sri lanka. families like the vitter thing has tried not. enough amanda's al-jazeera colombo. let's now get the thoughts of our guests joining us in. sri lanka. dr kahana for musher one can ambassador to the united nations in colombo get one going to locate research oxford university and to london vindhya. of the university college london a warm welcome to you all miss a pulitzer how crucial of these elections why should it be considered a turning point in sri lankan history i think it's a very important election. you know what is happening in this country. every. history between the president and prime minister the country not forward at all and then having eliminated terror it's 2009 it's already mentioned we had one of the worst terrorist attacks. on easter sunday in 2090. 8 you're not economy no. one of the all of them so it's very very important. that these elections will produce. that really big free country out there all the more as it gets orderly and then the majority of the people expec

sri lanka dr kahana former sri lanka to the united nations in colombo. research oxford university and the london vindhya. of the university college london a warm welcome to you all. missa polluter how crucial of these elections why should it be considered a turning point in sri lankan history i think it's a very important election. you know what is happening in this country over the last 5 years every total destroying between the president and the prime minister the country not forward at all and then having eliminated terror it's 2009 already. we had one of the worst terrorist attacks. on easter sunday in 2098 you're not economy no. one of the all 'd. so it's very very important. that these elections produce. that real big free country out all the more as it gets orderly and then the majority of the people expect that expect. ministration that taking over. after tomorrow to be capable able to eat me piece multiple check it's very important ok and i believe that it is so important that the course we're going towards about the regional implications of the

politically sri lanka has been caught on several fronts, india, china, what is sri lanka looking for indian ocean has seen over the last two years china and india, and other major powers including the us and japan try to gauge the country and increase their cooperation. sri lanka is looking to increase their cooperation and gain in terms of its own infrastructure development needs, economic needs within the country, and therefore engaging widely with each of the major powers that are also seeking to gain influence in sri lanka. therefore we have seen, for example, china india and the us all engage with sri lanka and provide assistance during the pandemic, and china has provided over 100,000 masks for sri lanka for the safe conduct of these elections. research associate for the international... will be across the result of that election and bring you all of the news as it develops here on bbc news. we wa nt we want to this north and south east divide on tuesday it was the case in many parts of england and plenty of dry bright warm and sunny weather. very different story from the north

sri lanka's rajapakse are brothers when a landslide victory in parliamentary elections that could see them seal their 'd political dynasty. well you're watching al-jazeera live from doha with me fully back he will also coming up protests in lebanon over a huge explosion that killed at least 149 people as french president emanuel might call calls for a new political system. saudi arabia's crown prince is being sued by a former intelligence officer he says mom had been solemn and sent a hit squad to canada to kill him and donald trump signs an executive order banning americans from carrying out transactions with the chinese owners of to opt in or out. of. the governing body of sri lanka's president to go to buy a rajapaksa has won a landslide victory in parliament tree elections and along with its allies it has secured a 2 thirds majority giving the president the power to unite sweeping changes to the constitution the issue lanka people's front is led by the rajapaksa brothers go to buy and mahinda who serve as president and prime minister the result now looks certain to strengthen thei

minister celebrations broke out on the streets in the island nation as there are departures is sri lanka people's party secured 59 percent of the vote with the support of several minority parties the party will be able to reach a 2 thirds majority of $150.00 seats in parliament and as we had to force it on tuesday this is a crucial number because the party can now bring changes to the constitution that would read greater powers for the president. and joining me now from melbourne is a month he's a researcher at australia's c.q. university a month we were talking about this just days back and you had called the election a choice between military oriented public administration and civil freedoms so what has she long chosen. well i think obviously. the former. but i think the choice is not entirely unexpected why do you say that is that because sri lanka has appears to have gone down the route of let's make my daughter terrorism. well. and that 3 lankans. for our security oriented administration has been quite clear in the last one and a half years or so. they eased attacks last year i thin

