Transcripts For ALJAZ NEWSHOUR 20240712

Breaks with tradition and slammed donald trump in his support speech for democratic nominee joe biden. Argentina stepped up efforts to find a Coronavirus Vaccine as its economy struggles under a long look down. And im santa how much now have all the sport by munich will face value and the european champions the final after beating leon 3 nil in the semi. Lets begin in russia where the speculation that a prominent opposition politician had exene a valley has been poisoned as according to a spokeswoman the valley is now fighting for his life in a siberian hospital or a challenge. The groans of a man in obvious pain medics come down the aisle to help according to the person who films this footage on a flight from siberia to moscow its russian Opposition Leader alexina valmy later hes seen on a stretcher being put in an ambulance seemingly unconscious now in a coma in the city of doctors say theyre working to save his life is just really was michaels naturally poisoning is considered as one of the possible reasons of the deterioration of the condition but besides that there could be a number of acute states that lead to the same clinical science we are working on everything eliminate confirm and work unfortunately i cannot tell you more. No values colleagues are already convinced his illness doesnt have any natural cause we assume that alexei was poisoned with something mixed into his tea tweeted spokeswoman. It was the only thing that he drank in the morning doctors say the talks in was absorbed faster through the hot liquid alexei is now unconscious. Charismatic sometimes abrasive and absolutely fearless alexina valmy is the most Prominent Russian opposition figure. By exposing the corruption of russias governing elite hes built a huge following of mainly young people drawn to protest by his investigative you tube videos valleys followers are shown a willingness to defy police battens and prison time novelli himself has spent repeated spells behind bars a fraud case started in 2014 landed him a suspended sentence a jail term for his brother and a ban on alexei challenging putin in 28 teens president ial election. Novelli has persisted despite the state pressure and despite your b. S. Risks of criticizing body image putins rule another opposition figure Boris Nemtsov was shot dead near the kremlin in 2015 more have left the country the kremlin spokesman has wish no valmy a speedy recovery and says any poisoning would need to be confirmed by Laboratory Tests rory chalons down to 0 or is standing by for us in london well go to him in a moment 1st though lets get the latest from alexandria so ya bitch is a freelance journalist in moscow so what else have we learned today about exactly what happened this morning. Well kim it seems that still the working diagnosis of the violin is called origin specified that is he is still in very serious condition in a hospital in a coma in the meantime his wife arrived in his personal doctor but they are not let in to to see as tweeted by his press secretary at the sport however allegedly his wife is talking now with the head of doctor theyre also saying that theyre showing them no documentation so they can get more on what kind of analysis have been done to him what is going on what is his actual state that they also need documentation in order to move him to either moscow or abroad as he is personal doctor stated is there wish in that case the spokesperson of russian president to me that his court said that they will give the assistance if it is required through official channels and he of course wish the cleaner on his speedy recovery but warned that we have to wait for the final results exactly this final results of what happened to generally healthy 44 year old are still not in are still not published are still not something that we can talk about ok alexandra it turns out that he was poisoned as his spokeswoman is saying this is not the 1st time that novelli has been targeted is this. Not him its not actually it would be the 3rd time if it turns out that he was in indeed poisoned a year ago in summer he had severe symptoms his face was swollen he had each he had pain and this happened while he was actually detained in in moscow prison then he was rushed to the hospital and the doctors claimed that it might be an allergy he was saying that hes been poisoned and that hes never been allergic to anything in his life and to this day we dont know what happened with him then then in 2017 hes been attacked green and septic die which is only for you know were putting on your skin has been thrown into his face them ajinkya as i sat and it took a long time for him to recover so indeed if it turns out to be poisoning that is not going to be the 1st time the russian opposition has been attacked i think that Alexandra Steele janowicz called for there from moscow and its going to rory chalons who is in london for us where you spent a long time living and working in moscow what is the only appeal what sort of pain is easy for the kremlin. Well its interesting that yeah in the 4 and a half years that i was based in the in the Moscow Bureau although i covered numerous valley protests some of them resulting in many arrests no valley being detained except he gave very very few if any interviews to the International Media its like he wanted to concentrate on what was going on in russia wanted to avoid that tag that he was in any way some kind of Foreign Agent its very easy for the kremlin label opposition figures as Foreign Agents in russia and he wanted to avoid that so he basically stepped outside of the that the state controlled media and transmits its pretty much directly to young people in that language that they talk in the you know using the media that they watch Online Platforms like egypt he builds up huge numbers of use that is Anti Corruption films on you tube and brought people out into the streets the length and breadth of russia which is very difficult to do and not many other opposition figures have managed to do that you have to look at whats going on i think as well in the context of kremlin politics despite the fact that the right image putin as all of this summers referendum constitutional referendum can now stay in power technically until 2036 there are signs of fatigue he. Stagnation in the regime that person