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. 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 bring. my handle rajapaksa was appointed prime minister only days after his younger brother got up bya became president last november the rajapakse as have long been one of the country's most powerful families mahinda rajapaksa was already once president and many sri lankans praised him because he ended the long civil war but there were also accusations of austerity tarion ism nepotism and corruption. then came last year's easter sunday bombings in which more than 260 people were killed in islamist attacks the attacks made many sri lankans want to return to the rajapaksa family's sinhalese nationalist and buddhist agenda. hardly a year after the attacks rajapaksa was elected president now he and his brother are planning a major constitutional reform if as expected they come out ahead in the vote. critics say

obviously of the reversal of the rajapaksa fortunes the return of the p.p. and the rajapakse is into power so i mean so that's what's going to happen it's a relatively simple ceremony but we need to take note of some of the symbolism here in this historic buddhist temple we have the buddhist clergy in full force obviously there are representatives from other religions and other communities but that saying hello buddhist identity is very much to the fore in terms of the community and the majority that came behind that rajapaksa. and ensure them this great victory and this massive victory at the recently concluded general election i mean you know how much of a comeback is this for the rajapaksa brothers. well put it this way nobody was surprised with the results i mean if that tells you anything because for the last couple of months we've seen ever since the victory of president gore tabio rajapakse it was almost a foregone conclusion that the rajapakse is a back and back in force now the sort of surprise or the element that people were looking at 8 months ago

because ruling party gets the victory it was looking for a majority for the rajapaksa brothers to push through sweeping constitutional changes. the whole romney watching all of their lives my headquarters here in doha also coming up frustration in lebanon and calls for political change as people left to clean up themselves after the deadly clash explosion. also the struggle to control the coronavirus pandemic in india cases past 2000000 we're live in new delhi. and donald trump signs an executive order banning americans from business with the chinese owners of 2 popular apps. welcome to the 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 f

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 sri lanka sort of limiting sri lanka's coronavirus deaths to 11 limiting the spread so that's very much at the top of people's minds and the we and the efficiency which the current government led by present gautami rajapaksa has managed things they contrast this fully a lot with

be led by the rajapaksa to carry on with the work program set out by president gore tabi 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 tubby rajapaksa 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 number of siblings all of them involved in sri lankan politics now there have been some concerns about a potential reversal of some of the democratic institutions the achievements of the last constitution because the right boxes have said that with control of parliament and a 2 thirds majority one of th

president go top it rajapaksa leading the p.p. campaign from the front talking about giving them the mandate to change the constitution essential to carry forward the work that president gore listed out in his campaign and obviously the opposition also in a shambles as they try to sort of cobble together a proper challenge to the rajapaksa is let's take a look at some of the issues going into this election yes let me just say that was an important point you made because there's concern as you say that divisions within the opposition parties could actually help rajapaksa consolidate power and of course this has huge implications for any constitutional reforms. that's right i mean essentially the one of the reasons that the rajapakse is obviously very popular both brothers the president has got huge popularity for his handling of the corona epidemic i mean even this polling booth that i'm standing outside a lot of sort of hygenic measures and things like that being taking place precautions for the election but going into this electi

celebrations in the rajapaksa heartland the reason that 2 thirds majority in sri lanka is new parliament on thursday will richest cute to see incumbent prime minister mind the rajapaksa who secured the highest number of votes. sylvia would lead us into the general also patriotic 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 discipline and also the theater in 18 days to know it in 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 a message from the people that. of democracy reforms and perhaps those reforms actually retarding goddard's which is also the main message the president has sent since his election. has been i think the clear message is. what the people are demanding use unless of course to. reform and more of economic development. seen around the predicts the new government will increase the president's powers get rid of independent institutions and an amendment on power sharing in

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

for many many years i spoke to naama rajapaksa that is my in the rajapaksa son after the result yesterday he said look at our differences have been in politics for 100 years they've lost elections of one elections very pragmatic he said essentially this is the people it's sizing their franchise so they will get on a centrally with politics with the work that they have set forward that they have promised to take sri lanka forward so it's very much sort of onward essentially to get down to work fully thank you very much for that me now from london is live there in colombo sri lanka. in other world news anger has boiled over on the streets of beirut as residents direct blame for tuesday's deadly port explosion at lebanon's leaders protesters took to the streets chanting revolution and resign as french president in munyon my call visited the capital and called for an international investigation into the blast that killed 149 people 16 employees of be a sport have been detained by protesters want a complete overhaul of lebanon's political elite tensions had been running high before the disaste

