Here and also coming up firming up their grip on power sri lankas new president appoints his brother to be Prime Minister. And a show of support for hong kongs protesters as the u. S. Congress threatened sanctions if human rights are not held. A man once considered to be an ally of donald trump has publicly stated the president wanted to withhold military aid to ukraine in exchange for an investigation into his political rival americas ambassador to the European Union testified before the impeachment inquiry into the u. S. President on wednesday hes gotten some deal and he also implicated other top officials saying quote everyone was in the loop alan fischer reports from washington. From the u. S. Ambassador to the e. U. Stunning testimony and said it was abundantly clear to everyone ukraine would not receive military aid from the u. S. Or a meeting at the white house unless it announced an investigation into a Company Connected to the son of political opponent question joe biden was there a quid pro quo as i testified previously with regard to the requested white house call and the white house meeting the answer is yes. Sunderland previously denied the security it was conditioned on the biden investigation but he told the Impeachment Panel it was in the absence of any credible explanation for the suspension of aid i later came to believe that the resumption of security aid would not occur until there was a Public Statement from ukraine committing to the investigations of the 2016 elections and were recently and he insisted senior figures on the administration knew what was going on including the Vice President and the secretary of state everyone was in the loop the suggestion that we were engaged in some irregular or rogue diplomacy is absolutely false im not sure how someone could characterize something as an irregular channel when youre talking to the president the United States the secretary of state the National Security adviser the chief of staff of the white house the secretary of energy he said trump insisted u. S. Diplomats what with his private attorney Rudy Giuliani on handling ukraine so we followed the president s orders sundin says giulianis direction on ukraine became more insidious with time in early july a coveted white house visit for ukrainian president let him use a lengthy was dangled as an award for ukraines cooperation which but later saw england testified it became upon the 400000000. 00 in security aid was also on the line someone testified that in a phone call with the oval office he asked trump an open ended question what did the president won from ukraine the answer he wanted nothing and republicans and the president claims that proves the impeachment hearing is a waste of time its over and some of the fair friends of which there is a deal mike said this thing is over nancy pelosi is a company that has gotten nothing done in congress and now with their big star witness is going to be their star witness said. So you know i dont know very well from a little witness confirmation the ukrainians asked why it was being held up as i think quite a coming sooner than previously reported my staff showed me 2 unclassified emails that they received from the state Department One was received on july 25th at 2 31 pm that email said that the Ukrainian Embassy and House Foreign Affairs committee are asking about Security Assistance democrats called sunderlands testimony a seminal moment it goes right to the heart of the issue of bribery as well as other potential high crimes or misdemeanors but we also have heard for the 1st time that that knowledge of this scheme was pervasive. Republicans continue to insist the president did nothing wrong that the hearings are a waste of time and money the latest attempt to remove an elected president but this testimony from a trump loyalists mean democrats moving closer to impeachment and republicans rethinking how to defend the president alan fischer aljazeera washington. Well staying with american politics democratic president ial hopefuls have spent more time criticizing President Trump than each other during the 5th debate in atlanta with the impeachment inquiry and unavoidable backdrop tame candidates took to the stage they included front runners Joe Biden Bernie sanders and Elizabeth Warren each heatedly made accusations against mr trump although Bernie Sanders said they shouldnt become obsessed. We have a president who is not only a pathological liar he is likely the most corrupt president in the modern history of america but we cannot simply be consumed by donald trump because if we are going to water were going to lose the election American People understand is that the congress can walk and chew bubble gum at the same thought it over words we can deal with trumps corruption but we also have to stand up for the working families of this country. California senator also accused the president of the law we have a criminal living in the white house and there is no question that in 2020 the Biggest Issue before us until we get to that tender moment is justice is on the ballot and what we saw today is ambassador sonnen by his own words told us that everyone was in the loop that means it is a criminal enterprise engaged in by the president from what we heard today the Vice President the secretary of state and the chief of staff well staying with that story just in sage mitchell this is just a professor at the Northwestern University here in castle she says impeachment was always going to be a big talking point for the democrats. There was a focus on the impeachment especially at the beginning i actually thought it was a really good move on the part of the debate organizers to start with the question because its the elephant in the room or the circus in washington d. C. You might