Welcome to the program 16 people have been arrested in lebanon as frustration grows over the governments response to tuesdays port explosion among those whove been taken into custody or officials from beirut pulled the death toll is now starting at 149 but search and rescue teams continue to scour the rubble for any survivors there were protests against the government of those the evening crowds also rallied as the french president manuel micro toward the damage streets hes backing calls for a new political order in lebanon Bennett Smith has more from beirut. Weve seen thousands of people out on the streets with shovels pickaxes brushes doing the cleanup because the government isnt we are just across from the main blast site youll see those standing grain silos and so the right of those where the explosion happened is a destroyed ship just beyond that and that everything that was in the way of the shockwave in the few just seconds it took to push out has been hit and destroyed and i am surrounded by debris. Glass by destroyed buildings everywhere that was in the way in the path of buckshot wave assault in the few seconds it took beirut looks like its been involved in conflicts there is really a lack of any assistance coming from the government in the best of times this is a very weak state with very weak social Service Provision and in a catastrophe like this theres very little the government clearly has is doing or is able to do we have seen n. G. O. S out on the streets weve seen people giving out food restaurants and takeaways shops giving out food on the streets and people giving out bottles of water but these are very very short classes to stay calm these massive gaping wounds its going to take years of course and there may be at least 300000 people without any homes to go to you can help them with n. G. O. S and volunteers are a few days but long term is an enormous challenge of what you can how you can help these people how you can really house people in this government is just not set up to do that. Its an election victory thats expected to cement the power of the rajapaksa brothers in sri lanka the governing party has recorded an overwhelming victory with nearly 60 percent of the vote the sri lanka peoples front is that by got the buyout and Mahinda Rajapaksa who served as president. And Prime Minister along with the allies it has secured a 2 thirds majority giving the president the power to make sweeping changes to the constitution by a saltiest set of on a mother who is an executive director at the think tank the center for policy alternatives he says the opposition is we can divide is there a big challenges ahead. I think whats what average access enduring was reaching out that he would require a strong stable government in comparison to what happened to him before in the sort of governance which the Prime Minister and the president to part is very weak and vacillating and dr united so strong stable government also the assertion of the identity of the Majority Community there is also a strong single biggest car with a strong sense of you know centralized leadership authoritarianism barriers an emphasis on law and order and on decision ultimately we cant continue them and we do that to speak and i think things will start there is now iraq because in addition to that the key challenge i think all president and the new government is going to be going on in terms of dealing with the consequences of the kuwait bank inquirers you know we see an actor has something right you missed dollars full 1000000000 a year from now until the 22020. 00 right and we have a Foreign Exchange earnings very badly hit of course by the wires the biking to the middle east the apparently industry and hospitality. So their essence which is that you guessed it. The Saudi Crown Prince is being accused of sending hit men to canada with plans to kill one of his former top intelligence officials. The alleged target has. The lawsuit in the us and its been reported there that interpol rejected a request to extradite back to saudi arabia because it was politically motivated when colonel reports. Crown Prince Mohammed bin solomon has been feted in the white house but now in papers before a washington d. C. Court hes alleged to have ordered death squads to torture and assessed an 8 opponents the case is being brought by a former saudi Intelligence Officer sardar japery who alleges the crown prince sent a team called the tigers squad to canada to kill him the Court Papers Say the men were denied entry by suspicious Canadian Border guards. This detailed flow chart submitted to the court identifies key members of the assassination squad and others involved including what are described as forensic technicians skilled in criminal evidence removal and their image of the hit squad that is believed to have murdered and dismembered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in istanbul in 2018 i know that there are women. All over the world in germany and france somebody noticed. Really basic run away from sort of because there. Are questions from the government which is. Totally and thats one of them is omar up to lindsay is also resident in canada mentioned in the court filing as another potential target of assassination and who posted this video in reaction to the news the case has been brought in terms of legislation that allows non us citizens to take action in federal courts against foreign