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 times were tough before tuesday's explosion now she says she can'

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 another 2 weeks nelson and desist from the strong can come for the colombo. 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 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 to 26 so obviously the rajapakse is not wasting any time in terms of carrying on with the work program that t

win in the country's parliamentary election mohinder rajapaksa will now become prime minister but his brother go to the president and his men elthorne and reports from colombo they now plan to change the constitution. celebrations in the rajapaksa heartland reason a 2 thirds majority in sri lanka's new parliament on thursday will queued to see incumbent prime minister mine the rajapaksa who secured the highest number for financial votes. sylvia would lead us into the unknown also a bit dirty and then you know 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 discipline and also the theater in it in both these to know within the government this emily says the strong support for prime minister rajapaksa and his brother who's president just 5 years after the voted out is a message from the people that. of democracy reforms and perhaps those reforms actually retarding guards which is also the main message the president has sent since his election. so that has been the clear message is. what the people a

in the rajapaksa brothers strengthen their grip on sri lanka and a big electoral win. and we start this process and with breaking news an air india express flight with 191 people on board has skidded off the runway while landing in code in care less days a media reporting the pilot has died more than 100 passengers that injured well let's now speak on the phone trying new delhi correspondent elizabeth purana liz i know this all happened less than 2 hours ago details still emerging what do we know at this stage. hine stuff here sir this is a subsidiary of the national carrier air india it's an air india express flight from divide to code the code as you said it skidded off the wrong way during landing and cut a good airport in the city a critical day paralyzed just before 8 pm local time there were 191 people on board including 6 crew members and government officials in parallel have told local media that both of the pilot on board have died but at least confirmed by the airline yet we are hearing that 10 people have been taken to hospital with injuries we can see that

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

and his brother president go to by rajapaksa to amend the constitution mel fernando's is in the capital colombo she says concern is growing over the future of minorities under the new government. everyone is trying to the edge of what this government holds for so long in the future well the fact that we've had essentially a government that's not had to rely on minority votes for that massive victory is something that is a little bit of a concern because they've proved for us of the presidential election in november 29th even now at the parliamentary elections that they can pretty much going to lower and going alone essentially to give them a 2 thirds majority a controlling stake in parliament so how that impacts on the way the mechanism of government takes place in terms of the actual cabinet that's being named that out 8 of relatively few minority representatives of very much the supporters being included so as to how inclusive it's going to be or they feel this is a day to toby is something that we'll have to wait and see. if these 30 people are still missing in a week after a huge bl

in the rajapaksa has just been sworn in as sri lanka's prime minister rajapaksa won the parliamentary election in a landslide his brother got a buyer is the president 2 thirds majority means they can push ahead with promised changes to the constitution. on the eve of the reverses election the main opposition candidate has gone into hiding after 2 of her top aides were detained by police. the son of skye is running against alexander lukashenko he's been in power for 26 years. now and the kremlin protesters in the far east of russia have rallied for a 5th consecutive weekend they're demanding the release of the regional governor so go for the girl he was arrested last month on suspicion of murder protesters want to me the freed or tried in his home city of. warburg man the reports. here. rallying cry from this man russian to take to the streets on this calling for president vladimir putin to resign and signs everywhere we do freedom phooka. couple of governors surrogate for with the red. so on july 9th on suspicion of involvement in murders his incarceration in a moscow jail galvanized

be led by the rajapaksa to carry on with the work program 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 tubby rajapaksa 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 number of siblings all of them involved in sri lankan politics now there have been some concerns about a potential reversal of some of the democratic institutions the achievements of the last constitution because the right boxes have said that with control of parliament in a 2 thirds majority one of their t

