Transcripts For ALJAZ NEWSHOUR 20240712

Attack by i saw in afghanistan of a 20 killed in a prison gun battle we take a look at the armed groups growing threat. Back in business zimbabwes Stock Exchange reopens giving some hope economy might revive. And in sports after a hiatus lasting almost 5 months tan it is making its official return a dilemma open as a 1st for a ban to take place since a coronavirus lockdown. People around the world are facing strict new coronavirus rules and restrictions governments are trying to stamp out a rising infection rates while avoiding the full economic shutdowns they imposed earlier this year a global tally by Johns Hopkins University Shows the number of reported cases is now more than 18000010600000 have recovered and about 690000 people have died. The philippines has reported more than 3200 new crew. And virus infections are pushing it close to overtaking indonesia as the worst hit country in Southeast Asia tougher restrictions are being reimposed in and around manila half the infections jumped to more than 100000 from tuesday businesses and public transport are expected to close and people who need special passes to leave home i have heard do call up different groups from to medical Community Voted in. Gun munity board in dean issue q in making manila a fully understand where you both orders would lead to us for such a time will be of you they have been in the front lines for the mines are exhausted but humid and joins us now live from minute to minute so tell us more about these lockdown measures and how do people feel about this. Well as you know the philippines already implemented one of the worlds strongest most strictest lock down from march up until the end of around june now when they decided to ease restrictions the number of coronavirus confirmed cases was around 18000. 00 and the government was under intense pressure to reopen the economy because of the impact where more than 2000000. 00 filipinos have already lost their jobs over one 100000 filipino overseas workers have returned over 100000 more need to come back within the next 2 months but the cases continued to go up and so this call by Health Medical workers are basically appealing to the government to allow them to have a 2 week lockdown hoping basically they see that there will be enough time to slow down transmissions and to decongest wards in hospitals that have now been fall in terms of its capacity as you know hospitals both public and private have been sending out memos actually informing the public that they are beyond capacity at this point or theyre everyone basically to stay at home. As you mentioned their Health Workers say that the burning out talking about in Community Quarantine is that likely to go ahead. Well it is unlikely basically that the government will now implement the thought the lockdown which they call enhanced Community Quarantine that call on its old by medical workers was a distress call camp and the message was very clear they are under distress they do not have enough time to recover in terms of you know even medical workers front line workers have destined positive thousands of them of tested positive not to mention soldiers and Police Officers of also been on the front lines but as mentioned it is unlikely that a total lockdown will happen again up until august 13th the government and im so ready admit that as well that there is not enough funds at the moment to provide cash aid should they decide to put under lockdown more than 15000000 people across the entire region of luzon so this current stricter protocol an announcement that theyre to last night is expected to provide and just to restrict movement. Through different communities so domestic flights will be canceled for about 2 weeks transportations will be banned and there will be more checkpoints in metro manila and in the air by provinces here in the region of the zone jim thanks so much for that update you and going there live from manila. State of victoria has ordered large parts of its economy to close as it bettles a 2nd wave of covert 1000. 00 infections follows the introduction of a nightly curfew and more restrictions on peoples movements in melbourne actually gauge reports from city. The heart of no been eerily empty and quiet as a 6 week citywide overnight curfew begins its new a 5000000 residents walk to a new normal and further restrictions the victorian State Government has ordered more parts of the economy to shut down including in retail manufacturing and construction most dog never thought that i would be telling people not to go to work that is what we have to do in order to stop the spread of this wadley infectious virus on sunday the movement of people with further touch and with residents not allowed to move further than 5 kilometers away from their homes say this is a little set up with schools again closed and 1000000 stuck indoors many people including kate moulton are again juggling work on a fallacious and homeschooling. But definitely. This time around we feel like its really looked down regional victoria is also facing partial lockdown though not as strict as melbourne some say the new measures will trigger thousands of job losses and stand downs statewide it is hard to businesses now that it got through 6 weeks and then work out how they ran. Out some businesses. Financial grants will be available for businesses forced to close as well as workers who have exhausted sick leave what were dealing with here is i disaster. And we need to respond on the bices of the why we provide support in the design while border closures have largely kept the virus within the state of victoria there are clusters of merging with the New South Wales in particular and the federal government has warned the economic fallout will be nationwide victoria makes up about a quarter of the National Economy and with had 19 cases remaining in the triple digits direly many are wondering if its realistic that numbers can be driven down in 6 weeks gauge aljazeera sydney. The u. K. Government says its rolling out tests for the coronavirus that can provide a result with a 90 minutes millions of these are to be sent to hospitals care homes and bar