Shot in the arm its economy needs. Indias Prime Minister is grappling with his biggest domestic challenge since coming to power in 2014 Narendra Modi has been chairing a council of ministers to discuss the growing protests over the controversial citizenship law the police fired tear gas and water cannon at demonstrators in new delhi and other cities overnight at least 19 people have been killed and more than 4000 to taint countrywide since the unrest began last week now much of the violence on friday was in the Northern State of protest where protesters set fires and hurled rocks many have accused the police of using Excessive Force demonstrations have been largely peaceful in states controlled by the opposition where regional leaders see. They wont implement the new law on friday thousands took part in a rally in west bengal the states chief minister is a fierce opponent of mr modi all talk a good Party Government wants one religion to be separated we one led to happen we are united. Sabinus restaurant joins us live from new delhi sabina what else do we know about whats going on in this cabinet meeting. But we dont know much about what is going on in the cabinet these are what we do know is there has been some opposition from the from some of the leaders from the leading oil action as well on this controversial law and who fully expected that it was going to be some division so there has been some postulations from the some from some of the details within the governing party. Quite making it very communal but its its not sure how things will turn out as the crowds are not stopping despite the ban on all sorts of protests. Is this turning into a bigger problem than it was even just a couple of days ago for mr modi if youve got states ministers going public with their quite strong opposition to this legislation as it stands. It is going to be a larger problem for them or the government is whats interesting is that whats what started as a student protests has gone to by really its massive people from all the roots of nights are joining and what started as a protest against the citizenship law has become more than that its now has become a real test of force that integrity of the constitution people over here are calling for secularism that its in shining to. Should you should people over here are finding different interesting ways to protest and were not looking only at muslims protesting were looking at people from all walks of life religion all ages coming over here to protest every day for better or. For the constitution and for the integrity of the 1st fish did i say that this is an existential crisis for india. Thanks very much. Thousands of people are leaving syrias province of idlib heading for the border with turkey trying to get away from airstrikes and bomb attacks by the government and Russian Forces to president Bashar Al Assad wants to take back control of it liberate the last rebel stronghold the Un Security Council in new york meanwhile rejected rival resolutions that would have continued the delivery of aid to syria mike hanna explains. The establishment of the 4 crossing points has been renewed each year the 1st time that russia backed by china has cast a veto the drafters of the resolution had initially wanted 5 crossing points to be established but then they reduce this to 3 in the bill to avoid the russian and chinese veto but even this watered down resolution failed to pass raising once again the question of the credibility of the Security Council just as i was sitting. In the seat in a state of shock i am continuing to stand here in a state of shock and as many of you know when i started the presidency in the month of december i talked about credibility in the council and today we took a huge step backwards in credibility where it really matters russia in turn introduced its own resolutions suggesting to crossing points be open for a period of 6 months both on the Turkish Border this was rejected by 6 members of the council who labeled it as a cynical political move the United Kingdom voted against the russian text because we will not negotiate with a gun held to our heads over a cynical offer that would say fewer lives than we know is needed and that the un very clearly set out was necessary the one year term for the 4 crossing points expires on the 10th of january and unless the Security Council can come up with a compromise resolution by that date it will be millions of syrians with no humanitarian aid. Dozens more homes are being destroyed or damaged by out of control bushfires in the eastern australian state of New South Wales emergency warnings are in place in 2 other states as well after a week which saw National Huge records being broken twice jessica washington reports now from sydneys western outskirts. This is usually one of sydneys most popular Tourist Attractions the normally picturesque Blue Mountains bordering the outskirts of the city. Much of it now decimated by bushfires. Theyve been burning across large parts of australia for months now with flames as high as 70 metres the fire in this region alone has destroyed an area 7 times the size of singapore. But this isnt just bush land its home for thousands of australians fire crews are working tirelessly to protect residents Robert Beecroft is a former volunteer firefighter hes seen many bushfires in his time but this one is different for being here for 67 years ive seen a lot of for sure the mountains actually might have to rise for quite a few forms but. I havent changed my money out of control back to the bee crops like so many families here face a difficult choice leave everything behind or stay and potentially put themselves in danger its a little bit stressful but you just got to remain positive us suppose its hard to think of what you want to keep