mohinder rajapakse has just been sworn in as frank as prime minister rajapaksa won the parliamentary election in a landslide his brother got a bio is the president that 2 thirds majority means they can now push ahead with promise changes to the constitutions and critics fear that will lead to an autocracy polls have just opened in belarus where the main opposition candidates in presidential elections has gone into hiding after 2 of her top aides were detained by police. sky is running against alexander lukashenko steadfast in reports from minsk. election observation belorussian style. i am. independent observers have not only been detained but also been barred from entering polling stations nonetheless they have found irregularities in the voting process that started on tuesday and will have its peak on sunday at the 1st day of elections. 39 people but the evening protocol. commission said there where 89 so they added 50 people as the mood on this new president alexander lukashenko has been accused of stealing previous elections but this time he's facing an opposition on a scale has

the key changes they have talked talked about to both the president go tabio rajapaksa as well as his brother prime minister mahinda rajapaksa have asked for a man that essentially to change the constitution they have been complaining that the existing constitution after the last amendment the 19th amendment brought in by the previous government essential does not allow them to carry forward the program and the vision that they have for sure lanka so. they have been essentially some fears and concerns voiced by human rights activists civil rights defenders. to see that all the advances made in that previous 19th amendment which diluted somewhat the powers of the executive president in favor of parliament strengthen the hand of parliament brought in certain sort of supreme court oversight to executive actions as well as established a number of independent institutions which all hope to the governance of the rajapaksa have gone on record as saying that they want to change the constitution so that is something that if they have control of parliament and not just control but if they do se

and his brother president go to by a rajapaksa to amend the constitution. some 2000 houses have been left uninhabitable in the lebanese capital beirut after the explosion last week tens of thousands of businesses have been damaged or destroyed adding to the country's economic crisis. for the 1st time ever in the united states a black woman will run for the office of vice president after much anticipation presumptive democratic nominee joe biden has chosen senator conrad harris as his running mates for the elections on november the 2nd in a tweet confirming his pick mr biden praised sen harris's record on social justice saying i have the great honor to announce that i've picked common harris as a fearless fighter for the little guy one of the country's finest public servants as my running mate is what carla harris tweeted joe biden can unify the american people because he spent his life fighting for us and as president he will build an america that lives up to our ideals i'm honored to join him as our party's nominee for vice president and do what it takes t

doha also coming up because governing party gets the victory it was looking for a majority for the rajapaksa brothers to sweep through sweeping constitutional changes. accused of sending a hit squad to canada saudi crown prince faces a lawsuit in washington d.c. . the struggle to control the current virus pandemic in india cases past 2000000. welcome to the program 16 people have been arrested in lebanon as frustration grows over the government's response to tuesday's port explosion among those who've been taken into custody or officials from beirut pulled the death toll is now starting at 149 but search and rescue teams continue to scour the rubble for any survivors there were protests against the government of those the evening crowds also rallied as the french president manuel micro toward the damage streets he's backing calls for a new political order in lebanon bennett smith has more from beirut. we've seen thousands of people out on the streets with shovels pickaxes brushes doing the cleanup because the government isn't we are just across from the main blast site you'll see those stand

to the program sri lanka's governing party gets the victory it was looking for a majority for the rajapaksa brothers to push through sweeping constitutional changes . also the number of kind of virus cases in india hits 2000000 as it struggles to bring the pandemic under control. and trying to trim the fat a mexican state state takes action on selling junk food to children. but into the program emergency food shipments are being prepared the u.n. is describing the need for shelter as massive 120 schools have been damaged the full effect of choose to night support explosion in the lebanese capital is becoming much clearer it's just gone 1 o'clock in beirut in the afternoon where the death toll has now been updated to 154 but the search goes on in the rubble in and around the port the number of injured is more than 5000 the world health organization says the city is now facing a shortage of hospital beds because of the number of damaged facilities and amid it all the frustration grows 16 port workers and officials have been arrested but the people's anger is really being directed at the gover

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.

