Transcripts For ALJAZ NEWSHOUR 20240712

Control of a chain of islands that china and taiwan both say belong to. A diminishing wilderness we look at the debate around Family Development versus destruction of mexicos fast. And sport nascar launched an investigation after a new switch found in the garage and driver Bubba Wallace meanwhile the Confederate Flag was found about the track in alabama with the word fine nascar after with banned from all racing. So then the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States is entering a new phase after 3 months under lockdown offices restaurants and hair salons in new york city theyre reopening but as it relaxes many restrictions the situation elsewhere in the United States is troubling the daily number of cases is now at its. Level in almost 2 months sunday saw more than 183000 new infections reported across the world its the worst day yet one in brazil the number of deaths the last 50000 and despite a resurgence of cases in china beijing has not reported a drop in numbers well well be speaking to our correspondent throws about in just a moment so on the situation in brazil but 1st lets go to chris and somebody who study by for us in new york and christian im sure the opening up of the restaurants and has some alms and so forth is a welcome reprieve. Absolutely new yorkers are ready to get back to work and retail and restaurants are a big part of what new york is known for theyre expecting some 300000 people to be back on the job today and thats a lot of people who have not been working for almost 3 months now most of them in addition to restaurants hair salons barber shop some Office Workers will be going back but they can only go back at 50 percent capacity all of these industries must maintain strict social distancing rules that means employees and customers Wearing Masks when theyre within 6 feet of each other for restaurants this is particularly difficult especially in a city like new york where things tend to be tight and close together the only kind of dining allowed here in new york is outside dining so that means sidewalk cafes if they have a patio in the back theyre actually allowing people to use more of the streets and come july some streets will be shut down to allow more dining in that way outside takes the next phase will have to come before in restaurant dining theres 27000 restaurants here right so this is a big chunk of the city retail behind me is the iconic saks 5th avenue store it was all boarded up just last week the boards have. Comedown i have to say though as i was coming down 5th avenue here a lot of stores do still have boarded up windows so perhaps we wont see all of the retail outlets reopening just yet same with restaurants they have to weigh whether or not they can make enough money to justify the expense of bringing their workers back in their inventory back so its going to be touch and go from here and the n. Y. P. D. I can see them up the street from here theyve got 2000000 mass that theyre scheduled to hand out and theyre also going to be Walking Around in forcing these social distancing guidelines as we enter this new phase here in new york city and of course as we look at this new phase in new york city we have to count through the fact that across the studies that have been restrictions have been eased but also were now seeing an uptick in infections. Yeah nationwide new infections are up 15 percent this is concentrated out west in the south california in particular saw 4500 new cases just on sunday. Missouri oklahoma also saw a record high new cases new infections across the United States have been going up for the past 5 days whereas the previous 80 days they had been steady and constant so this is worrying Officials Health officials as parts of the country move into reopening other places moved more quickly than new york did and are seeing these. New infections rise other places dont have many of the states in the south in the western not have mandatory mask requirements like they do here in new york the governor has credited those strict social distancing requirements and Strict Lockdown with the success that theyve seen here and bringing the rates down but he cautions that well have to be vigilant here to keep that going or about spitzer new Yorker Christensen we thanks very much indeed. Well the inflation rate is rising in alarming rates in the country where the president dismissed this whole thing as just a little flu as you heard earlier brazil has recorded more than 50000 from the virus. Brazils deep divisions playing out on the streets of its major cities with some marching in support of president. And opponents determined he should step down. But the market i fear we are here in defense of democracy and asking for sonora to leave this president who asserts the peoples power and is committing atrocities does not deserve to govern our country the. Protesters are angry at both in hours response to the pandemic hes openly disagreed with advice from his own Health Ministry calling covered and those who flew saying measures such as social distancing accosting jobs and a more dangerous than the virus itself. Those feelings echoed at rallies in brazils commercial capital sao paolo we saw more masks showing the president who is often saying without one. But if they were here in support of our president. We want to go back to work we want support for shopkeepers support entrepreneurs these people here in sao paulo today are in support of brazil. But brazil is struggling to beat the virus with some doctors warning that hospitals a swamped with more than a 1000000 confirmed infections to Health Ministers both doctors have resigned as the number of brazilians dying or falling ill increased what critics say is the president s chaotic response has seen local authorities step in to take their own measures but judging by the crowds at protests and the shops theres not much social distancing being done many say what rules there are not being enforced. On rio de janeiros famous copacabana beach also our supporters stood with brazilian flags staked into the sand where just weeks ago there were crosses laid and protest against the 10s of thousands of deaths. The mortality rate among brazils and people is twice as high as other brazilians the militarys been sent in to help