>> the u.s. releases and intelligence report that says the saudi crown prince approved an operation to capture or kill the journalist jamal khashoggi. "false and unacceptable" -- saudi arabia rejects the u.s.'s report i'm rob addison. this is al jazeera live from doha. also coming up -- >> use any means necessary to take action against the myanmar military.

>> a stunning defiance. the united nations ambassador -- myanmar's ambassador to the group to take action. saying crown prince mohammed bin salman approved the operation to kill journalist jamal khashoggi -- that's the conclusion of a detailed report concluding that remission would have been impossible to go ahead without his permission.

>> we now have in place a new policy that applies not just to saudi arabia but across the board, and it gives us, i think, the greater ability to deter the kinds of egregious actions that were taken against him and against other dissidents, opponents, and others speaking out or their families going forward, and that i hope will be in some small measure and important legacy. >> noticeably missing from the list is the crown prince himself. the united nations official investigating to show gay's debt has urged washington to order new sanctions directly targeting bin salman. saudi arabia has rejected the report calling it unjustified. riyadh maintains the killers were a rogue group and says it has done all it can to punish

them. the biden administration has been saying that it wants to recalibrate its relationship with saudi arabia, and we heard the secretary of state say earlier on that this was a first step. >> here's the report -- four pages. that's all we get. the cia not even details about how it obtained the information that led it to conclude with a great degree of certainty that mohammed bin salman was behind the killing. what we do know is they have intercepted phone calls that ally very much with what the turkish services detected. remember it was october 2, 2018, that to show he went to the consulate in istanbul with the intention to pick up paperwork for a forthcoming marriage. he never emerged alive again. the report says it was mohammed bin salman who saw him as such a threat to the kingdom that he wanted any steps to be taken up to and including violence to

silence him, and that appears what happened. on the campaign trail, joe biden said he was going to turn saudi arabia into a pariah state. there was criticism of the trump administration for not confronting a home and bin salman, in fact, inviting him to the white house. sitting in the oval office, they talked about arms sales. it was that donald trump said he did not want to jeopardize by confronting mohammed bin salman. also, he needed saudi help inside the middle east for confronting iran, and he did not want to upset that delicate balance, but now, joe biden is freezing out mohammed bin salman, dealing directly with the king, but what is interesting is, like the old proverb says, there's many a slip between cup and lip. both biden and trump came under criticism for not taking action

directly against bin salman himself. >> there's going to be a lot of attention paid to what the biden administration doesn't in terms of overall sales. you mentioned the weapon's sales made under the trump administration. i believe they are currently being reviewed. >> exactly. tony blinken says this is about recalibrating the entire relationship, and that includes weapon's as well. he was at pains to say the relationship between the united states and saudi arabia is more than just one man. the bumps in the road go back 50 years. 1973 and the oil crisis when saudi arabia essentially embargoed oil. go back to 9/11, and 15 of the hijackers came from saudi arabia. of course, the killing of jamal khashoggi, who is a saudi citizen but also a united states resident.

when tony blinken says he wants to see a recalibration, he's going to be under pressure, as is joe biden, from a number of democrats who want to say that who say they want to see action directly against bin salman. they say his denials of involvement simply are not credible. >> thank you very much for talking with us. i want to bring in a professor and lecturer at the department of political science at george washington university. he joins us from washington, d.c. it's good to have you with us. the u.s. intelligence report links the crown prince to the killing, and yet, the u.s. does not sanction him. what does that tell us about the reality of u.s. policy when it comes to saudi arabia? >> well, it's a realist policy and a practical policy. the idea is that banning a

leader of a nationstate -- and, yes, technically, mohammed bin salman is a defense minister, but the fact that the leader of saudi arabia under his father, but the implications of banning him from entering the country are profound. we really need saudi arabia, at several different levels, in terms of prosecuting american foreign policy in the middle east, so that what this suggests is that president biden, who some of his key officials are centrists in their thinking -- what this suggests is joe biden is treading carefully. always with the option in mind of being able to ratchet up those sanctions should certain

national interests, as he perceives them, not be achieved. >> is there any sense that the u.s. is keen to have this report essentially draw a line under these issues so it can move forward with its recalibration, if you like, with its relationship with saudi arabia, or is it looking, do you think, at other ways of proving that it still has a degree of credibility when it comes to that bringing down of responsibility or allocating responsibility for these actions? >> the alliance game is a difficult game. in the case of the united states and saudi arabia, you had a confrontation over the khashoggi killing, human rights violations in yemen, and what joe biden has to do is balance national interests of the united states in the region that include

