Drinking water became a toxic strain. So its really iran and south korea are all imposing restrictions on tens of thousands of people as they try to contain coronavirus south koreas president raised the disease alert level to its highest in an effort to get more resources to the south of the country thats where Health Systems are being really stretched nationwide 556 people are infected and 4 have died and across iran schools and Cultural Centers theyve been shut the death toll there has risen to 630 people are infected in the cases alike largely linked to the holy city of qom meanwhile in italy 50000 people are on the lockdown thats in the north of the country to have died and there are 80 cases of infection and that makes italy europes worst affected country. In a moment well talk to asad baker correspondent in the iranian capital 1st lets go to robin wright is in daegu in south korea and rob the president and his cabinet been missing and so on theyve decided that they need every ounce of the state km us to try to contain this corona virus. Thats right this announcement has come in the last half hour or so as you said their president had an emergency meeting sunday afternoon to discuss the response to this growing crisis with this weekend literally hundreds new more new cases being reported and deciding to raise the alert level to red which is the as you said the highest for the past few days weve been in the 2nd highest orange level what this means is now the Prime Minister takes said direct control of the handling of the response to this and also means the reallocation of resources a lot of the emphasis so far has been on trying to prevent the coronavirus from coming into south korea with various measures at the border border points and so on this now really directs resources basically its an acceptance that this coronaviruses here it is affecting communities it is spreading and really the resources have to be put in place to try to prevent that as you mentioned there we are down in the southeast of the country in the city of daegu and neighboring county which have been badly affected weve had these large clusters and the real effort now the focus is try to prevent other clusters from breaking out in other parts of south korea people linked to this area have been going to other parts of south korea they have been taken ill and they have been detected the fear is that were going to see other clusters in other parts of south korea and the president has accepted the we are at sea he said watershed moment and that the next few days will be critical really adding a sense of urgency now to the governments efforts he says that local governments and local authorities should have to take whatever precedented and powerful measures they deem fit and not be limited by regulations it almost seems as though the Central Government here is giving special powers for cities and provinces to take whatever measures they think appropriate to try to prevent this from spreading further. All right rob thanks for that rob mcbride there live in daegu in the southeast in south korea lets go now to the iranian capital tehran our correspondent there said beg and as ed says this outbreak of current virus in iran does seem to be quite closely linked to one specific location and that is the holy city of qom yes it does it seems to have started there now this is a religious city holds an important religious shrine and it has millions of visitors across the years from all year round from neighboring countries iraq and lebanon but also further afield we have programs coming to iran to visit the holy city of qom from the United Kingdom theres also many religious seminaries the main shia clerics to laws are also based there so it is important religious city and many people from around iran visit that city now the head of the infectious to Infectious Diseases department in the Health Ministry has said it could be that the virus has spread because people visit. But they suspect that the virus could be present in all cities in iran currently now we do also know that they are Chinese Workers based at that city of course and flights between the 2 countries have now been suspended now people will ask why didnt that happen earlier iran has now suspended those flights schools some reason universities are all closed for at least a week income and our sources also tell us that night life does go on as normal but there are fewer people out on the streets i was going to ask you i said actually given that i rather worrisome statement made by one of the officials saying that its its likely to be in every city in the country how are iranians reacting what are they doing. Well ive been out across the last night and this morning and it is in a state of panic that thats not happening some people have suggested on social media theres no queues outside pharmacies not that i have seen or our team has seen but they are more people Wearing Masks theres disinfectant in Public Places around it to the gym this morning theres extra disinfectant out and theyre encouraging people to clean their hands before and after the gym but life does go on as normal that the cultural events concerts Film Screenings have all been stopped we understand that what matters today will be paid without spectators but there wont be any matches or any of the public sporting events for the next 10 days now the Supreme