trees so if he is next week some Health Experts voiced concern over just how reliable the new tests will be they speak not sonny gago who is outside St Thomas Hospital in london song to tell us more about these quick tests and what it might mean for the country moving forward. Ok miss it was announced by the Health Secretary back tank top that these new tests about 5800000 a good start to be rolled out next week are going to look. More effective target testing using d. N. A. Samples and you still have about some half a 1000000 that will be using the conventional nasal of the throat swabs as well but this is designed really to release of step down and try and test as much as possible of course that was you remember that at the start of when the pandemic really fully hit the country here there was a lot of controversy that not enough testing was being done in particular and care Home Settings where the pandemic ravaged that particular sector so this is hopefully going to be conducive to try and sort of test it out and more white race. Injuring areas it doesnt have to be tested by a medical Health Member of staff and this will ensure that there will be a lot more testing that is widely available to people who need it as the u. K. And as england in particular actually maintains its source of light lockdown in certain areas of course this does mean that there will be possibly a rise in certain cases but this has a number of data scientists actually a little bit worried fact that if there is a misstep misinterpretation tween in these tests that it could lead to unnecessary lockdowns as well or as there are there are optics in those cases because there is more testing taking place in the community hence weve seen localized lockdown and the areas such as leicester and manchester but this is to be expected once you have this kind of Community Based testing a bailable that so but that is something that were hoping to roll out of course in anticipation of winter where of course that will be in tandem with the flu season and with that people will be able to be tested not just for the food but also for cove it as well ok so lets talk a minute about germany its changing its rules about those coming back into the country tell us more about that. Well yes and given the amount of spikes that have been seen in certain parts of europe pockets of europe especially in spain for example luxembourg. In germany is now actually hound showing that and saying that testing needs to be done and everyone whos arriving back into the country particular train stations and airports as well and it all comes from this fear that many leaders are seeing around europe that this initial wave of the pandemic is is sprouting up in certain areas again and this of course kim is is really its the height of the tourist season people all over the continent are travelling and so while there has been a relaxation of lockdown in many countries as well there are fears that what have been seen in parts of spain where theyve been the enormous spikes really in sort of concentrated areas places where many germans do travel to was well during the summer that may well have missed the chance of sort of bringing it back to getting the whole thing yet more spikes in certain areas while the something that many governments are desperate to try and avoid as much as possible again we go back to that point where really it is absolutely parroted that in order to try and isolate those cases testing is absolutely crucial to that as well as tracing those cases and that is something that the German Government is citing that it has to do in order to keep on top of those cases i think of that across one sunday gago line from london. More than 200000 people have died due to the pandemic and that in america and a quarter of them are in mexico which has the worlds 3rd highest number of deaths also being hit hard to brazil colombia and chile and europe at 0 has more or new cases of corona virus show no signs of slowing down in latin america. In argentina which had largely kept the outbreak under control this is meant a return to lock down restrictions for 2 weeks as cases there are once again on the rise and you know why dont you want the newness will be the big problem we kept having the last 15 days is that we all relaxed we all felt that the situation was contained and the situation is not contained. A lot down in colombia was also recently extended through the end of august colombia is among the countries in south america showing the most alarming rates of contagion that is going to you know. There are people who dont follow the rules to go out even without a mask or use it incorrectly so were in a complicated phase of the pandemic and theres a lot of contagion. Latin america is home to an estimated 8 percent of the worlds population but accounts for nearly a 3rd of the worlds coronavirus debts with brazil and mexico making up a majority of the fatalities in the region. In the case of brazil the government has faced heavy criticism for lacking a unified approach to containment efforts with president. Hu card coded 900. 00 himself often appearing in public without a mask. The same is true in mexico where the countrys president often makes statements that contradict Health Officials such as the recommendation that people wear masks to prevent the spread of the virus memory up when there are. You know when im going to put on a mask when theres no corruption and it will then ill put on a mosque there will still talking to. The u. N. Warns the impact of the pandemic on latin american economies could a man. To a 10 year setback in terms of g. D. P. Yet as countries work to reopen businesses the seemingly unstoppable wave of contagion thats gripped the region is making these efforts near impossible. Aljazeera. Kosovos Prime Ministers self isolation for 2 weeks after testing positive of donohoe says hes not showing any symptoms except a mild cough this government is being criticized for its handling of the outbreak especially since the rise in infections recently. But more ahead on the news our including. Accused of planting bombs along the border israels army hits what its calling a terrace wall to. A