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

strengthen their dynastic rule but the brothers have been polarizing figures in sri lanka in politics my india was previously president from 2005 to 2015 go to buy a rajapaksa had worked under his brother as defense secretary during serang because civil war their government is accused of war crimes for their battles with tamil tiger rebels the leaders are popular among ethnic majority sinhalese and many praise them for helping to end the war in 2009 they've gained more support since last year's easter attacks that killed 269 people and also for their handling of the coronavirus pandemic but sure lanka's opposition accuse the government of corruption censorship and intimidation and now fernandez is our correspondent in colombo with the latest on the election results. despite having sort of criticisms of authoritarianism and dominance obviously for the people of this country it's the p.p. and thereby the rajapaksa us that are going to work for them in the most recent past we've had obviously this huge crisis and challenge of the coronavirus pandemic and their handling of it the president got of it rajapakse is handling of it has evoked a lot of confidence in

the rajapaksa brothers have won a landslide victory in sri lanka as parliamentary elections along with their allies their ruling party has secured the 2 thirds majority needed to carry out a sweeping constitutional reforms and the saudi crown prince is accused of sending a group of hit men to canada in a failed attempt to kill one of his former top intelligence officials. is filing a lawsuit in washington d.c. . now the governing body in guinea has asks president condi to seek a controversial 3rd term in office it follows months of protests against extending the 82 year old's time in office and after weeks of speculation ivory coast us president alassane ouattara has announced that he too is seeking a 3rd term. for some. dark candy that i am in a fake to candidate in the presidential election of october 31st 2020 and announcement that many believe will have serious repercussions but for some ivorians the declaration was not completely unexpected one former prime minister. and water chosen successor suddenly died on july 8th the ivory coast and the ruling party was thrown into political

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 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 authorit

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't see any

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

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 government fre

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

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

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.

dominating in a dominating win in the country's parliamentary election and the rajapaksa will now become prime minister with his brother got a buyer the president and that has been our fernandez reports from colombo and now plan to change the constitution. 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 deman

trump's crackdown on popular chinese social media apps to talk and we chat with sri lanka's rajapaksa brothers tighten their grip on power and a landslide election when. our the news is not good for south korea there's more rain on its way the seasonal rains are where they're supposed to be but they have been particularly active this year and saturday the light extends from ohio and the yellow sea most to south korea then dips and comes back in to the northern parts of honshu then hot carder quite possibly by sunday but this is a persistent area it does get to north korea and there's been a flood problem here as well so it's going to be exacerbated it's not going to improve much of the rest of china is fairly dry it's humid with a few showers further south and further north but the rain band is the one to watch those other band that's in existence and looks like it will persist for a day or 2 across the south china sea towards something bizarre including manila and then running back into central and southern thailand to south of that is a good scattering a few showers around but both malaysia

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.

that's president gautami rajapaksa and his elder brother the former president and incoming prime minister behind the rajapaksa essentially completing formalities these were the 2 main architects 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

which was delayed twice because of covert 19 the strength in people's front party led by the rajapaksa brothers who serve as president and prime minister are expected to win a majority this was south asia's 1st major vote while the pandemic was in force and was delayed for over 4 months michel for me now from and this was more from colombo . counting centers like the one you see behind me here in the colombo district what happens is colombo has 4 centers like this where all the ballots of the district are counted the situation is replicated in districts around the country now some of the people you see. just behind me you have the security but we've through representatives of political parties independent candidates essentially who are allowed to go in and observe the counting so in the absence of exit polls that are kind of early indicators of the way the election is going the way the water coming in you do have those agents who are in those centers once the counting is formally finished and everybody signs in then that that process has been sort of rubber stand by the presiding officers in th

