anchor: this is al jazeera. ♪ anchor: hello. you're watching the news hour live from london. coming up in the next 60 minutes -- crowds rally in mali's capital in a show support for the military coup amid deepening international isolation. small groups have gathered in hong kong to mark the 32nd anniversary of the tiananmen square massacre in defiance of a

police ban on memory should -- commemorations. israeli forces fired stun grenades at activists in occupied east jerusalem's -- east jerusalem. and rough seas hamper salvage efforts off sri lanka's coast as crews scrambled to contain the country's worst ever man-made environmental disaster. reporter: this is after brazilian players threatened to not play at home. they warn that some games could be canceled. ♪ anchor: we begin with the crisis in mali as the country becomes increasingly isolated following its second coup in nine months. the west african nation is being

locked out of major international alliances as pressure grows for a return to civilian leadership. tensions escalated when a colonel who led the first coup in august of 2020 ousted the transitional president and prime minister last month. he declared himself interim president and was approved by the constitutional court that same week. the diplomatic reaction has been swift. the economic community of west african states suspended mali after holding an emergency summit. the african union followed suit and threaten the country with sanctions. on thursday, france declared it was suspending joint operations with malian forces. both countries have been fighting armed groups in the sahel region. the world bank's pausing payments to the country, adding more pressure on to the military. meanwhile, inside the country,

hundreds of supporters of the military coup have gathered in the capital. the rally was encouraged by the influential cleric, and it was the first such demonstration since the new president seized power last month. those scenes we were seeing with people rallying in support of the military leaders -- is that sort of opinion isolated or does it reflect a widespread view in the country echo -- country? reporter: it certainly is not the crowds the military junta wanted to see. this process was organized to mark the one-year anniversary of the n5 movement but also get the temperature of how the country were feeling towards the military junta. that's because they had asked the m5 to choose a prime minister and that name

has been floating around, the leader of the m5. this civil society movement that started a year ago's -- a year ago today sounds more like a political movement. we heard them address the sll crowd, hundreds of people gathered. he talked about the relationship between france and mali. he said he had a message from the president to international partners that mali will keep its commitment to those international partners, mentioning france, that it recognizes french efforts to intervene in 2012. much more of a conciliatory tone. this person has quite a pass -- past. he has been very critical of the algiers peace accords signed in 2015. he says it is given to much room to certain armed groups in the

north and says perhaps that the malian government should negotiate or discuss with armed groups in the center of the country, alluding to an al qaeda affiliate. that will not go down well with paris and paris has come out already imposing temporary sanctions with the halting of the military operation and cooperation with the malian army. anchor: how does all this affects the interim president's calculations? what is his next move now? reporter: he is quite interesting. since he has taken over power, he has never made a public statement. since the second coup, even less. he rarely shows up in public. we saw them a couple days ago. he swapped his usual military fatigue for a business suit trying to appease this idea that the military are in charge. make no mistake, he is a colonel

from the special forces and he has been taking quite drastic notably last week, when he detains both the prime minister and the president of transition. accusing them in a conversation with the chief negotiator with ecowas, accusing them that there was interference of a foreign power in domestic affairs. he is not -- has not pointed fingers to anyone but word on the street as he was talking about france. that's quite the bold move from someone who is at the helm of a military junta here in the capital so dependent on the french forces in the north and center of the country. the criticism towards the junta is that he is fighting for power and positions in the capital whilst other people, west african and french forces, put

their lives on the line to fight off armed groups in the north and center of the country. the message is clear from paris. it has a fallout effect on the morale of front-line troops in the north and center of the country. there will not be military cooperation until there is a return to civilian rule. there is pressure not just from the international community -- there is also pressure from within the army, within mali itself. in this latest protest and gathering, it was clear that there were not the numbers that they hope for to show up and support. malians want security, peace, and a return to civilian rule. it a say in the future of mali with free and fair elections. anchor: thanks so much. another headline. hundreds and hong kong have defied a ban on memorials marking china's deadly crackdown

