♪ anchor: protests in russia as the opposition leaders is jailed for more than two years. world leaders demand his immediate release. ♪ hello, this is al jazeera. the first major protest in myanmar against the military coup.

joe biden signs three executive orders rolling back donald trump immigration policies. mutations down in the u.k. variant of coronavirus, which could reduce vaccines effectiveness. amazon standard jeff bezos is stepping down as ceo, as corporate profits hits $7 billion. ♪ we begin in russia where opposition leader and president putin's most formidable critic alexey navalny has been sent back to jail. he has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for violating probation terms, by traveling to germany for lifesaving treatment, after he was poisoned. authorities say he will appeal the condition. the u.s., britain, and the eu are all calling for his immediate release. security has been stepped up in moscow, more than 900 people had been detained as supporters

gathered. we will have an update from moscow, but first, here's charlie. reporter: once again alexey navalny is paying a high price, a court sentenced him to 3.5 years. the judge found him guilty of breaking probation, failing to report to russian police. the fact he was in hospital in berlin was not accepted. he was there recovering from nerve agent poisoning, he alleges was carried out by the russian state. the kremlin critic drew a heart on the glass in court for his wife, and asked his supporters to protest. >> the aim of this hearing is to scare a great number of people. i hope that this hearing will be interpreted as a signal they have to be more scared. it is not a demonstration of power, the national guards of

russia, this is a demonstration of weakness. against jail millions. reporter: outside the court, a major show of force, rounding up and detaining supporters, who call not only for his release, but for the release of pressure from putin's rule. >> this is total lawlessness. you can think whatever you want, but the problem is, it such high-profile people can be arrested without a reason, it means a reason -- people like you and i, unknown people, they can do whatever they want to us. >> this trial is a sham, like many other trials in russia. this is a politically motivated case. he was poison in russia but that crime is not under investigation. he returned to russia and they have jailed him straightaway. everything that is going on has nothing to with justice. reporter: after days of nationwide rallies, detention centers are overflowing.

despite the threat of new sanctions from the west, the kremlin has struggled of criticism from the u.s. and europe, and continues to deny that navalny was ever poisoned. >> we have still not had an answer for what basis they made their conclusion, that mr. navalny was poisoned. reporter: in the last 10 years, navalny has been jailed more than 10 times. many working for his anticorruption never cap have been detained. this spokeswomen is under house arrest. as lawyers promise to appeal his verdict, while he asks people inside and outside pressure to continue putting pressure on putin. darren: the police crackdown on navalny's supporters has been swift. and reporter: the security was around the court building behind me, but also the surrounding area. they were not letting anyone in who does not live here.

there were also detaining people, there were coming straight out of the metro station, that is preventing any time of protest. they were detaining people for looking suspicious, in the sense that they might be protesting for navalny. the moment the verdict came in, associates, ones that are still out, they called for his supporters to come to the center of moscow. the center of moscow is now completely sealed. the police started gathering their hours before the verdict was announced, and they have now shut it down completely. some people that try to approach this spot, very close to the kremlin, a square that is adjoins to the red square. they started detaining these people. the same situation in another city of russia, st. petersburg, where there is also hundreds of

police engaged in preventing any kind of protest. darren: as he mentioned, there has been global outrage against the verdict. here is secretary of state antony blinken calling for the immediate and unconditional release of navalny and his orders. the uk foreign secretary described the ruling as perverse, and angela merkel said violence against peaceful demonstrators must stop. let's bring in arial: good to have you back on the program. what is your response to this prison sentence? is it likely to silence him in any way? >> no, not at all. we have had examples of other major soviet regime opponents, the physicists who was exiled to the city of gorky and force-fed through a tube, by the regime, and nevertheless, he remained in

the russian history as a great man of freedom. the russian nelson mandela. navalny is a major figure. the regime is doing everything to show that he is a major political opponent of vladimir putin. he made his job to expose tremendous corruption in russia, and's to me, what they did today was a huge mistake. just as the regime in the 90's -- 19th century and early 20th century, every wrong move brought the russian empire to the disaster in 1917. when its own people rose against the regime, and brought the regime down. darren: you have met alexey navalny and know him personally. how do you think he is handling