and everything but just get what seems important at the time to go and im sure therell be other things that you think about later but just be prepared i guess just bit bad timing obviously around the holidays but what can you do really. Score its pretty confronting. Volunteers for such a strain from the shells some of these fires have been burning since july but authorities are warning that these are catastrophic conditions its the combination of extreme heat strong winds and low humidity that makes the situation on the ground incredibly dangerous firefighters are battling the blaze on the ground and from the air the intense heat has even generated its own thunderstorm nearly all the men in. Women fighting the fires are volunteers some havent seen their families in days the locals who risk losing almost everything some are just trying to do whatever they can its just been quite difficult having their older get much sleep so. Anxious to be problems as ward this is just the beginning of summer and many of fearful of what lies ahead for the rest of the bush lies season jessica washington aljazeera blackheath. Leaders of several countries in west africa are meeting in nigeria to discuss how to reduce attacks in the sahara all region their last meeting the ecowas regional body pledged a 1000000000. 00 to boost military operations in the lawless desert region 71. 00 soldiers were killed in the earlier this month close to the border with mali troops are often the target of armed groups linked to eyesore and alqaeda. 2 days of talks are beginning in sudans capital khartoum the latest effort to resolve disputes over the biggest hydroelectric dam in africa the 4000000000. 00 grand ethiopian renascence dam on the river nile is nearing completion the ethiopians say it will provide power to 70000000 people and revitalize the economy neighbors sudan and egypt fear it will reduce water supply for drinking and irrigation baseless and outrageous israels Prime Minister is describing the announcement from the International Criminal court of plans to investigate alleged war crimes in occupied palestinian territories condemnation too from the United States which says israel will be unfairly targeted palestinians are welcoming what they call a long overdue announcement that abraham reports now from ramallah. Its one of the alleged war crimes the International Criminal court to me investigate the targeted killing of unarmed protesters along gazas border fence with israel chief prosecutor fatah been sued the says shes satisfied war crimes have been or are being committed in the gaza strip and the west Bank Including occupied East Jerusalem she says because of the complexity of the situation she will ask the i. C. C. To rule on the territories on which it has jurisdiction palestinians welcome what they call a long overdue investigation. Will hoping that the i. C. C. Will hold those who are committing crimes against our people against our land. The crimes that are climbing. Countable crimes and no more crimes are being committed on the Palestinian Land which will basically said the stage or ending occupation and thus opening the oracle of the scope but israels Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu says the court has no jurisdiction to investigate in the palestinian territories this is a dark day for truth and justice the i. C. C. Prosecutor has apparently decided not to dismiss outright the palestinian claim against the state of israel this is a baseless and a religious decision the court has no jurisdiction in this case the i. C. C. Only has 2 restriction over petitions submitted by sovereign states but theres never been a pounds to. The court based in the netherlands will only investigate alleged crimes committed after june 2014 when palestine became part of the i. C. C. Jurisdiction. In the past 5 years thousands of new illegal settlement units were developed along with the confiscation of Palestinian Lands and demolition of their homes israels response is an unexpected. It says the i. C. C. Lacks validity over the Israeli Palestinian conflict since israel is not a member of the courts and palestine is not a state even though the United Nation granted palestine the status of nonmember state 7 years ago palestinian leaders say any crimes committed in palestinian territory must fall under the courts jurisdiction and. Lots more still to come for you here and now to syria including aid reaches a remote puppets of sudan for the 1st time in 9 years and on your bike in paris to get around the strikes but not everyone is finding its an easy ride. Because some bits and pieces the frame pushing towards japan over the next couple days but no great amount to speak of you can see how this area cloud just spilling out to the East China Sea running across towards the key issue is going to make its way further east as we go through the next couple days the whole impression never really too far away say by large lot of places staying dry 7 staff the sendai and for take us out west the weather into the south a fair amount of cloud across the Korean Peninsula see into northern parts of china temperatures here staying in single figures over the next couple days a cloud plays as we go on into monday and temperatures that will struggle to get above freezing cold enough to some snow into north korea but lossie dry once again you notice that across a good parts of japan largely dry to ensue where southern areas of china think a cloud though into the central air is pushing up towards shanghai so you might see some bass in places of rain coming through him monday going on in to choose day meanwhile for the south its about the sunshine and the shallows some lively showers once again pushing across into southern parts of the philippines cause scattering a showers there