Southeast australia thats already claimed at least 15 lives. Violence and arrests of protesters in hong kong kick off the new year with another massive march demanding greater freedom. For the sport the rockets star man is back from injury and back in business james harden shoots 35 points to help you stand down the nuggets in the n. B. A. Welcome to the Program Supporters and members of an iran backed group of withdrawn from the u. S. Embassy compound in the iraqi capital baghdad after a 2 day siege of americas biggest Diplomatic Mission leaders of the Popular Mobilization forces ordered them to leave but theres a condition they want to iraqs. Element of osama timeline for the withdrawal of foreign troops the protesters are angry about sundays airstrikes by the u. S. On the hezbollah brigades camps that killed at least 27 people earlier on when the crowds threw rocks and lit fires outside the compound irans Supreme LeaderAyatollah Ali Khamenei has also condemned the u. S. Strikes and want to iran will defend itself if threatened the u. S. Dispatched an extra 750. 00 troops to the region following the protests President Donald Trump threatened to retaliate against iran but said later he didnt want a war some one of 14 begins our coverage with this report from baghdad. They left just as they had arrived a day earlier determined and angry but also pleased that they had managed to deliver a message to the u. S. Supporters of the iranian backed Popular Mobilisation forces who had defied the Prime Ministers orders to withdraw just a day before now heeded the call of their leaders while some dismantled tents and ferried away supplies used to camp the night out the more defiant ones staged a final showdown in front of the embassy gates burning tires and flags to the sounds of antiamerican slogans usa was let out of from our country we dont have a car we can brought it to ourselves was done really young voters. Out. Killed isis road and ran through. The attack on the u. S. Embassy was sparked by the latest u. S. Strikes against hezbollah brigades which is part of the Popular Mobilization forces the majority of the crowd consisted of its members and supporters but some here say they were also driven by what they perceive as an unjust american policy in the region this is my land. And if you want to stay here you must understand its. When the governments believe and understand our. Needs we leave. As crowds withdrew u. S. Helicopter circled overhead after reinforcements arrived from kuwait the night before the white house had pressured the Iraqi Government to end the standoff but it was clear that of floridas here didnt want to risk confrontation Iraqi Security forces surrounded the embassy but use no force to remove the crowds or the Iraqi Governmental forces have been put on a very confusing and sensitive position as i mentioned they have a very Sharp Partnership and an alliance with both countries the u. S. And iran so the Iraqi Government has to prove to the u. S. That its taking either a neutral stance or its protecting the u. S. Embassy because thats what a government has to do and yet to the outer gates of the Embassy Burned and vandalized bear witness to the Iraqi Governments inability to protect the u. S. Presence here the siege here at the u. S. Embassy appears to be coming to an end with u. S. Trade and Iraqi Counterterrorism forces now taking over the security and basically securing the area of the crowd but the hezbollah brigades have said that this is just the 1st left and for the United States they have vowed that they will not let them down until they feel the archer of u. S. Forces from iraq before the monopole to aljazeera put it out. Ok lets bring in our washington correspondent Gabriel Elizondo we understand the u. S. Secretary of state might pompei oh hes been talking to regional friends regional allies do we know whats come out of those conversations. Yeah hes been working the phones pretty vigorously on wednesdays been speaking to 3 very key allies in the region number one Benjamin Netanyahu the Prime Minister of israel spoke to pompei on the phone not much was released about what they talked about but the state department say that pompei of thanks netanyahu for his support over the last couple days particularly also spoke pompei oh by the a phone to iraqi Prime Minister. In that phone call pompei o stressed to the Prime Minister that the Iraqi Government is under an obligation to provide security and protect u. S. Diplomatic facilities inside iraq and stressed that the u. S. Is expecting that iraq will continue to do that over the coming days weeks and months but then pump ale also spoke with the qatari amir tomine bin hamad funny this is an interesting call they according to the state department that to spoke about the Regional Security issues in continuing to Work Together qatar is a very close ally of the United States on multiple levels on any given day there are as many as 10000 u. S. Troops on how did air base just outside of the capital of dog so these are very close relations here in the pump a 0 was speaking to the emir because of qatar because its a very critical country its a close ally of the United States of course but also a neighbor to iran and qatar has a tendency to be neutral when it comes to the conflict between the United States and iran so its a very critical country in that matter on multiple levels so this was a day on wednesday where pompei a was working the phones hard time up and shoring up diplomatic support in the region from very. Porton countries close allies of the United States as as they all try to come together pompei or at least in the United States to try to figure out the next steps forward in iraq very strong pictures of course gave you know the what was left of bits of the u. S. Embassy compound following the trouble early this week do you get the feeling where you are that the u. S. Military planners and thinking ok weve sent in several 100 more people theyve got to stay because ultimately weve got to keep our people safe and secure yes is the short answer to that