communities with tasting but some in the Amazon Region say its too late and accuse the president of the bending them. Feeling weakness sometimes i can feel it in my heart i feel weak as the virus continues its relentless spirit so too does anger about where the president is to blame elixir brian al jazeera. You know the situation in brazil its pretty grim isnt that whats the World Health Organization been saying about it. While it is a very grim situation and according to the World Health Organizations are on sunday there was the biggest increase of infections worldwide over 180000 infections on sunday but in brazil that figure is half of that figure is a right 54000 people were infected in brazil the amount of people infected in the country has 82. In brazil over 1000000 people infected over 50000 people have died because of cold it 19 and this figures are being received released by a consortium of journalists that they say have stopped believing in the Government Data after theyre trying to in a way control the release of figures. Right reinvent the actual figures from be published in that country its a pretty dramatic situation mostly because theres also a political crisis happening a precedent it also not have been clashing. With members of the Supreme Court hes been clashing with congress hes also been clashing with governors powerful governors of 3 others i made also probably from the very beginning this governors implemented lockdowns in the country also not from the very beginning also started saying that he did not believe in lockdowns that he prioritized the economy that a lockdown would be dramatic for brazils economy and thats why many are blaming him for the amount of good for the figures were seeing right now were seeing in the past few weeks is also and easily off restrictions mostly it in the Financial Capital so follow in the others i made up because governors are also giving in to the federal government did land some pressure to open up the economy and thats where brazil is today with over a 1000000 people infected opening up many parts of the economy when it pretty almost no just in the country are actually saying what the government should do right now is implement dont ask people to stay at home it is not a problem of course unique to you brazil several of the countries in latin america also see your rapid increase in friction. Whats happening in the region was expected when the 1st cases started to arrive the 11 america in february many governments around the region started implementing lockdowns and what were seeing a very high number of infections in country that doubted from the very beginning a lot to do brazil is an example mexico is another already 20000. 00 people have lost their lives and also where the government implements to isolated certain areas of the capital of santiago but did not implement a Strict Lockdown the government of chile was forced to react after the amount of people that died in the country they had to add up 3000 people more because theyre saying that they were not tested there were people that died off some type of complications like pneumonia for exam. Well they were not tested and now theyre being not up to the official figures a country where we can see that the big difference is argentina argentina was one of the 1st countries in latin america to impose a very Strict Lockdown with Security Forces on the ground and this has prevented the spread of that d. C. s over 1000. 00 people have died in argentina but its a small figure if compared to mexico to achieve to brazil the president right now will be meeting with the governor of the province of one of the scientists with the mayor of the city of where the site is around 14000000 people live in this area and theyre discussing whether to extend the quarantine in place for later on the quarantine ongoing right now is expiring on june 28th well the president is hoping so it extends that that date even more because infections have been spreading especially in vulnerable areas of what the site is in poor neighborhoods where the problem with problems of poverty overcrowding setting taishan so were waiting for that announcement any time or in terms of thanks very much if the. Reporting this morning serves. Top disease expert in china is expecting a big drop in infections in the capital by the end of the week theyve been there have been more than 230 cases in beijing since the new outbreak at the start of the month but just 9 were reported on monday officials have put several neighborhoods into lockdown and have ordered tests on high risk groups such as restaurant workers and food curious. Well china has suspended poultry imports from a factory in the United States where hundreds of employees tested positive for corona virus it is the latest in a growing number of outbreaks at Meat Processing plants around the world more than a 1000 cases have been confirmed at a slaughterhouse in germany were about 6000 staff have been ordered into quarantine in the United Kingdom a Meat Processing site owned by a major Supermarket Chain thats temporarily shut after 150. 00 people fell ill with cove and 19 and then theres a plant in southern brazil run by the worlds biggest meat producer j. B. S. And thats reported a cluster of 400. 00 infections the factory is still operating off a failed legal bid to suspend production lets hear now from simon clark whos a an associate professor in cellular microbiology at the university of reading and he says there are a few possible reasons as to why the virus has been so common in meat factories well this is something no authority is now going to have to look at properly it seems that the Food Processing presumably because theyre typically refrigerate nature. Are going to result slow or current virus actions and it now incumbent. Local Health Authorities to check and see whether there is a problem which is going to affect their product obviously if it does start to get patients well you know after make sure all the proper hygiene proper procedures are in place in the factory and quite soon youre 38 re samples to see. They can detect it to take a virus and it is simple as that theres a possibility with anything yes friedan vegetables i mean vegetables are often cooked but its not all of them and thin and you peel things as well so