european countries suspend their roll out. brazil gets its 4th health minister since the pandemic began as the number of infections that keeps rising plus. imus has a partner in sudan done wednesday and we meet the policy calling for an end to racism in the netherlands. the u.s. secretaries of state and defense of begun the 1st overseas trip with a diplomatic visit to allies in asia and today blinken and lloyd austin started that tour in japan and the trip will include a stop in south korea north korea's nuclear ambitions are expected to be high on the agenda as well as how to counter what the u.s. sees as china's growing assertiveness in the region. we're all standing together in support of our sure we believe in democracy human rights group law because we've seen our own. those certainly make us stronger and because they're under threat in many places in plain in the brief wondrous borough we're going to try. out 0 as far as the law may begins our coverage in tokyo. it's the 1st visit of both the foreign and defense ministers of the u.s. after by them took office to a foreign country this symbol of the symbol of simplifies how important japan is for the alliance of the 2 countries and that the sense i'm this is the 1st step in their tour in asia they're going to visit also south korea and japan is very keen on underlying underlining the u.s. a stance towards the situation in the area and is very much concerned about that is in tension with the china around the sink acquire lands. and administrated islands in china sea which china calls them you and more and more china is is making what so called the intrusions into japanese territory or waters around the silence before it was the basis of 2 times a month now it's 2 times a week so this is 4 times more starting from this year and also after china has acted a new low the 1st of february in which it's course guards gun fire at the ships deemed to be sailing in its territorial waters so the area is under too much tension and at the same time the u.s. wants to it wants japan to engage more in guaranteeing or and implementing the safety and security in the area and while america's top officials are in japan a powerful figure from north korea has issued a warning kim your john the sister of leader kim jong un has urged the u.s. administration to refrain from doing anything unseemly if it wants to sleep in peace in the coming 4 years and she says that joint military drills with south korea are a barrier to renewed diplomacy let's go live now to seoul south korea's capital arches for providers there rob what are we to make of those comments. there is something of a stinging rebuke from kim jung jungle especially as it seems to be just about one of the 1st official statements aimed from north korea at the biden administration since coming into being kim jong saying that warning the americans not to make a stink in this part of the world they also had some very unfriendly words for south korea warning that they would be willing to rip up a military agreement so the north signed with the south a few years ago when relations were far better than they are now but in some ways as these remarks can be seen as being fairly tame stuff obviously the remarks are code to time to coincide with this mission to this part of the world but it's also timed with these military exercises the resumption of these joint exercises that were halted under the trumpet ministration they have been resumed they normally take place in the spring time but they are very small in scale it's pretty much no more than a computerized simulation a simulation but even so they began last week last week and we have been waiting for some response from the north by comparison to how it's responded to these military exercises in the past this is not seen as being particularly aggressive in the past of course it had life firing exercises of its own with some very angry angry words so it does seem as though north korea is waiting to see what the by the administration's policy towards it towards north korea will look like and that's all part of course of this mission to formulate that policy we know through the state department that biden the ministrations attempts to reach out to north korea have been rebuffed it does look as though north korea is waiting to see something tangible before it responds what about the south koreans what will they be wanting from the new ministration particularly when it comes to north korea. in theory everybody here amongst these allies is singing off the same song sheet we've had that just as the start of the bilateral talks in tokyo with secretaries blinken and austin outlining that they want to see the denuclearization of north korea that certainly is the wish here in south korea but obviously it is how we reach that and there is a different agendas at play here when this u.s. mission comes through seoul tomorrow wednesday and into into thursday we will see the same unified approach from these allies stressing the similarities between them and their unified approach especially to north korea but behind closed doors the south koreans will probably be pushing the united states for some leeway to try to resume or try to breathe new life back into its negotiations with north korea at a very high level and then beyond that who knows maybe a resumption of talks between north korea and the u.s. but obviously that takes the cooperation and also the permission from the senior partner and if there's any talk of relaxation of sanctions to get there then we can expect to see pushback from the u.s. . broad reporting live from seoul rob many thanks indeed tom as a professor of international economy care university and a former special advisor to the capital he joins us now live via skype from tokyo good to have you with us professor this visit by the u.s. officials is being billed as being about strengthening the u.s. japan security alliance given that the relationship between the u.s. and japan is already fairly tight what more could they do to improve it. it still is very much important because this is the 1st ever visit made by the secretaries of state and defense from the new biden means for asian it is to send a powerful signal that the united states is determined continuously to provide security and the rules based order to the