as we said about 750 u. S. Soldiers sent to the region urgently to be there and its a sign that the u. S. Is not happy with the security that iraq is providing and thats very clear that theres a lot of questions still being asked in washington on how did these protesters get so close to the u. S. Embassy through that is it we always know heavily fortified green zone and the u. S. Is now asking questions maybe its not as heavily fortified as we thought and clearly the United States is putting troops in the region very close to the embassy very close to being able to get to the embassy quickly should they need it because quite frankly theres a lot of concern right now in washington the state Department Pentagon and even at the white house that there is not enough trust in the Iraqi Security officials to provide the security the americans think is needed ok kate thank you very much lets bring in Lawrence Korb peacefully u. S. Assistant secretary of defense he joins us on skype from washington as well is there a sigh of relief going on in the pentagon do we think Lawrence Korb no those militia protesters decided in effect to back down. Very definitely because when this happened to historical examples came up in this country one is what happened in benghazi and the other is obviously when the american embassy. In iran was taken already 1979 and i think a lot of people thought this might lead to that fortunately has not at the tape hezbollah has denied all involvement does the u. S. Absolutely flatly reject that well theres no doubt about the fact that the pm at the Popular Mobilization forces who are the Iraqi Military know what terri are is under the influence of iran and theres no doubt about the fact the great irony of this is that the troops that let the protesters into the green zone where they can get to the embassy who are regular iraqi forces who are not happy with the whole situation thats going on there with the United States are still in in iraq and the United States actually attacking our rocky bases with the objections of the Iraqi Government the president the Prime Minister who are minister and the ayatollah all told the United States not to make those attacks and yet i mean if we get granular on what actually happened old the timeline of what happened the iraqi authorities. And iranian aligned militia to walk with impunity literally up to the gates of a u. S. Embassy compound so the people who are running that operation was going through their mind when they see those people literally walking towards them and how significant was that. Well i think its very significant you know the great irony again here is over the last couple of months there have been a lot of protests im rocking back some 500 protesters have been joke about irans influence in iraq now with this did shift it and its american in war and so in a to a certain extent this has not played out well for the United States or to me no one was you know hurt or killed in the embassy and it seems like we have that situation under control but the fact of the matter is a rock the people in iraq rob of the journey against the random now turning against the United States are going to be very difficult for us to maintain these 5200. 00 troops we have. Ok weve had this statement from donald trump this came up what almost 24 hours ago saying i dont want to go to war with iran but key question is there a lack of nuance when it comes to the understanding of what the militias of all on the ground in iraq and also i guess in iran because the Iraqi Militia what key in the fight against Islamic State against eisel. Yes theres not doubt about the fact we we had to leave iraq in 2011 because of an agreement that we made with the previous government molecule government we were invited back when isis came in and we were where the a rainy and controlled militias to to defeat isis and i think the question now for a rat is well since that has been pretty much the beaded how long are you going to stay there because a rand wants the how to influence in iraq theyre also responding to the socalled maximum Pressure Campaign that the Trump Administration has put on iran put in a sanctions back on getting out of the nuclear deal and theyre trying to show as they go on when they you know attacked the oil fields in saudi arabia shot down the american drone that theyre not just going to stand by and let themselves be pushed further and further by the by the United States under sanctions not to mention the neighbor lexus lives it conducted with russia and china ok we have to leave it there Lawrence Korb there in washington thank you so much your insight we do appreciate your time thank you for having me the israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu has asked the parliament to grant him immunity from prosecution in 3 Corruption Cases now up to succeed hell have to win the support of a majority of members in the knesset requesting immunity is likely to delay any potential trial by several months imran khan reports now from west jerusalem. Just 4 hours before the deadline to request parliamentary immunity from prosecution expired the israeli Prime Minister appeared on television and said he would ask the knesset the Israeli Parliament to grant him immunity but one of the lead. Up its mine tension this time before the call to shatter all the public aid accusations against me day citizens of israel the mean achievement what is meant to protect. Us from tided law im serving political crises into harming the will of the people. He has filed a request with the speaker of the knesset but its likely to be months before m. P. s vote on it israel will hold its 3rd election in a year in march and they said you know his request can only be debated by a Parliamentary Committee wants a government has been formed it then has to come out of committee and be presented to knesset members to be voted on forming a government could take months. However some politicians are pushing to speed up the process holding the Committee Stage before the election already the request family unity has