have called for priority access to vaccines get more from paul brennan he joins us from portsmouth in the south of england and paul this is a very big day in england as schools reopened how is it going so far. it's been very exciting indeed for the children who have been returning out here a portsmouth high school as you say down on the south coast of england and this is an all girl school that was streaming in from early doors before 8 o'clock even with big smiles on their faces hugely excited and relieved that this long hard isolated and disrupted winter of education that they've suffered and enjoyed is finally apparently coming to an end as you say there are in excess of 7000000 children of school age in england alone they won't all be returning to classes just yet the government has given school some leeway over a staggered return to allow the possibility for testing to take place children are going to have to be tested 3 times in school and some schools will have difficulty actually meant managing the logistics of that that said many schools have been able to do some pretty testi

brennan al-jazeera will kick.

brennan reports. covert 19 has meant a harrowing 13 months for the state run national health service it's placed extraordinary stress and emotional strain on the system and those who work in it and a 2 point one percent pay rise have been promised and expected now the government says it can only afford a one percent increase so this year has been a really tough year for us for intensive care nurses such as becky smith that's insulting and demoralizing feeling valued helps to look after patients better it helps us to put more into our jobs that helps us to appreciate to educate each other to men to reach out to to work stronger together because we feel happier at work we feel valued at work we feel that the work that we're doing is important to not be valued by the government i mean in some cases the public is really difficult and it is really challenging and it does make you want to give up the actual payoff will be decided by an independent pay review body but the government's stance saw boris johnso

brennan al-jazeera. police in senegal said the opposition leader. will be released after his court appearance later on monday opposition party and civil society groups of call for 3 days of mass demonstrations over his arrest they say charges of rape against a politically motivated for his have said the custody has been lifted but he did remain at the police station overnight it's. protesters burned barricades on the streets of port au prince on sunday as haiti's political turmoil continues demonstrators say president jovan illinois is an illegitimate leader and they're calling for him to resign from is more is maintain his term lasts until next year while the opposition argues it should have ended 3 weeks ago. well relations between haiti and its wealthier neighbor the dominican republic have been starkly difficult on the caribbean island that they share now the dominican government has announced plans to build a wall between them to end illegal migration and the chapelle explains. this neighborhood is

paul brennan al-jazeera woking. meghan markle says the british royal family failed to protect and were concerned about how dog sons skin color would be the duke and duchess of sussex were interviewed by oprah winfrey for a 2 hour c.b.s. primetime special the interview comes after how he decided to step back a see the members of the royal family last year. all around the same time so we have in tandem the conversation of he won't be given security it's not going to be given a title and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born i mean that's the sad irony of the last 4 years i've advocated for so long for women to use their voice and then i was silent. were you silent or were you silence the latter it was only was only ones who were married and everything started to really worsen. that i came to understand that not only was i not being protected but that they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family but they weren't willing to tell the truth to protect me and my

well let's get more from paul brennan so good news on one vaccine that will not such good news over the other what impact is this going to have on the relatively slow vaccine rollout. well i don't think it's going to speed it up that's for sure i mean the johnson and johnson vaccine on the face of it is a big step forward a couple of reasons for that 1st of all it can be stored for up to 3 months or fridge temperature it doesn't have to have that super low temperature that other vaccines such as the pfizer vaccine for example need that is minus 70 minus 80 degrees celsius the other thing about the johnson and johnson vaccine as well is it's effective after just one jab so there isn't a need for a 2nd reinforcing injection and that is good news however as you said in the introduction that it's not going to be available until the 2nd quarter of 2021 1st delivery is expected somewhere around april the 1st some doubts as to whether they will even start on april the 1st and then walk kind of numbers yes the europeans have ordered 200000000 with the option for an extra 200000000 whether they'

brennan al-jazeera will kick. now year after prince harry and his wife meggan step back from royal duties the world is about to hear the back story to their split from britain's monarchy in an interview with the us broadcaster oprah winfrey the couple are expected to reveal more about what they've previously described as racism and bullying but allegations have also been leveled at the duchess may barker reports from london. i just want to make it clear to everybody is you know subject that's off limits free from the confines of the crown they can markel isn't pulling any punches accusing the british royals nickname the of a smear campaign i don't know how they could that that after all of this time we would still be silent if there isn't after that the firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us with my wife when the full interview airs expect huge audiences massive revenues and lots of shouting at the television these are wrong comfortable topics for the royals from the death of princess diana to racism