through borneo into some southern parts of the my financial sustained some cloud and right and that wet weather making its way through the south. From the aljazeera London Bureau catherine tacticians special guest in conversation this is the chance to start the revolution unprompted uninterrupted we need to do away with the evil because that stops conversation where should i learn to put on me i can be this is the beginning of friendship this is the beginning of love you know were getting somewhere we can really break through the barrier studio. On aljazeera. Welcome back youre watching aljazeera live from your top stories this half hour thousands of people are leaving syrias province of idlib heading for the border with turkey theyre trying to get away from the airstrikes bombings by the Government Forces and Russian Forces to the United Nations Security Council meanwhile in new york has rejected rival u. N. Resolutions that would have continued the delivery of aid to syria. Bushfires in southern australia have killed at least one person and destroyed even more homes New South Wales is also facing water being described as catastrophic conditions as soaring temperatures and high winds fueled the flames. And thousands of people continue to rally across india against its contentious citizenship law the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has been meeting his cabinet today to discuss the unrest at least 19 people have been killed and more than 4000 have been. Since last week. And that crisis in india has been discussed in malaysia where the Prime Minister is hosting a conference of Muslim Leaders hamad says he understands why people are angry. It is very ample it is because india is a secularist see from the very beginning their elite. Did not prevent them from becoming citizens is it is it is is all these where but the do x. Group loose limbs from becoming citizen even Beit Duplessis i think is unfair. India has rejected those remarks saying in a statement that the citizenship law court doesnt impact the status of any indian citizen or deprive any indian of any faiths of his her or his citizenship the malaysian Prime Ministers remarks is factually inaccurate it says we call upon malaysia to refrain from commenting on internal developments in india with the right understanding of the facts joining us from new delhi as omar colleague who works with a Nongovernmental Organization called united against hate to my colleagues welcome to our 20 what are the chances here that the Indian Government changes this legislation or rescinds it completely. See as part of the government of india is concerned in the way the present government operates it does not listen to peoples voices and what has happened over the past one weeks ever since this new citizenship back came into force is that the government of india has only deployed one measure that it knows best right now that is brute force in the Northeastern State of assam 5 people have been killed in the larger state of india that is what the british 11 people were killed yesterday in a sudden state of canard that got 2 people have been killed and interestingly most of the killings have come have been reported from state with a b d p also holds a State Government besides being the Central Government so its very clear that what is essentially a political question is being very consciously dont into a law and order question by the government of india which then allows it to suppress it what is happening in india right now i would not call it a protest what is happening in india is an appraising by all the people who believe in the very idea of india that was built on secular foundations and that appraising as a doctor the government and the government on the one hand is deploying forces deploying go fuz internet shutdown has become so common that day before yesterday even in the National Capital of india you had internet shut down many but for some i was but that is not going to stop the protests i mean protests havent got almost every part of the country if you are right so just to interrupt you there for a 2nd if i may flee if you will right and this is an uprising not so much. Uncoordinated protests that will fizzle and die in the next couple of days perhaps a week if you are right about it being an uprising what does it tell us about the government and about mr modi that they didnt anticipate the size of the reaction and the strength of the reaction. I mean if you see that we missed an a in the movie or but its i remember he was in the u. S. A couple of months ago and with mr donald trump he tried to tell the world that everything is fine in india what is todays move these 2nd. Ever since it came back but when man is trying to institutionalize the hindu nationalist agenda that his party and the organization that assess which these parties are part of has been able to be in which it up hold for quite a long time so hes going to the traditional age of what he did in the run up to being given these major changes in india is that it played to me truly just had to try to meet institutional head any try to coopt them and tell them that when we make these changes you have to support us so you had muslim clerics saying that we support the citizenship back but we support the national to the sort of citizens which citizenship act is linked to but. The religious leaders would do the job for them but this is a peoples upraising i mean it is not totally needed by one to be displayed and it is not recorded by anyone so its very difficult for the government to stop but is this they can or do not have one leader when they can put in the little not that one you dont they can buy all they get out of one you dont get intimidated into silence despite the crackdown that has become bloody in the past one day