is not nearly nearly as popular now as he used to be and the kremlin in or bolivias to whats been going on across the border in better reuss and thats exactly the kind of thing the valley could perhaps inspire and russia and its exactly the kind of thing the political technologists the political strategists of the kremlin kept up at night thinking about. Thanks for that background there are a challenge live for us from london. What is a growing list of kremlin critics who have been poisoned in 2004 journalist Anna Politkovskaya who reported on russian abuses in chechnya became ill and lost consciousness after drinking tea she recovered but was shot dead outside her Apartment Building in 2006 later that here former russian spy Alexander Litvinenko died in london after drinking tea laced with the radio active substance polonium 210 in 2018 former russian Double Agents and his daughter yulia were poisoned with the nerve agent novacek in the english city of cells very they survived but a british woman exposed to the chemical died. Although my tailor said graham also is a lecturer in security and development to Kings College london she joins us by skype from london thank you for your time as we sort of explain there if it turns out this is indeed a poising it appears its not entirely uncommon in russia. Torn and i think its probably monster and certain that he was being poisoned here that the doctor said that he was in good health and that the way or no crowd seems to be really targeted in such a way that its going to be very hard for him to get proper help because he was a man airplane so yes there is that needs are not history also always the name of people sort of falling off the doings are of people being shocked opposition figures so i mean if we were we should be surprised that that this is the case i mean as was said by your previous. Speaker hes a very popular in my mom very young not especially among those are worried about the levels of corruption. Regime is using support also in regions which were not trying to set as opposition centers like most us and beat us but we know there is that not a demonstration ive been steady locally new leadership be hot else that demonstrations in court as time around Environmental Issues and of course the events in belair rules they create concern and another enemy could be the person trigger that sort of rileys people around if there is that we have a challenge to the regime so im not surprised at all that this is happening is there anything about the unfolding events that stand out to you maybe give us an indication of what might really be gong on i mean access to his own personal doctor for example. Its very suspicious for example. From what i read of the last thing i read there that the doctor was not able to all get in touch with not barney his wife and neither the doctor was saying that he was in Good Condition and there was no need for him to travel up roll up present doctor or its repeating the need for him to be sent to germany to cut him what is there for example also suffered from all these inning is that very relevant opposition figure he had to be transferred to europe and he was saved in germany so its very important that this happens and the fact that theyre reaching nonnetwork of containment around the game so as not to sort of accelerate shes transfer abroad you know really is very very warring very concerning and says im not dont want what is really happening the devil or a lot from what was reported from hes a system there were a lot of also says of the k. G. B. Are right some of the if this be in the hospital trying to come up with implosion that she had been sort of drinking too much the previous mind and sort of i tended to variations of events so i think this iteration is very critical and it seems like the reason we have very strong effort by the you know the medical doctors in the place to really help on down to what suits him to leave so i think i hope there is that lot of pressure being put so that he can be sent to europe but im treated expectedly as weve been saying also its not the 1st time annexing of ali has been targeted if it turns out that that is indeed the case is he likely to have some sort of contingency plan to continue his message in the circumstance hes incapacitated. I think that there are a lot of younger individuals who just remember last year in moscow during the elections to their local Council Office city of moscow that were not of young individuals to be some sort of who are sort of ready to take the lead i mean he has created a whole new generation of people while working with him who would sort of continue his work on time to corruption all trying to sort of to will set up untenanted candidates in their regions which is what she was trying to do he wants these eating the areas of russia where that were going to be local elections and promoting not into and out of crimea gets to that once supported by the kremlin so i think that there is that whole infrastructure a no way that can continue on with his work i mean and im certain that she he knew that this would happen to him and i dont think that if hes gone and lets hope he doesnt you know that because hes sheets were it is not going to continue i mean there are important figures around him that can continue his work we have let me know as an economist was very active im working with him a lot several there are a lot of figures that come up you know im also sort of you know weve seen in the rules for example women coming not the wives of those in prison or those who have been false to exile to come out and start sort of creating a movement in opposition so i think that. Unites its very unfortunate lets hope it gets better but i think hes at work as a sort of a someone whos really digging in actually among them or in that regime is not going to stop thanks so much for your time the most helos i got most of their i trained security in development at Kings College london. Led to more head on the news all including. I except your nomination for Vice President of the United States of america with those words karma harris becomes the 1st black woman to join a major ticket in the race for the white house. Peak stream he tie winds and lightning strikes all stoking hundreds of wildfires in california. And in sports some good news for the president of football