anchor: american and chinese diplomats wrap up a 10th round of talks with the american secretary of state saying they are fundamentally at odds over a number of issues. ♪ you are watching al jazeera. coming up. >> they have been attacked, blamed, scapegoated and harassed. anchor: president biden visits

georgia to support asian americans days after a mass shooting raises supports about anti-asian violence. and jerry bolsonaro asks to relax lockdowns despite record levels of infections. warning of a covid-19 tornado in public new guinea after infections there. ♪ thank you for joining us. high-level talks between china and the u.s. that began with an acrimonious public exchange have wrapped up in alaska without any significant bit -- a significant breakthrough. the chinese delegation left without talking to reporters, but a senior diplomat was later quoted on social media describing the discussions as candid, constructive and beneficial, admitted they still have differences.

the u.s. secretary of state made similar remarks, saying the two sides are at odds over a number of issues. our diplomatic editor has been monitoring the talks from anchorage. reporter: what we saw at the start of this meeting was a very rare public and long exchange of views and very different views they were. the meeting ended with much more moderate comments from both sides, who said this was a constructive meeting. the u.s. secretary of state made it clear there were still very big inferences. -- big differences. >> we certainly knew going in that there were a number of areas we are fundamentally at odds, including china's actions in shandong, in regard to hong kong, tibet, increasingly taiwan, and actions it is taking in cyberspace. and it is no surprise that when

we raised those issues clearly and directly, we got a defensive response. reporter: secretary blinken also made it clear there were issues where the two countries's interests intersected, including the climate crisis, north korea, afghanistan and the iran nuclear deal. the chinese spoke to chinese media. they said these were candid, constructive and help full meetings, but the state counselor and foreign minister added that the u.s. should not underestimate china's commitment to defend its sovereignty. anchor: among the issues raised by the u.s. were the two canadians detained in china over espionage charges. on friday, the trial of a businessman ended with no verdicts. canada was denied access, a decision condemned by prime minister justin trudeau.

the two men were arrested two years ago. it was seen as retaliation of the arresting of a hallway -- hu awei executive. >> we worked to underscore this arbitrary detention is unacceptable. i want to thank the countries around the world who supported us. also i want to thank our allies who took a stand in order to raise their concerns with this situation. anchor: the u.s. president says asian americans have been attacked and scapegoated. joe biden and vice president kamala harris urged everyone to spike -- to speak of against hate crimes after meeting community leaders in the state of georgia, after eight people were killed in a mass shooting there. six of the victims were women of asian descent, adding to existing fears about a surge of

racially motivated attacks during the pandemic. >> they have been attacked, blamed, scapegoated and harassed. they have been verbally assaulted, physically assaulted, killed. documented incidents of hate against asian americans have seen a skyrocketing spike over the last year. hate and violence often hide in plain sight. it is often met with silence. that's been true throughout our history. but that has to change, because our silence is complicity. we cannot be complicit. anchor: let's bring in gabriel with more from washington, dcp the -- washington, d.c. tell us more about what they had to say. >> that's right.

the trip was planned before the shooting, to atlanta, and it was supposed to be a celebration of sorts, the u.s. reaching more than 100 million vaccinations, the passing of the covid relief that will put more than $1000 in the checking account of millions of americans in need, and there was a planned political rally by the president friday night. that was canceled because of these events. the president and vice president meeting with community leaders of the asian-american and pacific islander community, meeting with the mayor and other elected officials, trying to console not only the community but the nation as a whole, because so many asian americans have been coming under and receiving violent threats for over a year now, and this terrible shooting took the lives of eight people, seven being

asian americans and six women. the president spoke, that even before the president, the vice president did speak and she said racism is alive and well in america. >> racism israel real in america. it has always been. xenophobia is real in america and always has been. ultimately, this is about who we are as a nation. this is about how we treat people -- with dignity and respect. and also the right to be recognized as an american. not as the other. not as them, but as us. >> president biden knows a thing or two about grieving the loss of family members. in 1972, his wife and child were killed in a car accident, and in