refuge if a sign language users opens it north of us a darwinian when it comes to sight of coffee. This board is a new day at the top of golfs World Rankings garcia with that story. Several prisoners have escaped after a suicide bomb attack on a jail in eastern afghanistan. The sun. I saw a list claiming responsibility for the gun battle which killed at least 29 people and injured dozens Afghan Security forces arrived after several explosions outside the prison in the city of jalalabad. And will analyze the rising threat of eisel in afghanistan a little later in the program. Lebanons a foreign minister has resigned thus if he says he couldnt continue because of the governments poor performance lebanon is close to bankruptcy and politicians accused of running the economy into the ground and shown no willingness to fight corruption to receive a bailout from the International Monetary fund said huldah has more from the capital by. The Foreign Ministers resignation is being seen as a blow to Prime Minister has given his government hes been trying really to gain credibility and legitimacy at home and abroad since taking office in january but he has largely failed to do so the Prime Minister made many many promises like to fight corruption to fix the Economic Situation nothing has changed in fact the situation is only getting worse and now criticism from within his own government the foreign minister saying that levanon is becoming a failed state hes accusing those in power of not having a vision a saying that they are not carrying out the 4 reforms that are needed to be able to be eligible for much needed International Financial assistance in fact talks with the International Monetary fund to bailout the economy are now on hold and the statistics really are staggering more and more people are losing jobs businesses are closing in fact an agency recently said that 500000 children are growing hungry just in the beirut area alone so the situation is worsening the foreign minister saying that the government has done nothing and really raising the alarm saying that the sink the ship is sinking and if it is not saved everyone will drown in a clear reference that the government itself and those who hold power who are starting to want to mentation power they too will drown if no solution is found. Hamas has described overnight israeli air strikes of gaza as a dangerous escalation Israeli Military says it targeted several sites offer a rocket was initially fired from gaza this is the 1st such exchange in a month. The Israeli Army Says its killed 4 feiss in the occupied Golan Heights its released this video accusing them of planting explosives along the border fence and the tree described them as a terrorist quote it says the Syrian Regime is ultimately responsible the video coming verified and of her claim to the attack by force that is a western missile and he says an investigation is still in the way i mean to base it in the account friendly Israeli Military they say that what took place was this group of what they call terrorists coming into israeli controlled territory in the southern occupied Golan Heights they say they were trying to plant explosives at an unmanned Israeli Military outpost that they were tracked as they did so and they were fired upon by troops on the ground and from the as symbols heinously and all 4 of them were killed what we dont know and what the Israeli Military says they are investigating as to whether there is any link between this whether its an isolated incident or is connected to the already heightened security situation in israels north israel has been reinforcing its troops along the border with lebanon and in the occupied Golan Heights in anticipation of a potential hezbollah attack thought to be likely to come from lebanese territory that soft as bar fight was killed in an airstrike inside syria last month has a long standing promise to retaliate to any of its fighters being killed inside syrian territory and to be there was an incident weeks ago on monday when israel fired upon and it says drove back a group of would be infiltrators into its controlled territory in the disputed shebaa farms area as well as sudden there was no attack carried out in that instance so the Israeli Military is saying that there is currently no known connection between what took place overnight but it is investigating the situation. Russian air strikes have killed at least 3 people in Northern Syria 5 others were injured when a bomb bombs rather hit a weapons depots in the city of bin ish in a rebel held the province last month un investigators accuse russia and its syrian allies of indiscriminate bombardment of civilians. Trading has resumed in zimbabwes Stock Exchange after a month long suspension to try and stabilize the currency above windsor suffering 800 Percent Inflation and their worst financial crisis in more than a decade thats being worsened by coronavirus lockdown Restrictions Police have arrested activists demanding the fall of the ruling zanu p. F. Party in connection with corruption allegations or herman tussle joins me now live from her so did the closing of the Stock Exchange actually helped to stabilize inflation i imagine 800 percent must really be being felt by ordinary people. Well its too early to tell government Officials Say some companies and some individuals are using more money platforms to buy shares even sell their shares and move their money outside the country which is fuelling the black market and causing foreign currency shortages of his own Investigations Companies are now allowed to trade except for 3 old neutral p. P. C. And feed co but they still under investigation theyre also saying that the reason why they introduced the weekly auction system is because if you try and make sure that the rates of the us dollar and as involved a dollar is determined on a weekly basis theyre saying this would hope stabilize the economy and also stabilize the black market as well so a lot of people are now wondering is this going to work ordinary zimbabweans are saying they re not seeing much difference they saying that the salaries and they savings are being eroded by high inflation which is nearly 800 percent