footballs world governing body as he fights back against corruption allegations. U. S. President donald trump is demanding that all United Nations sanctions be reimposed against iran he says secretary of state munt pompei will meet the un secretary general later on thursday to stop the process. The rain will never have market to market iran will never have a Nuclear Weapon when the United States entered into the red deal. It was clear that the United States would always have the right to restore the u. N. Sanctions that will prevent duran from developing a Nuclear Weapon we paid a fortune for a failed concept and a failed policy a policy that would have made it impossible to peace in the middle east. Meanwhile iran has unveiled 2 new missiles ignoring us demands that it halt its program what is a ballistic surface to surface missile with a 1400 kilometer range its named after constant sort of money the general killed by a u. S. Drone strike in january and the 2nd is a missile that was launched from a submarine it has a range of a 1000 kilometers its named after Iraqi Militia commander. Who died alongside sort of money. Is in irans capital tehran whats the reaction been then to this u. S. Pressure for more sanctions. Well iran has always maintained that the United States is in no position and has no right to trigger that mechanism to reinstate United Nations sanctions against iran explicitly since President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from that nuclear deal in 2018 now foreign minister jobs reef has spoken and he has quoted the former security advisor john bolton and said that hes the only one that seems to have a consistent consistent stand and consistency isnt something thats present in the u. S. Administration now john bolton is someone that iran has called a warmonger but the reason devolves refuse quoting him is because john bolton has said in the past that the United States has withdrawn from the deal and doesnt have access to its mechanisms and most recently john bolton has come out and said that the United States shouldnt try to trigger thats not back mechanisms to reinstate those sanctions because it would undermine the United States at the u. N. Now it seems like china and russia are of the same opinion as iran that the United States contradicts mechanism and for now it seems like the europeans dont want these sanctions to be reinstated but that wont stop the United States from trying we know that they will be seeing the secretary general of the United Nations later but iran is confident at the moment especially considering that defeat last on last friday when the United States tried to extend the arms embargo in iran on iran thats expected to run out in october now they only managed to get one vote and definitely here in iran by the political establishment thats been seen as a massive victory for iran and a defeat for the United States and said as we mentioned iran has unveiled 2 new tell us more about that. Well its significant because these 2 missiles are named after 2 men that the United States assassinated back in january general cos and so the money of the good force the other 100 of the Popular Mobilization forces in iraq now theyve unveiled this in defiance of the United States the United States wants iran to halt a specific Missile Program and its one of the reasons that donald trump said that the 2015 nuclear deal was a bad point because it didnt include irans ballistic Missile Program the president has done rouhani and made these announcements a day before the countrys National Defense day he also boasted that irans Defense Industry in the World Rankings had gone up to number 14 from in the last 5 years it was number 23. 00 but also this missile is irans longest range Ballistic Missile and its from the fatah group of missiles that the fatah group of missiles is used to target u. S. Forces in iraq following the assassination of general hossam the money president rouhani did say that its defense capabilities are not aimed at its neighbors and reiterating really the iranian stance that iran is willing to sit down with its neighbors neighbors and even its regional rivals if they want to discuss peace and stability in the region take that have to take their lives from tehran. The general Prosecutors Office in bello says open the criminal case into a council made up of opposition figures protest as say theyll continue to defy warnings by president alexander the shanker over a new crackdown hes ordered Security Forces to clear the streets after nearly 2 weeks of demonstrations over this months disputed election. Opposition leader of scalia whos now in the through a new set up the council to coordinate a peaceful transfer of power the Prosecutor Says its a threat to security. A group of citizens of the republic of belarus has declared creation of a cordon Nation Council one of the goals of which is a transfer of power the plan to create a political body that should undertake the transfer of power from the current head of the country creating such a body is not allowed by the law their activity is unconstitutional a group of citizens who understand the invalidity of their actions has left the council and do not agree with its activity creation and activity of such a council is designated to seize state authority as well as damage the National Security of belarus step also has more now from minsk. Im added the Tension Center where after the election the protests started thousands of people were detained and also badly beaten and even tortured many have been released up to 4000. 