Russia records a sharp rise in new coronavirus cases of more than 10024 hours. Before the disaster. Why the mayor of minnows is asking gretz its one bird to help stop the protectors of the amazon rain forest dying from covert 19. And Israels High Court hears a challenge against the new Coalition Government which could trigger the countrys 4th election in 18 months. Fellow Health Officials in afghanistan fear the coronavirus outbreak theyre responding far more rapidly than previously thought it follows the random testing of 500 people in kabul more than 150 of them tested positive suggesting around a 3rd of the capitals residents could be infected and in russia coronavirus cases are continuing to surge its registered its 4th record one day rise with over 10000. 00 new infections bringing the total there to nearly 135000 but both italy and spain 2 of the countrys worst affected by the pandemic have registered their lowest daily number of coronavirus deaths in nearly 7 weeks so as infection numbers rise in Afghanistan Afghan refugees who fled iran when it became the hardest hit country in the region have started to go back but this has led to a tragedy on the border between the 2 countries Iranian Border forces have been accused of drowning dozens of afghans to stop them crossing something iran denies alexy obrien has more on that on the spread of the virus in afghanistan just a warning her report contains disturbing images from the starts. They left their homes in search of opportunity in iran instead witnesses say they were killed their final moments terrifying. The Iranian Border guards 1st beat us then made us do hard work then they took us by minibus near the river and when we got there they threw us into the river some afghan migrants are said to have drowned in the river that flows between iran and afghanistan their distraught relatives and the Afghan Government want says. My brothers went to iran 3 days ago yesterday we heard the very ground the iranians do the included evil and threw them into the water Irans Foreign Ministry has denied the allegations and says the incident happened inside afghanistan it could trigger a diplomatic crisis between the 2 countries at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has seen an exodus of afghan migrants leaving iran and returning home at least 265000 afghans have crossed back from around this year some blame them for bringing in the virus iran has the regions worst outbreak but despite this some afghans continue to look for a better life theyre trying to escape conflict and poverty decades of war have left afghanistans Health System woefully unprepared for a major outbreak of the virus there are about 3000. 00 confirmed cases here but its feared the virus is spreading fast after random testing in kabul suggested a 3rd of the people in the capital could be infected. Efforts by the government to persuade people to maintain social distance havent been entirely successful partly blamed on low rates of literacy in a densely packed city activists warn of a horrific human tragedy in afghanistan if the virus becomes widespread to some trying to escape the countrys problems has proven just as deadly brian al jazeera in europe the latest figures suggest some of its worst affected countries are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel but thats not the case in russia where another 10 and a half 1000 people have tested positive so again go house the latest. And learn call for russia sunday march the full 3 quoted single day increase of coronavirus cases and the worry now is what lies ahead and how russias Strained Health care system will handle it medics complain of shortages of protective equipment and testing capabilities and the high rate of hospital workers whove died from the virus. Russias reported death toll remains relatively lower than other countries but it has double the number of new cases it had 2 weeks ago Authorities Say that is because of increased screening not only out of the spread of the virus is mainly caused by those happy with that symptoms so its good when the patient is detected at an early stage the infection number is rising but not the spread of the illness itself more in italy 1000 newly recruited Health Workers prepared to assist doctors and nurses working inside the overcrowded Prison NetworkDetention Centers there have been at the heart of the Coronavirus Crisis from the very beginning and the fear is that it could prove to be a hub for renewed infections. This as the leader of the Roman Catholic church used his sunday address to call for International Cooperation to combat the pandemic importantly of hockey making sure me it is important to you not Scientific Capabilities in a transparent and impartial way to find vaccines and treatments to guarantee universal access to essential technologies that allow each infected person in every part of the world to receive the necessary medical treatment fronts is now preparing to enter its final week of strict confinement measures its Health Ministry announced that the number of people who have died from cove at 19 rose by 166 to more than 24700 on saturday while figures for those admitted to hospitals continues to decline it comes with a warning from the Health Minister if infections rise in the coming week the lockdown could go on sunday diagonal as era. Well lets talk more about the situation in russia with dr Andrew Foxhall whos the director of the russia and eurasia study center at the Henry Jackson university hes joining us from london thanks for your time with us on aljazeera so despite lockdown measures being put in place in russia the number of confirmed cases youre seeing continues to rise rapidly its now surpassed china and iran as the country with higher