divided israeli politicians Avigdor Lieberman from the Israeli Home Party and an influential figure has said he wont vote for immunity netanyahu is only could party has said it will vote for immunity. In november israelis attorney general decided to indict Prime Minister netanyahu in 3 separate criminal cases the alleged fraud bribery and breach of trust the judgment on a short delay should i made the decision to issue an indictment against him and with a heavy heart a heavy heart perhaps but wholeheartedly with a deep sense of commitment to the rule of law to the Public Interest and to the citizens of the state of israel and. They said you know he and his supporters have claimed that the charges are politically motivated and that Law Enforcement and the judicial system in effect mounting a coup against him. Netanyahu now faces a tough political fight yes to win an Election Form a government and then persuade m. P. s to vote for immunity i mean if he only last as long as he is in office as Prime Minister or if he remains a member of the knesset the move will delay the prosecution of these 3 court cases by months or even stall the process completely until netanyahu is out of politics its already been a very uncertain year in israeli politics and the future it would seem is equally uncertain and wrong how does there westroads slim. Ok lets bring in ali jacobs part of the Truman National security project which works to develop solutions to the global challenges facing americans he joins us from new york welcome to the news hour here on aljazeera do you get the feeling that the chances of this request being approved or not where are we on a scale of one to 10 here. Well if it gets to the if they are actually able to form the House Committee to vote on it it will get voted down and knesset it will never get to the floor of the knesset but its also unlikely that it even gets to that stage so the even real likelihood is that nothing will happen until march at the earliest after the elections and then the election itself will just be a referendum on the immunity law which somehow netanyahu has largely avoided doing in the previous 2 primarily because he wasnt indicted yet it was still theoretical but also because people are still getting used to the idea benny gantz is the Prime Minister that may change drastically by march does that mean according to you that they could be something of a democratic deficit here because if they say fudge it and say ok we will put this on hold until march the 2nd much the 3rd when the election is slated to happen as you say it becomes a referendum on a constitutional process as opposed to being a general election which would be the 3rd one in less than 912 months which is its taxing enough anyway for the electorate right on tax and for the electorate and its not great to not have a fully functioning government when i say itll be a referendum i say that in terms of thematic well be a referendum itll still be the same sort of election the trouble is that right now all the polling suggests that the results of the election will be exactly what weve seen in the last 2 and itll come down to a vigor lieberman or someone from a Smaller Party being willing to. Join one of the sides or create a unity government but to create a unity government there is no chance that its and you know will remain as the head of likud is this politically risky as a strategy on the part of mr netanyahu no i dont see that as a choice and theres a risk in it to be sure but i dont see that he has a choice other than to do this ok ellie jacobs thank you very much. Plenty more ahead here on the news hour including the woman described as africas richest denies allegations of corruption in an exclusive interview with al jazeera. And accused of unfairly targeting muslims indias most populous state cracks down on protesters opposed to a new citizenship law. And football selfstyled special one gets himself into trouble once again paul will have more in the sports news in about 30 minutes. The u. N. Envoy to libya is accusing Un Security Council members of violating an arms embargo son selami says there are concerns about foreign fighters being flown into libya Turkeys Parliament is due to vote on thursday on whether to deploy troops it follows a request for military support by the un backed government in tripoli its coming under attack by forces loyal to the warlord after hes been trying to seize the capital since april turkeys Vice President says Turkish Forces may not be deployed if after stops his offensive human body is a non resident scholar at the middle east institute he says foreign interference in libya is nothing new. You have right now the primary players however or turkey and russia i would say on the ground and in the air its predominantly the u. A. E. Actually the iraqis with a Logistical Support from the egyptians are have been interrupted lead by the capital libyas capital tripoli since april there are well sourced reports are actually show the Syrian Forces have already been deployed to libya on behalf of the government of National Accord however it is unclear how many they are so far theres definitely been a constant influx of a russian mercenary that has recently actually ramped up so there are more russians that are now coming into libya the idea is that because of u. S. And european inaction and all predominately single out france for being the primary culprit for actual european in action and this case these 2 players turkey and russia are not poised to actually influence the military landscape of libya and therefore dictate its political future. Probably vinces with excluding everyone else but also excluding libyans in the process much like they did in syria well corespondent much more ahead visited an Oil Compounds neah the libyan capital he says the areas been under threat by forces loyal to him for some time now. This is i desire we are only a compound about 35 kilometers to the west but im going to be on capitol police. It has. Some of the maze your and most Important Oil installations in the country but it has been recently under multiple threats by you where planes flew into the world to have that have been recently targeting civil litigations nearby and did Asheville Oil corporation thats the state oil has recently stated that its looking into closing down this oil compound and evacuating stuff. But this could pose a major setback to the countrys economy because we know that this compound is the oil exporting terminal 4 of the countrys maize your oil fields in southern libya. Which is producing about 300000. 