00 is the estimation but theyre still around 3000 people detained people are gathering here every day now to try to get their personal belongings back and that seems to be quite a struggle also theres also some unclear reports that the many people are not accounted for at this moment even though its an hour more than 10 days that this Police Crackdown has happened meanwhile also protesters today seem to be pretty quiet so far what we know is there is a lot of threats coming from the authorities towards the crisis de old who are now in one side the order to sign as some kind of space for saying they would move to restrain from the Political Activities but still as we saw last night despite all this crap by look at ankara protesters were still gathering the fire in all these risks of being detained to so we expect the same will happen again maybe later today and especially in the next coming days. Former u. S. President barack obama has told the Democratic National convention that his successor donald trump has sought out and can help himself and his friends while in the nations top job and he said trump has diminished americas reputation abroad later came a speech from Camila Harris joe biden to pick for the vice presidency alan fischer of these words i sent your nomination for Vice President of the United States of america. A moment of history in 188 years of political conventions in america the 1st woman of color to accept a Vice President ial nomination for a Major Political party common the hardest to the moment to introduce herself to the country but the role of the v. P. Candidate is to attack the president his running mate and their record Donald Trumps failure of leadership has cost lives and livelihoods if youre a parent struggling with your childs learning or youre a teacher struggling on the other side of that screen you know what were doing right now is not working and we are a nation that is grieving its rare for a former president to criticize a sitting president but from the museum of the American Revolution in philadelphia and at times emotional the rock obama said that a public created by the movement that moment is in his belief under threat from donald trump donald trump hasnt grown into the job because he cant and the consequences of that failure are some fear 170000 americans dead and millions of jobs gone while those at the top take in more than ever our worst impulses unleashed are proud reputation around the world badly diminished and our Democratic Institutions threatened like never before. And there was an appearance too from Elizabeth Warren a darling of the progressive wing of the party and from the defeated democrat last time around Hillary Clinton who are people to vote noting shed won the popular vote 4 years ago by 3000000 and still lost the white house the convention also covered issues to be tackled by joe biden if he wins gun control immigration and Climate Change but this was a night when history was made and precedents were broken. Thursday is joe bidens big day hell accept his partys nomination to run for president and when he delivers his speech he knows he has to give a positive message a plan for the future he cant just run on being the guy who is not donald trump alan fischer aljazeera washington. Last time out for the weather here is every 10 with news of hurricane genevieve causing flooding in western mexico yeah thats right kate misses been a very active season of course the storms just keep on coming the good news is that genevieve is in the process of weakening but we have seen a lot of heavy rain you can quite clearly see the storm here just to the south the Baja California off the west coast of mexico thats going to continue making its way further northwards i think within the next 5 or 6 hours it will be downgraded to a Tropical Storm and this is a sort of flooding rains that has caused further flooding is likely the threats of well life threatening floods certainly not out of the question mudslides the sea usual thing storm surge as well there we go the system through the remainder of thursday will make its way further north woods and westwards and gradually we can further through the course of friday as it pulls out into the open waters so it is something of a dying feature i am pleased to say but further flooding certain possibly here we have got another system little clutch just storms there in central parts of the caribbean this tropical wave at the moment this may well go about a 90 percent chance of developing into a tropical depression city something to keep an eye on a matter run its way up towards the yucatan peninsula passing just to the south of jamaica and then a fat wasnt enough we go out into the atlantic this puts the storms here that is tropical depression 13 we look a little further just off the coast of africa stuff the west coast there near sierra leone possibility of another one to come they just keep on coming kim thank you. So here on out is there. Global condemnation of a military coup in mali the u. N. Calls for the release of the detained president. Addressing the forced recruitment of children into conflict colombia opens a tribunal to help come to terms with the past. And its force one of the favorites to win the stanley cup put on a dominant display n. H. L. Action coming up after the great. Player. They come in hold and in search of work to provide a better life for the families theyve left behind. But though their labor is vital to Food Industry they risk exploitation by corporations and organized crime. Trapped in a system with little hope of escape people empower investigates. On aljazeera. Meet maria driven by poverty into prostitution and drugs an early age now is a marvel shes turning her life around with the help of a theater troupe a group of colombian women fighting the challenges they face. Was compelling series which showcases fresh filmmaking talent around the globe if you find a lot of them are present acting lessons on aljazeera. Your charges there are a reminder of our top stories this hour russian opposition politician alexina valmy is in a serious but stable condition after what his spokeswoman says was a suspected poisoning he was our flight to moscow when he fell ill his spokeswoman says a poison was mixed with his teeth. U. S. President donald trump is demanding that all United Nations sanctions be reimposed against iran trump says secretary of state my pov peo will meet the un secretary general later on thursday stop the process. The general Prosecutors Office in power who says of the criminal case into a council made up of opposition figures there have been demonstrations followed by a crackdown since a disputed election earlier this month. The military coup in mali has been met with International Condemnation the United Nations Security Council is calling on the countrys new military leaders to release deposed president abraham. Members of the African Union and ecowas have suspended ties 8 with mali the military has promised to oversee democratic elections but has yet to say when they are. Well be. The one to prove it to you live the mission is that we have