they complain when they go into supermarket yes they see products on the shelves from zimbabwe so that for the other countries but they just too expensive to buy the government says its introduced a cushioning allowance for Civil Servants and pensioners but because of logistical issues some people say they have been able to access that money and for the viral people in may new rule areas where they are struggling to feed themselves because of a prolonged drought for example theyre saying the money the government promised them still hasnt come and here as tensions rise activists are reporting this human rights abuses are also on the rise in the country tell us about that. While when relevant i was removed from power joining a coup in 2017 president in a 7 and out i came in and he said hes promising reforms reforms in the economy and reforms and it comes to human rights abuses his critics say that he failed in to turn around the economy and when it comes to human rights abuses activists are saying that they see more race and more abuse on friday opposition. Then activists tried to hold a protest in the capital harare but police and soldiers had rolled drugs all over the city and only people who work in you think will services were allowed to come into the city center with a protest was made to take place basically only nurses doctors security guards people who work in government offices were allowed in everyone else was told to go back home human rights lawyer they document that people were arrested on friday some of them were released on bail over the weekend which include apartment and the focus person for the Main Opposition Party the alliance but some people are still in jail waiting for their bail hearing on monday opposition leader. And a freelance journalist hopeful john warner who own race 2 weeks ago accused of inciting violence accuse of encouraging people to protest over the economy and corruption they are hearing on monday figure that home with us there live from harare a week of fighting in sudan has killed at least 5 people and destroyed around 1300. 00 homes drenching rain has lashed the blue now province cutting off roads and damaging vast areas of farmland the deluge also caused a dam to collapse worsening the disaster for many poor sudanese farmers. Was in bad ways going back to the stories about economic troubles have been compounded by the corona Virus Outbreak the World Food Programme is warning that by the end of the year 60 percent of the population will lack frood security the pandemic has highlighted the impact of corruption on zimbabwes economy Transparency International estimates of course almost 2000000000 dollars each year in april doctors in zimbabwe took the government to court nurses went on strike over the lack of protective equipment the zanu p. F. Ruling party has been cracking down on attempts to expose corruption and investigative journalist and dozens of activists and opposition politicians have been arrested in recent weeks. Lets bring in vince maceo an economist from what i thank you for your time things obviously bad before coronavirus how badly has the pandemic compounded the situation in zimbabwe and will the governments efforts to control inflation work well you know that the pandemic then was taken you know simply because number one we had to close the borders orders were closed down of south africa botswana countries that are around him bob and this is obviously stifled a lot of trade a lot of zimbabwe going from a market for example bring groups from south Africa Zambia and all over the region so the growth closure would have meant that many of the people had become suddenly an employer and you know the government. Promised that there would be some questioning but no one has seen that question incumbent so people are really in a fix regarding income back on you know on disposable income people dont have enough to manage went buy food and water to survive during this particular knock that on the issue of inflation that we will continue to have in place should you know its sitting 800 percent bound to put in you simply because number one we always put in company we can report a lot of the yes so we always price the meat in the us rate adulterate and as long as thats keeps going up the cost of those in the supermarkets would be to increase and there is no increase in this one going to come which means that everybody is really feeling this week. A lot of people seem to be demanding to be paid and u. S. Dollars there seems to be a real lack of faith in the local currency how do you think the government can tackle that. Well you know as long as we have instability as long as we dont get on with the currency it will continue to be weak and a lot of people i think thats what is the point to pay not each month when incurring that weakening and we get there the next on medicare and trying to really catch 22. 00 situation because the government does not have enough foreign currency to be able to pay federal dollars and a lot of company also dont have the u. S. Dollars in order to be for them to be able to pay simply because of the Office Shutdown of the National Market export of come down which means the nation is in 48. 00 states so the question is that ok fine we want to be paid in us dollars and when you want to be paid youre not us but where is the money going to come from and be no solution to that how is the current Economic Situation stoking political tensions stoking unrest. Well you know i guess significant majority allow for that i mean very lives have been you know the poverty is increasing people cannot get access to Services People cannot get access to Health Services and then it is a duck that right so it would be. Totally totally dissatisfied with the Current Situation and simply because nobodys able to survive and were beginning to say if theres a point. You should be with. Is that its the agreement with the opposition or when the what a less pollution in this Current System is not working and its failing to deliver what the citizens are expecting and people are angry. Of course that you know highly i mean brought to light in british. Speak right now and. Thank you so much for