infections than those how big a crisis is this for the country. Well president putin seems to be observing the are digital you shouldnt let a crisis go to waste so what were seeing internationally is that the russia has sent aid to italy it has sold or send aid to the United States it has sought to in a sense reestablish itself as a key player in the United NationsGeneral Assembly by proposing a resolution which will be it was not passed which would have seen an end to economic sanctions so russia has internationally seeking to take advantage of the situation but domestically as as your question suggests the country is facing a crisis and its a crisis that that is getting increasingly cute so while russia quite. Rapidly almost at the early stages of the of the pandemic to close its border with china in late january since then the kremlin has has largely been doing what or thora terry regimes usually do in these situations which is to to bully marginalize those people who are who are trying to speak out and tell the truth so weve weve seen a number of doctors for example in russia. Be been marginalized. In the kremlin has cracked down on them in a number of ways one of the things that they initially find was that there was a an almost 40 percent increase in the number of pneumonia cases in moscow in january load theyve also pointed out that a lot of the test. Good a lot of the testing capability in russia doesnt appear to be working so as to say that you see an increasingly acute crisis prominence than the shift in as well of course that has fallen ill with with with code that is already saying that its are you saying then. We actually could not know the extent or the scale of the pandemic. Well we know who well 1st of all there are reasons to be skeptical i think about what the kremlin say. Often when when russia or or president putin is pushed into a corner he law is we saw weve seen that any number of times over recent years we know that russia initially attempted to suppress both the statistics and also those who wanted to tell the truth about the statistics as i mentioned earlier the and in number of doctors for example that being said there are no officially at least 230000 cases in russia and there have been about its size and 300 deaths so we are seeing a degree of openness for the kremlin on this but i dont necessarily think that that tells all the story as i say all story terry regimes in general 1st of all attempt to hide bad news from their own citizens and when theyre not able to do that they tend to hide bad news from the outside world so what is the impact of this is going to have on the president a politically and and from what youve seen i know youre keeping an eye out on russia to people trust the governments handling of the crisis. Well president putin of the governments Approval Ratings of course or public trust in the russian government pete earley 2014 when russia legally an extreme year for me and since and its slowly been going downhill over recent months that decreases his shop and so president putins current Approval Ratings are 63 percent now i mean that may well that may well sound very high and would be the envy of any western leader but western leaders generally dont stay in power for 20 years and they also generally dont kill their political opponents at home and abroad so we all seeing Approval Ratings are the same putin slowly slowly falling but that is reflective i think of a general. Where in a samosa russian population weve seen not widespread but certainly intense protests against the measures that the russian state has imposed since late march early april in a number of russian cities. Clear or most notably perhaps at the moment of logic of cows in north a set your alarm youre a republican the north caucasus theres nothing to suggest that those protests wont continue and in all likelihood they will continue with increased intensity writer and or fox all leave it there we thank you very much for speaking to us from london more than 67000 people have now died from the corona virus in the u. S. Thats despite that more states are bowing to pressure and reopening tens of thousands of people flocked to new yorks parks and public spaces for the warmest weekend this spring while in california some defied beach bans texas is the latest say to open summer fits businesses joining others including georgia and oklahoma the demonstrators have still gathered from coast to coast to call for restrictions to be eased more quickly. The mayor of an amazon city has appealed to the climate activists gratitude to use her influence to help the rain forests protect her as battle the coronavirus the mayor of my notes made the pleas inmates in the citys prison briefly took 7 guards hostage opera testing against poor conditions the city is grappling with the highest coronavirus death rate in brazil while health care has been overwhelmed and mass burials are now commonplace on saturday timbered tweeted that the Indigenous People who defend the forest must be defended which appears to have prompted that appeal. We have to save the lives of 2 of the fraud if for a lot of huge. The disaster. From seem like barbara rees. Highlands is coming back to life after weeks of lockdown bangkok was buzzing on sunday as restaurants salans and pet shops were among the 1st businesses to reopen customers rush to Alcohol Stores where a ban on sales was also lifted all shops must now follows distancing and hygiene rules thailand has reported no new deaths in days and has kept its overall tally relatively low but World Health Organization says theres no evidence a herbal taught by madagascar as president as a coronavirus cure actually works but that hasnt stopped. Exporting the drink 1st to equitorial guinea and now its a Guinea Bissau he says the cure is covert 1000. 