individuals who have committed torture and or extra judicial killings in addition sod algebra he argues that the hit squad assembled in the United States before attempting to enter canada saddle japanese children now aged 20 and 21 are being held at an undisclosed location in saudi arabia as what he describes as human bait to draw him out of hiding last month 4 senators sent a letter to President Trump saying the u. S. Had a moral obligation to press saudi authorities for their release the president in the past has made clear that regardless of the allegations of Human Rights Violations against the Saudi Crown PrinceMohammed Bin Salman remains a valued ally and friend mike hanna aljazeera washington. India has become the 3rd country in the world to record 2000000 corona virus cases the covert 900 count has doubled in 3 weeks faster than the u. S. Or brazil which have higher numbers than epidemiologists say india is still months away from hitting its peak but the countrys Health System is already feeling the strain from the pandemic problem is in new delhi and says that the worst hit states asking for help from the government. India recorded yet another single highest a rise in cases more than 62000 cases and the worst hit state remains in maharashtra it recorded more than 11000 new cases on thursday the chief minister of the state is asking the Central Government to pay for more Treatment Centers there are already around 37000. 00 people either in hospitals or in Treatment Centers and there are still reports of people struggling to find beds especially in rural areas which have very Little Health care infrastructure elsewhere in the country cases are rising by around 10000. 00 in the Southern State of Andhra Pradesh the government there says thats because theyre testing more people than anywhere else in the country theyre testing around 50000. 00 a day despite the overall rise that were seeing around the country the Health Minister as always remains positive he says india is continuing to increase testing they are testing around 600000 people a day nationwide he also points to what he says is one of the lowest death rates in the world but we have to keep in mind that less than a shot of all deaths and via a medically certified so its really difficult if not impossible right now if you know how many of the deaths in the country are from coronavirus. China has accused the us of political manipulation after the us president issued an executive order banning businesses with 2 tech giants it blocks any transaction with the Parent Company of social media protect talk on the messenger app the sweeping restrictions come into effect in 45 days but to talk has threatened legal action trump says the chinese are gathering users data for beijing and pose a threat to u. S. National security well german descent is a see old social slow attack which helps Media Companies he says it was a lack of trust between the u. S. And china that led to trumps decision. Well i think the big concern has been the chinese ownership by dance its a Chinese Company and to talk has gone to Great Lengths to try to assure people that the Chinese Government has never requested that i dance provide or to provide information certainly not on u. S. Citizens i think the real concern though is the fact that they havent done that yet doesnt mean they wont do that in the future and if the company is owned by a Chinese Company theyre really not going to be able to refuse a request like that from the Chinese Government so actually i think you combine that with the escalating tensions thats been going on on the trade front and other fronts between the u. S. And china and that leaves us where we are right now but the big news of course is that microsoft reached at least a tentative accord to acquire some of the assets of tick tock the u. S. Application Canada Australia new play at least with the domain the Financial Times today just reported that theyre actually talking about buying. Applications globally which in some ways would make a lot more sense microsoft is certainly a Big Enough Company to be able to fund that kind of acquisition and to support that kind of acquisition globally you know the question is whether right dance is going to want to slice off the u. S. And some other markets from the global you know application and that obviously presents tremendous technical challenges and theres no way that that had could happen in the next 40 days. Still ahead here although there are doing things differently funded one city in the United Kingdom is using Community Volunteers to help control the coronavirus. Cheering for the empty stage one of the Opposition Leader in the other rooms was barred from attending her final election rally those stories after the break. How there was defying the law and of rain at the moment it may not resist. Obviousness satellite picture but i think you got a clue were focusing now and in the forecast and probably something new song is exactly manila and that line extends back towards the bulk of Southeast Asia where a good many countries going to see some pretty heavy rain there are scattered showers to the south but not that many strat indonesia where the focus is definitely of the sea size china sea and the northern philippines which is not a big surprise i suppose further south in the middle of winter weve a proper winter storm warning through South Australia thats a cold front that will