sri lanka's rajapaksa brothers win a landslide victory in palm entry elections that could see them sealed a political dynasty. you're watching al-jazeera live from doha with me fully back to people also ahead protests in lebanon all very huge explosion that killed at least 149 people as french president emmanuel mccord calls for a new political system saudi arabia's crown prince is being sued by a former intelligence officer he says mohammed bin solomon sent a hit squad to canada to kill him and planes that government corruption has marred south africa's coronavirus responds. to. thank you very much for joining us the governing party of sri lanka's president go to by our rajapaksa has won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections and along with your high security 2 thirds majority giving the president the power to enact sweeping changes to the constitution the sri lanka people strident is led by the rajapaksa brothers go to by and my hand will serve as president and prime minister the result now looks certain to strengthen their dynastic rule but the brothers have been polarizing fig

but what does that mean for democracy in general in sri lanka i mean effectively should not that doesn't really have a very powerful opposition hours into it. well if you look at the opposition i think the opposition is in in for the really hard regrouping if this really i'm going to opposition has been done we needed by one count right here i'm saying that since $994.00 that is a long time and this time around he lost this seat so the opposition and the main opposition parties will probably have to regroup and then think about mounting. possible challenge that's going to take some time and on top of that are relieved even there for the time being but thank you so much for joining us. thank you. and that's it for today be sure to check out other stories on beat up the dot com. on facebook i'm straight to believe in i would some other images also from sri lanka where one day before the election. that i heard i 1st of all was said approach of this time without specter because of the us from there right thank you for watching and have a good weekend with you back on monday. combating the co

thank you very much for joining as the governing party of sri lanka's president go to buy a rajapaksa has won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections and along with its allies it has security 2 thirds majority giving the president the power to enact sweeping changes to the constitution the sri lankans people's front is led by rajapaksa brothers the rajapaksa grab brothers. who service president and prime minister respectively the results now look certain to strengthen their dynastic rule but it's raising fears of weakening government institutions such as independent commissions for police and public services that speak to our correspondent in colombo me now fernandez me now so a super majority for the rajapaksa brothers how are they able to achieve this break down the numbers for us focused. basically it's a reflection of the sort of mindset of the show long can people i mean in the sort of immediate times what has been at the top of people's minds obviously is the coronavirus pandemic and what they see as the very successful handling of that pandemic which has largely shielded

well polls have opened in sri lanka to elect a new parliament president got up by a rajapaksa sponte seeking 2 thirds majority so it can make changes to the constitution the vote was postponed twice because of the coronavirus well nelson and his joins us live now from colombo so this is south asia's 1st election since the pandemic why does this election matter and what have been the main issues for voters. busy that run for sri lanka in terms of its journey forward we are sort of 10 years post conflict but there are still a lot of things that need to be sorted out we've had changes of government but in terms of a direction for this country whether it be the economics whether it be post conflict issues there still a lot to happen so here we see a century that rajapaksa brothers going into this election asking for control of parliament to bring in the changes to bring in the constitution let's take a look at some of the views we've heard. moving the rethink has. to be in september 2008 was one of 11 young men kidnapped in the wrentham a group within the sri lankan navy including its hi

the governing party in sri lanka has won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections the sri lanka people's front is led by the rajapaksa brothers got a bar of mahinda who served as president and prime minister. david 1000 infections of purse 2000000 in india with more than 62000 cases reported in the last 24 hours it has the most highest number of infections after the us and herself. china has accused the us of political manipulation to the us president issued an executive order banning business with 2 tech giants it blocks any transaction with the parent company of social media to talk and the owner of messenger we chat the sweeping restrictions come into effect in 45 days but talkers threaten legal action trump says the chinese are gathering users data for beijing and pose a threat to u.s. national security may have aren't you the u.s. taking national security as an excuse frequently abuses national power and unreasonably suppresses companies of other countries this is an outright hedge a monic act china is firmly opposed to it jim anderson is the chief executive of social flow

he's promising a more inclusive sri lanka.majority in the current election could lead to an authoritarian rule. this comes at a time where we have seen increasing attacks on civil society, on media, on lawyers. so, the space for dissent is shrinking. and the question is whether it will shrink further post—elections? and the signs so far are that it is likely to happen that way. sri lanka's economy has been battered by the covid—19 crisis. many sri lankans feel only a strong government will be able to revive the economy. anbarasan ethirajan, bbc news. greece has always been a popular summer holiday spot for tourists around the world. and this year it's allowing recreational diving at archaeological sites for the first time. ishleen kaur takes a look. ancient greek history? check. scuba—diving? check. social distancing? check. if these are the things on your to—do list this summer, this archaeological wonder is open to the public for the first time ever. located off the coast of the island of alonissos in greek, this bonanza of