00 barrels a day. But experts here say that. Any possibility tacked on this compound could also close an environmental and human italian disaster because it includes. Several stories of different kinds of flame a little fuel including petrol gas and hydrazine. So any possible attack could set the whole compound on fire. Why have they were planes had been recently targeting many locations city thats because. It has been sending troops to fight along with the Government Forces against half the forces to defend the capital tripoli against after us forces. We also has in it and its in one of its a presence. Approach after higher ranking pilot who was taken captive by troops the last month while he was targeting good his plane several locations in southern tripoli and also in southern syria this compound will most probably remain under threat as long as a city is taking part in the battle to defend the capital tripoli again is tough the forces. In syrias last rebel held province at least 9 civilians have been killed in shelling and strikes by the government and Russian Forces turkey accuses those forces of targeting the school 5 children are among the dead. Province of a tense a fight in recent weeks in december alone the violence force nearly 300000 people from their homes. Relief supplies of started reaching thousands of australians stranded in turns ravaged by bushfires at least 15 people have died in the state of New South Wales this week has seen the deadliest space of blazes since the crisis began in october naval ships and military aircraft have been deployed to help the emergency crews provide supplies and assess the damage more than 200 fires are burning in the states of New South Wales and victoria and conditions are expected to worsen this weekend. As more. Entire neighborhoods have burned to the ground destroying more than property. John gilbert is among the thousands of australians who have begun to go back home to nothing. Rubble and debris now cover whats left of her belongings all of my positions have been totally. Everything there is just simply nothing. Nothing except that. In other areas the bushfires are far from over. Thousands of firefighters are struggling in the states of the tory i New South Wales an area thats home to more than 13000000 people and the conditions are expected to get worse over the next few days the winds are expected to be very strong back to 45 degrees temperatures weve got a lot of fire in the last guy that we could time. In the town of all adult people wait outside supermarkets and stock up on food and water power and mobile phone outages are also a concern you have a challenge with getting people liable to even access the basics like petrol and atrocity and thats causing enormous stress for communities we understand that the Australian Military is using planes and helicopters sit downs of flames while preparing for possible evacuations. Emergency crews are stretched thin and slight changes in temperatures and the wind could spark even more fires there wasnt much i could do it try and make work and i just couldnt do anything it was just hearing the wind just blew and wind just blew and if you look at everything in mind its just grof its just Everything Everywhere you go its left nothing no one knows yet the precise cost of the damage but its clear the widespread devastation is immense. Locus of a yawn aljazeera. Ok lets bring in Melissa Clark shes a correspondent with australias a. B. C. She joins us live now from in the states of New South Wales melissa welcome to aljazeera whats the situation in New South Wales. Well its pretty devastating position here in New South Wales more than 300 in a sea harms have been lost over the last couple of days and this is coming into a bushfire season that still has another couple of months to run and has already been running for a month really when we look at the last month more than 1200. 00 homes have been destroyed but what weve seen just over the last 2 days has been something really unparalleled for this region at the moment we have bushfires burning all down the south coast of New South Wales were talking a stretch of coastline that is about 300 kilometers long to give you a sense of the scale with homes destroyed people having to be evacuated power has been out in many towns for a couple of days now where i am in a town called maria theres a big queue behind me because the local supermarket has only just opened for the 1st time in a couple of days it only has limited supplies but people are trying to get food and try and get petrol so they can head inland to try and get away from this area all the rounds of whats happening in victoria. The situation is just as bad there as well again coastal regions have seen their populations forced to the waters edge literally to the waters edge as far as a series of town for life entrenched smell a crucial much of whats known as east gippsland where again a whole towns have been a rise by the fires theyre now in victoria have a couple of towns that are entirely isolated they cant be accessed by road and deliveries of food and water by air has been very difficult because of the heavy smoke and fog that is now hanging over southeastern australia theyre relying on shipments being borson by the Australian Navy to top up their food and Water Supplies and its really on in the last 12 hours that theyve been able to get some connections that have allowed people to be critical patients to be evacuated to hospitals in the cities like melbourne and sydney so that should give us a sense of just the