cooked or peel vegetables are not going to be. Much threat to anybody and i wouldnt rule me very few people eat roommate should be said its often cooked so. You know cooking and peeling things will go for the significant layer of protection stuff. Plenty more still ahead on the news hour including venezuelas legal battle to access gold reserves in the u. K. Its to britains high call. United in the face of oppression demonstrators in lebanon say their freedom of speech is under threat. In support of massive 9 to real madrid in the Spanish League title race all the details in the war. The Japanese Local Authority has approved a measure changing the status of a disputed island chain thats also claimed by taiwan and china beijing has called the move illegal and invalid the island chain is known as said the cuckoo in japan and in china and theyre controlled by japan but also claimed by both beijing and taiwan japans Administration Dates back to 972 when the islands were returned after 27 years of u. S. Control they are in uninhabited near potential oil and gas reserves rich fishing grounds and or shipping lanes and as agent brown reports the move by japan looks set to deepen tensions with china. At the southern tip of the japanese archipelago a cluster of uninhabited islands now on the frontline of what may be a new flashpoint they lie close to Significant Oil and gas deposits strategic shipping routes and lucrative fishing grounds to japan they are the cuckoo islands china calls them the dar use but for 50 years theyve been administered and controlled by tokyo taiwan also claims ownership chinas government had warned japan against changing the status of the islands and is now reportedly deployed coast guard vessels to the area as it has done many times before. Its a serious purgation against chinas territory. At a japanese site possibility in the name its illegal and invalid it cannot change the fact that though you island blog china we formally aborts that 11 more made with japanese side china has. Diplomatic status and a 3rd of the writer for the react. The rising tensions in the East China Sea come as chinas military continues to assert its Maritime Claims in the nearby South China Sea and while its soldiers are involved in another sovereignty dispute with india it was also caught up with here is the ongoing is india and china getting a lot of conservatives. That the chinese are the big dog article this dispute has often stirred nationalist sentiment 2012 saw violent and he japanese protests in many chinese cities after japans government brought 3 of the islands from their private owners and although mondays renaming decision was taken by a Municipal Council it could still inflame passions once more what makes the waters of the East China Sea so potentially turbulent is the high profile of another military this warship evidence of a 60 year old treaty which obligates the United States to defend japan if its a target its a treaty thats yet to be seriously tested adrian brown al jazeera hong kong. Seoul has north korea to abandon plans to send anti south korean leaflets across the border it follows a week of worsening relations after a Propaganda Campaign by a group of north korean defectors from abroad reports not from seoul. North korea says it has 12000000 propaganda leaflets printed and 3000 balloons ready to carry them south across the border depicting south korean president moon j. N. Pyongyang says they represent the wrath and anger of the north Korean People up we do not have any intention to reconsider or change our plan at a time when north south relations have already broken down. Last week north korea demolished a joint Liaison Office on its side of the Demilitarized Zone in the surest sign yet of relations unraveling. The office was opened after a successful summit in 2018 which also agreed to stop provocative propaganda moves by either side. North korea has accused the south of breaking that agreement by allowing defectors who make calls human scum to float propaganda balloons into north korean territory despite having freedom of speech guaranteed in the south the government here has tried to curtail these provocative acts. One defective group that had threatened to float bottles filled with rice and propaganda messages into north korean waters has been prevented from doing so with this appeal from the south john going on. The south korean government has already announced its stance regarding the Leaflet Campaign the government is blocking efforts to send anti north korea leaflets and commodities we urge north korea to stop their plan to distribute and the south korea propaganda leaflets that will only worsen into korean relations. But another defective group says it will launch a batch of propaganda balloons to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of the korean war later this week threatening to increase tensions even further robert pride aljazeera seoul. So we can speak to Mason Ritchie whos an associate professor at university of foreign studies in seoul joins us from via skype of mesa ritchie welcome to the program. Blowing up the Liaison Office now these balloons will see strategy. Well in the 1st place john young is clearly indicating that theyre happy with the way the entire korean relations have been going. Has. Put a fair amount of investment in time into working with me and he wants some payoff and in particular what he wants sanctions really so i think in the 1st place theyre putting pressure on south korea in order to have a sort of bank shot in turn put pressure on washington to perhaps look at relaxing sanctions and in the 2nd place more long term thats an element of a typical north korean strategy to drive wages in between washington and seoul which is something thats important for chungs long term goals in the Korean Peninsula or i will this pressure what will it do the job that north korea wants its a big. On the sanctions i dont think that thats the case at least in the short and medium term when i think its important you know north korea clearly is seeing a significant amount of economic stress not only due to its own homemade problems but also because of the shutdown with china on the border. A country on which north korea depends quite extensively in fact. The vast majority of its exports and imports and