he's promising a more inclusive sri lanka.ome are worried that a two—thirds majority in the current election could lead to an authoritarian rule. this comes at a time where we have seen increasing attacks on civil society, on media, on lawyers. so, the space for dissent is shrinking. and the question is whether it will shrink further post—elections? and the signs so far are that it is likely to happen that way. sri lanka's economy has been battered by the covid—19 crisis. many sri lankans feel only a strong government will be able to revive the economy. anbarasan ethirajan, bbc news. in cuba, the collapse in tourism from covid—19 and tighter us sanctions mean the government's running out of hard currency. so it's allowing more shops to sell goods in us dollars. here's will grant. lining up to spend their hard earned dollars. many had been in the tightly—controlled queues from before dawn, face masks on and sheltering from cuba's sun and rain. we weren't allowed to film inside the dollar stores, but customers later emerged with

sri lanka's about old south asia's 1st major elections during a pandemic president rajapaksa and his party want to win a majority this time critics however say it could see him and his brother the interim prime minister mahinda rajapaksa leaving power minal fernandez reports. well indeed i think his son dylan was inducted in september 2008. he was one of 11 young men kidnapped to be ransomed a group within the sri lankan navy including its highest ranking officers have been implicated. that we just want our child and 12 years we haven't been told whether he's alive or not so much information has been uncovered one can get away we don't even care if they do but the officers or whoever allowed this injustice must be punished human rights activists this and similar cases involving the disappearances of hundreds of tamils after the 26 year conflict with the tamil tigers will be forgotten in sri lanka and go to the polls on windy sri lanka people's party led by the rajapaksa brothers is expected to win. president hu top then prime minister mind sadly will protect war heroes who brought ac

early results from sri lanka's parliamentary election suggest a big lead for the governing party theri lanka people's front is led by the larger parts of brothers who serve as president and prime minister the party looks like going to consolidate its power but it needs a 2 thirds majority to carry or promised constitutional changes this is being south asia's 1st major votes joining the pandemic middle fernandas as this update from colombo. and that's another set of results leaving the official counting center here in the colombo district one of 4 every single result that's tabulated is being sent obviously to the election authorities the hardcopy under strict security escort now most of the work over the last 10 to 12 hours has been completed to tabulate all the votes here in the colombo district and this exercise is being replicated in the $22.00 districts throughout sri lanka so basically all the votes come in to centralize counting centers in the district they are tabulated and then officially communicated to the election authorities who basically check them the rubber stamp them

he's promising a more inclusive sri lanka.are worried that a two—thirds majority in the current election could lead to an authoritarian rule. this comes at a time where we have seen increasing attacks on civil society, on media, on lawyers. so, the space for dissent is shrinking. and the question is whether it will shrink further post—elections? and the signs so far are that it is likely to happen that way. sri lanka's economy has been battered by the covid—19 crisis. many sri lankans feel only a strong government will be able to revive the economy. anbarasan ethirajan, bbc news. in sport, arsenal have won the fa cup finalfor a record 14th time, beating chelsea 2—1 at wembley. arsenal's captain pierre—emerick aubameyang, who scored both his team's goals, lifted the trophy in front of a stadium of 90,000 empty seats, because of coronavirus restrictions. victory secured arsenal's place in the europa league next season. the team's manager mikel arteta says that's an additional bonus for the club. it is a double reward for us. it

celebrations in the rajapaksa heartland the reason a 2 thirds majority in sri lanka's new parliament on thursday will resist queued to see incumbent prime minister mind the rajapaksa who secured the highest number for financial votes. similar scenes at the house of riyadh middle son a theater seeker another top performer for the governing sri lanka people's front party. would lead us into the unknown also paid duty. towards majority in the parliament and i didn't know the country can be developed in a very short period to see all what is the business shipley and also the theatre that it in brought this to know within the government this analyst says the strong support for prime minister rajapaksa and his brother who's president just 5 years after they voted out is the message from the people that we've heard it off of democracy reforms and perhaps those reforms actually retarding guards which is also the main message the president has sent since his election. so backed has been i think the clear message is. what the people are demanding use unless of course to. reform and more of eco