bring colder air so some snow to the south and mountains in victoria for example and it will keep the showers with this on shore breeze all way around the coast from southern queensland right back to adelaide actually as far as perth is concerned and all of Western Australia thats an active frontal system that will bring considerable rain in slow moving through perth probably exceeding the months average another storm is developing south of sydney you will not like that if your house is on the edge the forecast for canberra reflects a real change in virus not a very wet place but something to write on sunday and then its windy on monday. In russia not a lot. If you bring fame fortune and power election when i went to investigate on aljazeera. Be the hero world right. World. Book about to watch yours there with me cell rama reminder of our top stories 16 port officials have been detained in beirut as frustration grows over the lebanese governments response to the explosions there were protests into the night thursday. The governing party in sri lanka has won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections these lankan peoples front is led by the rajapaksa brothers got a buyer and a hindu who serve as president and Prime Minister. And the Saudi Crown Prince is being sued hes accused of sending its men to canada in a found attempt to kill one of his former top intelligence officials the alleged target assad r. J. Pre has filed a lawsuit in washington d. C. Now hundreds of afghan leaders collars and elders are meeting in kabul to negotiate a peace deal with the taliban the loya jirga talks are the last hurdle to the start of the game between the Afghan Government and the taliban the main issue is whether the government should meet the armed groups demand to release 400. 00 prisoners u. S. Secretary of state mike pompei is urging support for the move saying it will be an important step towards peace nations former finance minister has been charged with corruption then one thing pleaded not guilty to demanding a 10 percent cut for 1500000000. 00 Infrastructure Project he was part of the cabinet that took over in 2018 after former Prime Minister najib resigned was ousted because of a separate Corruption Case resign was sentenced to 12 years in prison last week. The number of infections in africa has passed 1000000 the World Health Organization is warning the surge could overwhelm hospitals south africa accounts for more than half of all cases across the continent and critics say government corruption has hurt the countrys response for me to bill or as more from johannesburg. South africas Public Health sector has for years been overwhelmed and now with a Global Pandemic infecting more than 500000 people here Public Hospitals are under more pressure. More than 24000. 00 Health Workers have contracted kovac 1181. 00 have died since march unions and workers say corruption is contributing to push Service Delivery and is putting lives at risk while the governments given contracts to Service Providers for personal protective equipment or p. P. E the prices have been inflated in other instances people has not been delivered at all well contracts have been given to companies and people connected to the government and the Ruling African National congress party. President s a little more force i know we can use that as promised to deal with the croft corruption during a National Disaster is a particularly heinous type of crime those found to have broken the law to enrich themselves through this crisis will not get to enjoy the spoils regardless of who they are with whom they may be connected but drum up was us chief spokeswoman is embroiled in a scandal involving her husband tendencies a way hes companies been accused of winning a 7000000. 00 contract to supply p. P. E. Through his political connections decodes taken special leave and she and her husband deny breaking any laws the province of halting stop Health Official bundler must to go and his wife to. Have been implicated when the 1st infections were recorded back in march the government declared a state of disaster which meant to that the normal tender procedure for government contracts was abandoned within days of the announcement a number of questionable contracts were awarded now the finance minister tetum but when he says the process has to be more transparent a Government Agency the special Investigative Unit says 102. 00 companies and how to get a loan under investigation while in other provinces officials have been suspended and investigations have begun but no ones yet been charged prosecuted corruption during this Health Crisis is estimated to have cost the country more than 116000000. 00 at a time when south africa is dealing with the 5th worst outbreak of culvert 19 in the world for me to malaya aljazeera johannesburg. Is an Infectious Disease specialist at the institution he says although the number of cases in south africa is holy the situation seems to be getting a lot better. It is very concerning that there are places where theres not a lot of testing and we still seeing a rise in the number of cases however difficult to predict what the implication that. Of not testing i mean what how the figures would look if you were doing more tests currently we our borders are still closed so south africa have closed borders since march and we dont have any. Movement in and out of the country is not movement of people