your time vince the same way that an economist. You must work. The time after the weather has ever time with news of flooding in south korea yeah thats right kim the seasonal rains of course have been particularly heavy this year its a little quieter now but as we go into the end of the wait we will see more heavy rain coming through and heres why this circulation just very close to taiwan that says struggle storm had to pit and that will make its way into eastern china gradually push back up towards the Korean Peninsula you see this area cloud across the Korean Peninsula at the moment sunday was a particularly wet have very wet day here brought some very heavy rain in damaging downpours floods and mudslides is a result of the heavy and steady rain that went on for a good part of the day this is the sole area that wetter weather will gradually make its way further east which as we go through the next couple days it back down towards the high group its its in the process of intensifying its likely to make landfall very close to shanghai within the next 7 or 8 hours or so and then it will run up that eastern side of china bringing heavy rain in here when seizing out gather a little more strength as it runs up towards the Korean Peninsula bringing further heavy rainfall for the end of the week across a good part of the Korean Peninsula further west it seems a very heavy rain of course into the northeast of india recently another spell of very wet weather developing at the moment just around more than parts of the by a single that wetter weather will make its way further west which is be going through the next couple of days joining up with some very high if you rain right along the western gaskin thank you every 10. So come on al jazeera. Were in a real crisis right now in this country a warning millions of children in these us are going hungry as people wait for coronavirus help plus. I robot friday night and on south korea the countrys cultural heartland as it celebrates its World Heritage treasures. And inspire the sun stay alive in their heart for playoff spots are having any action later in the process. As a weapon of war leaves the very deepest scars. Scars so rule that the victims men and women can barely talk about it. They are the only witnesses who can help bring about justice aljazeera follows human rights campaigners in libya investigating right since the 2011 revolution. Libya unspeakable crime on aljazeera. Setting the discussions we are living at times when were going to have to defend our democracy examining the headlines this is not the way to treat a my good work a nice little way to treat a human explore an abundance of world class programming designed to inform motivate and inspire. The world is watching on aljazeera. The and the the and. Youre watching our jazeera reminder of our top stories this hour the philippines has reported more than 3200. 00 new coronavirus cases is close to overtaking indeed nature is the worst hit nation in Southeast Asia tougher restrictions are being reimposed in and around the capital manila. All nonessential businesses in australia 2nd largest city melbourne have been ordered to close because certain infections 5000000 citizens already under a 6 week stay at home order have just finished their 1st overnight curfew. And afghan Officials Say at least 29 people have been killed and i salute the president tonight about complex is home to 1500 inmates and its not yet known how many have escaped. His link to eisele in afghanistan have claimed responsibility for many recent attacks one of the worst so far this year was the suicide bombing which killed 32. 00 mourners at a funeral for a Police Commander in may the United Nations latest estimate is that i still has around 2200. 00 fighters in afghanistan while i still is in territorial retreat with its leadership depleted the u. N. Says it remains capable of carrying out high profile attacks and various parts of the country the u. N. Recorded 17 isolette attacks during the 1st 6 months of this year which calls civilian casualties. Lets bring in kate clark codirector of the Afghanistan Analyst Network a policy Research Think tank thanks for your time case so how strong is eisel in afghanistan. So theres as you said territorial it territorially it is in retreat it was never particularly it never held. Huge tracts of land but it did hold significant districts in the east of the country and a combined fight between Afghan Government forces including civilian. Forces raised from the civilians in the local area u. S. Air strikes us on the ground and the taliban basically cleared it out of much of eastern afghanistan and elsewhere it only ever held pockets. However what happened is that after a lull in isis claimed attacks of the sort of nasty urban terrorist attacks that often. From from isis it they they target shia muslim afghans there was a big lull in those last year last year this this year they seem to have gone up however i would say its quite murky as to who exactly is involved and who is behind many of the attacks ok it why do you think that we have seen this increase in attacks this year. Well if the war is actually becoming more difficult to read and we had the agreement between the United States and the taliban right at the end of february. Which the on the back of that the u. S. Withdrew thousands of its troops it said that the taliban had also agreed to a reduction fine if the taliban said no absolutely not weve only agreed not to attack u. S. Forces and not to attack him in major cities in bases now sits and the taliban of really been probing to see how much violence they can get away with without drawing the u. S. Military back into the war and we know that both the taliban and the government have been under claiming attacks whereas before they would probably be exaggerating what they were doing on the battlefield now theyre there theyre not claiming so many so its actually quite difficult to read who is responsible for what anymore and weve also had an a surge an unclaimed attacks or attacks that are difficult to pin down and we saw this the u. N. Releases. Reports on civilians hand in the conflict and for this 6 months the