sort of difficulties that authorities are facing in trying to look after both people who need Critical Care and to take care of communities that have been oscillated by the fire and also melissa we understand theres a heat wave in the forecast for this coming weekend i mean that must raise worries that this is actually going to get worse even worse before it gets even slightly better to imagine it getting worse but thats certainly what authorities here are preparing for because were expecting the hate to increase and importantly a lot of wind changes to come over the next 2 days and when we have big fire grounds that were talking about here look were talking tens of thousands of square kilometers of. And i think weve lost the satellite link the 2 minutes oclock with the a. B. C. We will go back to melissa if we can in the coming hours here on aljazeera still to come here in the news for you poland all the netherlands put do you call a country the dutch government decides. A controversial leader completes one year in office well look at whether brazils president has fulfilled his promises. And tokyos new Olympic Stadium opens its doors paul has more in the sports news in about 20 minutes. Hello again its good to have you back well over the next few days we are going to be watching the southern part of the United States very carefully notice the clouds on the satellite right here coming in from mexico that is bringing a lot of moisture weather and we do expect to see some flooding as we go into friday notice the heavy rain anywhere from texas all the way over here towards parts of mississippi alabama up towards georgia as well flash flood watches are in effect right now across much of this area now as we go from thursday into friday the rain is going to ease but still rain is going to extend all the way up here towards parts of new york as well we do expect to see a rainy day in new york at about 9 degrees and for washington about 13 degrees for you there a nice day over here towards los angeles plenty of sun in the forecast for the time to there of about 21. 00 degrees that same area of moisture is coming in across parts of mexico as well out towards western mexico we are going to be seeing some very rainy conditions along that western coast not looking too bad as we go towards friday the rain starts to sink a little bit more towards the south but for the rest of the caribbean things are looking quite nice were going to see maybe some showers for havin a warm day for you at 30 degrees nasa is going to be seeing partly cloudy about 25. 00 but down towards jamaica it is going to be a warm in a sunny day with a touch of their of 31 degrees. Capturing a moment in time. Snapshots of other lives. Of the stories. Provided tips into someone elses wealth and a good one do they for. Inspiring documentaries from impassioned filmmakers is like a witness on aljazeera. Violence is power. Fools is the political wildcard that consummately shapes world order the structure that is defended at all cost. Be it with the support of the people fall through the crushing of their will. People in power exposes the use and abuse of power around the world. On aljazeera. Wholl or. Oh. Welcome back youre watching the aljazeera news hour live from those are your top stories so far after a 2 day siege at the u. S. Embassy compound in iraq protesters back in april Iranian Group of now withdrawn but the done so with one condition they want all of them to vote on a timeline for the withdrawal of foreign troops from iraq. The israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu has asked parliament to grant him immunity from prosecution in 3 Corruption Cases and sonia who was indicted on charges of bribery for water and a breach of trust in november. Relief supplies have started reaching foundations of australia stranded in towns ravaged by bushfires since 15 people have died in the state of New South Wales this week has seen the deadliest space of blazes since the crisis began back in october. At least 400 prodemocracy demonstrators have been arrested in hong kong after a peaceful new years day march through the city ended in violence tens of thousands of people took part in the police approved rally that is permit was revoked after mass demonstrators broke off from the main crowd florence levy reports now from hong kong. Was what was supposed to be a peaceful march descends into chaos and destruction on the streets of hong kong a small fire most likely caused by a petrol bomb byrds before its doused by a will to carry. Elsewhere police stupid to arrest a protester after demonstrators ignore their warnings to leave for hours into the protest march police withdrew their permit for this rally. Deeming this to be an Illegal Assembly meaning they can take action to clear the state and that is exactly what they are doing here riot police have got Water Cannons clearing the streets of protesters as well as the barricades that hurts us is that set up crowds of protesters many wearing gas masks had earlier used to braless and bricks to block roads police fired rounds of tear gas to disperse the crowds. The march it started peacefully in the early afternoon attracting tens of thousands of people who slowly made their way along a 3 and a half kilometer route young and old they chose to spend new years day much the same way hong kong had spent the 2nd half of last year at another street demonstration although him all my new years wish for peace in hong kong but that will depend on the government and the Chinese Communist party if they continue to tighten their grip on hong kong and these protests will continue. Along the way Labor Union Groups set up recruitment booths and volunteers collecting donations to assist the protest movement was my goal it was i the crowd did let up on its 5 demands which include an independent investigation into allegations of Police Misconduct during the protests and the right to choose their leaders. Police did a distance away keeping a close watch occasionally protesters would direct the anger at the police it was there to. Be empty government protests hong kong had gone on for nearly 7 months now and even though there are rallies and gatherings almost every day theyve reduced in intensity theres no indication the government is willing to make further concessions hold on no matter what the outcome will be. No one knows for how long this will go on Florence Louis aljazeera hong kong. Now indias biggest states is being accused of intimidating muslims many of whom have been protesting against a controversial new citizenship law at least 19 people have died and the state is led by a hardline hindu nationalist and reports now from the city of mutal pradesh. 