NationalSecurity Council has given special powers to the Health Ministry to shut down any city that they deem fit but there is a considerable amount of suspicion amongst people they dont really believe the official government version and thats partly due to after the aftermath of the shooting down of the ukrainian airliner the government denied for 3 days that there shut it down so there is some suspicion but life does go on as normal the fewer cars the fewer people out in the streets but thats because schools and universities are all closed so people are not really out and about all right as a big live in the iranian capital tehran thank you. Well irans neighbor iraq is really worried about the number of iranians who cross the border to visit their holy sites there is now setting up quarantine areas aimed at preventing the spread of the virus matheson reports. These quarantine wards in baghdad are part of iraqs frontline against the covert 19 strain of corona virus many of the rooms and corridors a sterilized and sealed a nurse recorded these pictures from aljazeera recently iraqis arriving from china have been tested here even though they werent showing any symptoms medical staff say no one was carrying the virus. Who gropes from the stuff from the doctors people which is what a bill for the killing of the hospital are we training groups about this. About this why us. Do you think this one symbol of. Every month thousands of religious travelers visit shia holy sites in iraq including the shrine of him hussein in the Western Province of caballe and the shrine of him in the jeff they also spend much needed money in nearby hotels and restaurants many of from neighboring iran which is reported infections and deaths linked to corona virus the governor of najaf province says he wants visitors to stop coming. In and i do not have the right to prevent anyone from coming in but we have asked the Health Ministry and they have asked people not to come from around or to travel there. But planes from iran some carrying iraqi passengers are still landing had not jeff airport. Yes people are afraid there are rumors most iraqis are Wearing Masks and even after landing here they kept their masks on. One popular shia holy site is the shrine of him im quoting here in baghdad one of iraqs most crowded cities iraq says that its opening up quarantine areas in various crossing points along its border with iraq its also halted flights between iraq and iraq for the forseeable future but there is another issue iraq and iran do about 12000000000. 00 worth of trade every year and a lot of that comes across the border if the borders limited or even closed iraqs economy itself. Iraqs doctors now have to wait to see if their defense against the virus is Strong Enough rob Matheson Al Jazeera back down. But the italian Prime Minister has imposed emergency measures across across 12 villages in the north of the country as catherine sounds the reports. That region all the silly is really struggling to contain coronavirus. The Lombardy Region of northern italy is in lockdown as mark cases of the covert 19 coronavirus are confirmed continue is effectively a ghost town after at least 3 people there tested positive for the virus the sudden spread has led local authorities to take swift action urging businesses schools and churches in several towns to close their doors several train stations are closed and tens of thousands of italians have been told to stay home as a precaution. There is a higher level of panic now where in a mosque is the right thing to do but there is too much paranoia closing down the streets going too far its an attack if they dont know. There is a lot of panic the situation maris us all we can do is wait and see what happens doctors suspect a hospital near cafe have helped spread the virus and theyre trying to limit the outbreak. We are working to identify the people who came into direct contact with those who are confirmed to have the virus these tests weve done so far appear to show 3 more cases of the coronavirus the corona virus has spread to 8 countries in europe including germany france and the u. K. Happenstance. Well some news just coming in from turkey where the interior minister has announced that at least 7 people have died after an earthquake struck right on the border with iran this is the province avan 5 other people were injured and this is one of the most seismically active parts of the world so again at least 7 people have died there are others that have been injured and were going to be keeping across that particular quake in eastern turkey as more details become available. Still to come here at aljazeera. A call for reconciliation in south sudan as rival leaders for me unity government in an effort to end is a civil war. The big. Hello and welcome to International Weather forecast as we look at the weather across europe weve got yet another area of low pressure heading in towards the u. K. Its going to bring some precipitation which can be quite heavy both rain and snow during the course of sunday. System moves in ahead of it theres a weak linkage to this weather system getting some rain across parts of belgium through into germany and across towards poland southern areas of europe i shant looking too bad there is some of the forecast through into monday you can see the area of low pressure begins to move in across the u. K. Bringing some heavy