Violence and unrest as protesters in hong kong begin the new year with another massive march demanding greater political freedom. Supporters and members of an iran backed group of withdrawing from the u. S. Embassy compound in the iraqi capital baghdad after 2 days see each of americas biggest Diplomatic Mission leaders of the Popular Mobilization forces ordered them to leave but theres a condition they want to Iraqs Parliament to vote on our timeline for the withdrawal of Foreign Forces the protesters are angry about sundays airstrikes by the u. S. On the hezbollah brigades camps that killed at least 27 people now earlier on weapons day the crowds threw rocks and looked fires outside the comp. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has also condemned the u. S. Strikes and warned tehran 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 said later he didnt want a war simona 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 us 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. We can brought it to ourselves was done through real young voters who heard the out. Killed isis road turned them ran through. The 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 can 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 they share a 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 speech 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 as the crowd drop 4 but the hezbollah brigades have for the 1st just the 1st left and for the United States they have vowed that they will not stand down until they are sure of u. S. Forces from iraq before the monopole to aljazeera put it out. Ok lets take you to washington and our correspondent Gabriel Elizondo surrogate we know the u. S. Secretary of state mike pompei oh hes been checking in with his regional allies here in the middle east do we know whats come out of that conversation. Not fully but we are getting a better sense of who he spoke to and perhaps why secretary of state mike pompei o made a round of phone calls to regional allies to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of israel he thanked netanyahu for israels continued support he also called the Prime Minister of iraq dumas the on wednesday as well and he stressed to the Prime Minister of iraq that its the government of iraqs obligation to protect u. S. Diplomatic facilities in iraq and also geisha and to see that these sort of attacks on the u. S. Embassy do not happen again according to the readout from the state Department Secretary of state pompei also had a phone call with the qatari amir tomine bin hamad al funny this was an important call because qatar is a very important ally to the United States according the state department the to the amir qatari amir and the secretary of state discussed recent developments in the region and committed to find peace and security and continue the path to find peace in security in both what both countries can do to achieve that in the region again qatar are very important to the United States because there are nearly 10000. 00 u. S. Troops based in qatar dow did it bear bear base outside of doha and qatar while an ally of the United States of course on multiple levels also speaks to iran and qatar is neutral when it becomes to the iran u. S. Conflict and so qatar could be very critical as it always has been for the United States i think what youre seeing here is pump a 0 basically spending a lot of time on the phone basically shoring up regional allies to get a better sense of whats going on in the. Iraq and how to handle it moving forward was washingtons handling of this colored by the Historical Context you know because there are so many role in the u. S. History with its own Embassy Compounds around the middle east as i say but several and. Absolutely no doubt about that at all what you saw over 40 years ago of course was the u. S. Embassy in tehran being overrun and stormed many many years goes a long time ago over 4 decades ago what though that is still very raw those images of u. S. Helicopters pulling diplomats off the roof of the of the embassy there in tehran those are very images that are still very clear in the eyes of many people here in washington more recently the u. S. Ambassador to libya killed when the Diplomatic Mission in benghazi was stormed as well that was just a few years ago so these are all things that are very very much in the mind of pompei o tromp many people here in washington and the government and what you saw in baghdad on tuesday was certainly a close call for the United States no doubt about it and i think thats why youre seeing on one level so much diplomatic efforts by pompei o and others in the washington but also this sending 750 u. S. Troops to the region that is direct response to this because i think that the us realized quite quickly theyre very vulnerable in baghdad and the situation there could have gotten much worse very quickly and it still could if the situation escalates in the days or weeks ahead gabriel many thanks. Relief supplies have started reaching thousands of australians stranded in fire ravaged well thousands more are being told to evacuate ahead of dangerous conditions this coming weekend this week has seen the deadliest spates of blazes since the crisis began in october 15 people have died in the states of New South Wales navy ships and military aircraft are being used to help the emergency crews more than 200 fires are burning in the states of victoria and New South Wales and more than 1000 homes have been destroyed conditions are expected to worsen in the southeast on saturday so firefighters are busy back burning creating natural fire breaks to limit the destruction of the a. B. C. s Melissa Clark whos in maria in New South Wales she says most people are trying to escape the flames but some are still choosing to stay people in maria can either go north or south along the princes highway most people are choosing to go south that will get them down to bigger they can then take the Snowy Mountains highway. And then for a lot of people go back to either. Or the inland i spoke to people trying to get. People from all around just trying to get away interestingly a couple of locals i spoke to dont want to leave even though the. People to leave if they can the very clear that they want anyone who has the capacity to go. One of a cane thing thats worth mentioning is that has been restored here in maria i have not but there are still plenty of places that joint have power and getting the information that they want people to leave as soon as possible is proving tricky and we are hearing some circumstances where theres been misinformation getting around as well particularly where there isnt reception and power. