Transcripts For ALJAZ NEWSHOUR 20240712

Forces loyal to the warlord honey for hofstadter calls grow for the u. N. To investigate the government appointments that sparked angry protests in the democratic republic of congo and an ancient japanese tradition thats allowing worshippers the scale the spiritual heights of mount fuji despite coronavirus restrictions. And im santa how much with all the sports including one of the major football leagues in europe will make its return is the tambour top division that will be back with a limited amount of fans allowed in the stadiums. A political witch hunt thats our President Donald Trump has described the u. S. Supreme courts ruling on his tax returns and financial records they can now be made available to new york prosecutors but not yet to congress the Manhattan District Attorney wants the documents as part of a criminal investigation into hush money payments made to women trump allegedly had affairs with the other ruling concerned committees in the house of representatives have been investigating potential foreign influence and russian Money Laundering the judge just said that would need to be decided by a lower court for the ruins your leisure. Starting all over again sending everything back down to the work working the story so well for a certain point satisfied when i sense that this is a political witch hunt the likes of which nobody there it will disappear which itself was just like the more the securities are hopes that one and this is a hoax this is purely political. Skill after a White House Correspondent kimberly how could what we heard there the president say its fear of the political what else is reaction included. Yeah hes really toned down his response but initially when this came out he hit twitter almost immediately in a series of tweets it was kind of a stream of consciousness there were spelling errors he was angry lashing out of the Obama Administration saying that this is a political prosecution and simply saying it was persecution as well but since then he has seemed to have a more muted response a more measured response he also sent out his press secretary kelly mcenaney to talk to reporters in it there were a number of questions from reporters in the briefing who really noted the fact that the president s own appointees to the Supreme Court did not rule in his favor the secretary saying that you know the president says theyre entitled to their own opinions he feels that today has been successful for him even though most say these grueling is are a setback why is this is a setback for the president well the question becomes when these finally come out when these returns do come out what has the president been trying to hide in the press secretary said essentially that the president s not to trying to hide anything hes simply under audit and thats why he cant release those returns we should note thats an excuse that weve been hearing since 2016 well speaking of 2016 and crucially this year and now in the Election Year i guess the timing or whatever is going to come out coming out is crucial because the election is in the van burris so politically speaking is he pretty much safe. No hes not safe and specially since weve seen unprecedented in terms of the number of leaks that have come out that have hurt this president its safe to assume even though a grand jury where these financial records are ultimately going to be shown well that is a closed door process. There are always leaks now that theres the potential that could happen again we always talk about the socalled october surprise where theres a twist in the you know election that really can infect the outcome its not of the realm of possibility this could happen again but very briefly in terms of the path forward on both of these rulings in the case of congress weve heard from the House Speaker nancy pelosi even though congress essentially did not win in this case they say theyre going to continue to conduct oversight something that they are mandated under the u. S. Constitution to do of the white house a coequal branch of government and in the case of the new york case that has alternately won the victory in terms of getting access to these financial records 1st that has to be worked out in terms of how this grand jury will get that in a lower court so what the Supreme Court did was kick this down to a lower court in new york state to work out the practicalities of sending all of this over what we know is this stretches of the timeline weve already heard from president terms of tourney that they plan to argue this case further stretching it out they hope it seems beyond the november election in order to prevent these from being seen by the Public Company halkett with the latest from the white house kimberly thank you well put curry is a professor of Political Science and faculty member at Georgia Southern University Joins me live now from states brian the u. S. State of georgia sir thank you so much for joining us here on aljazeera so 1st of all your reaction to these Supreme Court decisions really both in regards to the new york prosecutors and also crucially the decision from congress. Well i think the upshot of a bowl of them is that its going to be quite some time before the public sees anything in terms of financial records really the arguments of the Supreme Court dont with today were rather extreme arguments they only really said in the new york case was that the president had a new absolute immunity from grand jury proceedings and was not privileged above other citizens which to a lot of people was sort of the common sense state of the law of the court is that the ministration could challenge on any grounds were available under state law the pursuit of these materials for the grand jury so for example apparently there are new york laws against overwrought requests or potentially harassing requests and you can expect that to be tied up in litigation for some time with regard to the to the congressional documents similarly again the president s argument was that it was never necessary under any circumstances for chief executives to turn over. Private things of this sort of nature and that was a rather