bowl still have his own al-jazeera a former president in sri lanka becomes prime minister again point many fear this could lead to proceedings. 100 south africa where the pressure is on to sort what's being described as the countries of a pandemic those stories too after the break. but . i know that plenty of cloud across much of indonesia also some rain very much in the forecast you can see where the massive cloud is across areas to the west over the philippines and we're watching a couple of disturbances one has become a tropical depression is not she to the north of the philippines but what it's doing is dragging all of this rain out towards the north that is i will say most of the heaviest downpours we can see also fairly widespread across much of cambodia and then it's too cheesy that rain continue crossed. philippines but also becoming rather more widespread across borneo again and also some heavy downpours in and around western java such a cause so certainly having a very wet day on it chews day i mean all across into australia and new zealand has some rain all the way to new z

program it's an election victory that's expected to cement the power of the rajapaksa brothers in sri lanka the governing party has recorded an overwhelming victory with nearly 60 percent of the votes these people's front is that by go to by and hinder rajapaksa who serve as president and prime minister along with their allies that has secured a 2 thirds majority giving the president the power to make sweeping changes to the constitution let's bring in our correspondent in alpha landers who's been following the election and the vote count it's in colombo force me now a huge mandate really and an opportunity for really the country to see its constitution change how soon could this happen. so we're waiting to hear sort of details of how the rajapaksa want to take this forward north that the 20th of august is when the new parliament has been convened by a gasket signed by the president they will come together but we've also heard that as early as next week we will have the prime minister my him that rajapaksa and his cabinet to be sworn in awaiting confirmation but talk of limiting the cabinet

watching al-jazeera live from our headquarters here in doha also coming up sri lanka's governing party gets the victory it was looking for a majority for the rajapaksa brothers to push through sweeping constitutional changes. unemployment dropped slightly in the u.s. but the painful reality does remain for millions of americans out of a job because of the pandemic. that was never something that i thought would happen to me in my life. the u.s. is accused of political manipulation after donald trump signs an order banning business with the chinese and apps to talk and we chat. top story the president of lebanon says an investigation into the beirut port explosion will look at whether it was caused by negligence an accident or possible external interference 19 port officials have been detained as frustration grows over the government's response to the blast bernard smith starts our coverage from beirut. armies of volunteers are on the streets of beirut. sweeping clearing digging. they're filling the gap left. by the state. which is conspicuous by its absence. we had an i.t. company here

i'm british welcome to the dr news asia glad you could join us we begin in sri lanka where did less than 24 was some 16200000 eligible voters will have a chance to elect a new parliament the vote which was delayed twice due to the cone of out to spend them it is seen as a test for straight on cuz constitutional democracy if the party of president. wins a majority in the new parliament it would allow it to bring changes to the constitution changes that would give greater powers to his office and the frontrunner in the polls is the president's own brother. campaigning in times of covert 19 was kept to a minimum in sri lanka but that did not dampen the excitement of my hinder rajapaksa supporters rajapaksa the current prime minister is the favorite in the vote he's also the brother of the president whose work he highly praised. but. i think it we don't have to explain what would have happened if president rajapaksa had not let the battle against the covert pandemic being. my handle rajapaksa was appointed prime minister only days after his younger brother but up bya became president last no

and go to the polls on windy sri lanka people's party led by the rajapaksa brothers is expected to win. president hu top then prime minister my in the family will protect war heroes who brought a queue ssion ensure national security subcommittee and bring prosperity. to any of the president's party must come to power to take this program forward we require a 2 thirds majority for this there are amendments needed to the constitution or else we need to change the constitution the presidential powers were weakened and those of the parliament strengthened under an amendment passed by m.p.'s in 2015 and only see any reversal would be detrimental as far as depok was is concerned if that arch boxes get close enough all the set will be out of the window. and therefore you will have a strong authoritarian government but this doesn't seem to want emotion longer than many rajapaksa appear the best option given their handling of the coronavirus outbreak and the negative perceptions of the previous government including security failures that led to one of the worst bombing in sri lanka on easter su