so its clearly need that in the short and medium term or the very least id like to have and i dont think that its going to get that i dont think theres room for minchin to move very much i dont theres room for washington to move very much especially in this political season the long term part of it however in terms of driving a wedge between washington and seoul every little bit that they chip away hurts especially since the moment the soul of washington are a bit crossways one special measures agreement which involves host nation support for the u. S. Troops stationed here in the pencil. Statement of frustration from north korea but things can escalate very quickly come to a point of things become dangerous. Well it wont point things become dangerous to the party depends on you know exactly what types of dangers youre talking about i read where worryingly today looks like north koreas talking about putting some propaganda broadcast speakers along the d. M. Z. Which they removed in 2018 as a part of the diplomatic process south korea would likely respond with its own propaganda broadcast speakers on the Southern Side facing north and if we think back to august 25th scene that was a very very tense moment that revolved around the speakers that where there were some cross border shooting we might also see some shelling of some islands along the northern limit line in the west sea and of course depending on what happens with north korea perhaps thats the missiles you could also see some escalation there that being said i dont expect anything terribly devastating or 2 worrisome to take place simply because its not in interests of either us or north korea during election season in the u. S. Where trump i think of some fairly clear red lines and an interest in making sure that d things dont blow totally out of proportion here. And knowledge and economic context to this which sort of demonstrates just the kind of economic hole that north korea is in. Yeah clearly you know the reason why north korea in the short and medium term is interested in this type of thing a Pressure Campaign is to try to. Get as much as they can out of south korea and there are things in the area that south korea could do and bowling tourism for instance. And you know some forms of Economic Cooperation that arent subject to sanctions and you know in theory north korea might like that although in reality its looking for something much more substantial simply because its economy is hurting so much were looking at perhaps as much the 6 percent decline in its i mean this year already to some estimates and thats something that really hurts kim particularly considering this is going to be the 75th anniversary of the Korean Peoples army later this year and kim has already told the population several years ago that theyre never going to have to tighten their belts again and this is a promise that hes having to renege on and he would like to get as much as possible out of that situation through seeing sanctions relax army so much appreciate it thanks very much indeed for that perspective thanks for having me well siberia is known for its harsh winters but the town there is setting up heat wave record vocal younes can record at 38. 00 degrees celsius their own sense of the russian time its within the all to cool it actually has the most extreme temperature range in the willed with the wind of minus 68. 00 degrees. On which one i prefer material the weather is journey to live it cold isnt it its not she will be up across across into western unical show you whats going on and having said all that its still not great in other regions in particular she with the worse weather is across the central and eastern areas and we have just had days and days now of Different Countries experiencing some very heavy downpours that is that the flooding weve had days of course with the conspiracists and consistent rain this is you can see the river in this is actually in southern poland but it is finds that in particular some very very heavy rain has just come really roaring down these streets and through this particular river and it is literally taken away the robot was tools that is going on this is sicily this far has been burning for a couple of days theyre fighting it overseas from the ground and also from the air its very hilly particularly windy and so just for precautions residents were evacuated over see these fires will continue it is that time of year out across the southwest and west and this is the case guys this of course is monday but the rain will continue through areas of the east as you can see now as we go through tuesday that rain to sort of slide further eastward some very heavy downpours again still into Poland Ukraine down across into remain here but all the while out across the west weve got this High Pressure in control and so that is why weve got these increasing time which is on these good sunny skies but once again as we go into wednesday more heavy rain into poland the temperatures have a look at this for the next few days 21 is the average in berlin up to 30 by friday you begin to see a bit of a trend here 30 celsius in london as well through thursday and friday and paris even woman 33 against an average in june of 22 so i think you qualify those temperatures today i think a lot of red on it thank you very much thank you. There on aljazeera 30 years on how families of those missing during the u. S. Invasion of panama may finally get the also. Because we dont see how great its accelerated greeces plans to offer tourists a grand one step at a time or 2. Yeah. Those will come up to a 2nd tennis player test positive for corona virus story a controversial series of events in the balkans. Told to old to 0 we know this let me ask you how worried you are about the increase in hostilities in yemen we listen this is the moment to stop old military action this is the moment at all since right on fighting of united we meet with global news makers and talk about the stories that matter on the edges era. And then coming all of latin america for most of my career but no country is alike and its my job to shed light on how and why. If you are in beijing looking out the Pacific Ocean youd see American Warships when mess was that somehow time is aiming to replace america and around the world all the