A show of strength 6 months on and hong kong hundreds of thousands of antigovernment activists continue their demand for political reform. And. The 49 year old for the new champions battling. There are reports of injuries and missing taurus after a volcano erupted off the east coast of new zealand a plane with white smoke was seen coming from white island a group of tourists was saying walking in the crater moments before the Prime Minister says around 100 people were on or near the island at the time of the eruption and some of those people are unaccounted for. Supporting the National EmergencyManagement Agency following an eruption at white island off the coast. Do keep in mind this is a situation. Around 100. 00 people were on or around b. Island at the time and some of. The counted for a number of people reportedly injured and are being transported. Joins us now from auckland so rachel what else do we know how how remote is this island how difficult is it for people to get to. Good action its not very difficult at all to get to we have helicopter to with which go there and also the boats but the problem is that it is of all kind of which is a ruptured so there are issues around that with a quality being one of them and also the danger that comes with an erupting volcano so we have and the agency tames which out on their way there as we understand that nobody has managed to reach it as yet however just recently the volcano alert level has just dropped down so they site has been monitoring the volcano sensitive updated and the activity has decreased which means its a little bit more cipher for them to access the island so we are expecting an update in one hours time where we are hoping to learn exactly what theyve found once ive reached the island is there anywhere for people to go should the worst happen which is what is happening now people on the island when this volcano erupts is there anywhere for people to go. There is so the companies that run the 2 is that go they operate extremely safely and they analyze the risk level of the volcano on any given day and that determines how far they can get from the crisis except tra and they do have a container which is there that people can buy 1 into if an eruption could and so as i say we are unsure if anybody made it to that container and were hoping to get that information at some point saving when was the last time Something Like this happened if ever. We this is new zealands most active volcano if d its not uncommon to hear of why john and erupting but what is uncommon today is the the level of it so it was classed as a level 45 is the highest so weak minded eruptions all the time but it has been some time since weve had anything of this level and we certainly havent had any casualties how popular of a Tourist Destination is this. I really really populous d the other as i said that were getting through to our news from the south and it is it might not actually be a new zealand is who is there that there is a cruise ship called from the Royal Caribbean branch the ovation of the save now that the at a nearby port this morning and were hearing reports that it was actually passengers from that ship that had gone across to do a day to it today so were trying to get confirmation of that as well but by i believe to be from of a sion of the seas but certainly it is an extremely popular Tourist Destination so many tourists go there and you feel and this is well journalist Rachel Jackson lee thank you very much for that update that of the investigation into a shooting at a u. S. Naval base in florida says theyre working on the presumption the attack was an act of terrorism Saudi Air Force officer Mohammad Saeed also ronnie shot dead 3 students on friday had a crown Prince Mohammed bin simon has called the u. S. President to express his condolences and for schapelle has more more information from the f. B. I. About Mohammed Saeed also madani a junior officer in the royal Saudi Air Force who shot a live in people on friday killing 3 sailors our main goal right now is to confirm whether he acted alone or was he a part of a Larger Network we can only assess there was one gunman who perpetrated this attack and no arrests. Have been made in this case. On the open fire in a classroom using a gun that hed legally purchased around 2 hours beforehand he allegedly tweeted his disdain for u. S. Troops returning to saudi arabia calling america a nation of evil our hearts break for the families who lost their precious loved ones in this atrocity another atrocity. The President Trump has helped the saudis with damage control conveying the kingdoms condolences others want the military Training Program to be paused for us to be bringing in these foreign nationals you have to take precautions to protect the country. He was one of more than 850 Saudi Nationals in the u. S. Benefiting from this program which its defenders say is vital to u. S. National security thousands of students from more than 150 countries take part in it sadly i think this is one of those instances where someone slipped through the cracks but we have to be 100 percent sure but we never will be 100 percent sure get their Flight School maybe go fly jets would be pretty cool but for families of 23 year old Joshua Caleb Watson in alabama this weekend 21 year old Cameron Scott walters in georgia and 19 year old Mohammed Sama hate them in florida its a tragedy too hard to bear. The navy says they ran towards danger and saved lives without them the incident