all of this? the poisoning, the harassment. now this jail term. >> after being poisoned and being in a clinic -- a state of clinical death, a coma for days, then being treated in germany for weeks. to stand up and to go back to russia, for the russian people, it is an act of tremendous courage. they respect courage. russians are courageous people. you will remember the russian heroism in world war ii when they were fighting the nazis, and defeated it. i think that navalny is demonstrating that he is sacrificing his own life. moreover, you can say he came back from the dead to fight for the russians. the russians are tired of 20 years of vladimir putin. they say enough is enough. even if today, relative few few

people came to demonstrate, for the young people, navalny is unquestionably their next leader. reporter: just a final point. what does this presence in this mean for the protest movement going forward? is it going to be a rallying cry for the protests to gain more traction? >> it shows that the regime is dead serious, that it will try to keep navalny above and beyond the 2.5 years that he needs to serve. he was jailed for not coming -- because of a suspended sentence, not coming to the police. he was in a german hospital dying of poison. how could he come and present himself to place? he could not do that. but they will cook up additional accusations, i am sure. . they are gunning for him, his wife, is leaders of the

movement, for under house arrest. it is a real serious struggle for the future of russia. darren: good to get your thoughts. thank you for talking to al jazeera. the u.s. has classified the takeover in myanmar as a coup, and that means washington could look for ways to impose tougher sanctions on the generals who seized powers. for the first time in myanmar's largest city, there are widespread protests against the removal of the president, now under house arrest. the head of the army says the deposing of her was inevitable. reporter: monday after a coup in myanmar, soldiers on the street are a stark reminder of the new military regime. banks and shops reopened, as the city seems to be quietly returning to normal. but the mood among the people here seem low, as they digested what had happened. >> when i heard the news, i put

up believe it. i am sad. i am sad for the people, i feel pain in my heart. i think people are going to face trouble. >> i can't eat or sleep. we are not strong enough to do something back to them. we don't have power. they seize the power because they have guns, we have nothing. reporter: on monday the military detained the de facto leader and other prominent political figures. since the arrests, some regional ministers and lawmakers have been released. in a country where she and her nld party remain extremely popular, winning a landslide victory in november, this who will undoubtedly be unwanted by many. >> men, women, even children, don't want a return to military rule. they hate the thought of it, even the very sound of it.

what can they do? reporter: the nld party has released a statement, calling for the people to protest against the military's actions. >> all of the voters who gave their backing to us in 2020 should follow instructions to carry out civil disobedience. reporter: that call has been widely shared across social media. here on the streets, it seems like business as usual. but although it is conference now, voices of dissent are starting to be heard. the nld is calling for the immediate release of those who have been arrested. a party spokesperson says she is in good health. as the sun goes down, the sense of resistance can be heard in the city. people striking pans and drums from the balconies, and sounding their car horns, all in protest

against a military coup. darren: the u.s. state department says it is reviewing millions of dollars in aid to myanmar. >> our first concern of course is the restoration of civilian leadership, in burma. our concern consistent with that is ensuring as we undertake this review, now that we have to determined a coup has taken place, that the civilian led government has been deposed by the military. our concern is we do that review to ensure that the $135 million we contribute annually to the people of burma, that we don't do anything that would affect the long-suffering people of burma, including the rohingya. darren: un security council held a meeting, but stopped short on taking immediate action. our diplomatic editor reports. reporter: that un security council met in closed session but they cannot -- they heard

from the u.n. special envoy, she told them, that the president had been moved from the place she has been detained into house arrest. the spokesperson for the u.n. secretary general that that was still unacceptable, and as a first step, all detainees need to be released. >> the advice that given the apparent commitment to safeguard the rule of law, following the november 8 elections, this turn of events with surprising and shocking. reporter: the current president of the security council, said the discussions will continue in the coming days. >> there has been widespread concern among and across the international community. i heard those concerns very clearly among my colleagues this morning. we welcome the role of regional partners, including -- to resolve this crisis reporter: the key to the next steps depend