especially more and more people are supporting out in the streets so this is going to intensify in the coming days ok and whats your reading of the way that the government seems to be signalling to broadcasters and therefore reporters and journalists within india that they should not be reporting anything that is quote perceived as being anti indian. I mean this is being the characteristic of the views of the city i mean even in the 1st 10 you know that every protest against the government its got at the races and the national. Mr modi has taken upon himself because he sees himself as india and anyone who criticizes him is branded as anti india and this is shared intimidation because he knows that. The kind of repression that is being unleashed i mean we are still talking about with the british mr dalton what cannot pick up there are hardly any reports coming out from the state of assembly there was also a few and also an internet shutdown so its an attempt to intimidate the press from reporting actually what is happening on the ground but especially in places where there has been internet its coming its become difficult when were going to information because social media and that we do that have come out show the brutality of the police. There has been a lot of talk about why none protests in the by the government of india but lets also see the design in which while it is unleashed yesterday 4 people belonging to the b. G. P. At about 8 in the but rested in the state of west bengal in eastern india where they were waiting skullcaps to look muslims and then they were Opening Stores on a plane so its very clear that the be dippy will because theyre interested in the protest they have then creating a situation which allows the police to come in and attack them and then the meat and then the government calls them and b. And b. All calls these protests well into all these protests that they are attacking public property what is happening when i said its an uprising its a peaceful uprising its been largely peaceful and the only one is that has been unleashed by. Government and by the police ok mr strong claims from you that in new delhi but listen thank you so much for your contribution here on aljazeera we do appreciate your time. The course in pakistan has sentenced a University Lecturer to death for blasphemy junaid her fees was arrested in 2013 accused of displaying religious content on facebook he spent nearly 6 years in solitary confinement waiting for his trial pakistans controversial blasphemy law carries an automatic Death Penalty countries yet carry out a death sentence for the charge but the law has drawn widespread condemnation from human rights groups. It has reached a remote rebel held area of sudan for the 1st time in nearly 9 years a civil morgan reports now from Blue Nile State the welcome arrival of food and other essentials does coincide with talks to end years of fighting when she heard that aid would be arriving in the booth in Blue Nile State but adams says she walked for more than 8 hours to care for it after more than 80 years the area controlled by sudanese rebels known as the sudans People LiberationMovement North is finally receiving humanitarian aid and did not want to miss out as. Theres no food most of the time and because of the constant bombardment in the 1st years of the war a lot of terrible things happened they didnt care where their bombs are being dropped on people farms or livestock some of us fled to ethiopia but i could go because i didnt want to leave my home and become a refugee. The worry between sudans government and the s. P. L. In north erupted after the government refused to allow the states of South Kordofan and blue nile a referendum on whether to be part of sudan or the newly created south sudan as part of a 2005 peace deal the s. P. L. And north also accuse the government of impeding democracy. The United Nations says more than 2000000 people have been affected by the conflict with more than have a 1000000 displaced several rounds of peace talks between the s. P. L. And north and the previous government of ahmed rashid collapsed when they failed to agree on many issues including humanitarian access. Since the was also more than a series ago yeah boss has been cut off from the military tens of thousands of people but they bring. But many remain behind what missing the horrors of a civil war now with is coming in for the 1st time theyre waiting to see after all of these years things are really starting to change the. Most trouble held areas in the country are nearly impossible to access from the capital hearts whom so dans new Transitional Government which is in talks with armed groups including the s. P. L. And north changed that in december allowing aid workers to head in for the 1st time a major day a great breakthrough in an area that has not received the help that is needed none at all from the United Nations in over 9 years and when you compound the war the ton fully with the flooding that just take place these people are in need of been extremely impressed with the openness and the willingness of the leadership of bilking others to do what we need to do without getting in the way and they have given us just unimpeded access talks between sudans People LiberationMovement North leader abdul aziz and hello and the Sudanese Government are going on but many issues need to be resolved before peace the it can be signed calling for an answer don oh for. Justice. Democracy equality of the busy problem is a show of the sharia sharia islamic law for. The macnow we warn a secular democratic. State and this is where the government is there like as the issues continue to be talked through hundreds of thousands wait and hope that whatever the outcome be age will continue to arrive he will morgan