24 year old ali was shot in the head he was a bread maker and the sole provider for his family. His 80 year old father is inconsolable his mother less his disabled brother with 3 kids who are raised has no clue how the family will survive the loss. Didnt even let his body home for the last. What happened to the government whats happened to the police but you came to this fighting bullets. On december 20th some people here in the city of merit in order for they should try to protest against a controversial new citizenship law that many say discriminates against muslims the police say the protesters protect them the brocks which led them to use force. Limbs family says he was not even part of the protests and was merely walking back home from the restaurant he worked in when the police shot this was a video with someone they say was a witness and claiming he saw the Police Shooting him aljazeera cannot independently verify its authenticity. Activist who went on a Fact Finding Mission to the city soon after the killings say most gunshots were above the waist and appeared targeted this is absolutely quite deliberate shooting to kill it is not following the Standard Operating Procedure of announcing there were no announcements no warning announcements mean nothing of the kind and no attempt to use tear gas or Water Cannons or anything like that no attempt to shoot at the feet 1st it was street. A shooting. Activist accuse the police of being biased against muslims. In a recent video the city superintendent of police saying was her telling people in a muslim dominated neighborhood to move to pakistan. We asked the superintendent about the allegations and i was i wont comment on that and while he admitted that the police did fire shots he said it was protesters with illegal firearms who killed the people however he added the police were investigating. Theres a big difference between a clean and an untrained shooter the mob doesnt see whether its firing from behind a front. He said that a dozen Police Officers were shot and injured and shared this video people here say they are demonstrating on their right to live in. India and dont want to go to pakistan they also say they have been accused of molesting people indiscriminately this if night. Then people heard the case says the. Family is in mourning they demand an investigation but dont expect the administration to conduct a. Meeting with their predation india. The daughter of former president has denied allegations of corruption after a court froze Bank Accounts an estimated 1000000000. 00 worth of assets has been seized as part of an Anti Corruption drive by the angolan government Isabel Dos Santos says the accusations are politically motivated that shes not been summoned by any court well shes been described as africas Richest Woman with an estimated net worth of more than 2000000000. 00 her father the former president just toss let him go live for 38 years up until 2017 and the owner is an oil rich Country Oil Production and the industries that supports it make up around 80 percent of its exports but much of the population is poor last month josephus toss the son of the president brother of isabel went on trial for corruption hes pleaded not guilty well Isabel Dos Santos earlier spoke exclusively to al jazeera she says theres been a lack of ji process. We have not been summoned we have not received any notices from the court nor i nor any of my directors or companies have been issued any notices whatsoever so this was a completely secret procedure we had no recourse of defense so we were never called to show any documents or even to present any witnesses this is a politically motivated attack there is no doubt about that my father was the former ruler of angola he was president for a very long time chose not to stand for this elections he chose not to stand in 2017 believing that it was important to have a transition it was important for someone new to come and unfortunately the nuclear who came on board has now trying to convey what is politically motivated attacks on his family and specially on his children my half brother says if you let me know was charged a few months ago and he was under preventive custody for a long time you and all that the law establishes that youre only allowed to be under preventive custody for 4 months in fact he stayed for 9 months so he was arrested for 9 months with no trial no charges this was a complete violation of his human rights so there was a blatant violation of his rights all his legal rights he also was not afforded representation on blocking his accounts they have not allowed him to pay for his legal fees so in fact he had to ask for estate lawyer to represent him and i am very concerned that these court cases are just instrumental just just political instruments to to to for a for a strategy of undermining the legacy of president assad doesnt that he has achieved. The former Prime Minister of guinea bissau. General a motto. Has won the president ial runoff he got 54 percent of the votes in bello takes over from president just as it was eliminated in run number one losing candidate domingo. Says the vote was rigged and he will contest the result at the Supreme Court has been political instability with the outgoing leader mr bass naming as many as 7 Prime Ministers in the last 5 years. Brazils controversial president. Has finished his 1st year in office now in that time hes struggled to implement the