on one permanent member of the un security council, china. in the meeting, i am told the chinese representative was playing for time. diplomats say china has not yet shown his hand. darren: the u.s. has rejected a call by iran to revolve -- provide the nuclear deal. a spokesman said it is too early. iran's foreign minister i propose that the european union helped coordinate a simultaneous return. the u.s. left the nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions. since then, iran has increased uranium enrichment levels beyond limits set out in the agreement. , short break. when we come back, donald trump's lawyer says the senate has no authority to try him. plus. after a successful test launch, the rocket space x hopes will one day go to mars explodes on landing, again.

♪ >> it's time for the perfect journey. the weather, sponsored by qatar airways. meteorologist: there is get more snow heading to that this breeze is cold, the air is properly cold in northern china, they warmth brought up through the loc. in china, temperature dropped to three. a bit of rain here in central china. find elsewhere, the temperatures reflect what they should be this time of year. the heaviest showers during this rainy season. if you follow the wind around,

through java and all points east. daily showers tend to be in the evening and in the south. a good change i think for india, you can see it, most of the northern plane including bangladesh is full of fog which means air quality is pretty poor. this hint of showers, rain or snow, is likely to stir the atmosphere. that means air quality will improve. unfortunately on saturday, it all goes downhill. ♪ >> the weather, sponsored by qatar airways. >> it's 10 years since revolutions across the arab world challenge the power dynamic. but how did these leaders rise to their positions? >> the principles dictator. they played their game very carefully. >>ow do they stay in control? >> the common thing amongst arab

dictators is incredible will to survive. >> the arab awakening. absolute power. on al jazeera. ♪ ♪ darren: welcome back. russian opposition leader alexey navalny has been sent back to jail. people spend more than two years in prison for violating terms of his parole by traveling to germany for treatment, after he was poisoned. hundreds of his supporters have been detained. there have been public displays of anger against the military coup in maine are -- men are. -- myanmar.

scientists aa covid-19 variant found in the u.k. has further mutated in a way that could help it of a vaccines. test show the changes are similar to those seen in the more contagious south african and brazil variance. the u.k. is tightening measures to control the spread of his friends with more testing and tougher travel restrictions. let's bring in a bacchanal just and professor at the university of michigan. how worried are scientists and health officials about this new mutation of the covid variance found in u.k.? viruses mutate anyway, but how serious is this latest development? >> this mutation that happened in the u.k. and in south africa, and brazil, are worrisome because they are susceptibility.

it is not an escape, it is only a change, that we still have less efficacy against these. therefore, there is a chance, and a rest, and therefore we need to mitigate these risks by continuing with isolation, social distancing, and all of the other measures that we all take. it is worrisome, but it is not really a huge risk at this point. darren: what impact is this going to have on transmission rates? this is the one unknown that is crucial in trying to contain the spread of the virus. >> it is true that these new strains are having a very high rate of transmission, and colonization. as long as the circulation of

the virus in the community, and in different countries continue, there is a selection towards these viruses, to increase their tendency to cause infections. therefore, we have an issue. some of the vaccines are still able to treat or take care of these viruses, with less efficiency, but definitely in the case of severe disease, we are still seeing the vaccines are very good in preventing severe disease, by these sufficient -- specific variance. darren: i am going to ask you about the vaccine. let's talk about the manufacturers. how much tweaking to they to do to their shots to increase efficacy against these new mutations? >> there are several ways to do

it. one is between the existing vaccine to cover the new strains, but still, i think that will be with most of the world not getting the regular vaccine, to start talking about the second-generation. it is too early to talk about that. i think what we need to do is to look for ways to use the circulation of the buyers in the community, so these variance that are super spreaders can be controlled. that can be happening with existing vaccines, to have access to all, for all. as long as nobody will be safe until everybody is safe. therefore, extending and expanding the vaccination would be one measure that would reduce circulation, reduce more