no political ambition we are soldiers we have other progressives other missions to deal with our objective is through the various meetings we had with the various social and political groups to hand over rapidly the powers to a civilian transition for the continuity of the state and we are all aware today of the political and security situation mali is going through so i want to reassure you you can continue working without any pressure i want to reassure you of our support im an interest is live for us and to and by the military of no name to their apparent leader what more can you tell us. Asami go to is a kind of love the money an army not many money and know much about him but what is known about him so far hes part of the 5 military officers that deposed president abraham book at kate and b. 4 then as a commander of an elite mali and unit in central money this is the force d thats been dealing with the outbreak of violence Ethnic Violence as well as extremist violence in that part of the region now with this development. The a lot of money and expect them to keep to their promise and thats what was what was promised that the powerful imaam in my mum would decor who sort of stood against president. Yesterday he announced that he would do with from politics after meeting with a senior military officers now with this development now a lot of money is expected that the military will quickly hand over power within a reasonable time to a civilian government they should quickly organize and actions however right now as we speak of course Member States heads of states and government meeting in an extraordinary summit videoconferencing to discuss further discuss the situation in mali remember that already slapped the military leadership in mali with a lot of sanctions that include border closures that include of course london transport ation as well as cutting all financial dealings to mali now this is coming at a time when mali is struggling economically and that is a lot of social discontent poverty rates higher and a lot of problems going on one interesting thing also is that Nigerian Foreign Affairs minister tweeted on wednesday that he is happy that the ecowas has activated its stand by force what is not clear is whether or not the leaders who are meeting today in an extraordinary summit will deploy that force to money. Already we know some Member States of the air corps are in mali providing support for the operations against fight fighters in the north and central parts of bali as well as walking alongside the French Forces fighting the armed groups in mali so we are waiting to see what will be achieved at that meeting extraordinary summit of heads of state and government of course ok thanks for that update if youre say live for us in a. Millions of afghans are facing Food Shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdowns that followed the Un World Food Programme is warning that some 16000000 people are now threatened by hunger nearly 4000000 afghans have lost their primary source of income since the outbreak began food prices have soared due to border restrictions the crisis is likely to hurt children under 5 the most thats according to aid agencies. Argentina is battling a surge in corona virus with at least 312030 now confirmed and more than 6000 deaths the government says intensive care admissions and hospital occupancy rates have become unsustainable theories about reports. Black balloons to remember Health Care Workers who died of colvin 1000 here at the hospital and then when our societys doctors nurses and aides say they are deeply concerned for themselves and their colleagues as the virus continues to spread this and. There have been 60 deaths of Health Care Workers throughout argentina and 16888. 00 infected healthcare workers we will have beds here in the city of one aside is in the province there will be beds but for sure there wont be workers to attend those beds will be virtual beds. Argentina was one of the 1st countries in latin america to impose a lockdown and even though in the beginning it was able to control the spread of covert 1000 cases are once again on the rice leading the government to announce another extension of the Country Squire in teen. In spite of the virus thousands of argentines took to the streets last monday to protest against the government and the lockdown many believe 5 months of total lockdown is too much for the place it. Seems to me as in other countries we should be trusted to behave like adults and responsibly resume work in moving the country forward. But as discontent is on the rice so is the effort to help produce have a last week argentina announced a local laboratory will start manufacturing the highly promising Astra Zeneca Oxford vaccine. Assuming the vaccine is proven effective and clear safety trials argentina will then distributed to country throughout south america with the exception of brazil which is producing its own vaccine i didnt want it in the region have been on. Count on one and this will have a dramatic effect on the economy and some people live this long road or even i will go around countries in this part of the world will be able to write theme as soon as possible over the course of the movie is to me that it. Says production will start within weeks we started to work with as i said again with the transfer we already started we are purchasing things at risk and we were surprised even if it is or is dead results are not yet there we are awaiting the results for a toller and we will moralist out of it in that that time frame but we are not waiting for the result we are just moving as fast as we can. The lockdown has helped preserve life in argentina but it has also exacerbated an already difficult Economic Situation the challenge now is to jumpstart the economy without any increase in loss of life. And one of us. The brother of the suicide bomber who attacked a concert in manchester in 2017 has been sentenced to 55 years in jail for murder 22 people who were among those attending a concert by singer Ariana Grande they were killed when salman arbor they detonated his explosives his brother has him help source materials for the bombing families of the victims spoke after the sentencing. We would like to thank judge jeremy baker for imposing the biggest sentence ever in these circumstances. However the families. Nor sentence will ever respect the loss we feel each day year without them. Because. Because he wont really be serving the sentence that we are. A human rights lawyer and activist in thailand has been arrested attorney on and was charged with sedition after taking part in a protest calling for reform of the monarchy a popular rapper was also among those arrested there are also calls for Prime Minister pray of channel to to step down hes instructed the military to prepare for the protests to escalate scott has this update from bangkok. 