more radical parts of his agenda and hes seen his popularity decline ramp yeti as more. A year after is surprising victory brazilian president jay you both so now the us failed to deliver on his most radical promises been managed enough wins to keep them alive the former army captain a selfconfessed nostalgist for the brazilian dictatorship has blamed the democratic checks and balances in this country for slowing down his dream of freeing brazil of what he calls the ideology of the left in globalization while pushing for his program pro religion agenda. Of the country remains delighted with his ideas but many seem to have had 2nd thoughts he was rather inexperienced and throughout this year he has had many specific problems candles and so on which havent allowed him perhaps to build or to maintain that high level of popularity. Hes been at loggerheads with International Organizations as he played down the devastation of the amazon rain forest for the 76 percent increase in fires compared to the previous year. From ethically it has also been a turbulent time promises of legalizing the carrying of arms and offering immunity to police carrying out lethal operations were rejected by congress or helped by this. Court corruption scandals involving a sense damaged this image as a crusader against corruption and the countrys powerful farming lobby forced him to push down its and china and take communist rhetoric. Needs to pass historic pension reform after decades of failed attempts to tackle brazils sky high public debt i think some of his main promises that were related to security to the ability do to you know to have all guns and things like that havent turned out to be so successful or so important i think whats whats happening if you if you read Public Opinion and so on is that the focus is moving you know surprise surprise towards the economy few know is International Supporters still hope he will be able to tackle drug gangs and crime but to further is vision the key will be revitalizing a still sluggish economy a year later its unclear whether hell be able to achieve but few doubt hell remain as controversial as ever i listen the. Pope francis has apologized for slapping a woman on the wrist during a new years eve celebration of the Roman Catholic church appeared visibly angry when the woman pulled his hand while getting people back to the city he sensed expressed regret for losing his patience. Thats. No name magica god salvation is not magic but it is patient salvation that is it involves the patience of love love makes is patient many times we lose patients including me and i apologize for yesterdays bad example. If you talk about the land of chill it so windmills holland or the netherlands usually comes to mind but which name should we use well from now on the governments would prefer it if people called their nation the netherlands as it attempts to rebrand burnet smith is in amsterdam. Poland is not a country despite suggestions to the contrary all over Amsterdam North and South Holland are just 2 coastal provinces in a country officially called the netherlands and the government tired of its biggest city being a by word for legalized prostitution and recreational drug use wants a rebrand. So with a new p. R. Push its asking us to forget holland and the goalie of the netherlands and for the whole rest of the world i think holland is quite clear what it is some small spot somewhere on the earth. Where people live. And to change that image around to change that. Idea of holland into the netherlands i think its quite a task its quite a difficult task everywhere you look from branded clocks to other souvenirs the name holland dominates its no surprise tourists arent sure where they are what would you call this country. Wrong answer what do you call this country were in now. You are right. And. Yes. I know what it was i dont. Yes i mean this is. States the netherlands is the country today officially they want you to stop calling it all and they want to call it the netherlands. In amsterdam theyre struggling to cope with the number of tourists 42000000 people are expected to visit this country by 2030 from around 20000000 now. The government hopes that this rebranding will encourage people to explore outside overcrowded. To the country beyond the 2 provinces. In the netherlands. Still to come here on the. Number one rafa nadal gets on the trail of wildlife and trophies in australia paul explains on the other side of the break. There is no chance. Like we do as a rowing correspondent i am told. This conflict is. Like nothing youve ever. Done but we want to know how this these things affect people revisit. Aljazeera really invest in that thats a privilege as a journalist. Examining the impact of todays headlines you use the misinformation use the term by setting the agenda for tomorrows discussions how unique is this in terms of modern American History when it comes to racism you have the makings of an. International filmmakers and world class journalists bringing programs to inspire. On aljazeera. Time for the sports news is poll thank you very much the longest serving commissioner in the history of the n. B. A. David stern has died at the age of 77 stern died on new years day as a result of a brain hemorrhage he suffered last month born in new york city stan spent 30 years in charge of the u. S. Basketball league he oversaw the growth of the n. B. A. Into a global brand which was worth more than 5000000000. 00 when he left his position in 2014. Houston rockets star man james harden was back from injury and back in business in the n. B. A. On tuesday Russell Westbrook was also returning for the rockets and he did the early damage against denver. Nickel yoke which has struggled this season for the nuggets who was doing his best to keep his side in the game. But harden with 35. 00 points would inspire the rockets to victory theyre going to take 81272112. And in the east its 6 straight defeats for the hornets Boston Celtics the team celebrating at the buzzer in Charlotte Jason tatum firing 24. 