wits is research manager at freedom house and co-author of the report democracy under lockdown in new delhi kavita krishnan is secretary of the all india progressive women's association and author of fearless freedom and in kiev eve our dollar is senior policy adviser at norwegian helsinki committee welcome to the program amy let me start with you this decline in democracy around the world that is being highlighted in your reporting this is something that started happening long before the code in 1000 pandemic correct that's right freedom house also produces an annual publication called freedom in the world and it looks at every country and its political rights and civil liberties so way it has found is that over the past 14 years global trade ads have been into crime that 19 is an exacerbation of this trend conveyed to report sites specifically the indian government as a government that is scapegoating marginalized groups the report talks about how india's muslims were labeled as super spreaders of covert 19 and subjected to a hate campaign how bad is the situation there. it's been very ba

been the people with symptoms are voided getting tested for fear of being stigmatized for now only delhi and several other regions have decided to stop issuing notices they are still used in other parts of the country info to doctors friend of us rushed kumar who says the policy was badly thought out from the start but. it was the usual practice for people who were returning them while in countries that reason history of late there have been slowly this mandate very well and been 14 days to return from a foreign country down you'll not be used for people who could be forced to do these things actually increase the stigma related but the people who guard the initial infection you know believe the mostly they're look don't up on in some states they have even leak into varigated. in front of their homes so that they cannot go sued because a bag for sayed underbite of well it's the makers to be splayed in the 1st place where good is good dead finally they are decided to get away with such pieces and their descriptions. are numbered you're right up to date thanks for staying with r.t. more co

that in delhi authorities decided to stop putting my disses outside hundreds of people here walk i think 19 positive ideas offer officials admitted the practice lease to stigmatise i should there is a stigma with the coronavirus disease and posters outside the house amplify that by doing away with this we are aiming at increased testing we want more people to get themselves tested without thinking of stigmas. the homes of those infected with k. would have been mark since the 1st days of the pandemic in india but people say that they've been discriminated against even after they've recovered one consequence of that has been that people with symptoms have avoided getting tested for fear of being stigmatized for now only delhi and several other regions have decided to stop issuing notices they're still used in other parts of the country we spoke to doctors that in vast dodge a comma who says the policy was badly thought out from the start from the initial days it was the usual practice for people who were returning from foreign countries quote how the recent history of late there have been

try to counter chinese influence well our correspondent elizabeth piron is in the indian capital new delhi a week out from the u.s. election this is clearly viewed as a very important trip what's topping the agenda here. that is defense in the style to this is the 3rd round of what's called the india u.s. 2 plus 2 dialogue between the u.s. secretaries of state and defense and the 3rd time it's taken place in the last 3 years and seen the signing of what both consider countries consider an important defense deal for the 2 of them it was the last the final 4 defense deals that was outstanding and allows them to share high end military technology maps and classified data was outstanding because the previous indian government that was in power before the b. j p the congress government was reluctant to sign it despite efforts from the u.s. because it thought that it would be given away something of that strategic autonomy by doing so but things have changed since then there is the b j p government in power the trump white house and the 2 administrations the close to each other the decision to e

india are working together to confront threats posed by china as he signs new defense deals with new delhi. sudan ethiopia and egypt are expected to restart talks on the controversial nial dam project at present on a trump warns could lead to military conflict. in the south where and any kind of barracks is controversially sworn in as the newest u.s. to primm court justice shifting the court further to the right. now a bomb blast in a religious school in northwest pakistan has now killed at least 8 people more than 100 others were also injured and fishel as a device was detonated a student's gathered for lessons the target the reports. up to 500 students were packed into this room when the bomb exploded as. they were listening to a lecture by a prominent scholar at the jimmy is a very a religious school in push our could even start a budget it was 8 o'clock in the morning the teacher was giving a lesson we just heard a big bang and all the students are running here and their. police say the bomb was hidden in an abandoned bag in the main hall. pakistani and afghan students teachers and oth

it's an election on the other side of the world but opinions on it abound on the streets of delhi. people on. the force but they don't know that these people when pushed out and one from my perspective i think don't i'm going to be a better president so i keep that job within the definity but the putting young and he would be better but they with this event overcomes. the present before us. that initiative of india should be much much better but for some here the result of that election so far we could be life changing neely's jock nick a software engineer did google lived in the us for 6 years when in get started canceling flights amid the couldn't a crisis in march he rushed home to his family now despite about it riza he no longer feels confident about returning to silicon valley tanks to confusing destruction for immigrants from the current administration. nieces decision to return will hinge on whether trump is reluctant i am ready but it. a 2nd person to see don't because. who's to say what other laws will come in and i can just go back and have. my life taken away from me ag