on tiananmen square. authorities banned the vigil for a second straight year and arrested one of the organizers but this did not stop protesters from turning on flashlights and lighting candles in memory of those killed by china's brutal protection -- repression of pro-democracy activists. hundreds of people died in beijing in 1989. friday's vigils and hong kong were nowhere near as long -- as large as they were before the national security law was imposed on the city. reporter: sealed off and surrounded by police. victoria park was once the assembly point for the annual candlelight vigil in hong kong to mark the tiananmen square massacre. 42nd year in a row the gathering was banned. tesh for a second year in a row, the gathering was banned. >> they are using the social

media accounts to publicize a public meeting that happened, prohibited by the police. reporter: the arrests did not deter students. >> we want to educate students of the history of our university. we want to commemorate the people who sacrificed in the june 4 incident and we want to defend the truth of the incident. we believe that the university will judge that today's event is totally legal and legitimate. reporter: the annual vigil has attracted thousands of supporter to remember those who died fighting for democracy in tiananmen square. the rally was the only one held on chinese soil to remember a chapter of chinese history the chinese government would prefer to forget. critics say the authorities are using the pandemic as an excuse to ban the event and silence pro-democracy voices.

>> many people want to commemorate the dead. some people are saying this ban could be an internal band. it will never come back. reporter: this week, the museum dedicated to the crackdown on pro-democracy process was forced to shut down just three days after reopen. government inspectors are investigating whether it holds a license to host public exhibitions. >> we are very surprised and totally disagree. we cannot rule out that there is political motive. reporter: china's introduction of its international -- of its national security law has put an end to street demonstrations and proved to be a deterrent. if convicted, activists face heavy penalties and a life sentence. commemorations are strictly band

on the mainland. hong kong's semiautonomous status under the 1997 handover agreement between china and the u.k. permitted freedom of speech and civil liberties under a one country, two systems deal. some academics say restrictions on those rights now apply in hong kong. >> ever since the haute -- ever since the protests in 2019, which the hong kong government failed to manage properly, the communist party has taken over here. we have the national security law and under the national security law there is a new, true and regime in force. reporter: with more than 100 pro-democracy figures arrested under the national security law, the city's voice of opposition is on the decline. sarah clark, al jazeera hong kong. anchor: let speak to steve, the director of the china institute here in london. were you surprised by some of those scenes in hong kong?

the level of perseverance in light of the new security law? guest: i was slightly surprised that hundreds of people were still showing up. knowing full well the state could potentially -- they could potentially face severe consequences. very admirable, brave people they are. anchor: do you think we are likely to see anymore protests in the coming weeks or months? could this be a trigger or some sort of renewal of unrest against the authorities? or is that just too intimidating? guest: it is much too intimidating now. the remembrance of the tiananmen massacre is something the people and hong kong have been doing for 32 years. it is largely a remembrance of what happened in beijing in 1989. there have not managed to be

anti-chinese government or anti-chinese calmness party. but with the passing of the new security law, a new regime has been put in place for the administration of justice and is a very harsh regime. anchor: i understand what you say, that it is different in nature from the protests. not necessarily anti-china, but it does evoke sentiment in terms of a deteriorating human rights situation in hong kong. reporter: -- guest: it does. to the chinese government, i think more important of a problem with the remembrance of the tiananmen square massacre was that the chinese government presents a completely different version of history and it really does not want that version of history to be challenged. facts have nothing to do that. anchor: how do they prevent that from happening? guest: in china, practically the

overwhelming majority of people under the age of 40 do not know what happened in beijing in 1989. they could do that to 1.4 billion people. so they believe they can do that to 7 million people in hong kong. anchor: tiananmen square happened in 1989. it is marked on a regular basis. you help us understand -- could you help us understand how it affected the psyche of many people and why they're such a motion around it? why people refused to never forget what to place decca guest: in 1980 nine, when the protests started in beijing, people in hong kong did not pay much attention to it. very quickly, they realized it was something really magnificent happening in beijing.

they saw in that. that the future of hong kong may well be tied to a democracy movement in china. that a democratic china will respect human rights in hong kong. so when the protests were crushed in beijing. people in hong kong felt a kind of survivor's guilt. for them it was very important to remember those who had fallen. anchor: what is the difference in the way that tiananmen square is marked or commemorated on the mainland in comparison to hong kong? guest: the contrast is heaven and earth. in hong kong for 32 years you would have something like tens of people coming out every year, sometimes higher, sometimes lower. in china, nothing. total blank. as if it never happened.