this is one of 11 young men kidnapped to be ransomed a group within the sri lanka navy including its highest ranking officers have been implicated. we just want our child 12 years we haven't been told whether he's alive or not so much information has been uncovered one can get away we don't even care if they do but the officers or whoever allowed this injustice must be punished human rights activists this and similar cases involving the disappearances of hundreds of after the 26 year conflict with the tamil tigers will be forgotten in sri lanka and go to the polls on windy sri lanka people's party led by the rajapaksa brothers is expected to win. president then prime minister mind sandy would protect more. ensure national security. and bring prosperity. the president's party must come to power to take this program forward we require a 2 thirds majority for this amendment is needed to the constitution or else we need to change the constitution presidential powers were weakened and those of the parliament strengthened under an amendment passed by m.p.'s in 2015 and only see any reversa

the governing party in sri lanka has won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections the sri lanka people's front is led by the rajapaksa brothers go to by and by hinder who serve as president and prime minister. 1000 infractions of past 2000000 in india with more than 62000 cases reported in the past 24 hours and has the 1st highest number of infections after the u.s. and brazil. hundreds of afghan leaders scholars and elders are meeting in kabul today to negotiate a peace deal with the taliban it's the loya jirga the loya jirga talks are the last hurdle to the start of negotiations between the afghan government and the taliban the main issue is whether the government should meet the armed groups demand to release 400 prisoners the u.s. secretary of state might pompei o is urging support for the move saying it will be an important step towards peace let's bring in most hardcore him from kabul he's the founding member of a think tank the afghanistan affairs units which tackle him what are the chances that these $400.00 taliban fighters will be released. well a very good chances exp

years after the oversaw the defeat of the tamil tigers in sri lanka civil rule a former member of the national human rights commission voiced these concerns we also see a rise in single a buddhist nationalism and it seems like that is what is taking hold and and shaping the policy of the country so this means that minorities in particular feel frightened because if you are critical of the government you can be called a traitor you can be called a terrorist you can be arrested merely for expressing an opinion balancing the multiple challenges facing she lanka will not be easy for the new government but for the majority of people here the rajapaksa led government is the best option for now and then there's just the raw colombo. thousands of residents and tourists in italy is also a valley have been relocated after warnings a huge portion of them on blong place here is at risk of collapse a recent heatwave created a layer of water on the wii ice causing it to slide about 80 centimeters a day. let's take you through some of the headlines here on al-jazeera the u.s. state department has ca

years after the oversaw the defeat of the tamil tigers in sri lanka civil rule a former member of the national human rights commission voiced these concerns we also see a rise in things in a buddhist nationalism and it seems like that is what is taking hold and and shaping the policy of the country so this means that minority thing particularly feel frightened because if you are critical of the government you can be called a traitor you can be called a terrorist you can be arrested merely for expressing an opinion balancing the multiple challenges facing she lanka will not be easy for the new government but for the majority of people here the rajapaksa led government is the best option for now and then there's. film and you can find a much more on our website including when to the more details on the aftermath of that explosion in a port in beirut on al jazeera dot com. this is all to 0 these are the top stories the u.s. state department has spoken out in support of a former top saudi intelligence agent who was allegedly targeted and a fall assassination attempt it's described as sort

celebrations in the rajapaksa heartland the reason a 2 thirds majority in sri lanka's new parliament on thursday will resist queued to see incumbent prime minister mind the ranch to secure the highest number for financial votes. similar scenes at the house of riyadh middle son a theater seeker another top performer for the governing sri lanka people's front party. would lead us into the unknown also a bit and then we have 2 thirds majority in the parliament and i didn't know the country can be developed in a very short period to see all what is the business of plea and also the theatre in it in both these know within the government this analyst says the strong support for prime minister rajapaksa and his brother who's president just 5 years after they voted out is the message from the people that we're prepared to offer. reforms and perhaps those reforms actually retarding guards which is also the main message the president has sent since his election so back has been i think the clear message is. what the people are demanding use unless of course to. reform and more of economic deve

the governing party in sri lanka has won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections the sri lanka people's front is led by the rajapaksa brothers got a bye and mahinda who sat as president and prime minister a japanese carrier that ran aground off the coast of malicious late last month has started leaking oil the panama flag has about $4000.00 tons of oil on board which could threaten valuable coral reefs. well those are the headlines i will have another news update for you here on al-jazeera. to stay with us. to cope with our growing population we've tripled our exploitation of natural resources in just 40 years as a result of the fast expansion of mining industrial scale farming fishing and other human activities natural ecosystems have lost nearly half the area and $1000000.00 plant and animal species a facing extinction without the ecological networks which regulate our planet.