chinese are not that stupid these guys want to dominate a huge chunk of the planet this sounds like a preparation for our 1st president George Washington said if you want peace prepare for war the coming war on china part one on a jersey. Or again youre watching aljazeera or mind of our top stories this hour new york is reopening offices restaurants hassles in the further easing of months of look there was friction as the city became the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the u. S. After an explosion in infections in march. Seoul is. North korea to abandon plans to send south korean leaflets across their shared border it follows a week of worst mean relations after a Propaganda Campaign by group of north korean defectors. China has condemned a decision in japan to change the status of a disputed island chain thats also claimed by china and by taiwan the bill asserts japans claim there with an appetite. Syrian doctor living in germany has been arrested for alleged crimes against humanity hes been identified. And is accused of torture at a prison in syria in 2011 lets bring in our cross point Dominic Casey who joins us live from berlin and doesnt tell us more about what we know about this man. The offenses that this individual is suspected of having committed relates to the period of time in the 1st year of the Syrian Civil War specifically to the last few days of october the start of november 2011 when this individual was working as a doctor at a hospital in the city of homs people have come forward here in germany to say that the individual concerned mistreated maltreated and indeed tortured in their words an inmate at the prison at that time prosecutors here are using the testimony of 2 of the witnesses who spoke to them to proceed against this individual who was taken into custody on friday this individual has been working as a doctor in germany since coming here in 2015 what makes this case interesting is that in acting against this individual the German Authorities are using the principle of universal jurisdiction which governs certain serious offenses crimes against humanity war crimes that sort of thing already in a separate unrelated case to other syrians who are accused of carrying out crimes against humanity war crimes while in the employ of us at the president of syria that is already under way but this is a separate unrelated case and in this case as i said the witnesses say that the offenses that this doctor carried out in 2011 were tantamount to torture and its on that basis that the German Authorities are proceeding against him. Thanks very much tom it came reporting from berlin. Remains of some of the many victims of the u. S. Invasion of panama 31 years ago have been relatives are hoping the 19 bodies can be identified as part of a government investigation into how they were killed if not hundreds perhaps thousands were killed and dumped in mass graves sarah hart has this report. In johns and cemetery in panama city a government Forensics Team digs up 19 bodies their work is meticulous and detailed. The unidentified bodies were dumped in a mass grave during the invasion by u. S. Troops in 1989 later they were laid to rest in this cemetery. But hundreds of victims families havent been able to rest since knowing their relatives were missing when again more found at a home weve been working hard for 30 years making every effort to find in a piece because we know the pain of having a Family Member missing perhaps not everyone has the opportunity to know the whereabouts of their loved ones but were doing everything we can. Rhodess wanting hosier have campaigned for years to have every person killed in the invasion found and identified. Its 31 years since the u. S. Sent 27000 troops by land and sea relations between the countries deteriorated as u. S. President george h. W. Bush accused panamanian leader general manual. Of Drug Trafficking Money Laundering and election reagan. Noriega surrendered and spent the rest of his life in custody in the u. S. France and eventually back home in panama under house arrest. Panamas government says at least 500. 00 panamanians were killed during the invasion but human Rights Groups say the true total is in the thousands prompting the previous government to establish a commission to investigate. Its necessary for the current government to continue financing the investigation for at least another year and to not use the pandemic as an excuse not to that would be a big mistake and a repeat of what our government has been doing for 30 years a deliberate attempt to hide the real figures of how many people actually died and who they are we need to know the true effect of a deed as dramatic as this invasion. The legacy of the 6 week invasion is still felt today with the panamanians calling on the government to declare the invasion day on december the 20th as national day of mourning so high that. High court judges in the United Kingdom are hearing venezuelans paid to force the bank of england to release almost 2000000000. 00 of its gold the bank has held on to 31. 00 tons of venezuelan bullion for the past 2 years because of british and u. S. Sanctions president Nicolas Maduro says the gold is needed to buy Healthcare Equipment medicine and food during the coronavirus pandemic but unlike many other countries supports the Opposition Leader one quite are over his way may use some of its other gold reserves last month to pay for 45000000. 