brennan al-jazeera portsmouth. international women's day is being celebrated in a time of staggering health and economic crises the pandemic has disproportionately affected women and the u.n. secretary general and turnover terrace warns its consequences could last for many years to come priyanka gupta reports. this 3 metre fence was meant to guard mexico's presidential palace from protesters on women's day instead it's become a towering symbol of the violence women here face these are the names of those who have been murdered because of their gender last year 939 were killed between 20152020 the number of women who have died for this reason increased by nearly a 130 percent only was. today we come to give a voice to these women who are no longer here today we come to write their names to remember them so that they are never forgotten and that justice is done for them. 6 in pakistan activist rally demanding shelters to protect women from abuse around the world aid agencies say the pandemic. and lockdowns have led to

brennan found out in portsmouth the school day includes . this 1st step out of the u.k.'s lockdown has been eagerly anticipated by children and parents alike at portsmouth high school pupils were clambering excitedly into the school bus was clearly relishing a return to the familiarity of friends and face to face learning. sites just to get back to less. just maybe seeing my friends to see i'm very very badly about that it's been ages not seeing anyone so it's really comforting my teach them my friends it's just really great to have to see people actually have lessons and interactions especially because i'm doing a science based object so we're going to go practical but you know mainly it's just the people that's the real big difference i guess u.s. defense. in scotland and wales children won't return to full time schooling for another month but in england alone nearly $7000000.00 pupils are returning on mass well i'm hoping they're going to go smoothly i'm hoping the rate stays down and schools stay open but obviously we will respond to wha

the vaccination programs themselves paul thank you very much for that paul brennan live there in london well let's just cus the safety of the astra zeneca vaccine some more now with stereo more sauce more lechler virally just sandy associate professor inset into and one necklace scientists at northumbria university is joining us from newcastle in the u.k. thank you very much for being with us so as we've heard concerns from denmark about this astra zeneca vaccine an investigation is underway there austria has also suspended using one batch of astra zeneca doses while it investigates death there from coagulation disorder is 1st of all 'd can may be a link between blood clots and have x.e.n.u. . there can be a potential link claimed about anything and everything might but the every ality about these things is in the absolute numbers so whilst the one cannot be 100 percent show. up this fuck saying how something wrong with it it's entirely possible just like with aspirin there might be one but something's wrong with it the reality is we need to see enough of these events in the population

brennan. this 1st step out of the u.k.'s lockdown has been eagerly anticipated by children and parents alike with high school pupils were clambering excitedly into the school bus was clearly relishing a return to the familiarity of friends and face to face learning. sites just to get back to less. just maybe seeing my friends to see i'm very very badly about because it feels like it's been ages not seeing anyone so it's really comforting my teach them my friends it's just really great fear to see people actually have less interaction especially because i'm doing a science based object so you have to go to private schools mainly it's just the people that's the real big difference i guess u.s. defense. in scotland and wales children won't return to full time schooling for another month but in england alone nearly $7000000.00 pupils are returning on mass well i'm hoping they're going to go smoothly i'm hoping the rate stays down and schools stay open but obviously we will respond to whatever the

brennan reports. covert 19 has meant a harrowing 13 months for the state run national health service it's placed extraordinary stress and emotional strain on the system and those who work in it and a 2 point one percent pay rise have been promised and expected now the government says it can only afford a one percent increase so this year has been a really tough year for us for intensive care nurses such as becky smith that's insulting and demoralizing feeling valued helps to look after patients better it helps us to put more into our jobs that helps us to appreciate to educate each other to men to reach out to to work stronger together because we feel happier at work we feel valued at work we feel that the work that we're doing is important back to not be valued by the government i mean in some cases the public is really difficult and it is really challenging and it does make you want to give out the actual payoff will be decided by an independent pay review body but the government's stance saw boris