snowfall and then as it moves across the north sea its likely to intensify so i think during monday and on into tuesday it is going to become quite stormy on north sea coast there of denmark and some other low countries or could see some very intense rainfall indeed further says still looking fine eastern areas this area of low pressure giving some heavy snowfall pretty unsettled protect me down towards georgia now into north africa weve had some strong winds over last 24 hours you see some cloud what appears to be cloud there for the Canary Islands but underneath that weve got an awful lot of murky weather dust blowing out of the Sahara Desert causing really Poor Visibility and i think were going to find that continue in the course of sunday as the winds continue to blow the dust in that direction elsewhere pretty hot down in bamako mali. Let me talk about 2 of the biggest problems facing and they are the endemic corruption and the gang we listen so if you really put place china as the enemy of all of us and thats really then your we meet with global news makers about the stories that matter how does iran know whats happening in our region we know how to get to places that others cannot the fires are still ongoing how do we make you tell their story is what can make it different. To the. Right lets have a look at the top stories here at south koreas president raise the countrys alert level to the highest after another spike in corona virus cases. Has urged municipal governments to help contain the outbreak nationwide there are more than 600 infections so far 4 people have died in south korea. And in italy. 50000. 00 people in the north of the country theyre currently under lockdown cases there have quadrupled were talking about nearly 82. 00 people so far have died italy now becomes europes worst affected country. And news just coming in from turkey where the im tearin minister has announced that at least 7 people have died in an earthquake measuring 5. 7 on the scale this is right on the border with iran far east of the country province and this is a very seismically active area so far were hearing of 5 people being injured but this is a situation of course that can escalate as often is the case with a great. Lets go to the United States on Bernie Sanders is positioned himself as the front runner for the democratic nomination for the u. S. Presidency with a decisive win in nevada many is for it did sound is to win but the margin was a surprise some of his rivals are now looking ahead to the South Carolina primary to keep their chances alive well grenell reports from las vegas we have now won the battle clark in. A resounding victory for Bernie Sanders as he sealed his position as front runner and moved a step closer to winning the democratic nomination we have just put to go. A multigenerational multi ridge Racial Coalition which is going up not only win in nevada its going to sweep this country. The vermont senator set up a strong and Sophisticated Organization in nevada winning strong support from white and latino voters with his calls for universal Health Care StudentDebt Forgiveness and a Green New Deal to defeat Global Warming the victory came through the efforts of a small army of enthusiastic mostly young volunteers. Many of them gathered in downtown las vegas to celebrate as the results came in by sanders was so confident of victory here in nevada that he skipped this r. T. And spent the day instead holding rallies in texas now thats one of the big delegate rich state that holds its primary on super tuesday march 3rd sanders now as a boost of momentum going into super tuesday joe biden came in 2nd in nevada and is hoping to do better in South Carolina next week losing centrist candidates like pete would a judge warned sanders is to lift wings to defeat President Donald Trump in november senator sanders believes in an inflexible ideological revolution that leaves out most democrats not to mention most americans. Earlier Nevada Democratic voters gathered in schools libraries and casinos to stand for their candidates at 0 dyster high school outside las vegas caucus goers argue sometimes passionately to win over other voters are your will. Not be made but in the end the night and nevada the warm to Bernie Sanders robert oulds al jazeera las vegas. Now iranian conservatives appear to be on calls to win a majority in parliament 3 elections results indicate a strong showing by the hardliners in the capital tehran although turnout figures are yet to be released voters had limited options with thousands of mostly moderate candidates disqualified from fridays election and the polls have just opened in a german city state election has been seen as a major test for the mainstream hamburg has been a stronghold for the social democrats for a decade now theyre under threat from former Coalition Partners the greens germanys largest pauses vulnerable to rising sea level so Climate Change is an important factor for many votes. And the votes are being counted in togas president ial election after 15 years in power president for nothing day is likely to secure a 4th term and that would extend his familys rule of more than half a century ahmed idris is a correspondent in the capital alone may. 2 generations of to please women to have to choose a president. One is excited to vote for the 1st time. I am now 20 years old im happy to exercise my right to vote not everyone gets this chongs the other whose voted in every election in the past 15 years is back again this year. By coming out to vote every time thats my way of trying to change institutions that dont do this as long as i live. Opposition leader and cast his ballot in the capitol the former journalists and rights activist challenged president ford at the polls for more than a decade hes not happy with the round up to this election we have. A list of for. Everyone to. Reach. 