you're watching al-jazeera live my headquarters here in doha also coming up counting the vote in sri lanka's parliamentary elections a poll that could cement the president's grip on power. also twitter and facebook take down a post by president donald trump calling it false and harmful misinformation about covert 19 and. a somber tone japan remembers the world's 1st atomic bombs 75 years ago and at this time there are extra precautions. welcome to the program lebanon's appealing for international help after it was left devastated by a huge explosion a humanitarian crisis is developing 2 days after the blast shredded the heart of its capital city beirut it destroyed the city's poor and more than half of the country's food supplies come through there it's top medical equipment was among the items lost in the explosion now a number of countries have already sent help including food fuel mobile hospitals and medics among them france he's president and also arrived in beirut earlier. that really does see the today the priority is aid to support the people without conditions but france has been wa

counting the vote in sri lanka's parliamentary elections a poll that could cement the president's grip on power also. remembering the victims of hiroshima japan marks 75 years since the world's 1st atomic bombing that killed 140000 people. welcome to the program a diet humanitarian situation is coming into focus in lebanon 2 days after a large explosion tore through its capital there are concerns about food security have to the destruction of beirut support which is the main route for supplies coming in the country imports up to 80 percent of its food and countries around the world now are dispatching. emergency aid including food and fuel mobile hospitals and medical personnel and for many families the search continues for news about their missing loved ones let's cross over to beirut center has been following the story from the start and the search continues for those that are missing zain are. yes dozens remain missing search operations are continuing we are outside of beirut court the site of the massive explosions that the steroid much of the lebanese capital the people behind me

the reason, a majority in sri lanka's new parliament.ay, well wishard cute to see incumbent president gotabaya rajapaksa, who secured the highest number of votes. similar scenes at the house of another top performer for the governing sri lanka's front party. now we have a two thirds majority in the parliament. can be developed within a very short period. correspondent: this family says the strong support for prime minister rajapaksa and his brother, who is president, just five years after they were voted out, is a message from the people that -- areerhaps the reforms [indiscernible] which is also the message that has been sent since the election. that has been the clear message. now what the people are moreding is economic development. correspondent: he predicts the new government will increase the president's powers, get rid of independent institutions, and an amendment on power sharing in the north and east. when they walk into the parliament chamber on august 20, seating arrangements will have changed to accommodate one of the largest

and go to the polls on windy sri lanka people's party led by the rajapaksa brothers is expected to win. president hu tabin prime minister mind sadly will protect war heroes who brought a queue ssion ensure national security subcommittee and bring prosperity un to. the president's party must come to power to take this program forward we require a 2 thirds majority for this there are amendments needed to the constitution or else we need to change the constitution presidential powers were weakened and those of the parliament strengthened under an amendment passed by m.p.'s in 2015 and only see any reversal would be detrimental as far as democracy is concerned if that arch boxes get close enough all the set will be out of the window and therefore you will have a strong authoritarian government. but this doesn't seem to want emotion longer than for many the rajapaksa appears the best option given their handling of the coronavirus outbreak and the negative perception of the previous government including security failures that led to one of the worst bombing in sri lanka on easter sunday 2019

sure lanka's president has tightened his family's grip on power after swearing in a new cabinet which includes 2 of his brothers and a nephew in a ceremony took place at one of the most sacred but his temples in the country even shrank as minorities wondering if new government will sacked in their interests and haven't as has more from come but. messing's for a new government at the temple of the king. sri lanka's new cabinet was sworn in by president go to the rajapaksa in the audience hall of the sacred temple of the 2 in kandy the mahdi governing candy is seen as the sort of center of both religious and secular power because the story is those who possess the tab the 2. will lead the country you know i'm the days all of that so yes a very strong symbol of the primacy of the single a buddhist majority 74 percent of sri lanka's 22000000 people a single the buddhists a large number of them voted for the sri lanka people's front party giving it 60 percent of the votes the raja boxes of work hard to get the support of the majority buddhist community after then president by the rajapaksa