extreme argument that the court rejected but it did come back and say that there is a test that the lower courts have to apply and it could turn out to the president s favor so i think they did as your correspondent said kick the can down to the lower courts to deal with and thats just going to extend the timeline of how different a Supreme Court dealt with it and perms i guess of the optics because of course the justices are meant to be above any kind of political persuasion we also know that its have been a stray sions that put them there often because of their political leanings so how do you think that the Supreme Court has felt i guess it would be off takes all of being seen as above any kind of political persuading. Well i think thats a good point and the Supreme Court especially doesnt like to be seen as political in the middle of a lecture it sees and so thats another factor going on i think one of the things that the chief justice probably had in mind as he was trying to coordinate is this ruling which little being 72 really on both decisions but there was substantial agreement that various parts of the president s arguments will rather extreme was to salute to sort of be minimalist in the decision and not decide everything it just decided enough to worry and go back and be dealt with by others and it might very well be the case if the Supreme Court would have to deal with these cases again in determining whether or not the lower courts of ultimately really follow the guidance that they gave them but this is really consistent with the Roberts Court i think in terms of. Doing no more than is necessary to dispose of the case that is it and and and then but intially having to take another look at it but not going too far in the 1st instance but curry professor of Political Science and faculty member at Georgia Southern University Joining us from georgia sir thank you thank you. The United States top military general has said there is no place in the armed forces for symbols of racism general mark milley has been testifying on capitol hill over the militarys role in responding to recent unrest triggered by the killing of george following hes appeared alongside that the fence secretary mark esper who reiterated his view that National Guard members not active duty troops were the most appropriate response i want to make very clear that no active duty military units engaged protesters or otherwise took part direct part in civilian Law Enforcement or federal Protection Missions in the district of columbia or anywhere else in the country. And with regard to the role the National Guard played in Lafayette Park on june 1 i also want to make clear the following that the guard did not advance on the ground that the guard did not shoot rubber bullets that the guard did not employ chemical agents of any type rather the guard remained in a static role as backup to Law Enforcement if needed. Well meanwhile transcripts of George Floyds final moments of been released showing Police Ignored him when he said he couldnt breathe and told him to stop talking the document also states floyd told officers he couldnt breathe more than 20 times he died in may when a Police Officer knelt on his neck for nearly 9 minutes his death sparked a global protests against racism and police brutality. And he racism activists have painted a black lives matter a mural on the road in new york right outside the main door of trump tower president all trump has previously said it would be a symbol of hate to end denigrating to 5th avenue home to many Luxury Stores mayor bill de blasio says the murals are to on or members of the black community who helped build new york. Coming up on aljazeera this news hour it she lives a starving cities we visit the poultry town where people can no longer afford to put koreans in the piggy banks they make. Lebanons opposition accuse the government of a campaign of silent to silence dissent after an activist is attacked in broad daylight and in sport tiger woods is making a return to golf after 5 months out of action. Libyas u. N. Recognized government says its found the prison used by forces loyal to warlord holly for huffed to kill and torture opponents the chamber is in the city of huna and contains several tiny cells in which prisoners were held soldiers of the government of National Accord to and those who opposed have tried were detained there charcoal was reportedly placed on top of the cells to overwhelm prisoners with heat the International Criminal court is due to send the team to libya to investigate alleged war crimes by half that mom with a better way it is at the prison were Officials Say blood was found in and around the chamber. This is one of the prisons that was used by forces loyal to the warlord really for have her in the city of lahore now in these very tiny sills they used to keep their opponents including Government Forces captives and also all civilians from to horner who posed the military rule and the City Government officials here entered want to tell us that some of those who were kept here or killed and voted in the mass graves that were found recently in the city of horn or others were transferred to other notorious prisons and that have those forces in the east of the country now the crimes committed by have those forces in and around the city of the horn including the mass graves and also the torture of in such prisons is being looked into by International Justice organizations and the International Criminal court is due to send a team to libya to investigate their war crimes including the mass graves and other crimes also that were committed by his forces over the past year now government officials here tell us that they also found blood in in and around this prison and also they suspect that there are some victims who are killed and buried in the vicinity of this prison hand salau eyes a senior maybe a researcher at Human Rights Watch says the prison is incredibly disturbing. This latest revelation about this prison that was found is obviously one of the very many items on a very long list of violations that have been committed by forces either lawyer or affiliated with that if i have to from