say but at the same time i dont think they dwelt on it because the candidates really dont have any daylight between them on this issue or virtually everyone on that stage agrees that the president. May have committed impeachable offenses and that its important for congress to take seriously their their constitutional duty to protect our democracy so after that original question we we seem to move forward into actually quite a substantive and strong debate for many candidates you know it was interesting the speculation at the beginning of this of this debate previous was that people may get a lot of attacks by his fellow candidates and this is because he has just had a very Strong Holding in the state of iowa and the reason why iowa is important because its the 1st state for the primaries in in february of this next year and he was the top the top candidate in that recent poll but we didnt actually see this huge ganging up on on people we did see Elizabeth Warren once again have an extremely strong debate the main focus was on her from the start she dominated the 1st hour finish strongly ended up with the most speaking time but actually all 4 of the top tier candidates including Bernie Sanders joe biden and people. Had strong debates and so did the 2nd tier candidates cory Booker Harris and. And also which are and the most important thing here was that the message in tone overall was this message of civility and unity its very clear that the democrats are trying to portray themselves as the adults in the room and in direct contrast to the circus that is the trump white house. Because newly elected president rajapaksa as just been sworn in by his own brother as the next Prime Minister rajapaksa himself served as president for 10 years his brother was elected to the presidency just last week to buy a rajapaksa to be tough on Security Issues in large feast and bomb attacks that happened earlier this year fernandez joins us live now from columbus whats expected from this rajapaksa access i guess. Then entirely rajapaksa showed just behind me the president ial secretary it is where the former president 8 was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of sri lanka warnin by the new president go top there rajapaksa obviously the vision as they have portrayed during the Election Campaign rajapaksa is to address the concerns of the sri lankan people they have made National Security a priority which has been a big issue since the easter bombings in april this year they have vowed to bring back this state essential of security make sure lankans feel safe again theyve also essentially pledged to address all the shortcomings theyve said that they will deal with the economy they will deal with the concerns of the shell and can people now the president with his Prime Minister brother obviously quite keen to get on with fulfilling those pledges because they have a general election in the near future peter there are so many specifics minal the economy security as youve just touched on divisions within the country it feels like theyre rising month after month particular after the easter bomb attacks how are they going to handle those specifics. Peter obviously the economy has been a key concern not just for administrative and planners but for the common man on the streets here in sri lanka over the last couple of years as the economy has been burdened with a huge amount of Debt Repayment obviously in terms of sri lankas commitments towards all the laws that we had taken particularly during the rajapaksa regime but also after to keep the economy afloat you know people found that it was difficult to make ends meet their day to day kind of activities their expenses they found were skyrocketing the amount of goods that they could purchase at the store for their essential. You know began to get smaller and smaller for the same amount of money over the last couple of years so these are key factors that sort of made them rethink when the last times election came around so these are challenges obviously for the rajapaksa brothers they have said that they have a plan that they will address the issues that they will balance off obviously the debt as well as the key economic factors and basically ease things for the sri lankan people now obviously i keep going back to this election that they have to face its going to be a bit of a feel good factor over the next couple of months at least until the general election but obviously they have their work cut out for them in balancing the numbers and in getting the economy back on track again peter thank you so much. The u. S. Congress is threatening sanctions against china if human rights are not upheld in hong kong the house of representatives has approved a bill supporting human rights in the territory just 24 hours after the Senate Passed its but china is accused washington of interfering in its internal affairs and summoned the u. S. Diplomats in beijing. In hong kong about 100 student protesters are still inside a University Campus surrounded by the Police Standoff began on sunday sarah clarke has the latest. Police have sealed off this entire area around Polytechnic University and we believe up to 100. 