00 worth of iranian petrol despite u. S. Sanctions on both countries during a. Financial analyst and he explains why releasing the gold could be risky for the bank of england. The main problem is that the bank the bank of england klang east the beignets well and central bank and theres a question in all work which is the illegitimate board of the uk the u. K. Again like the us and most. Americans want just do not recognize mother or other prescient they recognize one way though the head of venezuelas parliament the National Assembly as the interim constitution oppress him why because the National Family that is what its parliament is the only legitimately elected body in bennetts went so both ways or and do rule they both have a point that the friend a board for venezuelas central bank now the u. K. Already recognizes authority only recognizes way will ask illegitimate interim constitution president over in israel and the main problem basically when he comes to request eased he said ministration house is being willing to wait funding of terrorist groups for example if you lent which basically operate in the soudan believers state is highly bald eagle gold mining with dollar and soft of venezuelans easily and meet their you officers and also all members or most of nice racial have been think we Drug Trafficking so. Sort of like trans very dug old models of ministration even the link would drop off again we terrorists and funding could pose a Reputational Risk to the bank of england or donald trump says hes not ruling out meeting venezuelas president Nicolas Maduro despite the u. S. Campaign to oust him the us president also told the us news website that hes having 2nd thoughts about recognizing Opposition Leader one quite a friend as well as legitimate president. Germany has recorded a rapid rise in the reproduction rate of corona virus across the country robert cock institute says last week one infected person was transmitting the virus to fewer than 2 other people now that number is close to 3 german Health Officials say that rate needs to stay below one to successfully combat the virus. Spain will decide sometime this week which travelers from outside europe will be allowed in its lifted a state of emergency which was imposed more than 3 months ago to stop the spread of the current of us on sunday it opened its borders to almost all its Neighbors Without the need of corn to and what has. The freedom to travel once again both within spain and further afield as its borders with most of the European Union are finally reopened and one of the longest lockdowns imposed in march to stop the spread of the virus is completely left it isnt the end of it as you know many of us are that not i feel good because i can finally go home and im not scared to take this flight because there are Health Precautions in place im happy to be going back home. Spaniards were told to stay within their own province until now so with the state of emergency ending roads and trains to take them perth field soon filled up spains economy relies heavily on tourism and this is are now starting to come back but it will be a wait to see if the numbers are enough to sustain the industry you know hes a pretty Accurate Bank but its the 1st time ive seen this many people and its good because we need to reserve if not we will be in trouble but this is much more than just about the economy for many people its personal a lender who lives in a care home in madrid is now able to see more of a family more often get able to. Its a long time since ive seen him she says after being reunited with her grandson. Spain is trying to move forward from this crisis but more than 28000 people died from coronavirus here and remain very much at the forefront of everyones mind and he would aljazeera. In the wake of the pandemic the great city of athens is keeping social distancing in mind is it looks to open for the summer tourist season officials have decided to turn over a portion of the streets to protest trains and cyclists transfer operates explains why. Every night city workers squeezing traffic into fewer lanes here on pilot to steal one of athens broadhurst central avenues crews are reclaiming half the street surface and giving it to pedestrians and cyclists many are already moving in greece is trying to lure back tourists and that means more people on the streets of its capital to avoid congestion the city has designed a pedestrian grand tour on reclaimed road surface linking all the citys monuments the idea is to help but the strains maintain the proper distancing required to avoid infecting each other with covert 19 the city says a lockdown caused by the pandemic was another reason to act now. Chris will be thinking that by leaps the pandemic acted as a catalyst for the pilot phase were freeing up space in the city center that means 7 kilometers of walkways and 3 kilometers of bosco lanes it has an effect on traffic which has this time to test those of it the idea of a pedestrian grand tour linking all of the citys ancient monuments was floated ahead of the 2004 athens olympics resulting in this pedestrianisation at the foot of the acropolis but the tour was never finished the city says covert 19 now makes its completion necessary many here have welcome to the change. Spends up to 14 hours a day selling newspapers in the city center im just going to get done by going to make myself a mummy when i go home at night and take a shower so much dark comes off me says that ive been working on a construction site its because of all the car exhausts and my nerves are so frayed from the street noise i want total quiet. Theres only one downside while this project will cost 30. 00 to 60000000. 00 much greater costs will ensue city officials think with fewer cars on the street public transport ridership will rise by nearly a 3rd athens will need about a 1000 new buses to restore its fleet to full strength after years of austerity following the Global Financial crisis of 2008 but a 2 month lockdown during the pandemic has reminded people here that the quality of life that comes with having more pedestrian lanes can make up for financial loss jumps at all plus aljazeera athens. Dozens of migrants have been rescued from the Mediterranean Sea after the boat was reported to be in distress the Italian Charity mediterranean saving humans says 67 people were taken to a low in sicily and transferred to a quarantine tent most of the migrants were men from africa and from bangladesh bronze heart is with the International Organization for migration and he explains whats behind the increase in arrivals. We should say that this is happening because of the war and the conflict ongoing in libya which pushes a lot of people moving moving on and not necessarily staying in libya to earn. Earn a salary. So the situation is one that is in the increase as you have highlighted but still remains relatively low compared previous years what is interesting is that in these months there has been relatively little activity from n. G. O. S the ships in the in the sea in the mid Central Mediterranean however the numbers have increased so this is just to say that sometimes people say that boats and geos do constitute a pull factor. But in reality what we see is not the case and lets also not forget that this is the high season high season meaning that that weather conditions in the mediterranean are more conducive for new departures from libya and arrivals in the northern shore of mediterranean so we are likely to see an increase which is already happening. Of course we have also hope that this sign of generosity from the Italian Government will continue a lot will also depend on the a number of arrivals and the solutions which are found beyond the 1st disembarkation operation which means integration or relocation into 3rd countries. There are concerns that the freedom of expression is under threat in lebanon human Rights Groups say defamation laws are increasingly being used to silence critics they say at least 100. 