at all. anchor: thank you. steve tsang, we appreciate it. guest: you're welcome. anchor: you're watching the news hour live from london. much more head. vladimir putin invites the world's russia and says the countries happy to help with vaccine shortages for an undisclosed fee. getting ready for combat. the young protesters in myanmar who are in training to take on the military rulers. andra a russian tennis player is arrested at the french open for allegedly match fixing. ♪ anchor: israeli forces have fired stun grenades at palestinians running a marathon in solidarity with residents in east jerusalem. this neighborhood is at the heart of recent tensions where

juice settlers -- jewish settlers are trying to evict palestinians. this sparked a war killing more than 250 palestinians and 12 people in israel. reporter: the day started cheerfully, i would say. you had these marathon runners who gathered. they chose a row all the way to a sitting tent that has been there for a while for solitary's who live on the street who are facing forced eviction. we follow them on their route. nothing was happening. young people, teenagers, all wearing white t-shirts with the number 7850 on the back, which is according to them the number of palestinians in occupied easter's alone facing the threat of eviction. they ran in the small alley way down there. there was a group of israeli forces waiting for them.

what we saws that they were still standing, singing, being cheerful. all of a sudden israeli forces moved in, fired stun grenades to disperse them. it has been ongoing since then. they come back and then israeli forces again throw stun grenades. the question i still do not have any answer for is why. there really was nothing happening and these young people were just standing there being cheerful and singing and happy they did a marathon. anchor: elsewhere at least 15 palestinians have been injured in anti-settlement protests in the occupied west bank. more on this now. reporter: we have been seeing ambulances coming here carrying the injured and taking them to hospitals. this is a hilly area. it is not easy for ambulances to make it through. which is why we see palestinians take those injured and carry them in their own cars. the other is a field hospital

established here to -- though there is a field hospital established here to teach -- to treat those who suffered from tear gas inhalation. this is a site where many palestinians have been coming for the past month or so. since this illegal israeli outpost was established. we have been talking with palestinian officials who say that although these outposts are not authorized by the israeli government, they still receive services from them such as electricity, water, and security. >> the israeli army, which confiscates this land for military purposes, negated international laws and even its own laws, which says once the purpose of confiscation ends the land, it should return to its original status. reporter: since the original -- since the beginning of this year, several outposts have been established in different areas of the occupied west bank. those are the ones that stayed. others were dismantled or even

burned down by palestinians. the sum of the illegal settlements -- though some of the illegal settlements started out as outposts that were later authorized and recognized by the israeli government. under international law, all settlements are considered illegal. palestinians say that settlement expansion has been on the rise and with it, comes more settler attacks. to give you an idea, since the beginning of january, more than 2000 israeli settlement units were announced and that is why palestinians are saying they have to take out to the streets in protest because they do not want the land to be taken away from them. anchor: egypt has sent heavy machinery to gaza to clear the destruction caused by 11 days of israeli bombardment there. it came to the entry point between gaza and egypt.

thousands of buildings are destroyed or unusable. let's speak to a professor of modern arab studies at columbia university. he joins us by skype from chicago. as you're seeing from those images, tensions are remaining high in and around east jerusalem with the intensity for -- with the intent to forcibly displaced palestinians. there might be a cease-fire now to -- between hamas and israel, but what do you -- what happens if we do not see any attempt whatsoever to address the issues at the heart of this conflict? guest: i think that even if a new government is formed, given what we know about its composition, we can expect no major change for palestinians. i think that there is no possibility of a government headed by bennet and including

lapid that will do anything to end the occupation or do anything to halt the continued expansion of settlements. you have mentioned 2000 tenders for units of settlement. there will be no lessening of this heavy-handed, brutal repression. in the occupied territories that has been going on for 54 years this month. anchor: we saw a great deal happen in israel and the occupied territories in a short space of to -- space of time. the evictions in east jerusalem, then the gaza war, than the marches and protests in the west bank, and the violence inside israel's mixed cities. what rethinking is use all of this? is it just another break -- what were you thinking when you saw all of this? is it just another brief spasm or some kind of new phase? guest: i think this marks something new. the kind of unity displayed across multiple palestinian