could have been far worse and or chapell aljazeera. And hong kong a strike has been called to mark 6 months since the start of antigovernment protests on sunday 800000 people turned out for a mass rally to demand for text of their democratic freedoms and they go pollen reports i. Fight for freedom one of the many slogans chanted by the hundreds of thousands who gave up their sunday for yet another protest was they came from all walks of life young and old and in all shapes and sizes the march was meant to coincide with the United Nations human rights day on call is no longer free so. The fall is crumbled to the ground you like to stand out expression hoping it. Is folly that c many marched with 5 fingers in the air to symbolize the movements 5 demands including political reform investigation into allegations of Police Brutality against protesters and amnesty for activists arrested and accused to frighten the organizers say this is the last chance for the government to give in to their demands now over the past couple of weeks since local elections showed over gun support for the protest movement had somewhat subsided or become more peaceful but the government hasnt shown any willingness to make any concessions. Since june there have been hundreds of demonstrations possessions and Public Meetings but to response from the government has been muted to oh yeah i dont think we should decide whether to come out by sun how effective these protests as long as i believe what i am doing is right and our demands have not been met it will continue to come out and not be deterred by the governments inaction this protest was organized by the civil human rights front the Group Responsible for some of the biggest demonstration turnouts this is the 1st time since august they have been given permission by the police for a mile. Which and its the 1st time in months this many people have taken part in hong kong is the only city in china where people can express dissent freely and the fight to preserve its autonomy and freedoms has attracted much international attention. To the problem because they see its not just the own people its a problem of democracy in the world many of the demonstrators left after finishing the 4 kilometer march to the citys Financial Center leaving behind the more hardline masked and black testers who have become a familiar symbol of the movement. They have done over the months they set up barricades blocking main roads of police looked on was that after hours of tense exchanges the protesters decided it was time to retreat and so with no violent confrontations remained a peaceful rally to mark 6 months since the protests and political turmoil began devika pollen are jazeera hong kong. Place in india say they dont expect to recover any more bodies from a building that was destroyed in a fire in the capital on sunday more than 40 people were killed when the factory burnt down in new delhi its the worst fire in the city and more than 2 decades its not yet known what caused it the buildings owner and manager though had been arrested. Thousands of people in ukraine are rallied against a planned meeting between their president and the russian leader in paris on monday the talks framed it finding a breakthrough to end the war in Eastern Ukraine the conflict between kiev and russian backed separate s. Has killed more than 14000 people in 5 years. Moscow. A little bit where you know this is the ukraine capital kiev if just one day before the paris meeting and it shows depression president followed is facing while many ukrainians want an end to what is described as europes forgotten war these protests us accuse him of surrendering to russian president Vladimir Putin. Zelinsky was elected in may on his promise to end the war that began in 2014 when russian backed separatists occupied cities in the east of ukraine i its not only cost thousands of lives. But also destroyed large parts of the country taking a huge toll on the economy. In 2016 peace talks stalled with both ukraine and russia accusing each other of fire agreements but after becoming president s alinsky broke the stalemate by if we need to have elections in russian backed territories and allowing them a special status both nations Exchange Prisoners and some troops will withdraw all conditions are in place for return to the negotiating table but expectations for a major breakthrough are low yeah almost daily ceasefire violations and theres little trust between the 2 flights but i must say the fact that the talks are happening since yesterday but its looking for a positive outcome. And thats perhaps because another part of ukraine is not up for negotiations in paris crimea which was annexed by russia 5 years ago. We took crimea and the worst will just accept this because theyre interested to go back to business as usual. The main outcome of the normal talks for putin is the fact that he is welcome again in europes power circles this is exactly what these protesters in kiev fear most that european leaders are tired of the war and sanctions against russia its good for selenski to accept major compromises for example in the timing of the elections in the territories at the center of the conflict selenski insists they can only be health after the troops have pulled out but russia does not agree that facet of aljazeera moscow. Still ahead on aljazeera. Full of foreigners protesting her song thousands take aim at colombias government plus. Hes never coming back never. Want to lose. The same for a while