number of a tax which were insurgent but i didnt claimed all couldnt really be pinned down they went from 3 percent of the total civilians killed or injured overall to 6 percent so weve seen i would say a as as politics become more important and it becomes important to play down on certainly for the taliban what theyre doing the level of. Of our ability to read the conflict as whos doing what i would say has diminished as you thank you for an asterisk a cart there codirector of a afghanistan analysts network. There are reports that Israeli Settlers have poisoned a dozen sheep in the occupied west bank. Village she east of ramallah say this is the 2nd such incident in the past 10 days un has recorded 155 separate attacks on palestinians and their property since the start of 2020. The latest talks to break the deadlock over africas largest hydroelectric dam a jew to resume in the next hour after negotiations a week ago failed if europeans have been celebrating progress in the construction of you dam the 4 point 6000000000. 00 brand renees on stand is expected to reach full Power Generation capacity within 3 years downstream countries egypt and saddam a worry that theyll receive less water which thing. Samsung has become the 1st company in south korea to open an inhouse Testing Center for corona virus is a facility at its main campus south of the capital seoul will save time as it marches the health of employees the firm which employs tens of thousands nationwide open Testing Centers at other production sites south korea had early success containing the virus but has been battling a series of small persistent breaks in recent months. U. S. Politicians will meet again on monday to negotiate another coronavirus aid package and while they argue tens of millions of unemployed americans are still struggling since april a 600. 00 weekly payment has been a lifeline for families on friday democrats and republicans failed to reach an agreement on whether to allow the program to continue republicans want to reduce funding but a divided on how far to go democrats want additional benefits meanwhile theres growing uncertainty about whether the children will go back to school in the u. S. Many of them rely on school meals to make up for a lack of food at home they need to move is chief executive of world central kitchen he says millions of children in the us are gone hungry extra funding is urgently required. Were in a real crisis right now in this country according to the Brookings Institute about 14000000 American Children are going hungry each week and according to u. S. Census numbers about 30000000 americans say they are not getting enough food so its its a big challenge thats in front of us right now here in the United States weve served about 25000000 fresh meals now over the past 4 months and you know it is were not seeing a lot of signs of things Getting Better theres a number of things that need to be done urgently that we are supporting and trying to to do our part to to help raise awareness and education i think for sure we need to prioritize funding for meals for schools its clear that schools are not going to reopen across the country in the fall and for so many families this is where kids get their meals and so we need to make sure those schools are properly funded and supported School Kitchens are able to activate am preparing meals i think we also need to enable our federal Emergency Management agency so this is the agency that goes in after hurricanes wildfires and provides meals you know its its been a bit of a confusion for them because this is not your traditional Natural Disaster but the reality is our country is facing a crisis and fema right now has a lot of money to respond to disasters and we need to get those funds on locked to pay for meals for families and especially for children right now. The 1st major wildfire of the season in Southern California has forced nearly 8000 americans from their homes water bombing aircraft in the sky and n b a firefighters on the ground are up against hot dry weather thats forecast to continue reports from los angeles. The fire in Riverside County east of los angeles has burned more than 8000 hectares and destroyed at least one home as well as numerous other structures approximately 7800 people have been evacuated from their homes this is a major far and it will be going on for a couple of days more than 1300 firefighters from across the state assisted by helicopters and planes dropping fire retardant are battling the blaze there working in temperatures well above 37 degrees celsius amid dry gusty winds the fire is still out of control flames broke out late friday afternoon investigators suspect it may have been deliberately set by an arsonist Southern California has seen little rain for months and the dense brush is tinder dry the fire is burning its way into rugged hills that are hard for crews to reach authorities said folks we thank you what are you want to make sure. Everything is safe before we even think about repopulating due to code 19 the evacuees will not be housed overnight in large shelters instead the red cross is arranging accommodations at hotels which are largely empty due to the pandemic evacuees are getting their temperatures checked for fever and Evacuation Centers rob reynolds Al Jazeera Los Angeles tributes are being paid to a major influence in the Northern Ireland Peace Process john hume passed away aged 83 following a long illness the Catholic League won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping drive off the good friday Peace Agreement to 998 hes been described as the man who kept hope alive during the darkest days of fighting between catholic and protestant pastor the trick. To astral to back home after nasa is 1st splashed on for 47 years the space x. Dragon capsule landed in the sea off florida to end the 1st ever manned a mission by a private u. S. Company cutty about this has been. Its a commercial success story. The 1st crew mission to space led by a private Company Returns to earth u. S. Astronauts about banking and doug hurley back home where we have our 1st few. After their 2 Month Mission in the International Space station the astronauts