region together with its ally japan all right so what will they be talking about behind closed doors obviously north korea will be on the agenda what about china china is very much a big on the agenda i'm sure because of the new developments that were mentioned by the passage of a new law a neighboring chinese coast guard to work almost navy and east china sea and such and sea situations are everyone's concern and caught is another development for countries a summit meeting just start took place this week and the quad to structure it needs a pillar that strong pether is going to be provided by the strongest alliance that is between the united states and japan but will any firm decisions particular at these talks or is it just about talking. well parking is very much important is specially given the fact that the new administration has just been for and but beyond that it's been a regular rise dialogue and i think that's going to take place again and again down the road so as far as trying to concerned when there's no silver bullet solution here it's a pretty long process is what you say it is a long game indeed yes. yes no no professor i'm going to take cario. yeah it's going to take a lot of time for the united states and japan and other nations and there's no need absolutely no need for i don't know japan or the united states or spell out this is the game plan that we're going to do because of the china always good to talk to many thanks indeed for being with us from a hotel a good shoe that in tokyo. experts from the world health organization a meeting on tuesday to analyze data on the safety of the astra zeneca vaccine germany france and italy of joint several other nations and temporarily suspending use of the job sizing concerns about a few cases of blood clots among people who got the shot when it came reports from berlin. this is a vaccine that divides opinion in some countries it's a large part of the strategy to combat code it in several others it's been linked to blood clots in some patients and it's now suspended from use across europe a succession of governments has called for more research to be carried out that this is the a.t.p.'s on. the decision which has been taken in conformity with our european policy is to suspend as a precaution vaccinations with the astra zeneca vaccine in the hope that we can resume quickly if the make gives a green light. in germany 2 senior ministers have acted to stop its use again as a precautionary measure meaning massive vaccination centers such as this one here at berlin's old tempelhof airport are now closed the many doses of astra zeneca vaccine within its walls are now in storage pending a decision by the european medicines agency later this week the contrast to this uncertainty in the u.k. is stark there the use of astra zeneca has been greatest and for the prime minister there are no such doubts. we have one of the toughest and most experienced regulators in the world they see no reason at all to discontinue the back to nation program forever and they are for any of the vaccines that we're currently using either of vaccines that we're currently using they believe that they are effective highly effective in driving down not just hospitalisation but but also serious disease and the mortality is the nub of the issue is about the way astra zeneca interacts with the human body according to the e m a from around 5000000 doses administered to date there are reports of a few dozen patients developing blood clots with some individuals having died although as yet no link between the vaccine and their deaths has been proved to the world health organization and. see the benefits of continuing to use astra zeneca as product far outweigh the potential risks but around many european capitals there is now fresh doubt what is certain is that suspending the use of astra zeneca will slow their vaccination programs dominic cane al-jazeera perlin thailand was the 1st country outside europe to stop using the astra zeneca vaccine but after reviewing reports it's once again cleared it for use in an effort to build public confidence prime minister john archer became one of the 1st people to get the shots thailand will start manufacturing astra zeneca this is in june and it's reserved the 1st 61000000 for its population japan's prime minister has been given his 1st dose of the fires a covert 19 vaccine or shahid asuka is the 1st japanese official to publicly receive the shot. brazil's health minister has been sacked as the corona virus outbreak that hits record levels his replacement most of the cattle good will be the 4th person in charge since the pandemic began the streets of brazil's most populous state with nearly empty on tuesday after emergency restrictions came into effect infection and death rates in sao paulo have been climbing rapidly the state's health care system is on the brink of collapse as here as many as in mexico city he says that brazil's vaccination rollouts has barely got off the ground arguably this is the reason why we're seeing the the outgoing health minister being booted out of brazil ironically prior to the pandemic had a tremendous track record when it came to vaccination programs currently the program has stalled only about 1.4 percent of the population is fully vaccinated brazil is in the process of securing new vaccines more vaccines we know the pfizer we know about the chinese and russian vaccines and do deals there but just like is the case with many other cases of the world shortages persist so the expectation is that this is a dire situation that can only get worse. the weather next here on al-jazeera then up in arms why there's anger in the u.k. about a new law giving police more power to crack down on protesters. they really think there's going to be a big audience. and netflix has kept many people company through a year of isolation not a streaming giant is hoping that it can unseat hollywood's hold of the oscars. the weather's looking pretty messy across europe at the moment a loss of clout shang up rain sleet and snow across parts of france germany aging across the alps and over towards the balkans as well so a lot of weather front showing up on a chopper doesn't move out of the wakes so you cannot speak area of high pressure coming in so that is going to start to quieten things