Eastern Libya and this latest play this prison obviously does not in any way constitute a by any measure acceptable standards i have seen a very similar set up if not an exact same almost replica of this place in benghazi in 2050 in another prison and i would say that its incredibly disturbing i would also say that this by itself constitutes torture the Human Rights Council in geneva has agreed to dispatch a Fact Finding Mission to libya to have a mandate of one here and this is exactly this kind of situation or this kind of incident with the prison or regarding the argument graves and in and around ted who are now that they need to be investigating we need a very robust investigation of violations that are committed by all sides obviously in libya we also need an attribution of responsibility this has been a huge problem that you know all of these attacks and all of these civilians who were killed were killed by unnamed or unhurt people or groups and also we hope that this Fact Finding Mission will preserve evidence for future accountability. The Saudi Led Coalition says its destroyed the 2 explosive laden boats in the red sea belonging to yemens who the rebels the Coalition Spokesman says the 2 remotely controlled boats were destroyed 6 kilometers south of the yemeni port of sally if the Coalition Says the boats posed an imminent threat to International Navigation and maritime a pivot hes. The un special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings says the war although has entered a 2nd drone age in our annual report to the Human Rights Council agnes kalimat that labeled the u. S. Drone killing of irans top military commander kassim sulaimani a violation of International Law that report says most drone targeted killings receive little public scrutiny calmar it says drones pose a Major International security issue with state and nonstate actors deploying ever more advanced technologies drawn thought becoming stealthy or speedier smaller more lethal and can be or parry to by teams looking to thousands of kilometers away and in my opinion in the opinion of all the experts so you have consulted over the last 6 months b. C. Is bringing the world to a critical point in regulating the use of armed drones and the use of force who arent drones the United Arab Emirates is said to be holding up a deal with gulf states that could end the 3 year long blockade against qatar thats according to a report by the Fox News Channel it says the delay by the u. A. E. You denied the trumpet ministration a crucial hard fought Foreign Policy win in the middle east forum this particle hain joins us live now on the phone from washington d. C. Ed he wants to we know about this. Well barbara not much and i think its important to have a little bit of caution when talking about the story 1st of all its not for the Fox News Channel on air as of yet it is just on their web site and it is only fox news reporting thats right now what this reporter is saying and its very degli source theyre not getting any sort of indication as to where this information could be coming from which is again somewhat unusual but what they are saying is that over the last 2 months that there have been secret negotiations going on with the u. S. Mediating between saudi saudi qatar and u. A. E. And that they at the end of last week they were very close to an agreement or the way they put it is a quote it was at hand and then the u. A. E. According to this article on the fox news website walked away and urged saudi arabia d to walk away as well the way this is the reason this is so interesting is because its appearing on the fox news website we know that the president but puts a lot of focus on watching fox news not necessarily reading its web site but it is being praised as a way that the president could have a Foreign Policy within in the lead up to the election and that is sort of the to the thread to go through the entire article because this is a disappointment for the president now one of the things i think urged caution with this is if these negotiations were happening for the last 2 months it seems that its highly unlikely that it would remain secret with so many different people involved we have not heard this white house really focused on the g. C. C. Blockade of course they were very involved at the beginning of that 2017 but this is not really something the president talks about and hes really didnt go with the coronavirus now the Supreme Court decision this falling poll numbers they got economy still one of the things that is interesting is that said senator Lindsey Graham was at a conference in doha in december and that thats when he came back and the priest pressure on the white house to put increased pressure. The parties involved that is possible we do know that graham was there we. Had a direct line to the white house he could have urged the white house to take this action. So far we have not seen it on their actual air which is what the president will be watching to get his attention again it is only one article but it is. To keep an eye on the white house or call the state department see if we can confirm if any of this isnt true. Great well be checking in with you of course see if there are any developments on it for the moment practical haim speaking to us from washington d. C. Patty thank you. The World Health Organization has created an independent panel to scrutinize its own handling of the pandemic it will be led by former new zealand Prime Minister helen clark and ex liberian leader. Donald trump who is severing u. S. Ties with the w. H. O. Has accused of failing to respond quickly enough and of being a puppet for china the organization has rejected those allegations but says there is much to investigate. Every member state all. Everyone. Hundreds of protesters of stage the sit in outside serbias Parliament Despite a ban on mascot of the rings theyre calling for the government to resign serbia has banned groups of more than 10 people in belgrade to try to curb the spread of the coronavirus after 2 nights of violent demonstrations the session comes after president alexander who church canceled a weekend curfew following 2 days of protests that