were slowly helped out of the capsule as the Company Space x. Plans more ambitious projects we are starting the journey. Of bringing people regularly to and from lower earth orbit. And on to the moon and then ultimately on to mars things looking good now the success of a test flight could lead to a new booming industry nasa is no longer the purchaser owner an operator of all the hardware we are going to be a customer one customer of many customers in a very robust commercial marketplace. To save money and redirect resources and 2014 nasa turn to commercial Companies Like boeing and space x. For space flight programs and now Additional Missions research and even tourism could fall out you on musks space x. Is going to be one service boeing is going to come online probably later this year theyre going to complete another crude test flight so they can begin flying astronauts next year Virgin Galactic is looking at flying astronaut so this is just the beginning it took more than 18 hours to get back home the socalled dragon capsule endure temperatures of more than 1800. 00 degrees celsius as it reentered the earths atmosphere theres Something Special about having that capability to launch an. And bring your own astronauts home and we went through a lot of years without that capability and i think were both super super proud to have been just a small part of the team that accomplished bringing those space flights back to the florida coast and bringing that capability back to america. And a giant leap in the way space travel. That powered these astronauts into the history books the 1st. Since the shuttle was retired nearly a decade ago. Still ahead and well hear from the. Last 5 months. It will. Turn out the sport has far thanks cam after a hiatus lasting almost 5 months tennis is making its official return of palermo open is a 1st for a band to take place since a coronavirus lockdown at the richardson reports. The palermo open is normally a low key event but this year it has global significance it marks the official return of professional tennis after coronavirus forced the suspension of both the mens and womens tools in march Strict Health protocols are in place one n one player did test positive for coverage 19 with competitors being tested regularly before and after their arrival in italy and while limited numbers of spectators are being allowed in players can have just one member of the support team with them inside the venue i mean it feels pretty safe we have a mark mask on relieved or a towel homilies are told room i mean its pretty safe to to be in the room to take the takeaway food to get some room service but also on Court Coaching will be different. But i mean its up to the players also to figure out. Takes time to kind of adjust or figure out everything you need to do on the other her i think its necessary i think we all need to do it its something that makes us makes us feel safe not all players are as keen to travel at this time wimbledon champion simona halep decided not to make the trip to poland and world number one ashley barty made an early decision to pull out of the u. S. Open what will be the years 2nd grand slam tournament is due to start at the end of this month behind closed doors. Compare treatment curiosus also withdrawn from the event due to Health Concerns and even those who are committed to playing in new york except the risks are involved. I was thinking maybe of maybe trying to travel somewhere before all weather training but then its like then youre increasing your risk of potentially you know catching a virus which then means. Essentially can train or travel for a couple of. Like playing a grand slam and the Global Nature of the tennis calendar and its players has traditionally been a strength right now it looks to be sweetness on the richardson aljazeera and the n. B. A. The phoenix suns came back to star in the playoff bound Dallas Mavericks the suns trail for most of the 1st half of dominating the 3rd quarter Cameron Johnson had 19 points and 12 rebounds to help phoenix 21172115 when this is dallas a 2nd Straight Loss in florida but they still managed to clinch a playoff spot. Americas Justin Thomas has claimed a title and goals world the one spot a closing round of 65. 00 at the st jude invitational in memphis brought thomas his 13th tore victory is now back on top of the rankings for the 1st time since 2818. 00 the opening major of the year the u. S. P. G. A. Championship tees off on thursday. Danielle carrier won the 1st womens tournament to be held in the u. S. And the crown a virus locked down the american finish on 7 under par at the end for an ass club in ohio to scare victory by a single stroke. Lewis hamilton has won the british grand prix its the 7th time the reigning World Champion has succeeded at silverstone the wind however ended up being far from routine as soho malik reports. This years british grand prix provided more drama than anyone could have realistically expected the race began pretty smoothly with Lewis Hamilton looking for a 3rd win in a row starting from the front with his mis eightys teammate develop 2 bottles alongside him the calm however didnt last long a safety call was needed after haas Driver Kevin Magnussen crashed out on the 1st night. It was called upon again soon after this time falling down the kid not spinning off on lap 12 but the real drama unfolded much later on in the race with 3 laps left who was in 2nd suffered a puncture the incident totally ruining the finn state causing him to finish outside the points in the 11th it opened the door for max to stop and to move behind hamilton who had dominated dust however seeing what happened to bought us the red bull driver pitted for fresh rubbers that stopped however might have cost him the win with hamilton following his teammate by getting a puncture on the final lap in the end the bridge managed to hang on to claim a 7th victory at his home grand prix ahead of a stop and with ferraris charles look look taken. And i was definitely like in the mouth kind of feeling because i wasnt quite sure if it would if it gone down until they hit the brakes an odyssey you could see the tire was falling off the the rim and