threats from iran primarily, so that the saudi's and israelis are key players even though they are not officially allies. they have been working together for many years because their national interests coincide, in terms of what is to unfold here. remember, in international relations, issue areas are related. the other thing president biden has to deal with is the new iteration of the joint comprehensive plan of action, and if he treads too heavily, it is conceivable the israelis and sallies might present the abided -- and sallies might present the biden administration with some hard to achieve demands in terms of how the americans will be engaging the iranians in this new iteration of the iranian agreement. this is something president biden has to think about. in addition, he has to think

about the prospect that sai arabia, like turkey, might fall into the arms more deeply with russia and china in terms of arms sales, and the problem is with regards to iran, if the iranians perceive of what they considero be a fundamental rift between the united states and saudi arabia, it could embolden them further in terms of their own militia activities in syria. we just had an attack by u.s. forces against an iranian-backed militia in syriame just the othr day. so these issues are interrelated. one really has to use strategic foresight to determine the degree that there will be ripple effects from one set of actions over into other areas. >> thank you. we appreciate it very much indeed.

jamal khashoggi's fiance was waiting outside the saudi consulate in istanbul the day he was murdered. after the report was released, she tweeted this image of him with the #. the pentagon says the operation was in response to recent attacks against american person

iraq. >> to try to make an impact on these groups and their ability to conduct future attacks, and two, to send a very clear signal that the united states is going to protect its people, and it's going to protect our interests and going to protect those of our partners in the region. these targets were chosen carefully, very deliberately, and struck in exactly the same manner. >> myanmar's ambassador to the united nations has appealed to the international community to take any -- to use any means necessary to take action against the country. >> it was a dramatic moment in the united nations general assembly hall. the ambassador of myanmar using his speech to speak up strongly against the events in his own country. >> the myanmar military has become an existential threat for myanmar. >> his voice was trembling as he continued. >> strong support from the international community is imperative for the people of

myanmar in our fight against the military regime. >> as he finished his speech, he gave a re-fingered salute, the message of defiance that has become a trademark gesture of protesters in his country. other ambassadors praised him for his courageous stand. among them, the brand-new u.s. ambassador in her. day in her job. >> we urge every member state here today to use any channel available to tell the myanmar military that violence against the people of myanmar will not be tolerated. together, we also the people of myanmar that the world is watching. we hear them, and we stand with them. >> the united nations special envoy has been trying to visit myanmar. she said permission for the trip has not been granted. >> regretfully, the current regime has so far asked me to

postpone any visit. it seems they want to continue making large state arrests and forcing people to testify against the government. this is cruel and inhuman. >> such a powerful session in the general assembly now puts pressure on the part of the united nations that has real teeth. it is worth remembering one of the permanent members of the security council is china. it has veto power, and the chinese ambassador said his country largely sees the situation as an internal matter. >> still ahead, president joe biden visits texas to handle his first natural disaster as millions remain without clean water lowering a historic winter storm. plus, a victory for sri lanka's

muslim community after the government reverses its policy on cremations for covid-19 victims. >> hello once again. we've got some very heavy rain pushing into the deep south with u.s. over the next couple of days. that could cause some localized flooding. also this weather system moving through. easing out to louisiana rolling up toward tennessee, toward mid-atlantic states, virginia seeing some heavy rain. we are looking at snow, but to the south of that, some rain, and it will be heavy at times, particularly as we go through sunday, so you have what weather running right across tennessee, kentucky, pushing all the way up towards new york and into d.c.. we got some snow towards

alberta. rain spilling into the pacific northwest. we had largely dry weather across the western side of the u.s. and largely dry weather across parts of the caribbean. some lovely sunshine for the most part. some showers just gathering around the eastern islands as we go through saturday. showers pushing through puerto rico, getting into the dominican republic. might catch a shower or two into jamaica by the time we come to sunday. elsewhere across the region, some showers in central america.