protesters partly blame of will change for a spike and thats after relaxing restrictions in june to hold elections which prevent one. The u. N. Is calling for countries to assist latin america financially with the economic fallout of the pandemic chillier was one of the regions Fastest Growing economies but now 2 and a half 1000000 people are out of work one of the most punished places of how known for its production of traditional pots and dishes but as you see a new man now reports the residents of palmyra no longer make enough to eat. Newton good little hasnt opened his shop for months all the handmade played pottery inside is full of dust including the emblematic piggy banks that he makes so definitely a lot of difference saving money into good luck he says. But to date pointers in this small rural town have neither money nor luck for my use streets and shops used to overflow with visitors but not since april. The good i leave my shop open to the place so if anyone pauses they can take a look old habits are hard to break for generations the people of poor might have made their living from making this type of pottery and simply magic as the chilean corn pies theyre served in. But now my day is as empty as peoples pockets just before lunch time you suddenly see residents coming out all heading in the same direction to the same place. Russia and siena is in charge of the Community Center thats become paul might is lifeline. For the volunteers at the soup kitchen or out of work porters. We started with 100 meals then 120 every day more and more until the day came that we had nothing left to serve so we called the press and asked for help. 2 weeks ago that help started arriving especially from the capitals poor neighborhoods and from the fish fruit and vegetable markets. He gave will serve 500. 00 meals. Brussel welcomes her neighbors as though theyre being invited to lunch except that theyre all carrying parts to take the food home as many portions as there are in each household. On this day theyre treated to a seafood stew with salad and a fruit or marker that there are 4 adults and 4 children in our house we cant afford nappies but thankfully here we get a good meal. Its finally ingrid believe inas turn her mother who has difficulty walking has been waiting eagerly for the warm lunch and arkansas and a dog. Before we sold enough for all our needs now my father and i have no work and i have 2 children. The house is humid and cold because in most homes the floors are made of dirt. But in good pottery like everyone elses is gathering dust so theres no money for heating this town is one of the few that is not under obligatory quarantine in fact there are very few people here infected with cold and 19 and yet the impact of the pandemic has been devastating so much so that many are very worried that unless the Pandemic Energy can all make the fix is quickly like pump a might as we know it will cease to exist. They know they cant depend on charity forever to fill their empty pockets some are already looking for other ways to make a living even if it means the end of one of chiles most beloved Cultural Icons you see in human aljazeera. Or the Charity Oxfam has warned us that war old hunger is being worsened by the coronavirus pandemic and is calling for urgent action on what it calls a broken food system by the end of the year 12000 People Per Day could die from covert linked hunger potentially more than from the disease itself the World Food Programme estimates that 217000000. 00 people will be in crisis level hunger by the end of the year as a result of the pandemic nearly 16000000 people are facing extreme hunger in war torn yemen but that report also shows a middle Income Countries such as India South Africa brazil were just seeing chile are also experiencing rapidly rising levels of food poverty. Well eric was is the senior manager of food and Climate Justice at famine merica joins us now from washington d. C. Via skype thank you so much for joining us here on aljazeera now family farmers to it as at a broken food system where covert 19 was really the final straw just talk us through what the fact there is war that the pen that make obviously exacerbated but that now weighs resulting in so many people either already going hungry or going hungry very soon. Well the poor outlines the fact that in the 10 countries with the worst hunger currently a toxic mix of conflicts Climate Change and demick poverty governments who are unwilling or unable to support the needs of people has come up against. Pandemic resulting in just catastrophic situation for millions of people lockdowns have stopped Economic Activity and destroyed peoples earning potential the closure of food markets has meant that producers cannot sell and consumers cannot buy food leading to high food prices while at the same time farmers arent able to earn a likelihood for all of these reasons the drop in remittances as well many countries are facing for all of these reasons we see the spike in hunger in many places where oxfam is present as one of the. Most severe consequences. That we must deal with mediately let me say must feel because i mean you know its not just in poor countries that pandemic is obviously global so if the world is to recover everyone iraq the world has to get better how do you think that in a sense helping the most vulnerable in itself helps getting rid of the pandemic. Well we understand that if people are forced into desperate situations just to get enough food they will do anything in order to survive and that puts them at greater risk of exposure to. The current virus and more likely because they are already in we can states in our muenster systems or we can because they are hungry more likely to contract and to die from the disease so dealing with that situation itself is going to be critical in helping to stem the tide of the pandemic in around the world whether its a poor country or not just a way to halt all countries have been hit in the same way the private sector is also parts of it have also done relatively well how do you think that that could help the situation now. Well we point out the fact that while many farmers and informal workers around the world who are employed in agriculture are on the brink of hunger or starvation and living in poverty at the same time we have food and Beverage Companies. Paying out shareholders 18000000000. 