00 activists have been detained since protests began in october against the countrys economic crisis so how to reports now from beirut. It was a symbolic protest against laws that make it illegal to criticize politicians dozens gathered outside the justice palace in lebanons capital after a wave of arrests that began with the birth of a movement against the establishment since october at least 100 activists have been detained what happened since the 70 that were told was a very big oppression campaign. Designed to suppress freedom of expression not in all this country has escalated recently they have been gathering outside police stations whenever an activist or protesters held at times they violently clash with Security Forces and more often than not its their campaign that secures a release among them michelle who was taken in for posting a video online criticizing president bush leadership. People are committing suicide dying from hunger and deprived from their money in banks instead of searching for those who talk bad about you ask why they are doing. Lebanese law criminalizes different nation against Public Officials with scepticism up to 2 years for insulting the presidency but Rights Groups say these laws are big used by the powerful against their critics the rate at which. Increased by more than 300 percent as the government as allegations of corruption began to surface and there come more prominence and Public Discourse yes start to use wanted to crack down on that. Day protests against the Political Class accused of driving lebanons economy to the ground. And recently turned into riots authorities are promising a tougher response when it comes to vandalism and planned to take what they called preemptive operations to prevent further violence this is raising concern among those demanding accountability and the change of leadership this is part of. The police day they are trying to implement even the Prime Minister said this is not a good option. Which is by you get to and it can be suppressed by the force those in power are being accused of creating an atmosphere of fear while they may have intimidated some of their opponents others say they refuse to be 700. 00. Still ahead in sports and to make an impressive return time for what i see coming. From. Business leaders is by no brown spots. Business leaders. By no bright spot. The old. Its not looking good for the last remaining tropical rain forest in southern mexico more than 90 percent of the locket on jungle has been cut down to make way for farming as memo repeller reports from chef a state more forest is being lost every year despite conservation efforts. This is the moment is a soulless jungle reserved 3312 square kilometers of unspoiled tropical rainforest. That is this ecosystem is very bio dad was its home to need a hall full of both species in mexico and one 3rd of all mammals and butterflies stews but the loss has been immense more than 90 percent of the ecosystem we had has been lost and we dont know for a better sense of how much of the forest has been destroyed we plodded a flight path to survey the jungle near mexicos border with guatemala. Here Human Development has moved right to the edge of the forest and in many cases settlements are clearly visible far beyond the limits of the reserve evidence of illegal exploitation of Natural Resources is also clear as day settlements like these are referred to as invasions by the indigenous like and whose presence here dates back hundreds of years and look at it in the park there and theyre trying to steal the land away the law comes on people do not agree with the normalization of this invasion the government should intervene and relocate them. The moment is a soul is reserve is the heart of the luck and dont rain forest the largest in north america it represents the most important regulator of the climate in this region of the world were travelling along the loch and doing remember one of the most important waterways in this part of mexico scientists refer to this entire region as one big water factory 30 percent of all surface fresh water found in mexico is produced by the like and dont rain forest. The like and dont hold any measurable wealth of Natural Resources for species like the scarlet macaw survival depends on the watchful eye of conservationists. One of the biggest threats rare animals face is from the illegal wildlife trade and. In the past there was a Large Population of macaws extending across several my. 2nd states but due to the destruction of the ecosystem this is now the last wild population found in the uk and in jungle. In 2018 the Mexican Government launched an initiative aimed at reducing deforestation by providing economic incentives for people who live near the edge of the jungle but for many here likely god you are these are simply more money to be made raising cattle in which and people have said that i should plant hardwood trees but i asked them how long would i have to wait for the tree to see in my children to school i feel more secure with my castle and if i need money tomorrow ill just sell a cow. Like other threatened ecosystems in mexico and across the planet the future of this diminishing wilderness depends on the battle between the efforts of conservationists and the forces of development. When will the moment is a soul is biosphere reserve. Ok lets move on to the sport now has for nick thank you so much now scar has launched an investigation after news was found in the garage stall of