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

which was delayed twice because of covert 19 these 3 lankan peoples front party led by the rajapaksa brothers who serve as president and prime minister are expected to win a majority this was south asia's 1st major vote during the pandemic which had been forced to delay for over 4 months rudd. is a former m.p. and state minister he says the constitutional changes were done badly and created a mess. i don't think there were $70.00 that. b.p. that's a party of. would remember dorothy i think the only question is would they get a 2 thirds majority which would enable them to change the constitution because i'm quite interested i think they're going to be tool for the electorate that have voted that the results have come out but thus far so i bought some of the southern gold districts. in the town as one would expect in the urban area as b.p. has won but with only just under 60 percent whereas in the more ruinated they go to with $72.00 and i suspect that's a pattern to see throughout that rule of 3 lanka will vote overwhelmingly for their side of the probably giving it a 2 thirds majority if you

lanka's twice delayed parliamentary election the sri lankan people's front party led by the rajapaksa brothers who serve as both president and prime minister are expected to win a majority survivors of the world's 1st atomic bomb have been marking 75 years since it was dropped on hiroshima about 140000 people were killed after u.s. forces attacked japan in the final stages of world war 2 a court in me and sentence a canadian pastor to 3 months in prison for violating a ban on large gatherings david law was charged in april over a religious event and young god and the law was put in place and to combat the spread of coronavirus. at least 8 kroner virus patients have died in a hospital fire in western india the victims were all receiving treatment in the intensive care facility in the city of abbottabad those were the headlines back and more news in half an hour next it's inside story do stay with us for. talk to owners there are we as is the government not to take the necessary action to really address some of the structural issues we listen i still think that travel is the safest mode of trave

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

foundation to make $100000000.00 vaccine doses for india and other emerging countries now the rajapaksa brothers have consolidated their hold on power in sri lanka with a dominating win in the country's parliamentary election when the rajapaksa will now become prime minister with his brother got to fire the president and his men elfin and as reports from colombo they plan to change the sri lankan constitution. 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 ra

leave barca london the rajapaksa brothers have cemented their hold on power in sri lanka with a dominating 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 messa

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 secure tha

because governing party gets the victory it was looking for a majority for the rajapaksa brothers to push through sweeping constitutional changes.

rolling party has secured a landslide win then parliamentary elections cementing the power 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 platfor

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 highest ranking officers have been implicated lamela the arbiter which is that the law we just want our child in 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 in 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 pool on windy sri lanka people's party led by the rajapaksa brothers is expected to when. president hu tabin prime minister my in the family will protect war heroes who bro

suggest a big lead for the governing party the sri lankan people's front that's led by the rajapaksa brothers who serve as president and prime minister is set to consolidate its power now this was south asia's 1st major vote during this corona virus pandemic which had forced a delay of over 4 months our correspondent in el philanderers as monitoring all the latest results for us from colombo. what many people had expected the p.p. or the party of the rajapakse galloping ahead in terms of the results released so far we've had final results for 2 of these countries 22 districts that's the goal and the martha districts board districts in the south of the country and these are overwhelmingly in favor of the p.p. 70 percent of the war going the way of that party and the 2nd essentially in the running the is b.g. that is the breakaway faction of the biggest opposition party the united national party they are we behind they have something like just one 4th of the votes polled by the p.p. so all indications from the early results that have been released so far showing that he is a p.p. has brought in

a dominating win in the country's parliamentary election and a rajapaksa will now become prime minister with his brother got a buyer the president and as many elfin and as reports from colombo they plan to change the sri lankan constitution. 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 re

and sri lankans turn out in large numbers for an election which could see the rajapaksa brothers tighten their grip on the country. and the army well into the sports news in them are just parts of the u.s. open tennis tournament reform of dollars we're talking about why he won't defend his title this month to lose your cool because of coronavirus foods. lebanon's government has declared a 2 week state of emergency giving the military full powers a day after a massive explosion devastated beirut it's also putting a number of beirut port officials under house arrest pending an investigation into why 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate was stored there at least 135 people have been killed and more than 5000 injured but the death toll is expected to rise as emergency workers search the rubble for survivors as many as 300000 people have been left homeless by the roots governor estimates the damage might reach between 10 and 15000000000 dollars hospitals are overwhelmed and in desperate need of blood donations and power generators to keep the lights on well geez there is a new holder in beirut begin