00 in dividends this year alone so i think really illustrates how broken the food system is where the people who are responsible for producing food arent pay being paid a fair wage for for their labor and for their goods while companies at the top are really benefiting and profiting so we think that there is an urgent need to take a look at the structure of the food system so that producers and workers are earn their fair share while at the same time we are supporting consumers in making healthy food choices all of those things in involve the private sector involve these food and Beverage Companies and we think they can be part of the solution right now in addressing immediate poverty and to be hungry needs and over the long term and in fashioning systems that are more fair and just eric wynalda senior manager of food and Climate Justice at Oxfam America sir thank you for sharing your expertise with us. Thank you. Still to come in this news hour Independence Day anger in argentina and nationwide protests against the countrys president and then sports major league its soccer makes its host a coronavirus return. However familiar sight now its not a told looking like some of the Northern Europe at least the close to curling through now where thats really pushed the heat which is this one here weve had near record temperatures in western russia in georgia and then thunderstorms in the vents pretty big ones however thats going away there and the next cold front is going to push down towards the out its bringing slightly low temperatures again certainly be found in certain parts of france and germany got be a bit of a shock dropping 10 degrees or so and the focus for geneva reflects that such degrees in the thunderstorms front goes through they were down to about 20 for a few showers by saturday and that waiting frontal system which is rain sometimes thunderstorms possibly some big hail or will run through austria as well and potent the Baltic States behind it were more or less in the teens for those places i remind you where in july the warmth for the southeast is still there in the thirtys back towards spain across was to extremes it was in some places for also africa the breeze enough to pick up some dust somewhere and the showers the orange tops show good ones have moved a long way into the sahara and really has got showers there that are running out north of bhaumik out as well youll notice in fact weve even got rain forecast mauritania and northern mali thats a rare event. A secret musgrave an island discovered at an institution. Run by catholic news. A nation shocked to its core. People in power investigates a scandal that destroyed families cost thousands of lives and still raises profound questions about the ties between the Catholic Church and the irish state. Arlins mother and baby scar. On a. Countrys begin easing coronavirus restrictions scientists warn of a 2nd wave of infections in the last few. Games and many fear the economy is the priority hoist the boat for human life until fall both could come yet again the focus is on doubt here because i can put 1000 faces we bring you the latest developments from across the globe coronavirus condiment special coverage on a. Welcome back heres a reminder of the top stories on aljazeera u. S. President donald trump has described the Supreme Courts ruling on his tax returns and financial records as a political witch hunt the judge has ruled that a subpoena issued for documents relating to a criminal investigation york can be enforced libyas un recognized government says its found the prison used by forces loyal to a warlord had before half time to kill and torture of ponette the chamber contains several times in which prisoners were held and Charity Oxfam warns the coronavirus pandemic is deepening the worlds already growing hunger crisis it forecasts 12000. 00 people will be dying each day from covert linked hunger by the end of the year potentially more than from the disease itself. A Police Officer and several protesters have been killed in the democratic republic of congo during demonstrations the man being election fairness supporters of the Political Party led by president kennedy are angry about the appointment of an election administrator who was accused of rigging previous selections Catherine Sawyer reports from kenya. Shooting started as supporters of president likes to see katies union for democracy and social Congress Party on a march in Kinshasa Police fired tear gas and bullets to disperse demonstrators trying to reach parliament you d. P. S. Official said Security Forces shot and killed several protesters others carried away the body of one of the victims a Police Officer was also killed a Police Station attacked and fire on stolen. The u. D. P. As forms half of the governing coalition in the democratic republic of congo theyre angry about the parliamentary nomination of the president of the Electoral Commission their cues wrong side monda of being part of the team that presided over offload election into 1818 has not publicly responded to the accusations. Protesters in march 2 Party Offices of the other half of the qualification former president Joseph Kabila is people xp party for construction and democracy. We are here to protest against this parliament they want to take us hostage we are not afraid of the police or the governor we are ready to die Joseph Kabila and his allies have destroyed the future of the country we do not want to hear of them we will kick them out starting with members of parliament. Tension and mistrust within the ruling. Coalition are threatening to break its supporters of the presidency the kabila led common front for Congress Side of the partnership seems to be in control and influential members want to impose judicial and political changes to the constitution to protect themselves whats happening when the coalition is causing chaos in the country the different parties need to agree the coalition cannot disintegrate i think its clear