communities, despite the visions the occupying authority has impose on them -- that is to say the general strike in east jerusalem, west bank, how scenes in lebanon, and jordan, is the first time since 1930 six the palestinians have had a first -- have had a unified general strike. the fact that you have what looks like a third intifada combined with the unrest you mentioned inside israel -- they are protesting in support of their brothers and sisters in gaza and in jerusalem. it is an indication of a new level of unity at the popular level, at least. in spite of the divisions imposed by the occupying authority and the divisions between palestinian factions. i see this as something quite different to earlier spasms of violence, which in each case could just be described as -- that is just hamas and israel.

this is much bigger than that, i think. and much more significant. give a new generation of young people who seem to be operating on the same wavelength across palestine and the diaspora. anchor: is that likely to change anything for the palestinians in the west bank, inside israel, even in gaza in terms of equality and human rights? can it be harnessed effectively in some way? guest: that's a fence on the change of leadership, which it is certainly -- that will depend on any change of leadership, which it is certainly time for that to happen. israel's assumption that the occupation is painless and costless has once again proven to be a false illusion. as was the case during the first intifada. the israelis fell asleep and assume they had a benign occupation and they could treat the palestinians as they pleased. that was disproven by the first

intifada and it has been disproven in a more disturbing way in the last several weeks because it was not just roussell and or the west bank or palestinians in israel. it was not just palace indians in gaza. it was palestinians everywhere. -- it was not just palestinians in gaza. it was palestinians everywhere. this is at the front of the burner of the political agenda. whether this new government deals with it or not. and whether it leads to any change in the short-term for the palestinians, i do not think we should necessarily expect that. but it portends change in palestinian politics and in the way international public opinion looks at this issue. there has been a shift in the mainstream media in the u.s. and elsewhere and how this conflict is regarded. as a result of this level of palestinian unity across all sectors of palestinian society. anchor: but is there a role for

u.s. diplomacy without deep engagement? guest: the short answer is now. absolute li na. the u.s. is not changed its fundamental policy -- absolutely not. the u.s. has not changed its fundamental policy, supporting israeli arms and finance in the occupation. the u.s. provides the weapons israel uses to repress the palestinians under occupation. the u.s. provides the funding through tax-free 501(c)(3) charitable organizations for the settlements themselves. it is capital from the u.s. flowing tax-free to israel that finances this huge infrastructure project. it is more than colonization. it is the extension of israel into the occupied territories of east jerusalem and the west bank. the u.s. government makes those things possible. american policing about a two-state solution or the

secretary of state meeting with a few representatives this morning is worthless when it is not combined with actual action to rollback everything that israel has done systematically to prevent ace two-state solution since 19 -- to prevent a two state solution since 1967. there almost three quarters of a million of jews living in occupied territories. unless that changes, the talk of a two state solution or american involvement is frankly meaningless. actions speak much louder than words. i think the new israeli government should be held to the same standard. it is not important what this or that minister says. it is important if israel acts differently vis-a-vis the palestinians. i do not think we can expect that with what we expect to be a new government next week. anchor: thank you for joining us on the newshour. guest: thanks for having me.

anchor: rough seas are hampering efforts to slow down an environmental disaster unfolding off sri lanka's coast. the massive ship containing chemicals is no longer on fire but it is sinking. we have this report from the area where the vessel ran aground last month. reporter: i am basically around a kilometer and a half away from the rack. -- wreck. what you can see just over there, what we can show you is a mangled wreck. obviously the remnant of that infernal -- inferno which eight through the 1000 -- which ate through the 1086 containers on the vessel. this is the salvage vessel, the tugboats, the coast guard, as well as their indian counterparts. just over my other shoulder -- a