then just driving it trying to keep the speed. You know because sometimes it will take off and the wing and all these Different Things oh my god i was just praying to try and get around me to slow. The way. This was the 1st of back to back races at silverstone the reigning World Champion will be hoping for a much smoother ride next time out so hell malik. And the Colorado Avalanche clenched a thrilling win over reigning family cat champions the st louis blues is in catteries buzzer beater with 110th of a 2nd left on the coffee live to colorado to 81 when an ethnic. Ok and that is how you came back to you thanks for. Millions of South Koreans are finding holiday destinations closer to home because of the pandemic its good news for organizers of a cultural festival in the southeastern city of bell from where i reports. The Opening Event for a festival celebrating the essence of korean culture this one area can boast more unesco World Heritage sites than any other part of the country for many hundreds of years its been renowned as a center for buddhist and confucian learning and the home of korean ability its exemplified by the village of halfway meaning literally surrounded by water with every home lovingly preserved. This area is a place where not just a korean are deeply ingrained in flori buddhism from india and confusion china they are perfectly used to be with on the lying values of local folk culture and its part of a National Effort to promote korean culture the rich Cultural Heritage of this area makes it famous throughout south korea but relatively unvisited the organizers of this festival are hoping to change that making the most out of a pandemic that means people have no choice but to seek out iconic treasures on their own doorstep tongue up and go a little heavier but normally go abroad but this year inevitably we had to take our vacation at home. Its very peaceful and relaxing it was a good decision to come and it benefits. The main Temple Building here is beautiful its absolutely worthy of being. A World Heritage site. A region that believes it has a unique set of spiritual values that World Heritage status will help it promote internationally. Global pandemic has come as a big shock but never least we shouldnt suspend cultural activities its our duty as a society to carry on. Tapping into a rich cultural tradition as a source of comfort in Uncertain Times Robert Bright outers era and going south korea. The 1st sign language cafe an Office Attorney has opened its doors in the capital scopic its hopes the Business Venture will inspire thousands of other people with disabilities in the country who struggled to get work and by heavily on the state to help. Martin and red mill a long wanted to start their own business and after meeting others like them with hearing in speech impediments while traveling abroad they came up with an idea a cafe that welcomes and caters to such people along with other customers yes. During my time abroad i saw many ideas and learned that many different people have started their own businesses this gave us an idea to do the same. They received a state grant to help them and after months of preparation were about to open the cafe in march but then the coronavirus pandemic broke out not in that difficult the hardest thing was finding an interpreter that was the most difficult as time went by we thought we were going to make it the bank requires you to have an account but the law on the winsome changes which was a shock for us we somehow managed to find an interpreter but the problem was how to pay him martin and i were struggling to make our own living we could not paid interpretation services. But the pair overcame the challenges and hope their success can be an example to others customers can use a digital menu to make orders and also learn sign language they and government officials hope they can help change peoples attitudes to those with disabilities and show others they dont need state aid to start their own business. On the aim is to amend the law in this regard so theres as many people with disabilities as possible can join the open market rather than the particular one we have to raise awareness and consider people with disabilities as equal to all other workers in the country for now sign language is only used for ordering beverages but the couple intends to supplement that offer very soon with food car or leg aljazeera but so from a Conveyor Belt for the news hour 7 sat down will be here in just a moment but more of the days news to stay with us. Bustani out is aimed at the us republican and Democratic National conventions delegates officially nominate their partys president ial candidates for the 2020 elections in india with new spawn as a young conservationist tackling the deadly fumin and offend conflict with an unlikely strategy coexistence turn years off to the chilean mining disaster we revisit the victims of a story that captivated the world one on one east and has the violent and we know it makes martial arts in russia and the fully u. S. S. R. And the un special tribunal delivers its verdict on the assassination of former lebanese Prime Minister rafiq hariri ogust on aljazeera. Frank assessments saying. Theres. Life being sued its an informed opinion which is ethiopia on the verge of a breakdown many calls of the old immediate region are actually under a de facto state of emergency and critical debate of that is a proxy he does not have recently enters the bill of your people indepth analysis of the days global headlines inside story on aljazeera. On counting the cost the wealth of banks Prime Minister as a priority because built on the backs of slaves how much does britain know and reparations album pandemic could wipe out latin americas holiday and social and economic gains plus wild cards missing billions counting the cost of aljazeera. Back under along town millions in the philippines ordered to stay indoors a day off the highest number of corona virus infections in a single day. The 6 week period is absolutely critical victorias premier announces more restrictions a stray 2nd most populous state grapples with the surge in cases. This is al jazeera live from coming up