that theres no need for the coalition the president must be decisive if they dissolve parliament or break the coalition. The president recently rejected proposed edition changes that if passed in parliament in september would give the Justice Minister and our life to former president kabila more power as over judges and prosecutors. Some analysts each security doesnt have much but gaining power within the qualification at this protest is valid the fight doesnt end here theyll continue to speak out until their voices are hard catherine soy aljazeera its Independence Day in argentina and its being marked by a nation why the mass protests them a strangers include farmers angered by government attempts to take over their Grain Processing plants farmers say they pay too much tax and arent paid enough for their produce less of all is impaired comino and joins me live give us a sense of whats happening there and a little bit more about the farmers grievances. Well im here actually in the center of little site is theres been protest all around the country in several cities a city of 5 i mean it was one of the places an Agricultural Center of argentina and here im going to cite is there were thousands of people protesting around this area they came some of them in their cars carrying the flag of argentina others came walking here protesting against the government of alberta prophetic mandas they were protesting against the lock down against the Economic Situation in the country and as you just said thats against the takeover based probation of one of the largest export plants in the country lets not forget of the enormous role that argentinas agricultural sectors plays in argentinas economy well this scared many especially of the voters a former president. There fearing that the government might attempt to extend the presence of the state of several companies in argentina however president out of the foreign minister said that this is an exception that of that company had filed for bankruptcy and that by trying to save jobs and save the Company Argentina was one of the 1st countries in latin america to impose a very strict a lockdown and prevent the spread of covert 19 in the country it has successfully managed to do so but the Economic Situation has continued to deteriorate that has a many people here afraid about whats coming next many of those who came here to protest are afraid that theyre losing their Jobs Companies are closing down and unemployment has been on the rise formative rates are also on the right so definitely argentina is trying to renegotiate its foreign debt struggling with an economic recession so many difficulties are coming ahead for the argentinean government to deal with and only political consensus is what could help the countrys government move forward. There is a boat with the latest from one side as that is thank you. So dans Prime Minister has asked his government to resign there have been large protests there in recent weeks demanding faster reform the country is transitioning towards democracy after omar bashir was ousted last year heba morgan reports from khartoum weve seen people lining up for bread and fuel people have been complaining about the shortage of fuel especially gasoline saying that they have to stand in line for hours sometimes these to be able to fill up the car tanks weve also seen people queuing up for bread now that is what triggered antigovernment protests in 2018 that eventually led to the former president i wouldnt wish you weve also seen over the past few weeks the governments response to the coronavirus pandemic a lot of people have criticized the government saying that the lockdown that was imposed was not advocate and that not enough studies have been made especially with regards to those who have limited income and who rely on day to day work to be able to feed their families so lots of criticism weve also seen on the 30th of june hundreds of thousands of people around the country taking to the streets demanding the government correct the power of the revolution and their demands that they came out for which was freedom peace and justice so they were saying that the government has been moving off track and that this track needs to be corrected and that the government needs to deliver aspirates promised when it came to power in august 29th seen lots of pressure on this Transitional Government which eventually led to the fall into the Prime Minister to dismiss most of the most of the power of the ministers and to replace them with caretakers until new ministers are appointed opponents of lebanons government are accusing it of turning the country into a police state after a prominent activist was attacked in broad daylight the man was assaulted by a group of men as he was leaving a Radio Station and a hoarder reports from beirut. Seen by security cameras and in broad daylight with their faces uncovered 4 men on motorcycles assaulted a prominent activist as he was leaving a Radio Station opponents of lebanons leadership say the attack as part of a campaign to silence dissent. Moments later was of high tech he describes how he was hit on his head and face with a hard object but he remains defiant. But i was expecting this to happen because of the structure of the spirit state if they think that by attacking us will back off theyre wrong. Many like linked to the antiestablishment protest movement that began in october say theyve been harassed interrogated and detained. The country is turning into a police state and the intelligence and Security Forces are working for the allies. Received here after his release from detention in february was questioned for social media posts criticizing those in power he fears further harassment that. The Intelligence Forces are asking my friends about me if they call me again i wont go unless i stand in front of an independent judge because we all know what they are doing today knees they broke my friends bike while he was detained International Human Rights Groups say the lebanese authorities are using different nations laws to violate freedom of expression but Party Leaders say there is a limit to free speech. There are those who are crossing the red line they are being summoned by the judiciary and questioned for a few hours but this doesnt mean freedom of expression in lebanon is at risk opponents disagree Rights Groups report more than 100. 