navy boat. they are ensuring that no one gets too close. we have been warned ourselves that some of those containers that fell overboard, tumbled overboard, or essentially are mangled wreckage of containers, are on the ocean for their. cables. it is quite dangerous. they told us to maintain a safe distance from that wreckage. so far the wreck seems to be holding steady. it does not have anywhere to go quite frankly. one part of the stern is supposed to have dug into the sand and mud, but this is what is such a dilemma for everyone concerned. how do you get on board? how do you determine what the situation is? whether the structure and -- the

structure is weakened? you can see how unsteady it is on the ocean so even for experts, where they have to dive to the base of the vessel, where they have to look at the structure, they have to deal with these challenges. anchor: the newshour live from london still had on the program. donald trump's banned from facebook for two yea after violating the social networks rules in the wake of the capitol hill riots. plus the truth is out there. we'll have details about mysterious objects cited over the u.s. airspace said to be revealed in a new report. and the owners of manchester united agreed to give their disgruntled supporters and ownership stake. ♪ >> hello there, we have no

shortage of qui -- if he across europe. there is a fair bit of crowd around. we've cloudy bits and pieces coming in across france. we saw heavy and thunder he showers causing some flooding into parts of france pushing to the southeastern corner of england. a bit of wet weather into germany pushing a little further east where some of these areas of pressure have also got some cooler and wet weather coming in. peg back in touch. 21 celsius in bucharest. not too bad. heavy showers there. pushing towards central parts of europe through the czech republic into austria. dry weather comes back and behind across much of england and wales. one or two showers there creeping into northern ireland pushing into western parts of scotland. notice very wet weather to around that central and eastern part of spain. the showers will make their way east.

we have one or two showers just clinging on across northern parts of africa. some heavy showers now gathering nicely across much of west africa. ♪ >> afghanistan's war economy gives way to foreign security as the u.s. withdraws troops. how the congo set to lose billions in a deal with an israeli billionaire. plus the oil giants losing to environmentalists and investors. counting the costs on al jazeera. japan is building a massive seawall to protect against tsunamis. we investigate if it can contain or if the wall will expose communities to greater danger. on al jazeera. >> we tell the untold stories. we speak when others do not.

we cover all sides. no matter where it takes us. we are fearless. impartial. we tell your stories. we are your voice. ur news, your netwk, al jazeera. ♪ ♪ anchor: welcome back. your with the newshour live from london. a look at the main stories now. supporters of mali's coup have been rallying in the capital but the country's isolation has been deepening as the international community calls for a return to civilian leadership. the world bank has said it is pausing payments to mali and

france announced it is suspending military support. israeli police have fired some grenades at palestinians running a marathon in solidarity with the residence of east jerusalem. the neighborhood is at the heart of recent tensions where jewish settlers are trying to forcibly expel palestinian residents. hundreds in hong kong had defied a ban on memorials marking china's deadly crackdown in tiananmen square. witnesses in london have been giving testimony on alleged human rights abuses against china's uighur muslims. the hearing is taking place over four days and what has been called a people's tribunal. it is not backed by the british government and has no power to sanction china but organizers hope it will spark an international movement to stop more abuses from taking place. researchers say around a million people have been confined in reeducation camps in china's xinjiang region.

authorities are accused of torturing and raping the inmates. china has denied the allegations. >> the woman who faced rape and sexual assault, it was a regular thing. >> [speaking foreign language] >> the police was given unlimited power from beijing. therefore, they can do whatever they want. >> [speaking foreign language] >> only the room that was called lack room has no camera. >> [speaking foreign language] >> because the room was designed to torture and to make the detainees suffer. that is the purpose of that room.

anchor: now more people are taking up arms in myanmar performance after a military coup and violent pride -- violent crackdown on protesters. they're heading towards the training camps in the jungle. we report. reporter: some of myanmar's young protesters have given up on nonviolent resistance and are preparing for war. across rivers and obstacle courses they are training for combat. and learning the basics, including how to fire a weapon. 23-year-old minh, which is not his real name, says he had never heard a gunshot before. he says he now knows the sound which once friend tim will be the sound that ends the military rule. >> we cannot except this dictatorship which started in 1960 two to continue for next generation. we want to element for our generation and our country. our country is underdeveloped because of this military

dictatorship but this does not mean we are stupid. that is why we will end this military dichter to reship. we have decided to give our lives and bounds to this to finish them off. reporter: this is one of the camps run by the ethnic rebel group somewhere along the thai border. it is unclear how many young peopleave made the journey to rebel held areas in the jungle. asked why she is training here, she had this to say. >> i wanted to encourage the people who are still protesting against the military not to give up and to keep this revolution going. we will help you in some way. please keep your strength until we win this revolution. reporter: the army regularly carries out airstrikes and ground attacks in remote jungles, but this rebel group is supporting another fighting force. self-defense forces under the opposition national unity government.