Bubba Wallace the only black driver in the us racing organization that is was found on sunday before the race in alabama went with cancelled due to poor weather now called the act heinous and pledged to do Everything Possible to find who was responsible and eliminate them from the sport just 2 weeks ago wallace successfully campaigned to get the Confederate Flag banned from all racing venues the move came in the global protests against the death of george floyd in Police Custody wallace wrote on his twitter page todays despicable act of racism and hatred please me incredibly sad and serves as a painful reminder how much further we have to go as a society this will not break mean i will not give in nor will i back down. Just hours before the race was meant to happen a Confederate Flag with the banner defined nascar was flown above the talladega race track flags were also being sold outside the venue in protest against the back and nascar has not yet said how it will handle the situation. Earlier we spoke to us sports broadcaster Michael Carlson evilest nascar concern the issue will impact its efforts to grow this for its fan base nascar is a particularly southern centric sport soccer racing in the states has always been biggest in the states of the former confederacy and there has been a feeling for many years that the Confederate Flag is a symbol of a rebellion or of history or whatever is out of place in general American Society and i think you get a good idea of what it truly stands for by the idea that someone would leave a noose in his in his team seemed erasure on his car symbol of lynching symbol of the years of jim crow in the United States and Violence Toward black men you know ever since those slaves were freed in 865 nascar attendance and t. V. Viewership has been falling somewhat in the past few years and its hard to determine whether thats a result of just lessened interest in their core area or whether its that by expanding into the rest of the United States and theyre trying really hard to spread stock car racing into other areas of america whether that still looted the product somewhat or creates a lack of interest over all by banning the Confederate Flag theyre saying that were moving to a position that is acceptable through the whole United States. A 2nd leading tennis player has tested positive for corona virus following a controversial series of events in the balkans or was organized by novak jockey the edge and born of corage is the latest player to term hes caught the virus Grigor Dimitrov has also tested positive jacket organize the tournaments in serbia and croatia croatia eased lockdown measures before the most recent event meaning players dont have to observe social distancing rules which is agent has said the world number one will be tested soon in a Statement Court said hi everyone i wanted to inform you all that i tested positive for cope at 19 i want to make sure anyone who has been in contact with majoring the last few days gets tested i am really sorry for any harm i may have caused feeling well and dont have any symptoms football now and around madrid have gone top of spains lead league they lead barcelona on goal difference after winning on sunday they beat real sociedad 21. 00 sergio ramos and Karim Benzema getting the goals. You know we have not achieved anything it we still have 8 games to play we only got 3 wins thats 9 points but we know its going to be complicated until the end of the season because there are many good teams in the league and to milan have made a winning return to action in syria following the leagues coronavirus hiatus it sampdoria 21 on sunday thanks to goals from Romelu Lukaku and latour mightiness interest title challenge had faltered before the season was suspended this winter however titans their 3rd place 6 points behind interest event. English premier League Leaders liverpool were held to a goalless draw by local rivals ever 10 in their 1st game back it means that if they want to wrap up the title at home in their next game they now need Manchester City to drop points against burnley later on monday we had absolutely not welcome to the last. Year decisive 0. So we didnt have enough chances thats. Ok and that is all your support for now back to you nick father gave very much indeed for this it news out then forget our website goes out 0 dot com is the address all the news are covering right plenty of comments and then. A couple minutes another half hour we see them. Rewind returns. And brand new feeds on the pants down to 0 documentary by the compelling way money in. The hollow. Rewind the games with magazine city under siege for 6. This is one logically every shot 6 times on aljazeera. One half scottish and half lebanese some diversity is really important to me and aljazeera is the most diverse place i have ever worked we have so many different nationalities and this is east brought together in this one Nice Organization and this diversity of perspective is reflected in our coverage giving a more accurate representation of the world we report on and thats a key strength of aljazeera. Does the mind play tricks a vampire is always is part right there are they really out there and youve passed the family by like being pulled up a monster and dragons here at like theyre in the car the filmmaker takes the f. B. I. To court to find out the tax money 33120. 00 pages of records and in the process mobilizes her community as long as people are rich and there is a check against the feeling of being watched on aljazeera examining the impact of todays headlines i need to go to work because i need to make money risking our lives by going in setting the agenda for tomorrows discussions racially charged social unrest on a scale not seen and International Filmmakers who moon class journalists bring programs to inform and inspire you the terrorist but youre here the story your city walk the path for now just 0. Form. The u. S. City the buried thousands of coronavirus tries to get back to business new york is reopening its restaurants and officers. About mccloud this is the light from the World Headquarters in doha was a company of a Japanese Council tries to claim control of a chain of islands that china and taiwan both say belong to them. Dozens of migrants a rescue from the mediterranean italy says the