00 points their leading scorer kemba walker also contributing in a 1089292 when. More than 85000 hockey fans turned up to watch the n. H. L. Winter classic in texas on new years day the dallas stars were hosting the Nashville Predators in front of the leagues 2nd biggest crowd in history nashville went to scores up but dallas came back to win 3 to 2 this was the 1st winter classic to be held in a warm climate and the 1st game out of doors for these 2 southern teams to football now and arsenal have beaten months assimilated to nil in the English Premier League to give new boss mick how are tad to his 1st win since taking charge the gunners have struggled this season but played with new resolution on wednesday for a 1st victory at home since october which left arsenal to 10th in the table 5 places below united jos a merinos tottenham made a poor start to 2020 the portuguese manager got a yellow card for an altercation with an opposition staff member as spurs lost one nil to southampton. Posting video cards. Because those groups. Both agree with you. Though for some reason. For the reason i was. In the balloon well you didnt really deserve it. Well heres the full list of results stay 2nd Manchester City beating everton to go with a 9 points of lead is liverpool who play on thursday well theyre up against Sheffield United the v. A. R. Video review system has been causing dismay among fans of the goals ruled out because of players on pitts or who was offside but liverpool boss yogen club seems generally in favor as long as the decisions dont take too long the only problem is it takes like feels like half an hour if told mail is there or not it was armpit and its not cool but at the end if somebody says you can score a goal with the op it didnt get done ok and its offside the new National Stadium in tokyo built for the olympics in july staged its 1st sports event 60000. 00 football fans watched this whole kobe beat antlers in the empress cup final organizers of the 2020 games are still looking to make improvements for spectators at the 1400000000. 00 venue the top mens tennis players start their year the new a. T. P. Cup team event in australia but not everyone seems excited to be involved on wednesday canadas dennis shopov all of urged organizers to merge this tournament with the davis cup adding it felt weird to have 2 world team events within one month of each other the prize money on offer for the new a. T. P. Cup is 13000000. 00 less than novembers event in madrid while spain beat canada in the davis cup final the doll and his team have been taking in some of the wildlife sights near their base in Western Australia not all says this new event is important and not just a light warmup for the Australian Open. Honestly i think what all of these women did not approve of aeration for this though in open eyes of their own mother we want to compete well and then we will have a week before those who are in open for me personally to practice for some of them to play. So were very focused on blood to be ready for this competition we have not taken these quantities of like liberation for for another 17. 00 time champion Venus Williams has had to delay the start of what will be have 27th season on the womens tennis so shes pulled out of the Brisbane International off the suffering an injury setback in training venus who was given a wildcard entry to the tournament hopes to start her Australian Open build up at adelaide in a fortnight in cricket england star. For the 2nd test against south africa which begins on friday the paceman only bowled 6 balls in training before pulling out with a sore elbow england have been practicing at newlands stadium in cape town that were looking to bounce back in the 4 much series after losing the 1st test by 107 runs that when you look at the last test it having south africa 111 for 5 and. We were 143 in our 1st innings in south africa end up with a 101 lead off to the 1st innings i think thats a big if the game where we lost that way lost the match so those key moments recognizing them and performing better in those when we go into this test. No ways linda veeck made a great start to the new year in ski jumping in front of a packed arena of 20000. 00 fans he broke the hill record at the garmin potts incursion in germany 143. 5 meters on his 1st jump the cornerstone of his victory which was also his 1st title in world cup of ants this is the 2nd leg of the 4 hills tournament with events to come on saturday and monday. All right. Well have more lights a poll thanks very much lots more news of course on the web site its always there for you 247 the address. You can also tweet mail tweet you back im at pizza dubey 130 minutes of news in a couple minutes ill see the. Millions of workers a big in slaved in the british jones of india one i want east explores how fast the Light Technology is now helping to set them free. 0. Capturing a moment in time. The snapshots of all the lives. Of the stories. Providing the clips into someone elses work out. The one do d. Or. Inspiring documentaries from impassioned filmmakers. Like him witness on aljazeera. Al coverage of africa is what im most proud of every time i travel there whether its east or west africa people stop me and tell me how much they appreciate our coverage and our focus is not just on their suffering but also on the more after lifting and Inspiring Stories people trust our agency and to tell them whats happening in their communities in a clear and honest biased way and of an african i couldnt be more proud to be part of. Aljazeera. A diverse range of stories from across the globe from the perspective of the networks journalists on aljazeera. The retreats with conditions iraqi protesters withdraw from the u. S. Embassy compound but the mob foreign troops pull out from iraq as well. Hello and welcome im peter w watching aljazeera live from our headquarters here in doha. Also coming up homes in ruins the aftermath of the devastating bushfires in southeast australia but already claimed at least 15 lives. Israels Prime Minister seeks immunity from prosecution in 3 Corruption Cases