brennan al-jazeera portsmouth. protesters in lebanon are angry at their de terrier racing economic state have been blocking roads in the capital the demonstrators have declared monday a day of rage they used ion barriers and burned tires to close several roads thinking beirut with the north and south the lebanese pound is continuing to fall against the u.s. dollar and there hasn't been a government in place since august. meghan markle says a member of the british royal family was concerned about how dark her son's skin color would be the do you conduct tests of sussex were interviewed by oprah winfrey for a 2 hour television special they explained more about the decision to step back as senior members of the monarchy last year. in those months when i was pregnant all around the same time so we have in tandem the conversation we won't be given security is not going to give in a title. and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born there are several conversations a conversation wi

brennan al-jazeera woking well u.s. president joe biden has achieved his 1st major legislative victory the senate has passed a $1.00 trillion dollar coronavirus relief bill by the narrowest of margins the fulfillment of biden's campaign promise will provide one off payments wrath $1400.00 to most americans bill now goes back to the democratically controlled house for a preview of my counterparts from washington d.c. bill as amended is just. the full was finally passed in the process of vote a rama it was the longest senate vote in recent memory approval coming more than 24 hours after the role of members was called this bill will deliver more help to more people than anything the federal government has done in decades we could all work together. but our democratic colleagues voted as. a top priority one pandemic relief it was their washer and wish wish. the whole process began as it would largely continue with the deciding vote by the vice president kaamelott harras to accept the board would debate breaking a 5050 dead

brennan who's monitoring events force and blood what else have astra zeneca been saying about this paul. that's a perplexing one this highlighting i think the differences between politicians and epidemiologists and also health regulators in the different countries because there is clearly a distinction between what some individual countries are doing and the overview that is being taken by the european regulator the european medicines agency they ask what the reaction of astra zeneca is well they've issued a statement saying that the safety of the vaccine has been extensively studied and peer reviewed and confirmed that the vaccine was generally well tolerated the european regulates of european medicines agency says that the number of from bo and balik events that blood clot type events from people in people who've taken the astra zeneca vaccine is no different to that scene in the general population the same $22.00 such cases being a sort of a drug to have as we go over to tom andrews his the special report target me about let's just listen in to what he has to say about the demonstrat

brennan al-jazeera london. let's take you to the u.s. and the foreign affairs committee in the house where gregory meeks is speaking at the opening remarks where we expect the secretary of state to also be speaking just listening on the guided ministrations foreign policy priorities and i want to thank you secretary blanking for joining us this early in your tenure i think all of us on the day as and who are they are very truly appreciate this opportunity for dialogue your testimony today will no doubt expand on this administration's foreign policy strategic priorities as it views of the global landscape and how those views inform its diplomacy forward approach it's also a chance for you to hear our views and concerns as part of the role that this committee plays in supporting successful u.s. diplomacy around the world and i trust you appreciate that from a new american engagement in the world by rejoining the paris agreement the u.n. human rights council and the w.h.o. the guided ministration has made one thin

brennan al-jazeera portsmouth. star not a sport has and a thank you so much came on of a joke which is told al jazeera he feels the best is still to come in his career the 33 year old has just broken roger federer as record for most weeks as world number one have been some controversial moments in the last few months as well jack of it was heavily criticized for organizing a tennis tour in the balkans last year which had to be cancelled after numerous players tested positive for cope with 93 although the serbian has been on top of the world rankings and he's held the number one spot now for 311 weeks during his career djokovic has been talking to al jazeera and how much. more you see very happy and. you know this is a huge milestone in achievement not just for myself or my family here it's also in my life. you know supported me all the way through my beginnings of since beginnings of my professional career and my life and allow me to you know obviously play this or that i truly love and have a lot of wonderful mome

brennan has more from london. it is worrying on the basis that 1st of all yes there have been some blood clots but the danish the norwegians and the iceland and the icelanders who've decided to suspend the use of the astra zeneca vaccine altogether are effectively going against the advice of the european medicines agency which is saying that as far as they're concerned the number of blood clots related to those people who have the vaccines are not out of the ordinary what you would normally expect in a general population they've they've reported some $22.00 events thromboembolism events out of the $3000000.00 people who've been vaccinated up to march the night so there is the sense in some quarters that janet denmark norway and iceland are are being rather over cautious and that is not going to help when you're trying to get as many people vaccinated as possible germany's recorded its largest daily increase in coronavirus cases in more than a month and in france concerns growing about the situation in the greater