to the sesame street puppets here who brought childrens favorites big bird and oscar the grouch to life. Work in the east was through much of iran since no to the high levels as well what a banker can see the on at the satellites as we go through monday the washouts coming in behind that system working their way through the eastern end of the mediterranean pushing across into syria becoming more widespread on that choose day and sunny plenty of cloud on tuesday all of this of pushing south was keeping those temperatures low or just 17 in baghdad 21 here a city and look at the rain now this rain is working its way south was through the gulf bringing rain across into bahrain and eventually on into counter but certainly a dull day on monday the rain though really is expected to be quite heavy at times as we go through choose a and very extensive as well as you can see working its way still across into the southern areas of iraq and then from there we had further to the south were watching out like im bella it is monday that it is expected to actually make landfall with sunday produce some very heavy amounts of rain pushing into these Northern Areas of madagascar elsewhere again plenty of rain working its way across into southern mozambique and these eastern and southern sections of south africa also saying the rain its been raining here really for the last week or so becoming very extensive on tuesday but not cold 21 in. Good weather sponsored by cattle railways. Right. Watching out to 0 lets recap the top stories right now there are reports several people have been injured after a while came erupted off the east coast of new zealand the countrys Prime Minister says around 100. 00 people were on or near the island at the time of the eruption with some on accounted for. The head of the f. B. I. Investigation into a shooting at a u. S. Naval base in florida says theyre working on the presumption the attack was an act of terrorism a Saudi National who was there to receive training shot dead 3 students on friday. And thousands of ukrainians have rallied against president watermarks selenski is planned meeting with Vladimir PutinUkrainian Forces have been fighting separatists backed by moscow for 5 years now in Eastern Ukraine. Gulf leaders will meet and riyadh this week for the 40 to section session of the Gulf Cooperation Council the 6 nation regional bloc has struggles as 2017 and saudi arabia the u. A. E. Bahrain and egypt sever ties with qatar and imposed a blockade. Reports on whether the summit might offer a new beginning. For the 1st time in years there are signs that a diplomatic dispute that has better allies the gulf region may be easing thats according to statements made by foreign minister. Fanny during a conference in rome on friday we have moved from a stalemate. To some progress where there are some talks. That took place between us and. Specifically and saudi and we hope that these talks would lead. To a progress where we can. C. N. N. 2444 of the crisis. This is the last time gulf leaders put on a show of unity that was in riyadh in may 2017 a few weeks later saudi arabia u. A. E. Behala egypt cut diplomatic ties with qatar accusing it of funding extremism and building closer ties with iran qatar has repeatedly denied the charges and rejected a list of 13 demands by the blockade in countries which include closing a Turkish Military base downgrading ties with iran and shutting down the aisle to 0 media network. The u. S. Has called on its gulf allies to and their feud fearing the rift might undermine its 1st to contain what it sees as irans growing influence in the region the signs are they are but at the same time despite these 2 momentous steps that have been taken over the past weeks we know that to know why diplomatic initiatives have so far over the past 2 and a half years taken place with our robust u. S. Diplomatic pressure in the background there have been signs of possible deescalation in recent weeks saudi arabia the u. A. E. And bahrain took part in a golf football tournament held in doha reversing an earlier decision to boycott the event many are now waiting to see if the same effort and corporation will be in place to end the crisis that began in june 2017. 0. The number of sydneys troops fighting in yemen has dropped by more than 10000 sudans Prime Minister says 15000 soldiers were initially part of the saudi american Led Coalition battling hit the rebels but that number is now down to 5000 bucks as a political solution is the only way to end the for your conflict. Taliban and u. S. Negotiators ever same talks aimed at ending the war in afghanistan president halted those meetings in september following the killing of a u. S. Soldier now he is hoping for a solution before the 2020 president ial election tony burke he asked more from kabul when president abruptly canceled the talks with the taliban in september he said it was because of the killing of a u. S. Soldier he said the talks were dead but many believe it was because it was felt the u. S. Was giving away too much or too little but with the resumption of talks in doha observers say they are starting where they left off with no change one thing is for sure the u. S. Led coalition the United States of america is very keen to put an end to disprove that was started long back there had 9 rounds of talks in 2018 in 2019 and perhaps this is the time where it needs to be done and dusted the Afghan Government has been sidelined from the Previous Year long dialogue because the