00 people are still barricaded up inside overnight we had a few people the 1st voluntarily surrendered and were arrested as a result of the last few days weve had more than 1000 people leave this campus and of course face arrest now at the moment round this particular area we have huge Traffic Congestion here is the tunnel its been closed since last wednesday and its a major tunnel connecting hong kong and also weve had in the u. S. The passage of the hong kong human rights and democracy act passed the Senate Unanimously yesterday and today it was the house of representatives now the Hong Kong Government has responded to that its told the u. S. To stop meddling in hong kong it also says that this particular passage of this bill since the wrong message to call them the violent protests this bill requires the u. S. To certify that hong kong is protecting and respecting human rights in hong kong and also if this bill does get passed by donald trump it could also introduce sanctions on the Hong Kong Government. Still to come for you here on aljazeera violence in bolivia continues to spiral as the Security Forces try to stop ongoing. Also ahead why the government in greece says it will close done several large migrant camps housing thousands of people. Hello again welcome back to your International Weather forecast well were still looking at flooding here in parts of italy this time i do want to take you up here towards the northwest near genoa show you what they have been dealing with over the last several days heavy rain has been calling flooding along parts of the area as well as mudslides in some cases landslides people have had to be evacuated and were also looking at Power Outages in the region as well whats causing it well this very slow area of low pressure bring a lot of instability across the region as we go towards the next couple of days though were going to be seeing often rain showers in this area but it looks like things will be slowly Getting Better in that region as well now here towards the west though take a look at the winds that are building across parts of portugal in spain and that is going to because of course some storm surge across the area we could also be seeing some flooding in that region as well towards the east oh it is those temperatures they are beginning to drop we are seeing those temperatures well below average for this time of year in kiev starting on thursday at about 3 degrees normally this time of year that is the average but as we go towards friday as well as into saturday we could be seeing below average conditions and the winds are going to be a big problem across much of this area so wind chill if it says minus 3 its going to feel more like minus 10 and saturday will be some sun in the forecast. The weather sponsored by town and. Protesting about how does this information when theyre on the. My wife basements will see. If you join us on saturday this is an attack. On our ability to do research and teach freely this is a dialogue myanmar is not making it very welcoming for people to come everyone has a voice Climate Change is real d the discussion is for real and im here to talk about the solutions on aljazeera. Welcome if youre just joining us youre watching aljazeera live from the top stories. Has told the impeachment inquiry into donald trump that the president wanted to withhold military aid to ukraine in exchange for an investigation into his political rival the u. S. Ambassador to the e. U. Who was once an ally also implicated other top officials. Democratic president ial hopefuls during their debates cannot land senator Bernie Sanders called him the most corrupt president in American History we also want democrats not to get too obsessed with. Newly elected president rajapaksa has just been sworn in part me hes just sworn in his own brother as the next Prime MinisterMahinda Rajapaksa himself served as president for 10 years his brother was elected to the presidency last week. The 3rd general election within 12 months in israel does appear increasingly likely following the latest failure to form a government benny gantz main rival the Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu didnt make weapons tonights deadline to arrange a coalition mr netanyahu also failed so in backing for a Coalition Following 2 inconclusive elections this year both were hoping to win the backing of the former defense minister Avigdor Lieberman but his party refused to support either of them are a force it is in west jerusalem where 4 hours before the expiration of the deadline for benny gantz to make a Coalition Government he came to the microphones to admit what had been coming increasingly clear throughout the course of the day that he had failed but he put the blame for that squarely at the feet of the Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu saying he had been fortifying himself inside a Transitional Government against the will of the israeli people just to try to avoid prosecution in pending Corruption Cases and he used particularly personal language in a very strong attack against netanyahu saying that no party leader was above the nation no person had the right to deny the people their vote no Prime Minister own leader could say that my interests are more important than yours and he said that netanyahu had been putting poison into the israeli political process through hatred and incitement and he said that israel now faced its greatest democratic test in its history as now the 21 day period begins where any member of the Israeli Parliament the knesset could theoretically try to form a Coalition Government if they have enough support otherwise israel is off to a 3rd round of elections within less than a year because we are would so usually score. This netanyahu needs to remember israel still has a democracy even if it doesnt appeal to him and he should have come to terms with the fact that the outcome of the elections required him to negotiate directly with no blocks or barriers. Well earlier the right wing politician of the door lieberman had been seen as the kingmaker in this process so that he had been able to convince either netanyahu or gantz to compromise enough to form a joint unity government the only kind of government that he said he would support with his crucial seats in the Israeli Parliament so what comes next for the only way really that a 3rd election could