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the parliament the knesset to grant him immunity from prosecution over 3 Corruption Cases 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 have an opinion. About its mind tension this time before the court to shatter all the public accusations against me day citizens of israel he mean achievement is meant to protect the elected officials from tided law 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 fame 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 film 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 of politically motivated and the 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 you remains a member of the knesset the move will delay the prosecution of these 3 court cases by months or even stole 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 long how does their western slim. Plenty more news still to come here on aljazeera including the woman described as africas richest denies allegations of corruption in an exclusive interview with al jazeera. Poland or the netherlands the dutch government decides on what it would like the country to be called. Hello again welcome back to International Weather forecasts well starting here in north asia things are looking too bad the clouds you see on the satellite image will be pushing into the pacific what were going to be left with on thursday is relatively quiet conditions across much of the area we will be picking up some snow though on that western coast that sea effect snow mostly on the Higher Elevations here in tokyo though it is going to be at 11 degrees there but as we go down towards china do expect to see the rain increase across much of the central areas were gone it is going to be a chilly in a wet day with the temps are there of about 8 degrees down towards hong kong though much better conditions where the temp if you of about 20 to one here across the southern part of the philippines expect to see some very heavy rain over the next few days were watching a little bit of a disturbance pushing through it is not going to get any bigger than it is right now really just a tropical wave but notice those yellows right there pushing on to that Southern Area we could be seeing about 150. 00 to possibly 200. 00 millimeters of rain over the next few days so localized flooding could be a big problem there up to the north it is going to be scattered showers for manila at about 30 degrees for you there but over here towards thailand we do expect to see widespread sunshine across much of the area for bangkok expect to see a temper of 34 degrees down towards kuala lumpur it is going to be rain in your forecast for the tempter there of 33. 00 degrees as well. But. The only way that its a series of ceremonies parties feasible. We might know when they begin but not on the end. In the come or assign an extravagant Wedding Service mark is a social status but this latter celebration. Why no one ever held this wedding so many people do and why this and its budget is all still extraordinary the grand marriage on aljazeera wild. Looking back youre watching aljazeera remind us of our top stories so far today after 2 days see the u. S. Embassy compound in iraq protesters backing a pro Iranian Group of now withdrawn but theyve done so with one condition they want to put on a timeline for the withdrawal of foreign troops. Police supplies of started reaching thousands of australian strengthen turns ravaged by bushfires at least 15 people have died in New South Wales. And the israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the parliament to granting immunity from prosecution in 3 Corruption Cases letting you know he was indicted on charges of bribery fraud and a breach of trust in november. He an envoy to libya is accusing Security Council members of violating an arms embargo. Says there are concerns about foreign fighters being flown into libya the Turkish Parliament is expected to vote on thursday on whether to deploy troops and 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 as offensive human body is a known resident scholar at the middle east institute he says foreign interference in libya is nothing new. You have right now the primary players however are turkey and russia i would say on the ground and in the air its predominantly the u. A. E. Actually the iraqis with 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 predominantly 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 vince with excluding everyone else but also excluding libyans in the process much like they did in syria. In syrias last rebel held province at least 9 civilians have been killed in shelling and airstrikes by the government and Russian Forces he accuses those forces of targeting a school 5 children are among the dead tanks on it live province of intensified in recent weeks in december alone the violence forced nearly 300000 people from their homes. 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 for its permit was revoked after mosque demonstrators broke off from the main crowd florence levy reports now from hong kong. 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 buds 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 were drew the 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 cannon clearing the streets of protesters as well as the barricades that protesters have set up crowds of protesters many wearing gas masks had earlier used to brendas 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 with 3 and a half kilometers 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. By 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 maybe a union groups set up recruitment booths and volunteers collected donations to assist the protest movement oh my god i the coup. 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 stood a distance away keeping a close watch occasionally protesters who direct their anger at the police over there. Who wanted government protests have 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. No matter what the outcome will be. But no one knows for how long this will go on florence nuri al jazeera hong kong. The daughter of angolas former president has denied allegations of corruption of record froze her Bank Accounts an estimated 1000000000. 00 worth of assets has been seized as part of an Anti Corruption drive by the angolan government is a builder santos says the accusations are politically motivated well shes been described as africas Richest Woman with an estimated net worth of more than 2000000000. 