00 violations against activists and journalists by the authorities and supporters of the Ruling Alliance since the beginning of the year. This square in central beirut is no longer filled with tents protestors have been forced to leave by the authorities their movement has largely been broken many blame intimidation and violence but the solution men but in the words of the top u. N. Official and 11 are efforts to silence free speech usually backfire notably in times of crisis. Lebanon is in crisis and politicians have so far failed to ease growing economic hardships and as more lebanese sink into poverty containing their anger may be a more difficult battle to win. Beirut. An official with the Talibans Political Office in doha has the night allegations that russia offered money to kill american soldiers in afghanistan their reports have alarmed politicians in the u. S. With democrats calling for sanctions and the full intelligence briefing aljazeera is osama bin geoff id spoke with the talibans only last about the reports so how true is it that the taliban were getting bounties from the russians to kill american soldiers. Lost a lot of them this particular matter was fabricated by Afghan Intelligence based on confessions obtained by force and violence from prisoners to say that theyve received money in benefits from russia to fight the americans this is totally baseless the intelligence of the Kabul Administration has tortured the prisoners to get these confessions and to create a story and a report to the world while everything is comprehensively baseless no one can prove that the taliban got bounties and military assistance is from moscow but it is not just of unintended into that it is also coming from u. S. Intelligence sources at a time when the United States wants to leave a bonus on it when the nanny state is negotiating with you why would they lie. In the moment of that amazon of the we cant talk on their behalf and they can answer this question but when it comes to the intelligence of the Kabul Administration i can say that they want the americans and the Foreign Forces to stay in afghanistan and this is the reason behind their lies about the american withdrawal that will pave the way for russians to come back to the country. And you can watch the full interview with hyder left kuala talked while jazeera thats at 430 g. M. T. On saturday. And saw the commonalities there for the news hour some former Major League Baseball stars provide plenty to cheer about in south koreas premier competition. Authorities in japan have taken the president cuts that are closing about 4 g. To hikers as part of efforts to tackle the coronavirus that all came on normally attracts crowds of visitors every summer including many who believe that it holds special religious significance as i am a supporter now reports. Sculpted and shaped by thousands of years of eruptions mount fuji considered by many to be the perfect ok no has been venerated for generations as the home of the gods each year hundreds of thousands of people as send it slopes among them many worshippers on a religious pilgrimage but with the climbing trails closed this season believers have to find different ways to worship its cold hoochie to come a miniature replica of the volcano located in the heart of tokyo. Created and maintained by the 450 year old whose equal religious association it allows for was to be bestowed with the same blessings as climbing mount fuji itself and with the volcanoes closure its never been more important to this religious order and its chief priest who meo sheesh you know who is suitably philosophical about the situation skewed out there maybe mount fuji needed a break were going to quietly watch over the mountain as it rests for a year only on deep below who does silent beauty lies a Destructive Force in spite of being silent for 300 years it is still an active volcano. Newer shrines in circle it to placate the fire spirits with eruptions believed to be the work of the gods and water flowing from the peak their blessings mount fuji was granted in a school World Heritage status in 2013 it was designated as a cultural site recognizing it not just as a natural wonder but as an icon that sing grain into Japanese Culture entering an emerging from the caves when the volcano is believed to be a symbolic act of rebirth we are mine you know a step we take to climb the mountain mystic we take you now daily lives is the same i do it with great care and i put my heart into it in a time of such uncertainty because of the pandemic where she know each step becomes a prayer to peace and predictable forces of nature. I asked al jazeera tokyo. Its got the latest for now here santa in the. Thank you very much barbara one of the major football leagues in europe woold make its return in september the top division will make its comeback at with a limited number of fans allowed to attend games that Football Association confirmed on thursday that 15 to 35 percent of stadium cities will be available for home supporters no away fans will be allowed the league also said social distancing rules will be implemented and that fans will have to bring their own masks touch football was shut down a jew to the covert 19 a crisis in march while football writer elko born joined us earlier and explained that despite the dutch f. A. Implementing covert 19 Safety Measures theres still a lot of uncertainty of how theyll work in practice. Thats government has been restricting a lot of the lock down regulations over the past couple of weeks and the past month as well and stay shown so far that they were willing to go quite far apart to other countries so. Their decision to allow certain percentage under certain conditions or supports it is a stadium it was not because rice and the most important restriction is the one in our meters socialists world apart from that they have also said that there will be no singing or loud cheering allowed in stadiums as well which is right where some for losses