be avoided is if the threat of that election which is so unpopular with the electorate is enough in itself to try to pressure key players to compromise more or if when netanyahu and we do think it is when theyre finally gets charged by the attorney general in the coming days in his 3 Corruption Cases whether that changes the calculus within his own party enough to try to splinter support away from him theres been no sign of that in the run up to those charges coming in the support has so far been rock solid behind him and so for now this grinding political crisis goes on with no sign of an end perhaps it will only end and maybe not even then if the 3rd round of elections happens in the early part of next year irans president is claiming victory over petrol price rise protesters Hassan Rouhani is blaming what he calls foreign enemies including the u. S. Israel and saudi arabia for plotting the nationwide unrest last week petrol prices soared after the government which is struggling with u. S. Sanctions cut fuel subsidies. A former Egyptian Army contractor who inspired street protests against the president has announced what he calls a roadmap for political change muhammad ali made his plans public in london before embarking on a tour of europe and the u. S. Has more. He describes himself as an accidental revolutionary but muhammad ali is now embarking on something very deliberate a plan to unite egypts opposition and the country against president abdel fattah elsisi. He says hes assembled a team of experts who will present the egyptian people with a Political Program in a matter of weeks without going into any further detail on the program or who the socalled experts early then wants to hold an online referendum on the plan and if he gets enough support hes hoping for a change of leadership within a year if sisi fails to go quietly at least threatening to provoke more protests. In the coming days our program will be presented to egyptians will then ask if doesnt leave will start a revolution against him and he was once the head of a Large Construction Company raking in lucrative contracts from the army and police he describes it as the shady world of bribes and nepotism he says he built a palace for sisi Intelligence Headquarters and hotels owned by regime members but he fell out of favor with powerful people was blocked from further business. This is how he responded scripted videos ridiculing sisi. The alleged corruption at the highest levels. The clips quickly went viral inspiring some protests in several egyptian cities in a country where more than 30 percent of people live in poverty during those protests more than 4000 people were arrested. And he says he stopped the videos for now fearing a personal responsibility for those who had his calls to protest but for someone with no political experience who made his fortune working as a contractor for the Egyptian Military part of the corrupt system he wants to overturn early is now trying to build some credibility. Youre somebody that has done very well for working with the current Egyptian Army and weve seen the can you explain where the moment happened where that relationship turned bad or what is motivating you down to do this i when i was brought up in a culture that made me believe that our leaders knew what they were doing and that they were honorable and respectable people were told not to talk about politics or get involved in it that it was larger than us who were frightened of it but we understood that a Single Person controls the destiny of everyone and thats when i began to understand how the government works. The city leadership is dismissed early as a troublemaker and a traitor something he would jacks social media has given him the power to mobilize some people to fight against sisi he says is entering a new phase. London. And at least 8 people in bolivia are concerned fighting with the police and the military who are trying to secure a fuel plant and as Mariana Sanchez reports now from some protesters remain unaccounted for. In a tiny church in 6 men with covered with blankets and laid on preen benches they died in tuesdays protest families mourn in shock waiting for an explanation of what happened. If you dont live in a part of the lower my cousin they all had a life ahead not even a rapist or murderer is killed this way yet the can assist his young nephew was not protesting he was hit by a bullet in the head. But i dont get it because he was shot from a helicopter they destroyed his head. Outside the church angry bolivians demanded justice blaming Security Forces for the deaths. Human rights organizations here say social unrest is spiraling and Security Forces were given a green light to quell the protest. On tuesday a government minister said the army hadnt shot one bullet but stopped short of saying the same about the police. These images show Police Shooting towards protesters 1st in cochabamba last friday and in atlanta on tuesday. Neighbors shared images on social media of the army also appearing to fire live around them be animals be still we have also seen the shootings and now there has to be an investigation to know who shot them. Protesters blame interim president jenny and his for the killings and are demanding her resignation. Say they want to withdraw the 3 that the police and the military. Council there havent posted. The interim government released it says is an audio recording of former president it will model is ordering allies to reinforce blockades that have stalled much of. The deadly protests prompted jenny nonuse to say she will color lections immediately. Present and we are presenting the bill for the transitional electoral regime for the 2020 general elections. Back in the church the families of the victims say they dont trust aeneas or any Public Servant they say they didnt let their loved ones be taken to the morgue autopsies were performed in the church a familys waited for answers. This is protesters escorted yet another dead man into the church. And innocent just all just sida to believe. Now to greece where the government in essence says it will move thousands of refugees currently in camps on various islands to the mainland but the decision is facing a backlash from many greeks as John Psaropoulos now reports from the region of macedonia. This hotel in northern greece is surrounded by cotton fields far from the sea and the tourist sites it would most likely be closed for winter instead the International Organization for migration is paying it almost 2000. 