they graduated their first class of recruits last week. [chanting] myanmar's army has killed at least 845 people since february's military to. -- military coup. gun and bomb attacks on security forces are becoming more frequent. the u.n. warns these ingredients could lead to a civil war of unprecedented scale. enter chapelle, al jazeera. anchor: the government took to twitter to announce the suspension. it accuses twitter of undermining nigeria's corporate existence. the suspension comes two days after the removal of a post from the president. twitter flagged him for piloting abusive behavior policy. meanwhile, facebook has suspended former u.s. president donald trump for two years, saying his actions have violated company rules.

the move follows a recordation from the independent facebook oversight board that his account not be reinstated. he has been blocked from facebook and instagram since january over posts in which she appears to praise cash in which he appears to praise writers. what does this mean for donald trump? reporter: while it means essentially that he has no social platform whatsoever to take part or attempt to steer the course of the midterm elections next year. however, facebook does say that this ban will remain in place for a. of two years from when it was originally instituted, january 7. but it adds a caveat, saying it will review the situation at the time and goes on to say that should there be repeated transgressions by donald trump, they -- the ban could become permanent. so it is significant facebook

now announces this also at the same time as announcing it is no longer giving special exemption to speech by politicians, which it had done in the past and which is now being removed on the basis of advice from its oversight editorial board, which it runs. one must remove or that former president trump is banned completely from twitter so he has no social clef are much over. the president has responded to the length of the ban, saying it is an insult to his more than 70 million followers and interestingly enough, also says makes mentions of what he called the presidential election that led to the ban in the first place. anchor: thank you. in washington, mike hanna. the fbi's director has compared a recent surgeon cybercrime to the 9/11 attacks. the justice department announced

it will treat ransomware attack's like terrorism. more from washington. reporter: recent ransomware attack's in the u.s. have targeted food distribution, target did -- targeted oil pipelines. the company and that pack paid hackers $4.4 million to regain control of its systems. the fbi director christopher wray says they are investigating hundred similar types of attacks. he said this, that the u.s. is facing the same sort of intelligence challenges it faced after 9/11 in trying to discover and disrupt these possible attacks. he said americans are not aware of just how this impacts everyday life when they cannot fill up their car or cannot buy hamburger. he says most of these cases have tripled in the last year and a lot of them can be traced back to russia. joe biden is due to sit down with vladimir putin later this month and a one to one face to face summit.

you can guarantee cyber attacks will be close to the top of the agenda. anchor: villages in indonesia are saying they found a stranded boat carrying 81 rohingya muslims refugees. they left the camp in bangladesh after suffering engine troubles. nine people died during the trip. they were refused entry in malaysia to -- due to coronavirus restrictions. thousands have fled violence in myanmar over the last four years. denmark's decision to open a refugee center in a foreign country has angered human rights groups and the eu. they will process asylum claims in an unspecified nation outside europe which will also allow them to transfer refugees there. the u.n. refugee agency says politicians are trying to abandon response ability towards asylum-seekers. denmark has some of your strength test immigration laws. -- europe's toughest immigration laws.