brennan al-jazeera will kick. international women's day is being marks around the world with celebrations owners protests and strikes this was the scene in manila in the philippines a short time ago women there are marching to the presidential palace to promotes their rights. meghan markle says the british royal family was concerned about how dark her son's skin color would be that you can duchess of sussex were interviewed by oprah winfrey for a 2 hour television special the interview comes after harry and meghan decided to step back as senior members of the british royal family last year all around the same time so we have in tandem the conversation we won't be given security is not going to given a title and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born a process of starting to head of the trial of a dismissed white police officer charged with killing george floyd thousands of marched in the u.s. city of minneapolis demanding justice for the unarmed black man's death which spar

brennan reports from a school in the town of working. pairing from. it's been a long hard winter in the u.k. is education system but the banners are going up the students are going back at wholesale see if the junior school friends and classmates who've been separated since the start of january already to be reunited again and i feel a bit strange seeing all my school friends and i mean i haven't seen him in might fix me and i must have been pretty excited to see them again and i'm going to get back to for no more seen school in the be. more flow because we have will help. people in the classroom and it's going to be. it's going to be more exciting many parents are just as excited this is what we're waiting for honestly i'm with kids all the time my husband he's working all our days how everything is on my child there so i'm really glad they coming back to school is that good for the future because it's not but their place then school you know and for education so it's amazing here i think road just tied to emotionally exhausted and we'r

brennan al-jazeera portsmouth syria's president bashar al assad and his wife asma have tested positive for corona virus both show minor symptoms and are reportedly in good health and working at home syria's had more than 15000 cases and a 1000 confirmed deaths from the virus but testing capabilities are limited in the war torn nation actual numbers are thought to be much higher amid a recent surge in infections. it's international women's day and around a 1000 women have protested in the center of istanbul again against what they say is inaction over domestic violence the demonstrators say that they want to see more stringent laws to protect women from abuse it comes after a video appearing to show a man beating his ex-wife on the street calls outrage president richard there though has announced the parliamentary commission to look specifically at violence against women. across russia volunteers of been handing out flowers to women to celebrate march 8th even the army has been getting in on the action marking the day in its own way with a parachute jump but activists say the government

and speak to paul brennan tell us more about what. astra zeneca in oxford said about this decision by denmark to suspend its vaccine. well at 1st glance this is a worrying development but it's important to put it into some context 1st of all the development itself and that is that denmark as you say has temporarily for 2 weeks suspended the use of the astra zeneca vaccine because of 2 cases one involving a death from a blood clot austria has also suspended its use as well and a number of other countries are suspending the use of the astra zeneca vaccine from that particular batch so one particular batch that's 4 countries a stone. also it's only a norway as well the important context comes from what the european medicines agency and astra zeneca themselves are saying and that is that the 1st of all that there is no causal link yet between the blood clots that a picture of occurred and the fact that the people who suffered these blood clots were people who also had had the vaccine the european medicines agency is saying there was no ev

brennan al-jazeera will kick. the british royal family is bracing itself for a highly anticipated interview between prince harry his wife meghan and us chat show host oprah winfrey it's airing in the coming hours but in a clip already released meghan accuses the royals of perpetuating falsehoods about the couple says the palace says it's investigating bullying claims against the duchess eve barco reports from london. i just want to make it clear to everybody is you know subject that's off limits free from the confines of the crown they can markel isn't pulling any punches accusing the british royals nickname the firm of a smear campaign i don't know how they could expect that after all of this time we would still be silent if there isn't after that the firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us with my wife when the full interview is expected huge audiences massive revenues and lots of shouting at the television. these are wrong comfortable topics for the royals from the death of princess diana to racism