2015, one of his sons died tragically of a rare form of brain cancer. biden is well known in washington and united states particularly as someone who knows how to comfort and grief -- comfort people who are grieving the loss of a loved one, and he certainly had to do that in atlanta when he met with community leaders there and family members of some of those that were killed. certainly this was something he did not want to have to do so early in his presidency but circumstances made it essential he do that. he is calling for congress to push through some legislation that would help to protect asian americans that are victims of hate crimes. anchor: thank you for that update from washington, d.c. let's talk about this with our

guest. he is cofounder -- she is cofounder of stopaapi hate. president biden in georgia saying violence must stop against asian americans, and silence is complicity. is that how you see it? >> we absolutely agree with president biden and we are grateful for his visit to atlanta. it signals a real departure from what we saw under the former administration, both in terms of condemning hate against asian american communities and in terms of showing his heart, showing he cares and will listen to our community members in this really difficult period. we look forward to working with him and with congress in determining policy steps that needed to be taken moving forward. anchor: what sort of policy

steps? we know the president is trying to pass this legislation through congress right now, the covid-19 hate crimes act. we understand it would strengthen the government's reporting in response to hate crimes and provide resources to asian-american communities. does that go far enough? >> we think that is an important first step. we certainly need more resources for community members, especially those that have been victimized by hate. but we also know that in fact, most of the incidents that have been reported to stop aapi hate, and we are the leading aggregator of that data, they are not hate crimes they are hate incidents. we would like to see additional resources being put toward dealing with and addressing hate incidents across our country. we need a civil rights infrastructure and we need

resources dedicated and devoted to local communities. anchor: talk to us about the work you document and the reporting you do on these racist attacks and incidents, and tell us why there has been such a rise in them. >> we launched stop aapi hate a year ago on march 19, 2020, because we saw an emerging trend of hate incidents against our community members. sadly within a few weeks, we got several hundred incident reports and that number continue to grow through the spring, summer and fall months. today we are at the point of 3800 incidents from all 50 states. and the district of columbia. we are using that data to help inform the public and policymakers, so we understand what is happening to our communities. we do believe it can help to

drive policy so that we have the solutions we need to prevent this from happening in the future. anchor: there is a conversation going on right now, whether cultural stereotypes, particularly when it comes to asian women, play a role in targets and attacks such as the one we saw in georgia. can you weigh in on that argument? >> it is clear there has been sexualized violence against asian-american women, and that was on display on tuesday in this hateful acts where the perpetrator sought out asian-american women at the three salons he visited. it is concerning for us that women are being particularly targeted.

68% of the incident reports have been made by asian-american women. we know that sadly they are bearing the brunt of this hate and violence. anchor: we thank you so much for speaking to us from los angeles. >> thank you. anchor: we have breaking news to bring you out of iceland, a volcano has erected in the country's southwest. it is situated in the middle of a peninsula between the capital reykjavik and the international airport. a no-fly zone has been set up with all flights in and out of the airport halted the a rupture and was expected and there have been tens of thousands of earthquakes in the past week. we will bring you any developments as we get them. still ahead on al jazeera. we look at some of the challenges facing tanzania's first female leader. samia hassan is now in power.

a judge refuses to delay the trial over the killing of george floyd, the black man whose death sparked a summer of racial justice protest speared -- protests. ♪ >> the threat has gone but it was dramatic. let me put this on the loop. you can see these streams of clouds.

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♪ ♪ anchor: hello again. the top stories this hour, high-level talks between china and u.s. have ended without a significant breakthrough. both sides hit at the others policies in front of the cameras, revealing tensions over human rights and economic power.

the u.s. president says asian americans have been attacked and scapegoated. joe biden and his vice president have been visiting the state of georgia, talking to community leaders. eight people were killed in a mass shooting on tuesday and six of the victims were women of asian descent. a volcano has erected in iceland. a no-fly zone has been set up with all flights in and out of the airport halted. the a russian had been -- eruption had been expected. the brazilian president is taking several of his country states to court to force them to overturn lockdown restrictions. bolsonaro says they don't have the authority to impose new rules even as infection rates hit record highs. more than 90,000 cases were registered thursday, the first time that barrier has been passed. bolsonaro says he wants people to have freedom but health leaders say the hospital system is collapsing in some areas. monica, despite also narrows

objections to lockdown measures, more and more -- despite a bolsonaro's objections to lockdown measures, more and more states are taking these actions. >> it is true, rio de janeiro have been resisting a long time and they just have closed down the beaches. that is significant here because there is a lot of informal economy, much of it are people who live off the beach and people going to the beach. they sell goods there. bolsonaro criticized rio for doing that. the problem brazil is facing right now, it already had a collapse of the system with very few beds available in intensive care units, and 18 states are now worried they are running out of the medicine used for intubation in these units. so there is that as well. doctors are working round-the-clock with more and