mutations, and bar selection towards more violent strains. darren: thank you for talking to al jazeera. u.s. president joe biden has signed a series of executive orders aimed at reversing donald trump's hard-line immigration policies. they include the creation of a task force to reunite hundreds of children separated from their families under trump's zero-tolerance policy. the review will be a sound process at the border with mexico. let's bring in our correspondent from washington. tell us more about these executive orders, and how much are they about reversing donald trump's policies? >> moving into the second full week of the biden administration, they have set their target on dismantling some of the legacy of donald trump's immigration policies. you will remember that on day one joe biden overturned the so-called muslim band, and he also made some actions that would help dreamers, young

children brought here by their parents illegally, but have known nothing but living in the united states. this time there were three executive orders from joe biden. the first was to set up a task force under the nearly confirmed head of homeland security to try and reunite the families that were separated at the border. there are hundreds of them. we do not know the exact number because that is the level of dysfunction in the government, they don't know where all these children are, and they do not know how many were actually impacted. clearly, joe biden would like answers, that is why he has set up this task force. is also going to take measures to look, review the policies that were put in place by donald trump when it came to restricting the number of asylum-seekers admitted into the u.s., restricting the possibility of citizenship for a number of people, and also for green card holders, does proponent -- those work permits. the president said this is not

about making law by executive order, this is about doing the right thing for america after what happened under the trump administration. >> this is about how america's safer, stronger, more prosperous when we have a humane immigration system. with the first action today, we are going to work on undoing the national shame of the previous administration that literally rips children from the arms of their families. with no plan, none whatsoever to reunify the children who are still in custody. the second action addresses the root causes of immigration to our southern border. third action, the third order i will be signing orders a full review of the previous administrations are harmful and counterproductive immigration policies, basically

across-the-board. reporter: three executive orders signed on monday, but the biden administration is not done. we are told there will be more executive orders, they might look for example at the fact that migrants are currently being held in camps in mexico. remember that donald trump reached an agreement where there will be camps set up for people who applied for residency here in the united states, for asylum here in the united states, rather than the former policy of allowing them into the country before the hearings could be held. at is likely to be addressed. we know that joe biden would like to see an immigration reform bill sent to congress very soon. he has talked about the possibility of providing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented migrants here in the united states. some republicans say, that is simply not going to happen, but there would be support among the democrats. remember, democrats at the moment control the house and the senate. it is clear that joe biden is not done with dismantling donald

trump legacy on immigration just yet. darren: thank you. to more biden cabinet appointees have been confirmed by the u.s. senate. the secretary of homeland security, the first latino and first immigrant to hold the position. he is expected to play a key role in biden's attempts to reverse some immigration restrictions imposed by donald trump. earlier, pete buttigieg was confirmed by transportation secretary. he is the first openly gay member of a u.s. cabinet, he will be leaving the white house efforts to increase spending on infrastructure. meanwhile, the impeachment case against, trump has been set in motion at the senate. democrats who drafted the charges have accused him of endangering the lives of all numbers of congress by inciting his supporters to storm capitol hill. trump legal team says the senate lacks the authority to try him, now that he is no longer president. amazon bus jeff bezos has

announced he is stepping down as ceo later this year. is set to become executive chairman, where he can focus on new products and initiatives. bezos leaves his post on a high note, the company posted quarterly sales of more than $100 billion for the first time. the head of■■■■■■■■

[mikael colville-andersen] whenever i think about milan, i've always thought about a diva. a classy, respectable, aging opera singer who's led a long life and has so many stories to tell. this city is standing at a crossroads, just like every other city in the world, in this growing age of urbanism. but here, the conversation is amplified. there is a growing hunger for real urban change. i want to find out which path milan is choosing and how it will future-proof itself using the power of urbanism and community engagement. milan, show me what you've got.