of the rajapaksa brothers the governing party has taken nearly 60 percent of the violet's the sri lanka people's front is led by gotta buy and mahinda rajapaksa he says as president and prime minister along with their allies it has secured a 2 thirds majority in getting the president power to make sweeping changes to the constitution. we told you earlier about the u.s. sanctions on chinese and hong kong officials well there's also tension between the u.s. and china over the ban of some popular chinese social media apps beijing is accusing washington of using national security as an excuse to suppress foreign firms on thursday president issued an executive order to block to talk and we chat in 45 days katrina you report from the chinese capital. the job news videos have 1400000 followers on video sharing. the chinese version of. the 25 year old uses the app every day and isn't surprised it's become so popular in the u.s. . we're very proud of anything that originated in china is not just a video sharing platform as an example of chinese in january. she's alarmed by donald trump's executi

the counting of votes is underway in sri lanka after wednesday's parliamentary election turnout was down but polling wrapped up without any major incidents of violence that of space previous elections we now fernandez reports from colombo. pulled open early on wednesday to choose sri lanka as members of parliament when the coronavirus pandemic made the national election commission job extremely difficult the 1st. and lawyers. for the election both each all aboard. employed at least that was probably kill me. this is more than being. roy's our house. says it was important to ensure the health of tens of thousands of state workers police military and 16000000 voters the election was postponed twice because of health concerns observers see when the vote was one of the most peaceful in recent years and that is an achievement. the preference voting system usually causes much rivalry between candidates from the same party but new restrictions on campaigning minimize can transition election day proceedings are ok but some undistorted pending issues related to 3 the lection campaign. during the

watching al-jazeera live from our headquarters here in doha also coming up swearing in sri lanka's new cabinet in a departure from tradition the president holds the ceremony at a buddhist temple. mourning blast victims in beirut a vigil has been held one week after the devastating ports explosion. and a historic choice the democratic presidential hopeful joe biden named senator conrad harris as his running mate. our top story 3 people have died in violence in the indian city of bungalow sparked by an allegedly offensive social media post about the prophet mohammed dozens were injured when protesters clashed with police who fired on the crowd the facebook post was made by a relative of a local politician our correspondent elizabeth around them joins us live from new delhi hi there liz let's just explain to us what happened here. police are saying that there was what they're calling a mall but of people went to this congress politician a politician belonging to the congress party to his home late on tuesday evening and started trying to attack his home that they say it to vehicles on fir

governing party has recorded an overwhelming victory with nearly 60 percent of the vote the sri lanka people's front is that by got the buyout and mahinda rajapaksa who served as president. and prime minister along with the allies it has secured a 2 thirds majority giving the president the power to make sweeping changes to the constitution by a saltiest set of on a mother who is an executive director at the think tank the center for policy alternatives he says the opposition is we can divide is there a big challenges ahead. i think what's what average access enduring was reaching out that he would require a strong stable government in comparison to what happened to him before in the sort of governance which the prime minister and the president to part is very weak and vacillating and dr united so strong stable government also the assertion of the identity of the majority community there is also a strong single biggest car with a strong sense of you know centralized leadership authoritarianism barriers an emphasis on law and order and on decision ultimately we can't continue them and w

this is live from doha also coming up mahinda rajapaksa is being sworn in as prime minister of sri lanka months after his brother became president. the main opposition candidate in belarus goes into hiding in a government crackdown on a day before the presidential election. donald trump signs executive orders for financial relief as talks of a new coronavirus rescue package collapse. international leaders will hold a virtual talks in the coming hours to raise aid for the lebanese capital bands as the cleanup continues in beirut from tuesday's huge explosion swards of the city were devastated when 2700 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded at the ports france and the united nations set up a donor conference to help u.s. president donald trump has said he'll be joining the call. and it's estimated that the blast at the warehouse calls up to $15000000000.00 worth of damage at least $158.00 people were killed rescue workers are still searching for those missing more than $5000.00 were injured in the explosion which left 300000 homeless. alfredo the explosion spilled on to the streets of the city