more people going into the hospital. it is across the country. that's why it is so worrisome. anchor: what is being said as to why the numbers keep climbing in rizzo -- in brazil? >> there are several reasons. one, the fact is there was carnival, which was canceled but people still gathered. they were not wearing masks and having clandestine parties. people have stopped caring about safety measures. it is also true that the president has not set an example himself. he does not usually wear a mask. he is not in favor of social distancing, or if he says he is, he does not practice it so the example does not come from above. there are mixed messages. it is a political struggle

between bolsonaro and the governors and the supreme court and it has become a big political tangle. if you are against bolsonaro, you will be in favor of lockdown. if you are in favor of also narrow, you will be against the lockdown. anchor: thank you for that update. finland has suspended use of the astrazeneca vaccine as it investigates two cases of led clots. earlier, other european countries resumed using the vaccine. on thursday, the european drug watchdog confirmed the jab is safe. reporter: out of storage and into people's arms. the french prime minister was amongst those receiving the oxford astrazeneca vaccine friday in an effort to restore national confidence in its use. although the french health authorities are currently only

recommending it for people age 55 and older. >> from the beginning i always thought the vaccine was safe, so maybe the people are in a panic but there are always side effects. reporter: germany and italy have also restarted their rollout of the oxford vaccine. the netherlands and portugal will follow next week and so too will spain although certain groups will be excluded. sweden and denmark said they needed a few more days to decide, but germany's health minister warned that vaccines alone will not be enough to prevent a third wave of the virus. many eu countries are extending restrictions or introducing new ones. germany says it is currently in talks with russia to secure supplies of its sputnik vaccine pending approval by the eu. >> the rising case numbers might mean we cannot take further steps in the weeks to come. we may even have to take steps backwards. reporter: in france, 16 regions

along with paris are going into a month-long lockdown this evening. schools will remain open but nonessential shops will close and travel will be restricted. in the french capital, more people in intensive care now than during the second wave in november. new covid variants have forced president macron to change his strategy. the strain first found in the you kate now accounts for 75% of french cases. -- first found in the u.k. now accounts for 75% of french cases. there are special vaccine hubs like this one. the government is on target to give every alt at least one dose by the end of july, despite a 4 million dose shortfall from a factory in india. it is enviable progress and the european union knows it. with the astrazeneca jab now

reapproved, the eu must move quickly to make up for lost time. anchor: papa new guinea is going to make a masks movement and restrict movement, part of what the government is calling aggressive interventions after coronavirus infections hit record highs this week. jreporter: a new temporary hospital ward for papua new guinea. the city has seen a spike in coronavirus cases in recent weeks, leaving some health workers warning what they call a covid tornado heading toward fragile medical facilities. there are only two public hospitals in the capital, one is shut down and the other with 70% of staff off work or isolated. that hospital's chief executive told local media that they thought they were prepared until the most recent surge. >> we are concerned how

overflowing the emergency department and the whole hospital is. they've had to create another ward for covid patients in addition to the one they had. the emergency department we are told is a full of covid patients and it is difficult to isolate these patients. reporter: the island nation managed to miss the worst of the pandemic last year, but hundreds of new cases have been reported in recent weeks. it has forced the government to take action, announcing that from next week, schools will close, ask wearing will be enforced and mass gatherings will be banned. gatherings like this one last friday, a state funeral for the former prime minister, a man often called the father of papua new guinea. some experts say they watched the scenes in horror, describing it as a super-spreader event with potential for disaster. the escalating outbreak has seen

a neighbors to ben. new zealand will send more protective equipment for frontline health workers and australia is pledging 8000 doses of the astrazeneca vaccine and calling on the european union to step up as well. >> it is not right for advanced countries in europe to deny the supply of vaccines to developing countries who need it desperately like papua new guinea. we will do it and we will pay the freight and for the product, so they will not be out of pocket, and we will be helping a country in desperate need of the vaccines. reporter: with only 55,000 tests conducted out of a population of almost 9 million, it is thought the true rates of infection are much higher. those on the ground say a rapid response is needed before the outbreak it's out of control. -- outbreak gets out of control. anchor: a u.s. judge has rejected an attempt to postpone

the murder trial of the police officer church in the death of george floyd. last week, the city of minneapolis agreed to pay $27 million to floyd's family. lawyers for derek chauvin had argued the settlement jeopardized his chance for a fair trial. video of derek chauvin kneeling on george floyd's neck sparked global protest last year. we have more from chicago. reporter: judge peter cahill is a no-nonsense guy who wants the trial to run on time and in the same place it started, minneapolis. he has denied the defense's request he delay the trial and move it elsewhere. the idea behind that is you would have a jury pool that would know less about the case and theoretically be less prejudiced, but as the judge said, everyone around the globe knows about this case and they are not likely to get a different jury pool by doing that. the case will go on as scheduled with opening arguments march 29. the judge also made one other