sri lanka's governing party gets the victory it was looking for a majority for the rajapaksa brothers to push through sweeping constitutional changes. the number of coronavirus cases in india hits 2000000 as a struggles to bring the pandemic under control. and pitching in to help we visit a city in the u.k. where it's taking a community effort to combat coronavirus. us with your sport jason day shares the lead at golf's 1st major in 13 months the p.g.a. championship. emergency food shipments are being prepared the u.n. is describing the need for shelter as massive $120.00 schools have been damaged the full effect of tuesday night's port explosion in the lebanese capital is now becoming much clearer. it's just gone 1 pm in beirut where the death toll has been updated to $154.00 but the search goes on in the rubble and around the port the number of injured is more than 5000 the world health organization says the city is now facing a shortage of hospital beds because of the number of damaged facilities amid all the frustration grows 16 port workers and officials have been arrested but th

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 drops likely in the u.s. but the painful reality remains for millions of americans out of a job because of coronavirus. that was never something that i thought would happen to me in my life. and the u.s. is accused of political manipulation after donald trump signs of order banning business with the chinese owned apps to talk and we checked. and i'm here to stand with your sports jason day shares the lead at gold's 1st major in 13 months the p.g.a. championship. lebanon's president is beginning an address to the nation as the clamor grows francis over tuesday's port blast in beirut michele is already raised the possibility of external interference even a rocket or a bomb the full effect of the explosion is now becoming clear. with the u.n. describing the need for shelter as quote massive the death toll has been updated now to 154 but the search goes on through the rubble in and around the port the number of injured is more

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

sri lanka's new cabinet was sworn in by president 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 and the day's 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 ussing have 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 suffered a shock defeat in 2015 many blame minorities who voted against him in large numbers at the decision to campaign on strong nationalist buddhist lines appears to have paid of 1st with president go to obvious election in 2019 he was sworn in at an ancient police temple that represents historic sin hell his power his brother mind the rajapaksa who got the highest votes of any candidate in the aug 5th t

and the rajapaksa party have modelled their party of the strong military presence.t for at this election is the number of seats that the slp p win. they are likely to get a majority, over hundred 13 of the 225 seats in parliament, but the raja pa ksa party goal of the 225 seats in parliament, but the rajapa ksa party goal of to the 225 seats in parliament, but the rajapaksa party goal of to when the magic figure of 150 seats in parliament which would give them a two thirds majority, and winning a two thirds majority, and winning a two thirds majority would allow them, they say, to carry out the policies that they wish to implement, and this would include key constitutional changes in sri la nka key constitutional changes in sri lanka including one that would increase the power of the president in relation to parliament. the opposition parties however feel that this change would reduce the level of democracy in sri lanka. politically sri lanka has been caught on several fronts, india, china, what is sri lanka looking for in these relationships? so, sri lanka, because

and watching the news hour live from london more still ahead as rajapaksa brothers tighten their grip on power in a landslide election when. russia's declared an environmental emergency after a ship stranded off its shores there's tons of fuel and then later in spore we've got quick action as in the fight hard against pakistan. hello england is into a 3 day heatwave the rest of the european plane it will probably last longer than that pressure is high as long as the scar in the days are still long there are few showers around temporary what it feels like in for example greece stalled in greece or at least there will be some time later on saturday and this frontal system will tend to edge temperatures out a bit in oland and scotland nevertheless where insert he's quite happily bordeaux will have cooled down a little bit with a northerly breeze coming into northern spain as well as to not the temps back just a little bit but also maintain the heat for injecting more humidity which tends to just so be more cloud and a few more showers developing in that heat not right in the heart of it

the party of the rajapaksa has seems to have galloped ahead 70 percent almost in terms of every single area that the results have been announced so far seem to have gone strongly in support of the rajapaksa the s b j which is the breakaway faction of the united national party seems to have come 2nd but a very far 2nd palling something like one 4th of the p.p. parties total now obviously this situation will unfold over the coming hours as the true picture of the extent almost of the rajapaksa gains becomes evident it's been a long day obviously the crowd you see behind me are basically election officials who've been manning these counting centers they've had a long day a meticulous manual counting process of each and every ballot paper of votes counted for the party votes counted for candidates which is another set of counting so they had long days you can see a number of sort of transport buses on standby and all waiting to get home but having done their civic duty in helping the conduct of this august parliamentary election here in sri lanka. the number of american seeking unemploymen