aljazeera. Denial. Protesters have returned to the streets of the chilean capital santiago angry about delays in the go seizing a new call. The Police Used Tear Gas and Water Cannons to disperse demonstrators in the city its the latest in the several months long demonstrations over social inequality on thursday the Chilean Congress approved a referendum on changing the constitution which is one of the protesters main demands it. People in paris are getting on their bikes to beat week number 3 of the nationwide strikes by french transport workers cycling to works becoming even more popular right now as metro and Rail Services remain at a standstill because of the ongoing dispute over Pension Reforms paris correspondent picks up a story. Weve been through traffic in paris on a bike can be daunting at the best of times but more than 2 weeks of public transport strikes against the governments planned Pension Reforms has made cycling around the city particularly challenging with most metro train and bus services cut many people opting to cycle valentine to all runs a shop in the city center that sells and repairs recycled bikes he says his staff is inundated with work and weve seen far more people coming in lots who want an old bike fixed some who want to buy a cheap secondhand bike because the only plan to say cause them probably lots of people bring in dusty bags that have been in their center which proves they dont normally cycle pariss city council says the number of cyclists on the road has doubled since the strike began and there has long been encouraging people to bike rather than drive to help fight air pollution theres a vast network of cycle lanes and a widely used bike share scheme i would say yes im right that would strike them but theyre often because theres not really enough very close enough to say drivers are definitely more stressed and because i have to cycle further on busy road its not easy there are lots of benefits to cycling its often much faster on salty journeys its more environmentally friendly than driving and also its good exercise for since the beginning of the strides the roads have been so busy the city Officials Say that the number of accidents involving cyclists has surged emergency workers say the number of accidents involving bikes has increased by 4. The percent this expert says that inexperienced riders are often ill prepared or poorly equipped. To point you need a basic level of fitness if people are fit they may not have a balance of they can fall down and risk frank says to the head shoulders and body also too much biking if youre off it can cause a multitude of Health Problems and pain in the knees head and back its clear that many people will be relieved when the citys transport services return to normal but with trade unions threatening to continue their industrial action throughout the Holiday Season thats unlikely to happen any time soon until then and despite the risks cycling remains one of the best ways to get around the tasha butler aljazeera house. A quick reminder do check out our website you can see there our top story whats going on in india. Recapping our top stories for you so far this hour thousands of people continue to rally across india against its contentious citizenship law the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has been meeting his cabinet to discuss the unrest at least 19 people have been killed and more than 4000 detained since last week. Much of the violence on friday was in the Northern State of which are protests where protesters set fires and hold rocks many have accused the police of using Excessive Force rights activists there say the police have raided their homes and offices to prevent them from planning more demonstrations to be in a stress truck has more from the capital new delhi. There has been some opposition from the from some of the leaders from the we are leading coalition as well on this controversial law and his family it is expected that it was going to be some division so there has been some postulations from the some from some of the Leaders Within the governing party oh. I mean its very communal but its its not sure how things will turn out as the problems are not stopping this why the back on all sorts of hundreds of. Thousands of people leaving syrias province of idlib heading for the border with turkey trying to get away from airstrikes and bombings by the government and russia u. N. Observers say 18000 people have been displaced in just 24 hours the u. N. Security council meanwhile has rejected rival resolutions that would have continued the delivery of aid to syria heatwave has worsened already quotes catastrophic conditions in australia as firefighters battle more than 100. 00 bush fires burning across New South Wales new forest is there a warning that high winds are making the flames more unpredictable and one person has died and several houses have been lost in the state of South Australia when youre at the International Criminal court wants to open an investigation into alleged war crimes in palestinian territory palestinians have welcomed the decision but the israeli Prime Minister says the i. C. C. Has no jurisdiction both israelis and palestinians face the possibility of having charges filed against them. Those are your headlines so far today the news continues here on aljazeera after inside story i will see you very soon. Catastrophic bushfires in australia reignited the debate over Climate Change with the government accused of not doing enough why was 29001 of the worst years on record globally for wives phys ed is there the political will to find a solution this is inside story. Hello and welcome to the program back to people bushfire is a common during the summer in australia but 5 fight is a calling this years conditions catastrophic