00 her father is the former president just said were told a son toss he let angola for 38 years up until 2017 Oil Production and the industries that supported make up around 89 percent of angolas exports but much of the population is poor last month josee filomena the son of the president and brother isabelle went on trial for corruption hes pleaded not guilty well as a builder sent also earlier spoke exclusively to aljazeera she says theres been a lack of due 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 resent 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 juju for for a strategy of undermining the legacy of president assad doesnt that he has achieved. The former Prime Minister of Guinea Bissau and exile me general morrow just so cool and barlow has won the president ial runoff with 54 percent of the vote in ballots takes over from president joseph mario was eliminated in the 1st round losing candidate domingo similar spreta says the vote was rigged hes vowing to contest the result in the supreme court. Thailand has banned single use plastic bags at major stores in an effort to clean up the countrys waterways part of a government plan to phase out all single use plastic by 2021 however as jessica washington explains from bangkok changing Consumer Attitudes will be the biggest challenge. Around 45000000000. 00 plus of bags i use every year in thailand for the new year will bring a change in behavior for consumers of all around the country Major Department stores being in stores and supermarkets will hold implement a ban on plastic bags from this year signs like this are on display around the country explaining the changes telling consumers theyll need to plan ahead for the next time they go shopping theres also a ban on using heart outs with microbial and funds for a ban on plastic cards within the next 2 years and all if you really think this is a good idea because it will clean up the environment these days so hot as the weather is changing its hard to do my job as a driver because of the heat we need to stop using so much plastic and reduce the garbage overall but getting thai consumers to break up with plastic could prove challenging the highest percentage of plastic uses doesnt come from Department Stores and Convenience Stores it comes from places like this fresh Fruit Markets and food stalls and getting independent sellers to get on board with a plastic bag could prove challenging because. I think a plastic bag bed is a good idea but what will i use instead what would be a good substitute these flowers how wet so theyd be to be in a plastic bag but still i think reducing plastic is a good idea because of climate change. The empty plastic push has been in part spurred by the high number of wildlife the teletubbies caused by plastic ingestion one case which caught the attention of the public was that of a baby which died after eating several kilograms of plastic that case and others like it served as a graphic reminder to the public of the dangers of excessive plastic usage. Now if we talk about the learn to chill of some windmills holland or the netherlands usually comes to mind but which name should we use well from now on the government would prefer it if people called it the netherlands as it attempts to rebrand bernard smiths reports from amsterdam. Holland 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 think only of the netherlands for the whole rest of the world i think holland is quite clear what it is some small spot somewhere on the earth. Where such 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. Being. Wrong. What do you call this country were in now. All. Of that land. You are right. Now the land sea yes i know it was ok yes and this is all in just states the netherlands is the country today officially they want you to stop calling at all and they want to call it the netherlands. In amsterdam theyre struggling to cope with a wreck or number of tourists 42000000 people are expected to visit this country by 2030 thats up from around 20000000 now and to manage that the government hopes that this rebranding will encourage people to explore outside of a crowded house down to the country beyond the 2 provinces of holland. Im saddam in the netherlands. Hello again youre watching aljazeera my names peter darby these are your top stories supporters and members of an iranian backed group of withdrawn from the u. S. Embassy compound in the iraqi capital baghdad after a 2 day siege leaders of the Popular Mobilization forces ordered them to leave but theyve done so with a condition they want to Iraqs Parliament to vote on our timeline for the withdrawal of Foreign Forces someone of olson was outside the embassy in baghdad and sent us this report. The speech here at the u. S. Embassy appears to be coming to an end with u. S. Trade and iraq account the curves of forces now taking over disappearing and basically securing the area of the crowd but the brigade of the earth left and for the United States they have vowed that they will not let them down until they feel the hardshell of u. S. Forces from iraq. Started reaching thousands of australians stranded in tons ravaged by bushfires at least 8 people have died this week alone in the deadliest spates of blazes navy ships and military aircraft have been deployed to help emergency crews provide supplies and to assess the damage the israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the parliament to grant immunity from prosecution over 3 Corruption Cases mr netanyahu was indicted on charges of bribery fraud and a breach of trust in november. The u. N. Envoy to libya is accusing Security Council members of violating an arms embargo. Says there a concern about foreign fighters being flown into libya the Turkish Parliament is you to vote on thursday on whether to deploy troops that follows a request for military support by the Us Government in tripoli is coming under attack by forces loyal to the warlord. Has been trying to seize the capital since april tens of thousands of libyans have fled their homes since launched as offensive the Syrian Government and russian a strikes have killed at least 9 civilians in the last remaining rebel stronghold. Those forces of targeting a school 5 children are among the dead a tax on province of intensified in recent weeks with nearly 300000. 00 people forced to leave their homes since last month those are the headlines the news continues here after inside story of a quick summary in about 30 minutes else. Is iraq becoming a proxy battleground between washington and tehran angry protesters stormed the u. S. Embassy in baghdad toughs after the u. S. Attacked in the arabian backed our military group so how can this latest tension we can take this instance inside story. Well there one welcome to the Program Julie macdonald dramatic scenes at the u. S. Embassy in iraq supports as a members of the iranian backed Popular Mobilization forces surrounding the u. S. Embassy compound in iraqs camp
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