down across those western powers as we go through chews day rain clearing away from that east side of scotland and england diving down into the low countries a snare is a front seeing some rather wet weather for at times the snow there over the alps and snow down towards that their accounts easing through remain here hungry seeing some snow pushing across into parts of ukraine as well quite a few showers as well for good measure down into the mediterranean we'll see some much weather around southern parts of italy into sicily grace seeing some showers as well blustery conditions his choppy waters and across central and eastern parts of the madness not a whole lot better as we go on into wednesday more wintry florist out towards the southeast was a black sea the eastern parts of turkey quater whether they're coming back in across the british isles well she quite safe western parts of france through spain and portugal quite soon across northern parts of africa at least away from the north coast of libya and also for egypt. frank assessments the world is on the brink of a catastrophic model failure is that a fair assessment you could be a catastrophic failure to twice valuable backseat informed opinions should we be buying bit coy ultimately it will be sovereigns and governments who are buying this that is the direction this is all headed in-depth analysis of the day's global headlines inside story on out 0. and again this is al jazeera let's remind you of the main news this the u.s. secretaries of state and defense are in japan on their 1st overseas trip the american officials say that the visit which includes a stop in south korea will be used to close revitalize ties with allies. world health organization experts are meeting to analyze data on the safety of the astra zeneca baxi germany france and italy now join several others in suspending the jap until reports of blood clots can be investigated. streets are empty businesses closed in the brazilian state of some polo after emergency restrictions came into effect on monday the health minister has been replaced again as the outbreak that hits record levels. in the coming hours libya's newly sworn in unity government is expected to begin its work the u.n. backed efforts is meant to help bring stability ahead of elections in december but us with an estimated $20000.00 foreign faces still in the country security will be a challenge for the government trying to reports now from tripoli. after years of divisions libya's new unity government is formed in the eastern city of 2 brooke. 35 ministers including the country's 1st female foreign minister were sworn into office. the ceremony was attended by members of parliament the new presidential council as well as several investors and broadcast on most t.v. channels here on what many are calling has. their main goal to leave the country until nationwide elections are held in december and. now is the time to live instead to give each other and forget the past. after years of divisions infighting and after many months of negotiations we're now able to announce a new government that unifies all libyans. the new prime minister abdul hamid to be has promised to improve government services and unify state institutions but that won't be easy but the hardest challenge facing this government will be forcing foreign fighters you know parts of this country out they constitute a major obstacle to the government and to elections so it must be a priority we do not want a foreign presence in libya and this is a popular demand we as well he is a local journalist in tripoli and says people want action we hope that this government will not be like their predecessors and help the average citizen for 10 years libyans have heard empty promises that's made it hard for them to believe politicians in order for the government to gain popular support they should focus on domestic issues that touch citizens like providing electricity in basic services before looking to international and political issues. while the government has many challenges for many here in tripoli it's covert 19 that needs to be addressed 1st. the government needs to focus on the health sector make getting covert 900 vaccines a priority once we get it under control we can begin to look at other issues. after being sworn into office in the eastern city of tobruk the new executive authority returned to tripoli the outgoing prime minister. will hand over power on tuesday in libya's 1st peaceful transition since 2012 and with that the beginning of a difficult road for the national unity government now trainer al jazeera triple. the u.n. special envoy for syria has said that the war is one of the darkest chapters in recent history peson was briefing the un security council on the 10th anniversary of the conflict our diplomatic editor james pace looks back now at a decade of failed diplomacy the b.b.c. meeting of the security council is called to order for 10 years the security council has held this monthly meeting the u.n. though is not just an observer to the war in syria it's been a key part of the tragedy the council remains deeply divided on the issue diplomacy is stalled and despite the mounting war crimes over 10 years no one can be held accountable after russia and china use their vetoes to block or refer to the international criminal court has the un and in particular the security council failed the people of syria it is clear that if award last 10 years the international security governance system that we have. he's not effected and this is something that should be a source of reflection about everybody involved i put the same question to the un special envoy pedersen who's been holding talks on a new constitution for the country talks that have made no progress whatsoever in almost a year and a half has the un and in particular the security council failed the people of syria . yes could be a very very. good year i think if you look at the apparent years. of the syrian people now i lived through it is no doubt that martial community and the security council the international system has failed syria mr patterson believes that the new format may be needed for international diplomacy on syria there's already a start up process involving turkey russia and iran but he told me that the u.s. needs to be among the