9 people whove been involved with these antigovernment protests here in thailand over the last month have been arrested in the last day or so theyve been charged with sedition Illegal Assembly and computer crimes now the people who have been arrested are some of the leaders of these groups again these are mostly student youth groups but some people who just spoke at the protests or performed at some of these protests over the last month now moving forward we know that some of the leaderships are saying that they want to state bigger protests come next month in september you know what theyre fighting for and they say the current government doesnt represent their needs again these are mostly students and young people and that they want reforms within the government and one group is even calling for an overhaul of the monarchy a very delicate issue here in thailand now in a response to this the government the Prime Minister player has called a special Security Council meeting where they discuss the political situation in thailand and how they say theyre going to deal with this escalating possible escalating situation with the protesters again were looking really at next month 2 of the largest groups free people and a University Group say that theyre going to hold very large protests in september just a few weeks ago we saw a very large protest the largest protest since the coup in 2014 at democracy monument here in bangkok more than 10000 people showed up. More than 73000 people are listed as missing in mexico and around 20 percent of the my views activists say the number of children who disappear every day has doubled over the past 2 years us to are believed to have been trafficked for Sexual Exploitation all sold into forced labor and what a pal of a holes. It is is asking for help to locate her 2 year old son dylan he was taken from a market in the mexican state of chiapas on june 30th when he does says despite the Media Attention and help from activists it took a long time for police and authorities to begin investigating the boys disappearance yes and if they let me in i know its not only my son that everyone should be looking for but i know that if we search for him we will find many of the children thats what i would like for people to keep looking and keep coming together not only for my son but for the many other lost children when he does case is far from unique every day an average of 7 children go missing in mexico and that rate of daily child abductions has almost doubled in the last 2 years. In the news again we believe the disappearance of Young Children is linked to illegal adoptions nationally and internationally and in the case of other lesson girls the evidence suggests they become victims of sex trafficking and in the case of adolescent boys we know theyre often forced to work for criminal groups. According to the latest National Statistics more than 73000 people are listed as missing across mexico and justice forced disappearances have seen an exponential growth in recent years so have protests calling for accountability demonstrations like these have become very common here in the mexican capital and theyre often organized by the family members of missing persons and what we hear consistently from people at this type of protests is that the government isnt doing enough to find their missing loved ones that. Mexico has some of the toughest laws in the region against Human Trafficking but legal experts say a culture of corruption and impunity means few cases are ever solved many are never even investigated. In the absence of state help dozens if not hundreds of collectives have been formed by the families of the disappeared there on a constant search for the 10s of thousands of missing persons across the country an estimated 20 percent of whom are children and adolescents noise meant only. 20 percent of disappearances is a very High Percentage and if you include young adults up to the age of 25. 00 what the data suggests is that its mexicos youth that is disappearing. Many compare the phenomenon of forced disappearances in mexico to an epidemic that has only worsened over time since the turn of the century its estimated that some 12000. 00 children have gone missing in mexico most of them between the ages of 13 and 17. Aljazeera mexico city. And the breaking news now were hearing that u. S. President Donald Trumps ex political adviser steve benen has been arrested in connection with an Online Fundraising scheme and is now in federal custody was a rest alongside other alleged coconspirators apparently for using funds from a campaign and a matter inconsistent with public representation so in a press release from the u. S. Just Justice Department this is in relation to the way build the wall Online Fundraising campaign the acting u. S. Attorney has said that as alleged the defendants defrauded hundreds of thousands of donors capitalizing on their interest in funding a border wall to raise millions of dollars under the false pretense that all of that money would be spent on construction this is a breaking story and we will bring you more as it comes to hand. Now former commanders of colombias fark rebel group gave their testimony in front of a peace tribunal on wednesday they address the forced recruitment of children and their ranks during the countrys 15 year civil conflict. Reports from bogota. Hidden behind tinted windows form a far commander of look at that entered colombias peace tribunal known as scare on wednesday hes the 1st of 15 commanders offering testimony behind closed doors on the recruitment in abuse of minors by the former Guerilla Group in the thickets long war against the colombian state rules we want to tell the truth i want to tell the truth in the context of building the peace corps both the fark as long been accused of using child soldiers in hiding abuses such as forced abortions but until now the rebel group has always denied these accusations think. But things might be changing commander victorious and you know now a senator was the 1st one to concede that abuses have happened while denying they were fark spa lasy. I recognize this did have happened in our organization i dont know the details but they have happened because we were in a context of war the fisa court offers far commanders involved in these crimes that the possibility to avoid in prison if they confess and acknowledge their responsibility if they can serve alternative sentences such as Community Service is that is if they tell the full truth. Alexander via goes was just 10 years old when he entered the fark he escaped after losing a leg at 21. 