>> you are watching al jazeera. the newly declassified u.s. report says saudi arabia's crown prince approved the plan to capture or kill journalist jamal khashoggi. the u.s. is imposing a travel ban on the 76 sallies involved. saudi arabia says it completely rejects the report and is warning against any measures

that infringe on the sovereignty of the judicial system. riyadh maintains the killers were a rogue group. it says relations with the u.s. remain strong. me and mark's ambassador to the united nations has called on world leaders to do everything they can to protect the nation from the country's army. protests continue to spread nationwide. the democrat-controlled house of representatives is set to push through president biden's $1.5 trillion coronavirus aid package including direct payments of 1400 dollars to most americans, but it will not include an increase to the minimum wage. that was blocked by senate officials. in the years since the coronavirus has taken hold, it has stalled much of the economy and killed 500,000 americans. president biden is in texas a week after the state was

battered by a deadly winter storm. he has been speaking after touring an emergency operations center and food bank in houston. at least two dozen people were killedfter subzero temperatures left many without power or water for days. biden approved emergency water and funds. state leadership has come under criticism for its handling of the crisis. >> federal emergency management is providing millions of gallons of water and millions of meals and direct assistance to uninsured homeowners to repair the damage. the public assistance that comes with a disaster declaration ensures that mayors and county officials can find shelter for folks in need and keep them safe and warm. this is in addition to the more than 125,000 blankets tema has also made available to storm victims so children and their

families don't go to sleep cold. >> what else has the president been saying? >> the focus of president biden's visit this morning was on the storm recovery effort here in texas, but his remarks that he just completed at the stadium behind me were focused on that other crisis that has been following texas from other states. the president's remarks he just wrapped up were about vaccination efforts here and around the country. this stadium is a site where 6000 doses a day are being distributed, and biden said that the distribution pace has rapidly ramped up since he has taken office, that the average of 6 million doses of vaccine being put into arms prior to him

taking office has now expanded to 12%. he says for those americans -- [indiscernible] people most vulnerable to covid-19, nearly 50% of those older americans have received at least one dose of the covid vaccine. these remarks coming on the heels of other good news on the covert front, which is that the fda's advisory panel has given its green light to the third and latest vaccine in the u.s.. this one manufactured by johnson & johnson, and it notably only requires one dose, not the two of the previous vaccines that had been approved, and it can be delivered in less cold environments, making its distribution logistically easier. president biden said as soon as the fda gives its final emergency authorization, which is expected to happen in just days' time, he said he would do

everything in his power to rapidly expand distribution of that third vaccine, which includes emergency orders. he has already issued expanding the number of people giving the vaccines, allowing retired doctors and nurses to deliver those shots as well. >> bringing us up-to-date to date on president biden's visit to texas, a week after the state was battered by a deadly winter storm. thank you very much. former u.s. president donald trump is set to be the keynote speaker at this weekend's conservative political action conference. the former president's eldest son took the stage on the first -- in the first day of the conference. it is an annual meeting of conservative activists and politicians across america. they will discuss what direction the party should take after

trump's second impeachment trial. >> i'm looking forward to sunday. i imagine -- [cheers and applause] >> i imagine it will not be what we call a low-energy speech, and i assure you it will solidify donald trump and all of your feelings about the movement is the future of the republican party. >> the united states has joined russia in calling for restraint in armenia as its prime minister faces pressure to resign. opponents are protesting. he has fired his military chief, accusing the army of attempting a coup. he has faced protests since losing a war with azerbaijan the previous year over disputed territory. >> this is the heart of government. over to my right, we have parliament, and you can see a

security presence outside. this way, you've got a constitutional cause, and behind me, beyond the crowd, the presidential administration. the opposition that are here now, they have camped her they shut down the street -- they are making their mark. they want the prime minister of armenia and his government to step down. his reputation may have been critically damaged by the way he handled the war with azerbaijan over nagorno-karabakh. people think he gave away too much in this piece deal he managed to agree with azerbaijan, mediated by russia, in which armenia fared so badly, having lost so much surrounding territory, and so many young military lives lost. >> i don't think a leader who

has lost a war has anyplace in the government. he should resign and let the people decide. >> i am worried about the future of my country. we are in a very bad situation. >> this challenge has been given added momentum now that all the senior army generals say they, too, want this government to resign. this is now a battle of wills between the leader who believes he still has popular support in armenia for the reforms he wants to carry through, or the crowds assembled here who believe it is time for him to go. >> many believe it woman who ran away to join heisel should not

be allowed to return -- to join isil should not be allowed to return to fight for citizenship. the u.k. has argued she is bangladeshi by descent, so she can live there. more than 300 schoolgirls have been kid not in northwest nigeria. gunmen arrived at night shooting sporadically at this school complex and then took the girls into the bush. we go to the nigerian capital for the latest. >> a massive operation involving air and ground troops as well as local militia who know the terrain is under way. they want to rescue these 317 victims. also today, shortly after the abduction, government officials