00 a day to house 135 syrian afghan and iraqi Asylum Seekers moved here from the greek islands where theres no proper accommodation for them asked merde who spent 2 years on the island of heroes has been granted asylum and can now dream of the future here now to find other work on this and we used to get moved from wherever we pitched our turn to us it was a small place nobody wanted us now i plan to go to work for another barber and in time i will save money to open my own shop but not everyone in the local town of help you going to thinks refugees should be allowed to work here the economic crisis has left nearly 20 percent of people unemployed including the local mothers i spoke to us theyre not refugees theyre Illegal Migrants refugees are from war zones afghanistan isnt at war nor is kuwait no the african countries they pick up their i phones and tell their relatives back home this free accommodation free food free healthcare and free transport and our children have nothing they have unemployment and they get bullied by the migrants in the nearby camp of the of a 1000 people have sponsored cash cards to spend on local groceries locals also find work caring for refugees and 4 and a half 1000 apartments nationwide a rented 2 Asylum Seekers paid for with e. U. Money but this refugee economy is not addressing growing greek concern the government has moved about 4000 people from the island since september and. Runs to move a total of 20000. 00 by the end of the year but many greeks are beginning to feel this is a pointless exercise the islands quickly fill up again with new arrivals and camps like this one in northern greece a growing greece is now hosting about 100000. 00 Asylum Seekers arrivals from turkey are averaging almost 10000. 00 a month more than triple the numbers at the start of the year the greek government recently us to its e. U. Partners to take 4000. 00 unaccompanied minors off its hands only one country responded the benefits of the refugee economy are giving way to refugee fatigue and the feeling that greece is facing a global migration crisis all on its jumpstart ople us al jazeera in the greek region of macedonia. Peace and ill be here and a quick reminder of your top stories this hour gold and some learned has told the impeachment inquiry into donald trump that the president wanted to withhold military aid to ukraine in exchange for an investigation into his political rival the u. S. Ambassador to the e. U. There was once an ally mr trump also implicated other top officials saying quote everyone was in the loop was there a quid pro quo as i testified previously with regard to the requested white house call and the white house meeting the answer is yes mr giuliani conveyed to secretary perry ambassador volker and others that President Trump wanted a Public Statement from president selenski committing to investigations of the recent and the 2016 election democratic president ial hopefuls have criticized mr trump during their debate in atlanta senator Bernie Sanders called him the most corrupt president in u. S. History but also one democrats not to get too obsessed with mr trump. Sri lankas newly elected president go to by a rajapaksa has been sworn in his own brother as the next Prime MinisterMahinda Rajapaksa himself served as president for 10 years his brother was elected to the presidency last week go to buy a rajapaksa as well to be tough on Security Issues in light of the easter bombings that happened earlier this year. The u. S. House of representatives has approved a bill to support human rights in hong kong 24 hours after the Senate Passed it in hong kong itself around 100. 00 student protesters remain surrounded by the police in the University Campus for a 5th day. A 3rd general election within 12 months in israel appears increasingly likely following the latest failure to form a government benny gantz the main rival to the Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu didnt make weapons tonights deadline to arrange a coalition mr netanyahu also failed so in backing for a Coalition Following 2 inconclusive elections earlier this year irans president is claiming victory over petrol price rise protestors Hassan Rouhani is blaming what he calls foreign enemies including the us israel and saudi arabia up next is the stream but. The Prime Minister. Mission is to deliberate. On the 31st about. Making this country the greatest place on earth pretty much it is. Full of drama brick sit on aljazeera. Welcome to the stream. Georgias government is under pressure and made mass protests for snap elections but the countrys leaders are digging in so what happens next send us your thoughts on twitter and you tube and you could be part of todays show. All against one thats the chant voiced by thousands of people who joined antigovernment protests that convulsed georgias capital this week they say they will continue to speak out against politicians from the ruling Georgian Dream party who backtracked on an Electoral Reform pledge aljazeera as Robin Forrester walker covered 110. 00