00 to a landmine he says many children joined the group to scape poverty their prevention or paramilitary violence but they were also deceived and forced to remain in the ranks against their will but understood the need of all recruitment is forced because we didnt know our rights because they took advantage of our innocence of the needs of the poverty of our families to took away our dreams and expectations were lies. Many International Observers say the fire should take advantage of the opportunity offered by the peace tribunal but he still already you know solid and reliable every day it shows that. Usual as well as systematic. And i would also with. Terrible wish that you. Go. By the commanders. It is important for the country to know all the true. A painful past that is sadly still alive as the remaining armed groups in colombia continue to recruit children in remote parts of the country at least in the n. P. A. And. The 1st person charged on the hong kongs new National Security law was back in Court Earlier on thursday 23 year old kit is charged with terrorism and inciting secession its alleged he rode his motorcycle into Police Officers during a fight arrest in july he was holding a bad air that read liberate hong kong revolution of our times. This week german chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting french president a minor makana his president ial retreat in the mediterranean the pair recently struck a Game Changing deal for the European Union to raise debt for the 1st time to Fund Coronavirus recovery but at a time of increasing challenges for the bloc how strong will their bond prove the mccain reports. When the e. U. Is looking to minimize the economic threat from the coronavirus it was to these 2 it turned theirs was the personal drive to reach a compromise the demonstration of their intent to try to solve europes problems where possible as in a shared view about the current political upheaval in belarus the state of freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate must be guaranteed prisoners must be released and there must be a National Dialogue to settle things hes really in belarus for decades the strength of the Franco German relationship has been a given governments would come and go but the 2 countries shared political interests would remain in effect forcing ministers to Work Together for a common purpose. The personal dynamic between these 2 is clear despite the generational differences between them the french president welcomes the analytical approach the chancellor brings to politics that you can really indepth discuss the disk the. Idea and concept with her and you get an honest answer and its not a political one because its not an ideological one its more really ok can this work or not that last question is one many in germany are asking now about the trump administrations plan for nato in europe its decision last month to withdraw some of its forces from germany has worried many now some analysts say this poses a real dilemma for the french and germans. Trampas destructive to world order is more than a dilemma hes a danger and to suppress that before the election is decisive. In visiting mcconnell at his mediterranean retreat merkel is doing something few other leaders get to do because some say when she meets him its not just a photo opportunity rather it is a meeting of minds donna came out 0 berlin. And the u. S. Tens of thousands of people in california have been forced from their homes by wildfires authorities are now appealing for extra resources for firefighters battling extreme heat high winds and lightning strikes are benelux reports. More than 360 known wildfires are burning the length and breadth of california with nearly 2 dozen major blazes raging from the wine country in the north to the rugged mountains east of los angeles thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes i could see the red glow and i was hearing explosions so i hope not get this thing out before it burns down everything in napa valley this resident tried to escape the flames but instead wound up driving right through them. Hundreds of firefighters are battling the blazes struggling to contain fires in the San Francisco bay area which have burned at least 18000. 00 hectors californias governor has declared a state of emergency and additional firefighters are being dispatched from as far away as texas what is occurred over the last 72 hours is certainly stretched the resources of this state enormous clouds of smoke mounted into the sky worsening air quality across the region the Northern California blazes began with thousands of lightning strikes spawned by an unusual dry thunderstorms hitting on one of the hottest nights of the year in voc avila town of 100000 people midway between San Francisco and sacramento residents were roused from their beds overnight by police and firefighters and told to flee immediately an unknown number of houses and other structures have been destroyed additional fires are raging on the states Central Coast near monterey and on the outskirts of Silicon Valley high winds are fanning the flames a resident of Lassen County caught video of this rare funnel shaped fire tornado whirling across burning grasslands california and much of the southwestern United States are in the grip of a brutal heat wave following months of extremely dry weather temperatures soared to over 43 degrees celsius in many areas rob reynolds aljazeera los angeles. Time now for sport has santa thank you very much i can well by munich have set up a