correspondent: this family says the strong support for prime minister rajapaksa and his brother, whoent, 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 number of mp's to sit in government, and those in their ranks who face a series of economic and political challenges. he has been struggling to keep his factory of in difficult times. it is made worse by the covid-19 crisis. >> the cash flow situation when it comes to markets, negative sentiment, then with the covid market contraction, we are 80% of our business gone. correspondent: it is a common complaint am

so lanka's ruling party led by the powerful rajapaksa brothers has won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections with a 2 thirds majority the lp can now amend the constitution span president the powers a presenter go to buy a budget package and ensure that his older brother mahinda retains his job as prime minister. better russa's preparing to hold its 1st post be contested presidential election for years and there are clear signs that the government is seeking to control him quieten the media rights groups say several reporters have been arrested among them freelance journalist alexander protocol of who reports for d w he's received a 10 day sentence meaning he'll be unable to cover the election president alexander lukashenko facing a wave of dissent over his dismissal of the covered 19 pandemic and his human rights record. d.w. director general peter limbaugh expressed concern and irritation about alexander border coughs arrest and i left it to the belarusan embassy in germany heroes on behalf of dodger valor i protested phatic leon in the strongest possible terms against is clearly

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

underway in sri lanka has twice delayed parliamentary election and people's front party led by the rajapaksa brothers who serve as president and prime minister is expected to win a majority. twitter has temporarily blocked the us president's official campaign account for violating its content rules it included a fox news interview with donald trump made false claims about covert 19. number of corona virus infections in africa is nearing 1000000 with more than half of them in south africa the country's death toll is almost 10000 the africa centers for disease control and prevention is concerned about the low rate of testing on the continent. in sudan more than 50000 people have been affected by flooding over the past week that's according to the united nations thousands of homes are damaged in the interior minister says at least 5 people have died. at least 8 coronavirus patients have died in a hospital fire in western india they were all receiving treatment in the intensive care unit of the facility in a bad in the state of gujarat around 45 patients were in the hospital at the time. of course i'm in

sri lanka's ruling party led by the powerful rajapaksa brothers has won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections with a 2 thirds majority the s.l.p. party can now amend the constitution to expand powers for president got up by russia pops up and to ensure that his older brother mahendra keeps his job as prime minister. and kabul afghan president of irony or has urged thousands of prominent citizens to decide whether to release $400.00 taliban prisoners including many who have committed atrocities as the militant group has demanded their release as if as a precondition. to entering peace talks with. residents and tourists have been evacuated from an italian resort at the border with france as a as a nearby mall blong glacier threatens to collapse amid a heat wave the heat created a layer of water of around 500 cubic metres of ice under the glacier only the size of the cathedral in milan. belarus is getting ready to hold its most hotly contested presidential election in years and there are clear signs the government is seeking to hush up the media rights groups say several reporters have

the key changes they have talking about talked about to board to president gore 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 it does not allow them to carry forward the program and the vision that they have for sri lanka so they have been essentially some fears and concerns voiced by human rights activists civil rights defenders to say that all the advances made in that previous 1000th 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 have the governance of the rajapakse as 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

so i'm fully back to bill in doha with a look at our main stories on al-jazeera the rajapaksa brothers have won a landslide victory in sri lanka's palm entry elections along with their allies their ruling party has secured the 2 for its majority needed to carry out sweeping constitutional reforms we now for 9 days has more from colombo it's a reflection of the sort of mindset of the shillong 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 as large as shield of sri lanka sort of limiting sri lanka's coronavirus dates to 11 limiting the spread so that's very much at the top of people's minds and the way of the efficiency which the current government led by present go to the rajapaksa has managed things. anger has boiled over on the streets of beirut as residents direct blame for tuesday's deadly port explosion at lebanon's leaders 16 employees of beirut sports have been detained protests says took to the streets as french president in