countries at the table to decide the next steps for syria james bays out 0 at the united nations. in myanmar people in the ngo on a fleeing one of the districts put on the martial law local media are reporting columns of traffic and people on the roads as far as they can see the city became a battleground on monday a security forces escalated that crackdown on anti crew protests this activists say that at least 20 people were killed bank employees across india have called for a 2 day strike to condemn the government's decision to privatized public sector banks some services were affected as tens of thousands protested against the proposed plan the strike was called by the united form a bank union's umbrella organization representing 9 banking unions. the netherlands goes to the polls in a general election on wednesday the issue of race is playing a major part in campaigning the behind party says the country has failed to face its colonial past but our bottle reports from amsterdam. the stormy weather in amsterdam did little to deter a dutch parliamentary candidate silvana simmons thanks to a well known former t.v. star simmons entered politics 5 years ago the party by ayn is campaigning to end racism and inequality in the netherlands you know we need to stop it because you know we equal and therefore everyone is entitled all deserve the same rights simmons came to the netherlands as a baby from the former dutch colony of sarah nom she says that the image of the netherlands is an inclusive society is far from reality she's on surprised by the rise of far right parties we've been served politics that say. be afraid of everybody that doesn't look like you it's been going on for 20 years it's not something that just came up this is a right wing country we have to accept that for simmons and her party more diversity in mainstream national politics is essential to help change the attitudes in the netherlands and help end what she calls institutionalized racism michel as a yes runs the black archives a project or documents discrimination in dutch society its books artifacts and clippings are a catalogue of oppression and a testament to those who fought against it and so yeah says that the root of the problem lies in the netherlands failure to face its colonial past and that legacy is still visible in present day society and the daily basis people are confronted with different forms of racism and racism islamophobia there's a lot of research showing it. however unfortunately there's not enough acknowledgement from the government that this is a serious problem prime minister margaret is hoping to be elected for a 4th term despite his center right government resigning in january after a child benefit scandal tens of thousands of people were wrongly accused of fraud the majority immigrant families targeted by the tax office prime minister was convicted in 2007 for racism and discrimination yet after that he became prime minister and he has been for over 10 years so this is how institutionalized it is simmons knows that her party is unlikely to win the election but she hopes to become the 1st black woman party leader to win a dutch parliamentary seat for her supporters that would be a huge victory and to sign that the winds of change may be blowing natasha butler al-jazeera abs to. a significant step in the countdown to the proposed the postponed olympic games in tokyo organizers have confirmed that the torch relay will go ahead in 9 days before then they hope to make a final decision on whether to allow foreign fans into japan for the games which are due to begin in july. once an outsider netflix is dominating the academy award south for a year of lockdowns the streaming service has received $35.00 oscar nominations to 16 of its productions a record number of women a bethink banaras he's been nominated will brunell's reports. in a year that saw theaters shuttered and movie fans marooned in front of their t.v. sets the netflix drama menke about an alcoholic screenwriters foray into 1930 s. hollywood won the biggest number of academy award nominations with 10 including for best picture david fincher was nominated for best director and gary oldman for best actor other best picture nods went to no man's land minori judas in the black messiah promising young woman the father sound of metal and the trial of the chicago 7 these defendants had a plan and the plan was to incite a right to women directors were nominated a 1st in the 93 years of oscars chloe zhao for a no man's land and emerald fennel for promising young woman what happens in life under i'm usual circumstances given what happened right why i chopped out i'm not the only one didn't believe it all a record number of 76 nominations went to women film professionals it was a kind of historic all the way around for actually spreading things out and getting more diversity across gender lines and also race but i think there are still so much more that needs to be done also for the 1st time an asian american actor was tipped for best actor steven un was nominated for me nare the story of a korean american family trying to make a go of farming in the rural south places tend to be good programs. date events from some of the. you know on a bare faced sort of a movie need being nominate in that some point. roland. did you cry and other best actor nominations went to anthony hopkins for the father . made for sound of metal and a posthumous nomination for chadwick boseman in my rainey's black bottom becoming goldman's death from cancer last year at the age of just 43 shocked and saddened its many fans. about that about the kind of god god god god he did i think a lot of people would say he's the sentimental favorite not just for his performance bottom but truly for his body of work in the best actress category frances mcdormand received her 6th us her nomination for nomad land and viola davis got her 4th nomination from our rainey's black bottom the other actresses nominated r. carey mulligan for promising young woman but s. occur before pieces of a woman and andra day for the united states versus billie holiday the oscars award ceremonies will be held mostly virtually on april 25th robert oulds al jazeera los angeles. it is could tell you with us how our adrian finighan here in doha the headlines and i was there at the.