taliban refuses direct talks but president ash afghanis government bolstered by a series of military successes is quietly optimistic that now the talks will lead to a place at the negotiating table few months ago. We was and defense position. Of position when. We took the money district from taliban we are doing much better in the who is there is too important and one. Ceasefire one of. Both of these demands have been rejected by the taliban in the past but President Trump talked optimistically about a cease fire during a visit to u. S. Troops in afghanistan in november where he also met the afghan president asked for afghani taliban wants to make a deal and were meeting with them and were saying it has to be a cease fire and then you want to do is use fire but now they do want to do a cease fire i believe would probably work. But so far the taliban has not responded to that claim the afghan army with u. S. Air support has been taking territory recently but the taliban still controls more than 50 percent of the country its unlikely the taliban will agree to a ceasefire before theres a definitive signed agreement for a u. S. Troop withdraw its still in a strong position and a cease fire is a valuable bargaining chip it wont give away easily afghanistan has been in political deadlock since his president ial elections 3 months ago the results are still not been released because of allegations of widespread vote rigging and fraud that is unlikely to help the Peace Process the taliban has said the war is now about time and money and it has the time President Trump is keen to reduce the financial burden and bring the troops home and he wants that done before next years president ial election for such a complicated issue that may be an overly ambitious time frame Tony Berkeley aljazeera kabul. Some of colombias biggest artists have taken part in a concert in support of the recent antigovernment protests demonstrators are angry at present plans for Economic Reforms and want him to do more to tackle corruption and police violence. Reports. Another massive demonstration in colombia capital 18 days into an unprecedented run of protests known as the national strike. This time as a musical road show with 3 fixed stages 44 bands performing and a traveling concert. But despite the fish steve atmosphere objective remains the same demanding changes from the in popular government. That. Weve been on strike peacefully for 18 days because were not afraid anymore and will continue until the government gives us more solutions. University students and Union Members keep leading the strike but as the days go by larger sectors of society have been championing the protest in its demands from the middle class to artists and musicians. I have never seen in my life a movement that lasted this long and with such a huge participation of the youth i think we were apathetic because we lacked hope and i think this new generation is hopeful and this keeps motivating them and. As you know other latin american countries in unrest feminists fear to perform an anti rape protest song a rapist in your path that has become an international. At downpour in the early afternoon didnt stop the showing chance percent of colombians are supporting the strike and its demands from implementing the countrys peace deal with rebels to halting the killing of human rights activists in the country and Police Repression of protest but the focus now is im blocking legislation which would cut duties own businesses. Pressure president s ducasse government think congress are pushing forward with a number of reforms starting with tax reform the protesters want to see scrapped altogether many of the people present here today when the government to make a 180 degree turn well thats not going to happen anytime soon this government is not going to be come into a Center Left Government overnight it needs things that it can compromise on and these these protesters need to present the government with Viable Options were to do it. In the meantime the pressure will continue unabated with more demonstrations planned for next week alison the. Rest were killed rescue crews in kenya have pulled 2 people out of the rubble of a building 2 days after it collapsed there survivors were rushed to the hospital have to being found at least 5 people were killed when this 6 story residential building in nairobi fell on friday protesters demanding greater protection of the worlds oceans have marched in central madrid thousands of people gathered on one of the citys main roads and use props including a model whale skeleton to get their point across the demonstration is happening as mentor it hosts the annual u. N. Climate summit. Bahrain have crowned arabian gulf cup champions for the very 1st time a upset 3 time winner saudi arabia in the final and saw malik reports. The v. A. Arabian gulf cup came to a climax on sunday the tournament has largely gone by without incident despite the ongoing blockade on host nation qatar. And it was 2 of the 4 countries saudi arabia and bahrain that have imposed the land sea and air blockade since june 2017 that battled out in the final. While there were a few saudi fans in attendance and 900. 