brennan al-jazeera woking. this is al-jazeera these are the headlines at least 20 people have been killed in a series of explosions at a military base in equitorial guinea's largest city of butter more than 600 people were injured the president says it was caused by the mishandling of dynamite saudi arabia is promising to take all necessary measures to protect itself after yemen's who feeds loans to another attack on its energy facilities on sunday the saudi aramco plant in daraa was targeted by a ballistic missile if the rebels say it was a much bigger assault. was the large oil was say all the artillery and drone divisions were able to conduct a wide offensive in the depths of saudi arabia with 14 drones and 8 ballistic missiles targeted around cole in ras noor a port and other military facilities in the mom more military sites were targeted in a series of design in the strike was precise. after 3 days of spreading messages of hope and forgiveness in iraq pope francis is heading home to the vatican it was the

increase can be managed well enough to allow the next steps out of lockdown to proceed as timetables paul brennan al-jazeera portsmouth in malawi their formal extradition hearing against a controversial preacher has been perspire and until next monday shepherd who cherie and his wife mary are accused of money laundering theft and fraud in south africa the millionaire and self-proclaimed prophet runs churches and multiple african countries and regularly through tens of thousands of followers to his events they fled south africa from malawi in november saying they wouldn't get a fair trial they can markel says a member of the british royal family was concerned about how dark her son's skin color would be the duke and duchess of south x. were interviewed by oprah winfrey for a 2 hour t.v. special they explained more about their decision to step back a senior members of the monarchy last year. in those months when i was pregnant all around the same time so we have in tandem the conversation we won't be given security is not going to given a title. and also concerns and conversations about how

brennan has more from london it's ironic perhaps that while other countries are sort of shutting down the vaccination programs albeit temporarily in norway denmark germany is screaming out for more vaccines and trying to get more vaccines into the arms of its of its citizens so it is curious it's an indication i think of the not exactly joined up thinking that is taking place across the european continent across the european union with these different countries taking very different approaches in relation to a reopening and b. the vaccination programs. japan is marking 10 years since a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit its northeastern coast entry gets meltdowns at a nuclear power plant 16000 people were killed and 2500 on may. seeing the foreign ministers of qatar and russia as what a circle of hell talks in doha that if we're focused on finding a way to deliver humanitarian aid to people in syria russia and turkey back opposing sides in syria's war now in its 10th the trouble that is not cut could we all contributing without efforts for a sustainable political stability for syr

brennan al-jazeera woking megan markel says the british royal family was concerned about how dark her son's skin color would be the do you conduct as of sussex were interviewed by oprah winfrey for a 2 hour c.b.s. primetime interview comes after harry and megan decided to step back a senior members and members of the royal family last year in those months when i was pregnant all around the same time so we have in tandem the conversation we won't be given security is not going to given a title and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born there are several conversations a conversation with you you with harry about how dark your baby is going to be. potentially and what that would mean or look like. and you're not going to tell me who had the conversation. i think that would be very damaging to them like i'm certain that if you were to brow that that would be a problem are you saying. i wasn't able to follow up with why but that if that's the assumption you're making i think that feels like a pretty safe one and i'll go also says she realized soon a

brennan joins us now from portsmouth in the south of england so a big day in england today paul as the schools reopened there how did it go where you are. it's been a hugely exciting day for the children and for the teachers and as you say for the parents as well to have children going back for the 1st time in more than 2 months since the lockdown the full lockdown was imposed by the government back at the start of january the difference in corona virus infection rate since then well for example now they are rates this reproduction rate here in the u.k. is now below one again it's 0.70.9 that means that the rate of increase is declining and the number of vaccinations is now in excess of 22000000 people who had at least the 1st coronavirus vaccination so the data is going in the right direction and the roadmap that the government has set out means that today is the 1st step along bad road to open up the schools again i'm here on the south coast of england a place called portsmouth a port with high school and joining me is the headmistress of portsmouth high school jane prescott jane the

brennan he's in london following events for us this sort of looks like it's escalating but how worrying is it. i think it is worrying it's worrying because there are potentially more countries going to get involved in this you know this started the smalling with just denmark and austria involved and now we have norway and iceland of 3 countries now who have totally stopped using albeit on a temporary basis they are astra zeneca vaccine and some 6 other european countries including its me and austria who have kind of stopped using one bachche one specific bachche of the astra zeneca vaccine but it's worrying because on what basis have they done this now it seems that there have been a very small handful of blood clot related illnesses and 2 deaths as we understand it and because of that the health authorities in those individual countries have acted but the overarching message from the regulators both in europe and in for example the u.k. is that the vaccine is safe the european medicines agency for example has said there's no evidence of a link between from the events that have been see