now to south asia and the final days of the civil war in sri lanka.ecades, the army had fought the tamil tiger rebels. in 2009, the government forces began to close in on them. thousands of civilians were trapped alongside rebel fighters, beyond the reach ofjournalists, aid workers and independent witnesses. former united nations official gordon vice remembers it as one of the worst situations he'd ever encountered. sri lanka's government says it is close to winning the island's civil war after 25 years. the fighting has been intense and bloody. in a 25—year civil war, there had been many terrible episodes. this final few months of the war was by far the most bitter and the most vicious. 250,000 people caught in the middle, hungry, frightened, tired. many of them on the run many of them on many of them on the run from fighting for up to a year. some of them had been displaced 10 or 15 times. i had worked in a number of conflict zones before and since the war in sri lanka but the sri lankan experience was unique. the conflict on the island has pitted t

and president and prime minister rajapaksa early results from sri lanka's parliamentary elections show the brothers are set to cement their grip on power. the coronavirus gets underway as the wounds based players compete at the p.g.a. championship. the french president has pledged support during his visit to lebanon's capital today is off to it was devastated by a huge explosion a die humanitarian situation is developing there as international relief teams arrive in the crisis hit city at least 138 people have now died while still missing and more than 5000 have been injured our correspondent anaconda begins our coverage from beirut. search and rescue teams are still digging through the rubble at beirut port the site of massive explosions that damaged or destroyed much of the lebanese capital families are desperate for news about their loved ones dozens are missing there is pain and grief zainab fears she will never see her husband allie again. there's a still are still i don't know where he is i haven't heard from him since 6 pm monday i want to know if he's alive or dead. rescue expe

and mahinda rajapaksa is prime minister of sri lanka once again his 4th time around in the job obviously he swept the general elections concluded on the 5th of august with one of the highest number of preferential votes for a candidate ever over 5000000 votes now this paves the way for the s.l.p. be led by the rajapaksa to carry on with the work programme set out by president gautami rajapaksa in his election bid in 2019 it's called the stars for prosperity and aims to take sri lanka forward dealing with some of the pressing issues that this country faces now obviously the consolidation of the rajapaksa hold on power has been confirmed with the swearing in of my in the rajapaksa as we saw here at the calorie temple a little while ago but it also shows the kind of dynamic the family is now in charge and even when we saw the swearing in of the prime minister you had the president go to a beer or park say his younger brother who went around the table and actually worshiped his brother once he saw him in as prime minister these are some of the kind of ways the family operates obviously a num

counting the vote in sri lanka's parliamentary elections a poll that could cement the president's grip on power. and remembering the victims of hiroshima japan mark 75 years since the world's 1st atomic bombing that killed 140000 people. welcome to the program a dire humanitarian situation is coming into focus in lebanon 2 days after a large explosion tore through its capital there are concerns about food security after the destruction of beirut's port which is the main route for supplies coming in now the country imports up to 80 percent of its food the economy minister has warned that lebanon is not financially capable of dealing with the impact of the explosion and will lead international help several countries are already dispatching emergency aid from suited fuel to mobile hospitals and medical personnel zealot hotter is in beirut with more on the ongoing rescue and recovery missions. dozens remain missing search operations are continuing we are outside beirut court the site of the massive explosions that the steroid much of the lebanese capital the people behind me these are fami

'd through lanka's governing party gets the victory it was looking for a majority for the rajapaksa brothers to push through sweeping constitutional changes. the whole romany watching al-jazeera lives more headquarters here in doha also coming up frustration in lebanon and calls for political change as people left to clean up themselves after tuesday's port explosion. accused of sending a hit squad to canada the saudi crown prince faces a lawsuit in washington d.c. . and donald trump signs an executive order banning americans from doing business with the chinese odor to talk and we chant. welcome to the program it's an election victory that's expected to cement the power of the rajapaksa brothers in strength for their governing party has recorded an overwhelming victory with nearly 60 percent of the votes the sri lankan people's front is led by god to buy and mahinda rajapaksa who served as president and prime minister along with that allies it has secured a 2 thirds majority giving the president the power to make sweeping changes to the constitution. parliament is expected to convene for an