00 patients within 10 days it contains the are to mishear plants which is normally used to treat malaria tanzanias president says hes in talks with madagascar to organize a shipment of the tonic. Youre watching aljazeera life from london coming up in a moment so all u. S. Government is accuse of jailing journalists and stifling press freedom ahead of next years election on the worlds top hold voltaren give the fans some live off latics to watch and what theyve called the ultimate garden clash details coming up. Hello there rather unsettled picture across much of central and Eastern Europe but it does come of course with some rain which is very much needed across many areas you can see plenty of activity the last few hours and the rain also bringing some thunderstorms and very often of course you get pictures of this office a very dark skies here over there in hungary the beautiful double rainbow under all the striking one over the skies in front. Of a some of these are thunderstorms across eastern sections could be a little bit severe at times maybe some strong winds some heavy amounts of rain particularly these areas in dot blue areas the ukraine and across into a mania and we could also have some damaging hail at the same time so more showers across central areas germany again across into poland all areas where desperately need to see some rain and then waiting in the wings is the next system this will bring some rather heavy rain into the bay of biscay across into western france and eventually through choose a pushing up into southern regions of the u. K. But all the while staying fine and dry across much of portugal and spain said tom ridge is coming back up again and as you can see some pretty nice guys throughout much of the man so tom ridge is there in the mid to low twentys and equally fine and dry across much of Northern Africa you can see temperatures are not too bad but again we have at least the sunny skies for the next few days choose as no different 23 and rip out. A lot again. Being in control you dont know what is tremendous for the country so how can the u. S. Determine could you do salute at the point of the sword to avenge its people 8080 years he smashes the Frankish Army captures the king of jerusalem seizes the tree crawls and this is the great military victory the crusades an arab perspective the result 3 unification on a jersey. And again the top stories on aljazeera afghan officials are concerned the coronavirus may have spread much for their through the country then they thought after random testing suggested around the 3rd of kabul residents could be infected russia seen a sharp rise in its number of infections more than 10000 people tested positive in one day for the 1st time in the countrys outbreak. And the mayor for analysis has appealed to the climate activists gretta tom bird to help the amazon rain forests indigenous protectors battle the coronavirus. Saudi arabia stock market has slumped by nearly 7 percent after its finance minister said the kingdom would take painful and drastic measures to help its economy mohamed is out on says the action is needed to face the double shock of the pandemic and low or prices government projects will be slowed government projects excuse me will be slow to reduce spending saudi arabia slipped into 9000000000. 00 budget deficit in the 1st quarter as oil revenues plummeted. Thousands of palestinian laborers are returning to work in israel for the 1st time since crossings were closed in march due to the virus 40000 workers are expected to cross during the 2 day opening following an agreement between israel and the Palestinian Authority last month some employers were accused of dumb things palestinian workers at checkpoints after they showed symptoms of covert 19 Rights Groups accuse israel of failing to ensure workers safety and there are fears the reopening could cause the virus to spreads into bethlehem and says despite the health risks the workers are important for both the palestinian and israeli economies. Thousands of palestinian workers are returning to their work in israel after a agreement has been made to allow them to go there and stay there for a couple of weeks this has been a daily commute for many workers but after the outbreak of coverage 19 an agreement has been made for them to stay in israel a similar agreement was made a couple of weeks ago but some of those workers said that they couldnt find suitable accommodation so they came back according to this agreement around 40000 palestinian workers are expected to cross into israel on sunday and monday they are workers in the agriculture industry and construction sectors they are important for the israeli economy and theyre also important for the Palestinian Economy they generate around 2 and a half 1000000000. 00 into the palestinians weak economy every year so its been a tough decision for the Palestinian Authority to make on the one hand around 74 percent of infections have come from workers and those around them but at the same time theyre crucial for the economy that has already taken a heads because of closures because of coverage 90 on the way here weve passed through 2 palestinian checkpoints manned by Palestinian Security forces and they said that theyre only allowing entry to those who have originated permits and they can prove that they can stay in israel for a month now were expecting those workers to come back in 3 weeks or so in time for the islamic holiday over at the footer and this is going to be the real test for palestinians they said their movement is going to be coordinated with the Palestinian Authority to ensure that they dont spread infections if and so its going to be a challenge for the