00 bahraini supporters flew to doha especially for the match a stark contrast to the asian cup earlier this year in fellow blockading nation the u. A. E. Were publicly supporting qatar it was an offense which made it pretty good once the action started it was saudi arabia that had the better chances i remember was the. Best opportunity to take the lead came inside the 1st quarter of an hour when they won a penalty unfortunately for them. Couldnt convert. And they were left through that mist in the 2nd time after the homicide putting the bahraini head with just over 20 minutes left it would prove to be the winner misery for sa eurabia elation for the bahraini as they celebrated their 1st ever arabian gulf cup title here dont have to be shifty maybe any of qatar shake to mean been hammered all funny was on hand to present the trophy it brought to a close the 1st of 2 major finals in qatar this month with the gulf nations set to host the Club World Cup organizers are hoping that competition will go by as smoothly so well malik aljazeera doha. The man behind some of the most iconic childrens characters has died american puppets here carol and he spent almost 5 decades playing big bird and oscar the grouch on the famous t. V. Show sesame street are banged up attacks a look at us like its a mystery big bird. Our the man behind the beloved character for generations of children. Are to carol spinny played big butt and its fast season. And then for nearly 50 years more when i can see from the very 1st scene which is the 1st show. It was going to be a different kind of show. Spinnys it was a playmate to hundreds of millions of children teaching them how to count and to be kind to one another one of the great things when they decided to make this show was to have it be as funny as it is educational and so its a lighthearted approach to education but he had more fun playing another signature character who lives in the trash. Very seriously. Oscar the grouch was modeled after a new york city cab driver who took him to work on the fast day of the show i. Have so pleased to puppetry that in but you do get that you know im not a virgin i act like a child bird or oscars not quite a roach and im not particularly grouchy he met his wife deborah and set the 2 married for more than 45 yeahs the Television Roles were more challenging to play in his later yes because of dystonia a condition which causes involuntary muscle contractions still he played the roles into his eightys and meant to do a new generation of property is retiring in 2018 barbara and aljazeera. Take a look at the headlines right now on aljazeera there are reports several people have been injured after a volcano erupted off the east coast of new Zealand Police say fewer than 50 people were on or near the island at the time of the eruption that of the f. B. I. Investigation into a shooting at a u. S. Naval base in florida says theyre working on the presumption the attack was an act of terrorism a Saudi National who was there to receive training and shot dead 3 students on friday defense secretary mark asked for says hes ordered a review of vetting procedures for Foreign Military personnel coming to the u. S. Or as governor says the u. S. Needs to be on guard for people coming from saudi arabia. Major social media trail this guy was it was somebody who you know just had a deep seated hatred for the United States and and that was that was pretty clear from from that and obviously the fact that he would do Something Like this and so you know my my view is is that. You know for us to be bringing in these foreign nationals you have to take precautions to protect the country the strike has been called in hong kong to mark 6 months since the start of antigovernment protests were going to have her say the movement shows no sign of slowing as hundreds of thousands joined one of the largest marches on sunday thousands of ukrainians have rallied against president lot of mars hill and skis plans meeting with Vladimir Putin creating an forces have been fighting separatists backed by moscow for 5 years now Eastern Ukraine placed in india say they do not expect to recover any more bodies from a building that was destroyed in a fire in the capital on sunday more than 40 people were killed in that fire tore through one of the oldest markets and burned out a factory in new delhi its the worst fire in the city in more than 2 decades the cause of the fire is not known but the buildings owner and manager had both been arrested. The number of sorties troops fighting in yemen has dropped by more than 10000 sudans Prime Minister says 15000 soldiers were an issue only part of the saudi a morality Led Coalition battling huth the rebels. Says a political solution is the only way to end that 4 year conflict and so the headlines keep it here on aljazeera of another bulletin for at the top of the hour in the meantime the listening post is next until now the coverage of latin america and most of the world was about covering khuda taz tragedies quakes and that was it but not how people feel how they look how they think and thats what we do we go anyway 5 and a half months of demanding an end to an Education System that was introduced. In latin america as you know has come to fill a void that needed to be filled. The u. K. Is bracing for an early election probably a setback. For starters which makes the country really fundamentalist. Churches leaving the country you are trying to account for but i think right now the same time misleading why should we believe. Hello im Richard Geres bird and youre at the listening post here are some of the media stories that were covering this week the british are in election mode once again and their news outlets are proving to be no more adept at dealing with a lying politician than american ones are my beauty