0. And a government. Has not as i mean as a magnet. On the complaints is a possibility of fraud and denying access to Opposition Party agents the opposition hasnt been able to form a united front boosting the reelection chances of a 4th term for president for us and. He voted in people around 420 kilometers away from the capital confident of extending his 50 and 53 years of his Family Status to. The president succeeded his late father. For 38 years after seizing power in a cool. Voting which is monitored by local and International Observers pass to peacefully in most parts of the country its a few hours since voting started in this polling station but the crowd has thinned out their Action Commission says thats because more polling booths like this have been opened to speed up the process but some talk of state away unsure if their vote will make any difference. Counting the votes is expected to take longer this time less than 48 hours before the. Election commission announced a change to the counting process. The commission cited what it called credible information about the process of transmitting results electronically from outside the capitol had been targeted by hackers something the opposition is skeptical about. Aljazeera. South sudan driver leaders of again formed a unity government declaring and then to a civil war that killed more than 400000 people form a rebel leader read naturals being sworn in as president salva deputy have a morgan reports from geneva. In a seam similar to that witnessed in april 26th after a peace deal signed a year earlier Opposition Leader rick machar is once again sworn in as the countrys 1st Vice President. And so began a new transitional period for south sudan after more than 5 years of war 1st say well to take this opportunity to congratulate the people of the republic of south sudan for attaining peace. I want to a sure you we will work collectively to your long suffering. 3 other Vice President s were also sworn in a 5th is yet to be appointed it comes as part of a revitalized version of a 2015 peace deal ended ending the war which started in 2015. The deal brings together several opposition groups besides the main opposition led by the now 1st Vice President pretty much are its also gives all sides shares in the government cabinet and the Legislative Assembly saturday swearing comes after several delays to the formation of a Transitional Government from may to november 2019 and then another 100. 00 days its also seen several opposition and government figures being sanctioned with every delay for those of you who have followed this process weve got to this day because we heard from a painful decisions. And compromises we made these compromises for the sake of our people and for peace and stability in the country they journeyed to what these may have been long and difficult but we are finally here i want to i sure do you that the peace we have signed. Is finally here but swearing in Vice President s is only the beginning the new government has many challenges ahead before elections are due to be held in 3 years time as part of the deal to end the war south sudanese are suffering from high inflation as a result of the years of conflict with hundreds of thousands unable to afford basic goods corruption is also a concern and with the humanitarian effect of the conflict many are hoping for improvement during the transitional period. A quarter of the countrys 12000000 people have been displaced as a result of fighting and more than have rely on food aid with 1200000 of that being children some analysts say the work ahead should also focus on the relation between the now power sharing partners who can respect complete trust different parties but thats why there is the frameworks made within the Peace Agreement on what to do what and how and when and group who to do it but there is an element of a basic trust. Each of the you know. Representatives in the government needs to have why i can have a basic trust that we can deliver on it fast we dont need to like each other but we have a task together after a lot of hope is spent on the new government after years of conflict some hoping that there is enough peace for them to finally return home others hoping the leaders focus on the countrys interest and put an end to the damages done by the war people morgan aljazeera juba. Police in algeria have fog Water Cannons on the 1st anniversary of a protest movement against the government demonstrators in the capital our jails continue to demand a complete overhaul of the ruling elite and then to corruption and the armys withdrawal from politics unprecedented demonstrations started a year ago which eventually forced longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign. Policing has examined of arrested. Of opposition supporters as in the latest crackdown on antigovernment demonstrations that. Buttresses rallied on saturday in the capital. And