Palestinian Authority which has already managed to kind of control the outbreak of course as 90. Israel could be plunged back into political chaos with its Coalition Government now facing a major legal hurdle the countrys high court has started a 2 day hearing on whether Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu has upcoming corruption trial and other issues prevent him from forming a government kerry false reports from west jerusalem a rare televised hearing in Israels High Court allowing the public to watch for themselves the latest round of the political crisis theyve been living with for more than a year after 3 elections will it finally be a government this week. The 1st issue is the assignment of a knesset member to form a government against whom charges have been filed 5 out of 8 appeals are concerning this issue the 2nd issue has to do with the validity of the Coalition Agreement that was signed on april 20th. That agreement for a rotating coequal premiership between Benjamin Netanyahu and his former rival benny gantz requires changes to israels fundamental basic laws to allow each mistrustful partner the guarantees they want to insure the deal sticks sunday though so the focus on the other issue whether Benjamin Netanyahu indicted in 3 separate Corruption Cases could legally form and lead a new Government Law requires ministers in such a position to resign but not Prime Minister netanyahu is both a caretaker Prime Minister and a candidate for the job leaving room for legal argument during it the justices seem to signal that they would not overrule what they see as the will of the members of Israels Parliament not a message popular with anti netanyahu anti Coalition Protesters who gathered to watch proceedings in a park lying symbolically between the court and the parliament we have done find a prime if there was agreement now for one thing here it will. Come back to the people and it will not be any more any more in a bit longer because of the others as well as a critical juncture in israels long running political crisis this is a major moment for its constitution doesnt yos legal team argues that the knesset the Israeli Parliament has made its decision and the court should not intervene as opponents argue that allowing for a government to be led by a man under such serious criminal charges represents an earthquake to the rule of law its now up to the justices to decide for now gantz and then you know who is still working to pass the legislation required to form the new government before the deadline expires on thursday if that doesnt happen or if the court were to surprise everyone and rule it out then israel would be heading for a 4th election in less than 18 months with its political system straining at the scene ari force at aljazeera west jerusalem. Its World Press Freedom day and the un is urging governments to stop intimidating members of the press it says its received alarming accounts of retaliation against journalists reporting on the corona virus pandemic on World Press Freedom day we call on governments and others to get into that journalists can do their jobs throughout the covered 1000 pandemic and beyond is the bend them experience it has also given rise to a 2nd pandemic of museums her mission from Harmful Health advice to wild conspiracy to use the press provides the into that very fired scientific fact base news of the no iss but says the bend that began many journalists are being subjected to increase restrictions and punishments seabreeze for doing their jobs well 346 journalists are in prison worldwide with China Saudi Arabia and egypt detaining the highest number among them is al jazeera journalist mahmoud her saying whos been in prison without charge in egypt since december 26th seen there are concerns for his health during the pandemic aljazeera as director general has written to World Leaders urging them to call for the Immediate Release of mahmouds and or other journalists. Well somalia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists with a general election too early next year reporters are accusing the government of stifling press freedom that includes what Human Rights Watch calls the arbitrary detention of 3 journalists since last month mohamed odeh reports. In the somali capital mogadishu a group of journalists has gathered to protest against what they say is a not talkin freedom of speech by their government and neither today we are standing here to protest about the arrest of our colleagues as somali journalists we demand justice for all reporters behind bars the constitution is quite clear that no one can be detained for more than 40 hours without being put on trial. According to Human Rights Watch somalia authorities of detained 3 journalists and prohibited a local Radio Station from broadcasting in a local dialect in the past 2 months. One of the detained journalists is mohamed up to have new editor of hicks radio he was arrested on march 7th after reporting on Police Brutality in the capital. His family says theyve been denied access to their son so its very worrying that theyve labelled my son a terrorist for only practicing his profession i have peeled to our National Leaders for the release of my thought on he was our only breadwinner and we havent seen him for a whole 2 months i wanted justice for my son. Journalists unions in the country often protest about the outdated Pennell Court which came into force in 96. 00 to 4. 