Champions League final with the german champions it beat young 3 nil to reach the biggest game in European Club football 2 1st half goals from surgical but put a buy in on their way to a 10 straight win in this seasons competition or but given dosti added said that was the polish strikers 55th goal of the season all know fans are allowed to attend these Champions League knockout games which are all being held in portugal behind closed doors many by and supporters did that gather in munich to see their team reach the final for the 11th time in the clubs history. For those governing body fever has cleared its own president of violating regulations jan infant teano is still the subject of a criminal investigation because of an alleged secret meeting with swiss attorney general michael loeb or noble had been in charge of a probe into football corruption both men deny any wrongdoing if Ethics Committee says no aspect of conduct analyze constitutes a violation. While ended and the Los Angeles Clippers i have suffered the 1st loss of this seasons n. B. A. Playoffs dallas leveling the 1st round series one all on a night where the powerhouses of the eastern conference bag some big wins so how much cripples. Usually when ko i learn it is on song it results the next clippers wins dallas style you could dontcha however had other plans for the kids 28 points which mainly came in the 1st half from becoming our new teachers at the mavericks up to pull off an upset in game 2 lenna did top score with 35. 55. 5 but some pivotal late runs via dallas 28127114 win to level up the series in any serious. Point going to we. You know i suppose. There was also a surprise in wednesdays of the western conference game. Donovan mitchell was on fire for the utah jazz as they put down 3rd seeds denver. The all stars 30 points helping them square the series with a comfortable 124 to 105 victory i. Think youre right you know reigning champions tour on toe have taken a 2 nothing lead over brooklyn but they had to survive a dramatic final quarter so. It was just even after going 8 points ahead late on through norman power. Set which they still couldnt relax the net stayed alive until the final seconds and could have forced overtime but they allowed the chance to slip away so power striking again to take his tally to 24 with the raptors the scaping with a 5 point win. Make. Me when i was growing up was going to return to our little pick boston had a much more comfortable time in the eastern conference as of a contest jason tatum followed up his impressive game one display with 33 points as the cell. Volatile q 1281012 go to up loser the t. Shirts what you get with tatum in this kind of form it will be hard to stop boston browns from talking up with teams chances of winning an 18th championship but that young man has it one of your strengths to heal malik aljazeera in the n. H. L. Playoffs the Colorado Avalanche to have won their western conference 1st round series that with a dominating victory over arizona in game 5 in edmonton the number 2 cs in the western conference are one of the favorites to win the stanley cup as in qadri scored twice Nathan Mackinnon also had 2 goals and 2 assists to seal a 71 win for avalanche and advance into the 2nd round of layoffs. At the Boston Bruins blew away the Carolina Hurricanes to reach the 2nd round of the playoffs with the schools level parties bergeron broke the deadlock the bruins hanging on to be hurricanes 21. 2 members of south africas cricket squad have tested positive for corona virus the players have been isolated but are yet to be named the positive results were detected during the teams ongoing Training Camp Cricket South Africa say 50 tests on players and staff have been performed. Local organizers of this years i. P. L. Which will be staged in u. A. E. Are hopeful fans will be able to attend with teams already making their way to the middle east the emirates cricket board say they are working on getting approval for the spectator plan with the authorities the competition will begin on september 19th and has been moved to the gulf nation due to covert 19 restrictions in india. And thats it for me for a smile well have more sports for you later on but for now thank you. Just a reminder now of our breaking news this hour u. S. President Donald Trumps former political adviser steve benen has been arrested in connection with an online fund raising scheme thats the we build the wall Online Fundraising campaign the acting u. S. Attorney has alleged that the defendants obannon and 3 others defaulted hundreds of thousands of dollars capitalizing on their interest in funding this border wall will have much more for you on that story in just a few minutes time so do stay with us here on aljazeera. The health of humanity is at stake a Global Pandemic requires a global response. W. H. O. Is the guardian of Global Health delivering lifesaving to School Supplies and training to help the worlds most Vulnerable People uniting across borders to speed up the development of test treatments and of that scene working with scientists and Health Workers to learn all we can about the virus keeping you up to date with whats happening on the ground in the womb and in the land advocating for everyone to have access to essential Health Services now more than ever the world needs w. H. O. Making a healthy a world. For everyone. The slums of manila. Into an Extraordinary Community men who risk their lives telling garbage into cash so that their families can survive. Even in the face of ongoing obstacles repeat cheetos and freddy never give up. Aljazeera follows the local people well now and fry the sloan up on aljazeera. A selfless act of human bravery and 10000 precious pieces of literature rescued from being about to ashes in a besieged sorry a town. Aljazeera wild its the bosnian women and men who risked everything to save their its a marriage. The love of books on aljazeera. Steve bannon arrested the former top advisor to u. S. President donald trump is charged and alleged ford scheme online. Alone can bell this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up a blow to the opposition russian politician and lexi novelli is in a serious but stable condition after becoming ill on a flight to moscow. United states doubles down part of all the pressure to reimpose all u. N. Sanctions against iran