these special envoy to afghanistan is made his first visit to the country. female students who survived a bomb attack to their schools last month. al jazeera got exclusive access to the meeting. >> these talks, or similar talks in another venue, and i'm not suggesting there should be a change of venue, because i think that qatar has played and is playing a very prominent and constructive role. they have to continue. they have to succeed. if they do not, we do not see any hope in the near future. we see violence will continue. the suffering will continue. which is not suffering on one side only. it is suffering across afghanistan. so while i agree with the assessment that there is not

been substantial -- or there is not been substantial progress in these talks, we now see part of the team of republic returning to doha. we hope to hear from the taliban in what they see the next steps forward. it will be more important over the months to come. many afghans fear the further increase in violence after the withdrawal of the troops, that there are some elements to hold onto, so even if violence escalates there will be parallel talks continuing. anchor: other stories. vladimir putin is promoting the country as a top destination for vaccine tourism. he made the proposal at the annual st. petersburg international economic forum. russia has approved for covid-19 jabs for domestic use. the most popular, sputnik v, is registered in 65 countries now. he will be happy to meet global demand for an undisclosed fee.

>> we have been very swift in deploying vaccines in russia but we have not forgotten our friends and we will help them to. in russia every citizen has full access to vaccines. many immigrants come to russia and workers involved in trade. we not only are fully supplying our own needs but also administering to those people who come to russia. anchor: with the newshour live from london, will have sport in just a minute. the l.a. lakers title defenses over as they crashed out of the nba playoffs. that story and more coming up shortly. ♪ ♪

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anchor: the real-life x-files could be made public soon. u.s. intelligence agencies have reportedly delivered their report on whether what we used to call ufos actually exist. their conclusion -- maybe. it will go to congress before parts of the document are released. rosalyn jordan has more now on the big reveal. reporter: the idea of ufos, contact from other planets, has excited, entertained, and even scared people for millennia. but there have been sightings of what have been called unidentified aerial phenomena, or uap's for decades. now, according to the york ratimes, u.s. intelligence agencies do not know for sure if the uap's are real. luis elizondo ran the program researching uap's. >> our government has stated for the record that ufos or uap's

are very real. in fact, we have established a task force to study them. you do not establish a task force to study something that is not there. reporter: u.s. navy has declassified videos captured by navy pilots. they show objects traveling at very high speeds. they are shaped like pyramids or are suddenly plunging in the water. >> it just sped up to 46 knots. reporter: from july between 19, this leaked unidentified flying object from san diego swarming a u.s. naval ship. there've been a lot more sightings than those made public. congress will find out what the pentagon knows and what has been done with the information. it will get to report, one that will be made public, and the other is classified, only for pot -- only for congress. special agent will go into

overdrive. >> there some minutes -- there is something that shows up on these cameras and because the navy does not know what this is, people jump to the conclusion, oak, it is aliens. there is no reason to think it is aliens. a could be all sorts of things. reporter: the military released a report more than 50 years ago all about ufos. it concluded that 80 to 90% of sightings were ordinary events which just seemed extraordinary but could be explained. the remainder, though, were mysterious, with no obvious answer. >> if we can all agree that there is something flying around and controlled u.s. airspace that is not ours, and there's not a whole lot of -- lot we can do about it, that's a potential threat. reporter: the bigger concern for the u.s. military is the threat comes from some rivals here on earth. possibly rush hour china. that someone has developed advanced technology that could put national security at risk.

and there will be things that cannot be easily explained. and that means speculation will continue to grow about what really is out there. >> they were going against the wind, a hundred 20 knots to the west. reporter: roslyn jordan, al jazeera washington. anchor: sport now with sarah. reporter: thanks very much. the sting of this event has become a contentious point with coronavis cases surging across south america. brazil is set to host this tournament now after argentina and colombia were removed as cohosts. but the brazilian team has been debating whether they will even play on home soil. the mayor of rio de janeiro has warned he will cancel games if there is a rapid spike in covid 19 cases. for more on all of this, let's go to the argentinian capital buenos aires. what do we know about these discussions by the brazilian players? reporter: we do know, sarah,

that each day as we get closer and closer tohe june the 13th kickoff, the tournament is an increasing doubt. there is more confusion. the players and cells are saying they will not speak publicly until they have played two qualifying games, one today and one on tuesday. then they will speak. it has been widely reported in the brazilian media that many of them, especially the european-based players, are not happy about playing the coca america tournament because of the situation in brazil. it is one of the worst in the world. 60,000 new cases reported every day. for it 70,000 people dead. more than 60 million people infected. the hospitals around the country overloaded. this tournament will be played in four cities in distant corners of brazil. a fair amount of travel involved. 28 games between those 10 teams. those players are not happy.