00 it includes a number of vague and overly broad crimes including criminal different mission offending the onan prestige of the head of state is salting up public officer or institution all charges frequently laid against journalists want to we are seeing these nice or these weeks now these is an organized campaign to criminalize journalism but would you journalist is in court. Because of the media right or because the right to freedom of expression and especially the use of criminal movies which are already dated and draconian such as been or could have somalia week was enough to 1964 according to the committee to protect journalists somalia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists they often face threats and attacks from Government Officials private individuals on the Group Alshabaab the right groups ace impunity for the killing of journalists remain the norm with a list 6 to 9 journalists killed since 100921 was somalias civil war began and. Ill just. Flash floods in kenya western kenya that is have left nearly 2000 families homeless heavy rainfall caused the river in zoya to burst its banks leading to landslides and leaving many homes under water a Government Official says more than 115 people have died in the past few days because of floods across 29 counties the kenyan red cross is calling on local governments to free up rescue center and after concerns over crowding could help the corona virus spread. The or yes that i might say over the school hes been flooding for free days now if the government is not even aware but now we are telling them we are asking if there are any plans to assist us only 2 boats are here for evacuating people you do that you are things have been spoiled in here for example that frege freezer and a cooker cooking pots have been swept away by 2 watts and we are due. North korea has fired several gunshots within the Demilitarized Zone that separates it from south korea the bullet struck a guard post inside the area prompting the south Korean Military to respond with 2 rounds of gunfire a defense official later said the shots from the north were likely to been accidental it came a day after north korean media reported kim jong 1st appearance after a 3 week absence that fueled speculation about his health a cousin of bashar assad has hit out at the syrian president saying the Security Forces are pressuring him to step down from his business but im the one who said Security Forces were inhumanely arresting his employees he says its part of a campaign to make him pay millions of dollars in tax and leave the helm of his empire which includes syrias main mobile network owes his fortune to acids and bankrolled his war efforts but he appears to fallen out of favor last year and days ago he made a video pleading with his cousin to prevent the collapse of his company. 3 of the worlds top pole vaulters have been using their own back gardens to give fans some live athletics the rivals voltage 5 meters as many times as they couldnt 30 minutes a sport of what they called the ultimate garden class which was live streamed sweetest world record holder Mondo Duplantis and frenchmen. Both cleared the high 36 times while american Sam Kendricks only managed 26 successful attempts more on that story on our web site al jazeera dot com there youll find the days other top stories as well as all the latest coronavirus headlines aljazeera. Headlines on aljazeera this hour afghan officials are concerned the coronavirus may have spread far further through the country than they thought random testing of kabul residents are just around a 3rd could be infected thats despite official confirmation of just over 2 and a half 1000 infections in a country of 36000000 the country has limited resources to carry out testing and so far only 12000 checks have been completed and most other cities are under lockdown but it has not been widely respected meanwhile russia has seen a sharp rise in the number of infections more than 10000 people to us the positive in one day for the 1st time in the countrys outbreak that almost doubles the number of new cases reported a week ago despite 5 weeks of lockdown measures the government there insists the number of people dying has slowed in recent days. The mayor of an amazon city has appealed to the climate activists gretz on board to help the rain forest protectors battle the coronavirus when alice is grappling with a high as coronavirus death rate in brazil the mayors plea came as an mates in the citys prison briefly took 7 guards hostage while protesting against poor conditions on saturday to tweeted that the Indigenous People who defend the forest must themselves be defended which appears to have prompted the mayors appeal. We have to save the lives of 2 of the fraud if. Refute. The disaster. From seems like barbara rees. The possibility of a 4th consecutive israeli election in little over a year hangs on a legal decision the countrys high court has begun a 2 day hearing on whether Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu can form a coalition with his rival benny gantz justices will discuss whether the Prime Minister can form a Government Office in corruption charges among several other positions that are standing in his way none of the 3 polls have led to the formation off a government yet youre up to date with the latest headlines on aljazeera well have more news for you coming up at the top of the hour thats right after talked to al jazeera thanks for watching by. The renaissance astronomer unequal ause compared a close one said for it is the duty of an astronomer to compose the history of the celestial motions through careful and expert study the pair nicholas was a man who challenge the theories of the universe known to humanity up until the 16th century his observations led to the discovery that the planets revolve around the sun not the earth as people thought and deed our celestial objects have been observed and studied since the beginning of time the planets and stars have helped us understand the cause of most the way it functions and its impact