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

but for a majority of people here, the rajapaksa-led government is the best option for now.nd france have both abandoned talks to reform the world health organization out of frustration with the u.s. attempts to dominate negotiations. the move is a blow to president donald trump, whose administration had hoped to have a sweeping overhaul of the who before the election. france's health minister says the u.s. should not lead the reform after already announcing it would be leaving the organization. trump accuses the who of being too close to china and of mishandling the coronavirus pandemic. india is now the third country in the world to record 2 million coronavirus cases. the covid-19 count has doubled in three weeks with a record daily jump of 60,000 new infections. it puts the country only behind the u.s. and brazil for the most number of infections. people have died. $150 million has been awarded to make vaccine doses for india and other countries. and theto the u.s., economy added 1.8 million jobs in the month of july, a slowdown from june where 4.8 million. jobs were adde

children can stand out in large numbers for an election which could see the rajapaksa brothers titanite click on the country. lebanon's government has declared a 2 week state of emergency giving the military full power as a day after a massive explosion devastated by a route it's also pushing several by a reporter officials on the house arrest pending an investigation into why 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate was stored there at least 135 people were killed and more than 5000 injured the death toll is expected to rise though as much as you workers search the rubble for survivors as many as 300000 people have been left homeless beirut's government estimates the damage might reach between 10 and 15000000000 dollars hospitals have been overwhelmed and in desperate need of blood donations and power generators to keep the lights on al-jazeera say in a hall or begins our coverage now from beirut. the people of this disaster stricken city are starting to assess and comprehend the extent of the damage of a blast that was far more destructive than any explosion lebanon has ever seen just before sun

a big electoral win for the rajapaksa brothers cements their power and sri lanka and their plan to change the constitution. and militias battles a huge oil spill from a japanese ship that ran aground near the island of greenpeace is warning of devastating consequences. if you disturb it with your sports jason day she is the leader of gold soused major. the p.g.a. championship. now lebanon's president has raised the possibility of external interference and she has days porque last in beirut michel aoun addressed the nation just a short time ago vowing an investigation into whether the blast was caused by

forgotten then sri lanka and go to the polls on wednesday the sri lanka people's party led by the rajapaksa brothers is expected to win. president then prime minister mind the family will protect war heroes who brought a queue ssion ensure national security subcommittee and bring prosperity. the president's party must come to power to take this program forward we require a 2 thirds majority for this 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 to. if that arch boxes get close enough all it will be out of the window. and therefore you will have a strong authoritarian government i think the general tendency the brand as it were of the dr burke says that the majority of authoritarian dispensation but this doesn't seem to want emotion longer than for many rajapaksa appear the best option given their handling of the corona virus outbreak and the negative perceptions of the previous gover

a big electoral win for the rajapaksa brothers cements their power and sri lanka and their plan to change the constitution. and militias battles a huge oil spill from a japanese ship that ran aground near the island of greenpeace is warning of devastating consequences. if you disturb it with your sports jason day she is the leader of gold soused major. the p.g.a. championship. now lebanon's president has raised the possibility of external interference and she has days porque last in beirut michel aoun addressed the nation just a short time ago vowing an investigation into whether the blast was caused by negligence an accident or even a rocket or bomb but the government is facing widespread anger amid accusations of mismanagement and corruption 157 people have now been confirmed dead but it smith reports from beirut. or 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 times were tough before tuesday's explosion now she says she can't see any future here. i am in. los angeles. i s

rajapaksa widely seen as trying to champion the narrative of the sin hollies buddhist majority of the country paving the way for a nationalistic author italian regime in the in the country is that this is something that could further alienate the other minorities in the country i think straight ahead with this majority and it is quite possible that most of them do it all for their efforts and i ordered the opposition is not a cat that is credible. but that question whether it be a have a proper office should talk of elections in a democracy you need an office and you need this process by the estimate that it end up with one is another question. but at the minorities are worried about that but since i believe that there is a kind. which highlights the fact that the minorities are or should be very. i can see why this suggestion should be made. there are many members was community and that kind of community behind. my garage as they have been saying don't let them get out and it is quite possible that the minority so also look for stability and predictability stability security wise pre

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.