attempted to go to assess the situation, and they were attacked. among them, of course, in the convoy were journalists who went to cover the story, and eventually, some of them were injured in the attack. this calls to question -- the latest abduction calls to question these government programs or projects to negotiate with bandits to convince them to surrender their arms. only yesterday, a group of so-called bandits submitted or surrendered their weapons, arms, and munitions to police and government officials, and then this abduction happened. this comes just nine days after a number of students were also taken from another boarding school, nine days after there is no word. this is becoming more and more complex as security forces

struggle to deal with the situation. when you ask many nigerians, they will tell you it looks like these broad forces are not able to deal with the situation, and there is fear spreading in the land is these criminal activities spread from the northwest down to the center of the country and down south. >> sri lanka's government says it will no longer force muslims to cremate the remains of family members who died from covid-19. the government faced pressure from the united nations and pakistan's government to rheerse the policy introduced almost a year ago. >> it's hard enough losing a loved one to covid-19, but in sri lanka, muslims and christians who have died during the pandemic have been forcibly cremated against the beliefs of their relatives. the policy was introduced last april. the world health organization

says there's no risk of the remains contaminating groundwater. >> when we called the hospital, they said the baby had died. only then did the doctor say the pcr test was positive, so we cannot give you the body. they said there were rules brought in, and that the cremation can be done even without a signature, but they went ahead and did as i wished. >> 450 people have died of covid-19 in sri lanka. more than half were muslim, even though they make up just 10% o the population. community leaders say people fear seeking treatment out of being cremated if they died. activists say the government's reversal of policy happened only because of a request from pakistan's prime minister. >> the reversal of the policy has made us think sri lankan citizens can only get their

rights enshrined in our constitution only through international pressure. even to the supreme court. we went through almost every judicial process possible. nothing changed. >> sri lanka's health ministry no reason for reversing the rule, but pakistan's prime minister thank his counterparts on social media. >> this is al jazeera. these are the top stories. a newly declassified report says saudi arabia's crown prince approved a plan to capture or kill saudi journalist jamal khashoggi. the u.s. is imposing a travel ban on 76 salaries involved in threatening dissidents. >> we now have in place a new

policy that applies not just to saudi arabia but across the board, and it gives us, i think, a greater ability to deter the kinds of egregious actions that were taken against him and against other dissidents, opponents, and others speaking out, or their families going forward, and that i hope will be in some small measure an important legacy. >> iran's government is strongly condemning american airstrikes in syria, describing them as illegal aggression. earlier friday, the united states launched air rates, targeting facilities connected with iranian backed facilities. myanmar's ambassador to appealed to the genal assembly to do everything it can to reject the military coup.

the surprise statement drew applause from the 193-nation global body. protests against the coup continue to spread nationwide. president biden is in texas a week after the state was battered by a deadly winter storm. he toured an emergency operation center and a food bank in houston. at least 2000 -- at least two dozen people were killed. the united states has joined russia in calling for restriction in armenia as prime minister faces pressure to resign. opponents are demanding he stepped down. he has rejected calls to quit. those are the headlines. the news concludes after woman may change. >> the former french president, nicolas sarkozy be in the dark in a courtroom in paris after years of investigations, on

march the first, we will hear the verdict in his trial. follow the story here in al jazeera. ♪ >> hello. let me show you something. this is $1.25, and where i live, it can buy a very small cup of coffee. millions of people around the world exist on less than this amount a day. the numbers have gone down, but there is still a lot of work to be done. at a time when the world is looking at how to reduce

poverty, the spotlight has been turned on the women. wherever they have the opportunity to be actively involved in communities and economies, there are huge benefits to people around them, too. local economists and researchers know that investing in women is up. it's not just the right thing to do, it is good economics because there is a ripple effect into the wider economy. let's take a look at the effect down on the ground. in this video, we had to kenya where they are using rainwater harvesting technology to bring clean water to rural communities. they know that in rural communities, it is the women who are water experts. you should see what they did with all that expertise.

>> men do not feel the pinch of going to get water from the river. they don't feel the pinch of wind and child is sick. who is taking the child to the hospital? it's the mother. when her child dies, she feels the pain.

this is a village called odessa village. the only source of water here is this river. it is very dirty, very contaminated. the people saw the need of having clearwater. >> for a woman, having safe water is important and using safe water is a way of empowering them. >> after the training, we came back, and the technology was way more to harvesting. we started with a water tank, and after some time, the women say they -- [indiscernible] this community is so empowered now, they started their own village savings account.