in the largest city. And that followed similar protests on friday which led to the pres the launch of a new Opposition Party anger at the old thora tarion leadership corruption arbitrary detentions and restrictions on government critics has intensified the bangladeshis capital has some of the worst air quality in the world there are serious risks to those living there but as Bernard Smith reports they arent just breathing in pollution theyre drinking it to. The taking a bath in a poisonous soup of decades of untreated waste water from tanneries battery and pharmaceutical factories and other industries on which bangladeshis economy relies. Fully aware of how polluted it is but were both men and when we are around here this is where we have to wash now the government is finally making some progress against the worst polluters with a High Court Order forcing the closure of 231. 00 illegal tanneries but the pollution continues licensed tanneries as opposed to pump waste to this new Treatment Plant but its not yet fully equipped to operate at capacity. So every day thousands of liters go straight into the river. Because the court has ordered us to make sure that a fluid Treatment Plant is performing up to midlevel so were going to take over operations from the chinese who are running it not in the government shares the same attitude and mind set to tackle the pollution problems 64. 00 freshwater fish species in bangladesh are under threat because of pollution 9 a critically endangered according to government figures. Used to provide Drinking Water now its toxic and black and cracking down on polluting industries is part of the governments ambitious plan to clean up the rivers. Here a market built on illegally reclaimed land is being ripped down all this area up to the road will be dug out again and the river returned to its original with. The money. There are a lot of influential people involved in land grabbing even members of parliament and big industrialists who own many of these industries are polluters but at the same time Public Awareness is growing in regard to the environment and pollution and a strong desire to save these rivers. For years the government has turned a blind eye to the garment related industries which contribute 20 percent of the countrys g. D. P. Activists hope this court ruling will set a precedent for other rivers 38 of which they say a dying due to bridle pollution and land grabbing Bernard Smith aljazeera dhaka. Every want to keep right up to date with all the days developing stories remember you can always go to the website aljazeera dot com they can find out much more about that earthquake in turkey. My. Right lets look at the top stories here it is there south koreas president s raise the countrys alert level to the highest after another spike in coronavirus cases an injury and urging local governments to help contain the outbreak across the country 602 people are affected 5 people have died in a silly an area with about 50000 people is currently under lockdown cases there have quadrupled to almost 82 people have died italy has become europes worst affected country and within the last half hour or so were getting information of there having been an earthquake in the east of turkey the interior minister reporting at least 7 people having died the earthquake measuring 5. 7 and its right on the border with iran the very eastern most part of turkey in van province there are also others injured this is a developing story well keep you right up to date with it here at our jazeera. Senator Bernie Sanders has claimed a decisive victory in the nevada caucuses hes more than doubled the lead over his closest rival in early counting cementing his place is the frontrunner for the democratic president ial nomination. We are going to win here in texas we are going. In the we are going to where no Cross Country because the American People who are sick and tired of a president who lives all of the time. The polls opened in the german city of hamburg and this is being seen as a major test the mainstream Political Parties hamburgs been a stronghold for the social democrats for a decade but now theyre under threat from their former Coalition Partners the greens react much else being sworn in as south sudans 1st Vice President as he forms a new Coalition Government with his former rival president salva care they aim to end years of conflict ahead of elections which are sure to to be held within 3 years this is the 3rd time that they are attempting to form a coalition and end the fighting in south sudan. All right up to date there is all the latest headlines from here at aljazeera coming up next its our interview program. Aljazeera. And. Im joined a hole in munich where Global Policy makers are gathered for the annual security conference among them josep the European UnionsForeign Policy and security chief a band who faces many challenges from rexs to u. S. Tariffs from the Iran Nuclear Deal to managing relations with eastern giants like china and russia and of course festering conflicts in places like libya and yemen the list is long can the ties that bind e. U. Member states endure all this is there a common vision for the European Unions future well find out as joe said burrill talks to aljazeera. Just approach the European Unions high representative for Foreign Affairs many thanks for talking to aljazeera thank you youre part of a new