key decision, saying the arrest of george floyd and 2019, a separate arrest, would be admissible but only insofar as it affects his medical condition. the crux of the case is around how george floyd died. the prosecution is saying he died because for eight minutes and 46 seconds, officer derek chauvin kneeled on his neck, causing him to die, and the defense says it was a combination of factors, and according to an opt -- an autopsy, he was on a fentanyl and methamphetamines, and he had covid-19, and all of those contributed to his death. the prosecution is likely to put it in perspective by saying this man died under a police officers knee for the crime allegedly of trying to pass a $20 counterfeit bill. anchor: tanzania has its first female president. samia suluhu hassan has been

sworn and after the death of the president on wednesday. many are anxiously watching to see if hassan will take further action to stop the spread of coronavirus. reporter: samia suluhu hassan, tanzania's first female president, solemn as she made her first speech as leader. she says there is little to celebrate. >> it is time to console each other, show each other love, unity, and remember our humanity and patriotism and tanzanian valiance -- values. reporter: she is not new to politics, but the late president surprised many women he chose her as his running mate. some say her leading style is different. she is believed to be more

thoughtful and likely to listen to advice. many are hoping she will continue with development and social products and the zero tolerance for corruption, but change where the last president fell behind. >> i hope to see a more independent samia suluhu hassan, who was back to the foundations of her party, because that is critical. what we need in tanzania is predictability reporter: the country has been on the mend economically, and she faces a difficult test in restoring rights. she also needs to gain the confidence of tanzanian's been many will watch to see if she changes the strategy of the coronavirus pandemic. last year, it was controversially declared that the virus was defeated.

for now, the focus is the burial of a man who leaves behind a checkered and divisive legacy. he will buried next thursday in his rural home. anchor: mice are swarming a rural town in australia, where locals are describing it as the worst rodent plague in decades. videos show countless mice overrunning the town in the northwest of sydney. supermarkets are having to double up on food packaging. intensive battling is underway but people are hoping heavy rain will drown the mice in their bureaus. -- burrows. ♪ the headlines on al jazeera this hour. high-level talks between china and the u.s. have ended in

alaska without a significant breakthrough. both sides hit at the others policies in front of the cameras, revealing tensions over human rights and economic power. >> we certainly know and new going in that there are number of areas where we are fundamentally at odds, specifically china's actions with regard to hong kong, tibet, increasingly taiwan, as well as actions it is taking in cyberspace. it is no surprise that when we raise those issues clearly and directly, we get a defensive response anchor: the u.s. president says asian americans have been attacked and scapegoated. joe biden and his vice president have been visiting the state of georgia, talking to community leaders. eight people were killed in a mass shooting tuesday. six of the victims were women of asian descent. a volcano has erected in

iceland's southwest, in the middle of a peninsula between the capital recce of big and the international airport -- capital of reykjavik and the international airport. the erosion have been expected. there had been tens of thousands of small earthquakes in the past weeks. the brazilian president is taking several of his countries states to court to overturn lockdown restrictions. 90,000 new cases were registered on thursday, the first time the barrier has been passed. a u.s. judge has rejected an attempt to postpone the murder trial of a police officer charged in the death of george floyd. last week, the city of annapolis agreed to pay $27 million to floyd's family. lawyers for derek chauvin argued the publicized settlement jeopardized his chance of a fair trial. those are the headlines on al jazeera. women make changes coming up next. thank you for watching.

>> ultimately it will be sovereigns and governments buying this. >> in-depth analysis of the days global headlines. inside story on al jazeera. ♪ >> [speaking foreign language] ♪ >> let me show you something. this is one dollar 20 five

cents, and where i live, it will buy you a very small cup of coffee. millions of people across the world live on less than this per 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 extreme poverty, the spotlight has been turned on women. where they have the opportunity to be actively involved in local communities and economies, there are huge and if it's to the people around them. economist and researchers no investing in women pays off. it is not just the right thing to do, it is smart economics, because there is a ripple effect that spreads into the wider community. let's take a look at how this works on the ground. rural women own less than a quarter of all the land here, so you can imagine that an all-female coffee cooperative is a big deal. this woman is empowering women by training them to farm and helping them by land.

she is most definitely a woman making change. ♪ >> [speaking foreign language] ♪ >> [speaking foreign language]

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