they talking amongst themselves and to the south american football confederation and their own bosses. in the meantime, concentrating on those world cup games. but we'll hear more from them in the next few games. -- days. anchor: brazil is held it before so they can do this. the president also said they will make sure there are strict covid-19 measures. people are not quite happy about this, either. there have been protests. is there a chance the tournament is likely to get canceled altogether? reporter: well, i think of that pressure to cancel the tournament is growing. you mentioned the mayor of rio de janeiro. he has said that the spike -- if there is a spike in infections, he has the authority to cancel some of those games being played into stadiums in rio, so if that happens, then again, it throws tournament into further confusion.

also people are protesting on the streets. the opposition workers party has taken out a legal case to try to have the games suspended on health grounds. and you have regional governors also saying they are not happy about the conditions and also players from some of the other countries, notably argentine players, uruguayan players saying they are not happy about the conditions, either. so not just the brazilian players. players who are from many other competing teams. and other politicians. saying they are not happy about the situation. >> well, circuits winning 20 president has acknowledged months olympics could have to be canceled but only if athletes decide not to come to japan in the first place. countries study -- is struggling to contain the coronavirus and

tokyo's under a state of emergency. >> if it is a question of whether the games will be held, even if the guests and athletes will not come, naturally that will not be the case. situation is changing day today and we need to monitor the situation to make an appropriate decision regarding cancellation. it is our mission to make preparations in order to be 100% able to hold the games. anchor: the 2016 olympic 100 meter hurdles champion set to miss tokyo after she was given a five-year band for nancy w -- four anti-doping. she missed out on three competition tests. she denies testing positive for any substances since then. she can still compete in japan after appeals to the court of arbitration for the spore is successful. a russian tennis player has beek released from police custody after being arrested in paris on

suspicion of match fixing in last year's french open. the allegations reportedly relate to a first-round doubles match this 26-year-old lost. investigators have been looking into unusually high betting activity in the match. the prosecution offices she is not been formally charged but remains under investigation. she denies the allegation. australia is one step closer to equaling the -- serena williams is one step closer to the grand slam record. she is the highest-ranking player left in her half of the draw. she's looking to win a 24th grand slam title and said she's needed to dig deep to come back from for one down in the second set. >> today particular, this whole week thus far, i just needed a win. i needed to win tough matches. i needed to win sets.

needed to win being down. i needed to find me. and know who i am. nobody else is serene out here. it's me. it's pretty cool. anchor: and a straight set to reach the third round of the french open. the spaniard was up against richard gasquet and and it was the first night match. moving onto the nba, nba champions the l.a. lakers have been knocked out of the playoffs. the phoenix suns ran out to a 30 point lead by halftime. they eventually won game six of the series 113-100. is the first time in 18 years that lebron james has not advanced past the first-round of the playoffs. manchester united's owners say they will give the club's disgruntled fans and ownership stake in the club. fans have been increasingly

unhappy with the actions of their owners especially after they signed the club to the now defunct european super league. that has the same voting rights as the owners. that's all your support for me. back to you, london. anchor: thanks so much, sarah. just one more story to bring you. air passengers could be traveling faster than the speed of sound again before the end of the decade. united airlines says it will purchase 15 jets from a company called buma supersonic which says it's planes can fly twice the speeds of today's major aircraft. that will cut travel time from new york to london to 3.5 hours. united airlines plans to launch the service in 2029. the high-speed travel market failed to recover from an accident involving air france's concorde in the year 2000 which killed 113 people. that's it for the newshour. i will be back in a couple of

minutes with more of the day's news. i will see you shortly. ♪

tragedy strikes everyone. it's what you do with it that determines where you're gonna end up the rest of your life. natasha del toro: as a teenager, rodney stotts led a life on the streets. ♪ now stotts is a master falconer who rescues and trains wild birds of prey. rodney: the best classroom in the world is nature. this is my passion, this is what saved me. del toro: "the falconer," on america reframed. ♪ america reframed was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting, the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, wyncote foundation, the national endowment for the arts,