brennan reports now from a primary school in the town of woking. preparing for. it's been a long hard winter in the u.k. is education system but the families are going up on the students are going back a horse will see the junior school friends and classmates who've been separated since the start of january are ready to be reunited again and i feel a bit strange seeing all my school friends again because i mean i haven't seen him in night 6 we and i most often predict sizes even them again and i'm going forward to go back to for no more seen school in the be. more flawed because we have will have more people in the classroom and it's going to be. it's going to be more exciting many parents are just as excited this is what we waiting for honestly i am with kids all the time my husband he's working all day sell everything he's on my child there so i'm really glad they coming back to school is that good for their future because it's not but their place their school you know and for education so is amazing here i think through just how to emotionally e

brennan al-jazeera. riots allegations of police brutality and then scandals are rocking latin american governments and hurting the coronavirus response as. reports there's also growing fatigue as a restrictions on the i pad clashes broke out on friday in a border city in northern argentina following the imposition of a new coronavirus lockdown restrictions police officers used tear gas and rubber bullets against a crowd injuring dozens for the most is one of argentina sports provinces and had already been hit hard by an economic recession before derives all of the virus a year ago many protesters were informal vendors demanding to be allowed to work was human rights groups have denounced what they say was indiscriminate use of force by the police but insisted the protesters were responsible for the violence. who defeat nothing justifies these violent actions we call for reflection and invite you all to make your claims in a peaceful manner i similar scenes on the same day across the border and put away i

this week senator rand paul mocked dr. fauci for continuing the masks after he was vaccinated. >> we're not spreading the infection if you were vaccinated. you're wearing the mask, is that just theater? >> brennan: do you think people who are vaccinated need to still wear masks? >> doctor: i think that as long as the herd immunity has not been attained, people should continue wearing a mask when in public and in crowded areas. because what we don't know yet is whether the vaccine prevents replication of the virus. it is an act of civility for the people around us who have not yet been vaccinated. so, yes. >> brennan: do you feel like your stigmatized for having worked with the trump administration? >> doctor: with time, the one thing i want to focus on is i feel extremely fortunate to have been able to help and participate to allow us to have vaccines and control this pandemic. that's the only thing that counts. there were moments, frankly, where i thought to myself, oh, my gosh, why did i get myself into this? but they ne

about how paul mooney tried to beat you up outside of the comedy store >> no, not try beat me up. [ laughter ] first of all, paul mooney could never beat me. not even when he was young [ laughter ] in fact, most comics, as far as comics go, i'm pretty scrappy. i don't know if i met a comic that, you know, could -- at any rate, but no, there was an argument because i went -- they gave me the light the first time i was of the comedy store paul mooney and them, they give me the light, because i was going on, so i just kept going on i hadn't met paul mooney yet and they gave me the light and i was like, first year "snl," and i was killing and i was like, "they givin' me the light? i was only there for, like, ten minutes and i said "who's supposed to be coming on?" they said, "paul mooney. i said, "who's paul mooney?" and they said, "yeah." i said, "you want to see me or paul mooney? they go, "ah!" so i did, like, another hour or some [ bleep ] so when i came off the stage, they were, like, crazy and spoon, witherspoon, was in by the bathroom at the comedy store, and he said, "next time

senator rand paul used a filibuster to delay the nomination of john brennan to the cia." louisiana democratic senators troy carter and cameron carter peterson advanced last night to the second district house special runoff to succeed cedric richmond, who resigned january 15 to serve with the biden administration. julia letlow wins the louisiana faith special election -- louisiana fifth special election , filling the vacancy created by her husband, who died of covid-19 before he was sworn into the house. there will be 219 democrats and 212 republicans in the house. back to your calls on the future of the filibuster. donald in san antonio says reform it. caller: we should reform it because the way things are going now. whenever democrats get empower -- get in power, republicans want to obstruct everything. even when republicans take power, the democrats want to obstruct. this is not going anywhere. they need to reform it because we will never have anything done for this country as long as we keep it the way it is. i agree with a lot of things other gentlemen said. thinking