for this and the clubs as well because obviously looking nasa will match a stadium without sharing can be very difficult for some fans and its a bit strange 2 clubs are also worrying about how to how the grid plays regulations to make sure that nobody sexually sharing and so on certainty about that all the reigning 2nd leg matches in the European Champions League so a round of 16 will be played at the home Team Stadiums european footballs governing body us and now that the fixture has a will happen in that system munich barcelona until and respectively remains of the competition it will then be contested in the straight a knockout arment in the spawn and oldest the champ is a guy has been on hold since month 2 to the pandemic. And i just say united have boosted their hopes of reaching next seasons Champions League if they beat aston villa 3 nil on thursday the result means they are just one point behind 4th placed less. Nashville had become the 2nd team after dallas to pull out of the Major League Soccer is back at torment their withdrawal of close a number of their players testing positive for corona virus the terminal is still began on a wednesday and it was preceded by a powerful anti racism protest and it was just in hospital. A silent gesture that Major League Soccer hopes will echo throughout the world black players for change has been formed to help fight Racial Injustice both inside and outside of the m. L. S. And more than 100 players from different teams stood side by side ahead of the leagues restarts. It was beautiful to see you know all the players come together on the field like that as one being on the field i could tell you very powerful so you know put my 1st coronavirus is the more immediate challenge for the league all seems a based on a socalled quarantine bubble within the disney World Resorts in florida for this tournament and no fans are allowed to attend games this tournament is something thats important to our way but anytime we believe that anything is going to happen thats going to threaten their health and safety and were going to have to have it make decisions you know were operating in this new code world and we knew that there were going to be some some risk and there were going to be some things that we would have to address the fly the u. S. Cant rely on a plan that would work in a league in germany or south korea or even spain or italy because we simply have way more cases and its a numbers game ok the more cases you have the more likely a case is to sneak in to will be. After the regular season was halted in march this olsen a 25. 00 team event will culminate in a final in early August Orlando city beating into miami to warm in the leagues comeback fixture. To be different you know who was waiting for it is known for so long weve been working hard. Its always difficult when you use the force a long time without playing a game the m. L. S. Has chopped level basketball players for neighbors the n. B. A. League is aiming to restart with a similar set up at the end of this month and the richardson aljazeera. Former world number one tiger woods will compete at next weeks a memorial tournament and what will be his 1st p. G. A. Tour event in 5 months if teen time major winner pulled out of the players championship in march with a back injury before the corner virus has shut down woods who has won the memorial turman 5 times is currently 14th in the World Rankings professional mens golf has already resumed in the u. S. Behind closed doors was in this captain jason hold a star at the end southampton on day 2 of the 1st test against england or the all around finish to a 6 wickets for 42. 00 runs as the windies auld out the host out of 4 just 200. 00 for the tourists have begun their 1st innings response and closed on 57. 00 for one and some former Major League Baseball stars have been giving fans plenty to chair about in south korea on thursday the time there is that for the twins in seoul form all claim that telex pitcher roll out of cantata gave up on the 2 hits in 7 scoreless innings was striking out 8 shows in Miguel Fernandez who used to play for the l. A. Angels it was also in good form he smashed his 10th home run of the season on route to a 6 to nothing when. And thats always fall for me and you back to barbara in london santa thank you very much for that and thats it for this news hour remember you can get the latest on all the stories that weve been covering sports and news on aljazeera dot com or you could stay with us for the latest on the days news on every back in just a few minutes thanks for watching. Breaks everybody on this planet matter of hours when people need to be heard and the story needs to be told here Human Development has moved right to the edge of the forest with exclusive interviews and indepth reports hope it is a disease can affect anyone any age aljazeera has teens on the ground this is the Main Business not with money or the person you took when you moved when you documentaries and life needs. Short films of hope. And inspiration a series of short personal stories that highlight the human triumph against the odds. Aljazeera selects. Another Early Morning another ceremony to bed health workers. 29000 cuban doctors and nurses working in 59 countries around the world as confirmed cases of coronavirus increase so does demand for cuban medics medical services and the islands main export while western commentators assume cuba sends doctors mainly to expand influence experts on the other Health System draw a different conclusion youre making a big sacrifice why are you willing to go. Because there are other people that need me people that are sick and dying and not isnt right people shouldnt be dying when there are people who can help them. The Supreme Courts ruling thats cleared the way for the u. S. President s tax returns and other financial records to be passed to new york prosecutors. Are you watching out as they are live from london also coming up inside the libya prison where its alleged detainees were tortured by forces loyal to kylie for half that call score 0 for the you way to investigate the government appointment that sparked the angry protests in the democratic