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 a struggles to bring the pandemic under control. and pitching in to help for such a city in the u.k. where it's too. in a community effort to combat coronavirus and i'm peter stennis 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 but the search goes on in the rubble and around the port the number of the.

central city of candy the election win does pave the way for the prime minister mahinda rajapaksa 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

mr rajapaksa wants this man, his brother mahinda, to be his prime minister.nce secretary. the election is happening amid the unprecedented coronavirus crisis. sri lanka has managed to contain the outbreak, with the deaths onlyjust into double figures. the entire world is now subject to covid—19 infection. sri lanka is one of the best countries to face it successfully and to save its own citizens. the president, gota baya raja pa ksa, has shown he's a unique leader, and because of that, people have a new hope. however, the rajapaksa brothers still face accusations of rights abuses during the war with the tamil rebels which ended in 2009. they deny any wrongdoing, but the rajapaksas' supporters, mostly drawn from the majority sinhalese, dismiss the criticism over rights abuses. sri lanka has enjoyed a relative political stability for the last nine months, especially after the devastating easter sunday bomb attacks last year. president gotabaya raja pa ksa's party wants to capitalise on that to secure a two—thirds majority in parliament so that they can change t

let's get a round up of some other stories now sri lanka is ruling party led by the powerful rajapaksa brothers has won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections with a 2 thirds majority the s.l.p. party can now amend the constitution to expand powers for a president both the via rajapaksa and ensure that his older brother my him that keeps his job as prime minister. thousands of young doctors in south korea have staged a one day strike and gathered in the capital seoul they're angry at government plans to expand admissions to medical schools as a way of resolving a shortage of doctors critics say the plan would nurture low quality medical schools and worsen the quality of health care. thousands of baby sea turtles have been released into the wild by conservationists on indonesia's island of bali the aim is to raise awareness of the need to protect the endangered species the population of sea turtles has declined significantly because of poaching pollution and habitat destruction. and the u.s. has added 1800000 jobs last month more than expected overall unemployment fell to just over 10 pe

a frontrunner in these elections and if it holds a majority in parliament it will give the rajapaksa brothers more power and control over the island's politics the some drug bill of a god and the united national party or its main rivals the economy in the national security the pandemic and corruption are all some of the major concerns among sri lankan voters barney fonseca is a human rights lawyer and senior researcher at the center for policy alternatives joins me now from the capital colombo good to have you with us it seems that the turnout was looking pretty low to start with in the early parts of the election process but officials do consider the fact that covert 19 has been a major issue for those going to the ballot box what takes priority in your opinion is it political change or is it medical safety. so i think we've seen the consumer turn out still fighting the many fifty's and. well already then i think i'm here to worry any election and be doing at the end. but at the same denying that i can recall actions and. save the nation state and in terms of their grace. but we are having e

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 government inc

president got a buyer rajapaksa dissolve the 225 member parliament 6 months ahead of schedule and he called the snap election in sri lanka people's front party which is led by brother prime minister mahinda rajapaksa is a frontrunner in these elections and if it holds a majority in parliament it will give the rajapaksa brothers more power and control over the island's politics the journal and the united national party are the main challengers the economy national security the pandemic and corruption just some of the major concerns among sri lankan voters now well let's speak to how should the silver in colombo he's a former sri lankan state minister and member of parliament good to have you with us so up until at least about an hour ago it seemed like the turnout was a little less than usual do you think it was the right decision to hold near election now amidst all the concerns over a pandemic. well i mean it was the choice of the president will have the election that soon as possible because he won the right don and they started up the president sitting next solo and also we've been campaigning in the long period of time usually a campaign is just maybe 6 weeks b

so i'm fully back to bill in doha with a look at our main stories on al-jazeera the rajapaksa brothers have won a landslide victory in sri lanka's palm entry elections along with their allies their ruling party has secured the 2 for its majority needed to carry out sweeping constitutional reforms me now fernandez has more from colombo it's a reflection of the sort of mindset of the shillong people living in the sort.