layoff last year. i felt like i had a good performance. italy is preparing for a weekend of top level football matches without spectators due to coronavirus. there will still be fans, but there won't be any pregame handshakes between the players. we trust the things they tell us. that is what we do. if there are some additional

things to do, we can think about what they can do to decrease the probability to get infected. the six nations championship has already felt the impact of coronavirus. postponeds have been including ireland and italy. england is second behind france. it is going to be highly chaotic. it is going to be physical. we are playing at home. it is important to play well in front of our fans. hard to get it is away from the echoes of what should be done and how you should do it.

also there's quite a few guys playing in england. thelympic organizers insist idea of canceling this year's games due to coronavirus hasn't been discussed. one veteran athlete is hoping they will deliver on that promise. she is set to become the oldest table tennis player to compete at an olympics. originally from shanghai, she moved to luxembourg and now represents the european country. happen.y knows what can i hope not. i hope everything goes smooth. i think it is good for everybody. now we are in difficult times. i hope everybody understands each other. but all was not entirely normal at the latest event in

tokyo. ♪ rather than elite athletes taking part, the olympic sports climbing venue was tested out by game officials. no fans were in attendance. officially the olympics are on track to start july 24. we will have more later on. anchor: thank you very much indeed. you can find much more on our website. all the latest developments on saudi arabia with members of the royal family being arrested. that is it for now. don't go away. i'll be back with more news.