>> before we started any project here, six months, when we did this, our action plan involved water. water was a key problem. there was a lot of diarrhea in this community. we said what is the solution to this? having clean and safe water. i went for the training, and when i came back, i shared with them, and they bought into the idea. this water has been helping these women. every day, somebody is in charge. at the end of the day, they can tell how much they have made.

>> started village savings and learning activity from the proceeds from water. all this money is loaned out so that it goes. how much money is in circulation? >> about 2.1 million. >> the men are poor savers.

>> some of the things that i tried to do, i did not get support so much from my community. i like living.

i do not like living like i did. i just like doing my own thing. >> [speaking foreign language]

>> i had a problem. >> he came to be treated. we told him that if we got water at the facility, it would really of the pressure. >> water for women by the women. hey! >> we want the community to have ownership of whatever. it's happening around them. we tried to help them analyze their problems and to come up with their own solutions. we start by changing their attitude to realize that our problems are ours, and the

solutions are actually with us. >> in the african tradition, women cannot do anything alone. they need the men's support. people sitting on the health committee are basically all men, so it is up to them. if we leave them alone, they will say what contribution do women make in our society? >> [speaking foreign language]

>> tomorrow we are finishing the work. thursday, we are starting to address the inside. friday, we are putting the roof. saturday, it is raining. sunday, our time is up. >> i have a passion for women and culture. when my mother was married, she had no control over anything. even if she bought something and brought it to the home, she had no say over. everything was to be decided by a man. when it came to education, the boy was given the priority. so i say we are a disadvantaged lock.

it occurred to me that i need to be a different woman. ♪ >> this is one of the key primary schools in our home area. there's no water, so i'm thinking that this would be a very good entry point for me. >> [speaking foreign language]

>> what she has said, when you get home, you remove your frock. you get warm water or cold water if it is available. do you know where to buy the liquid soap? you go there, you get some liquid soap. >> [speaking foreign language] >> when i was thrown out, i had to start from zero. they thought i would break, crack under the pressure. but because of these women, i'm actually very healthy.

it does not matter when a man leaves you. most of the work done here is done by women. >> initially, we did not have any source of water. >> you find that now, the place is clean. we end up also improving the quality of water by keeping the motor bus and alter. you caimagine. right now, we have over 300 in our area.

the government gives us money. then we are able to get electricity in the facility. it put our hostile to shame -- it put our hostel to shame. >> [speaking foreign language]

>> [speaking foreign language] ♪ >> when i was hunting for that water tank, i realize most deliveries come from this side.

when they are walking for that distance, it is actually too far for that patient. >> [speaking foreign language] >> she's still struggling. the women should sing for h because she is a blessing.

>> [speaking foreign language]

[baby crying] >> [speaking foreign language] >> giving me a lot of miracles here. actually, it's good. ♪

>> is my medicine for the pain. >> in the year 2012, a lump was detected in my breast. the doctor told me he did not have very good news for me, that i had cancer. when i got the news, i was shaking. i literally cried for two days.

my mother and my grandmother taught me that you fail in your situation when you have a week will, but when you remain positive, you don't stigmatize yourself. soy told my doctor, it's ok. -- so i told my doctor, it's ok. my husband was crying. my daughter was saying mama is going through a lot of pain. i had long dreads. i went to the bathroom to wash

my dreads, and you know what happened? the dreads remained in my head -- in my hands. they asked me if i needed a week. i said no. i want to go through treatment and still be strong and move on. ♪ >> [speaking foreign language]

>> we give you 20 minutes, you will be here? ok. [chanting] >> [inaudible] [explosion]

>> [speaking foreign language] >> to me, water is life. >> the time used to get water is reduced. these development activities within the community entirely changes the county, then the county changes can, kenya

changes the world. hiring a woman, to me, is changing economies. it's giving power. it's giving power. this is the border

between ferguson and kinloch. natasha del toro: two towns in missouri, separated by race. john brawley: well, ferguson, uh, we'd just as soon not get too close. del toro: from segregation in the 1960s to the 2014 police shooting of michael brown, reckoning with racial injustice in america. man: enough is enough! del toro: "where the pavement ends," on america reframed. ♪ ♪