before its new delhi have decided to start putting notices outside homes of people who walk over 1000 positive softer officials admitted the practice leads to stigmatize ation there is a stigma with the coronavirus disease in posters outside the house amplify that by doing away with this we are aiming at increased testing we want more people to get themselves tested without thinking of stigmas. the homes of those infected with coded have been mocked since the 1st days of the pandemic in india but people say they've been discriminated against even after they recovered on consequence of that has been the people with symptoms of avoided getting tested for fear of being stigmatized for now in the delhi and several other regions have decided to stop issuing notices they are still used in other parts of the country we spoke to dr sort of us rush kumar who says that the policy was badly thought out from the start . it was the usual practice for people who were returning from countries that he's in history of late there have been slowly mandated 3. days to return from a foreign country down.

gyms will be closing and urges people to reduce personal contacts and travel restrictions coming as delhi infection rates climb back will address parliament on these measures later this morning and then even stricter slate of measures in france president the call sends the country back into lockdown people need written permission to leave their homes will go live to paris also on our show. poland's pro-choice activists promise their protests will continue their taking to the streets for a 7th straight day against a near total ban on abortion. and 7 months after the shooting of a black woman in her home by police in kentucky we need people pushing for reforms in law enforcement. i'm brian thomas good to have you with us today germany is closing down at least partially the german chancellor all a macro has announced a limited national lockdown for most of november now the goal is to stop an alarming rise in new corona virus infections they've now hit a new one day record of about $17000.00 beginning monday restaurants gyms bars and theaters will be among the businesses shutting down schools

after the post-mortem was done in delhi we didn't even know that a body was sent home we were not asked for any approval late in the night that will forcing us to perform the last rites we requested their latest take go home so a family members could see oh for one last time they didn't pay any heed to our request and performed her last rites we want justice we want strict legal action against them and we demand kept all punishment for the accused. local police say they had the family's approval they've deployed officers around the area to maintain calm but the community is demanding justice know none of it victims families say they want those responsible to face the death penalty. the teenager's identity is protected by law but members of her community too often are not she was a doll it's a so-called untouchable and india's controversial caste system all the suspects are from an upper caste living right next door police have arrested 4 men in connection with the attack that's led to protest prime minister narendra modi has called for strict action against the accused as quickly as pos

capitol is trying to cut at pollution to limit the effects of the coronavirus new delhi's one of the world's most polluted cities and experts say that has weakened immune systems of people living that the government is now implementing a handful of measures including a mobile app allowing people to lodge complaints against any chance india is one of the worst affected countries by cave in 19 with more than 6 and a half 1000000 cases. this is al jazeera these are the top stories the songs president is calling for calm off the opposition protesters stormed the parliament building they freed the former president who is awaiting trial on corruption charges demonstrations accuse the government of rigging sunday's elections. it has the latest from bishkek there seems to be a mixture really of jubilation but grates on certainty is it's a very fluid situation on the ground a lot of people obviously very happy about what has happened the opposition supporters of multiple opposition parties celebrating what so many people here are describing already is this country's revolution so the revoluti

correspondent elizabeth promise following this visit in new delhi for us live as we were saying before a week out from the u.s. election this is clearly viewed as a very important trip and it's not the 1st this is not to visit to counter china seemingly is to strengthen ties with india. so yes this is the what's called the 4th and final in a foundational defense relationship they call it between the 2 countries it's an agreement that has eluded previous u.s. governments it's one that the u.s. secretaries of state of defense have signed on this trip to india and the last 3 years and it allows the 2 countries to share high end military technology maps and classified classified das it's one that the previous indian government the congress government didn't want to sign because it was worried that it would be giving up something off its strategic autonomy bought the u.s. india defense relationship has only become closer over the last few years and with india buying more and more defense equipment especially for the if was analysts say that it was just a matter of time before they signed th

to pradesh the same day as the 19 year old 1st victim died after spending 2 weeks in a hospital in delhi police say they've made arrests in both cases and if denied accusations by the family the 1st victim of committing a body without their permission thank. you separate cases have reignited protests across several states and online demanding justice for victims of sexual violence. the father if he yochi at atlanta can't protect women that it's better that he should voluntarily step down and resign he can't run the government. if the uttar pradesh government is on the women's side then why of rapes happening every other day every other day there are sexual assaults and other crimes happening to women we will teach this government a lesson not only did both women live in the same state but they were also both from the daleks community marginalized being at the bottom of india's deeply entrenched cost system despite rules protecting what was formerly known as the untouchables they face daily discrimination for generations so those so-called main dimensions idea regards those actual violenc

passed 8000000 but data from the country's health ministry well it's showing the average number of new delhi infections is beginning to decline. india has the 2nd highest number of confirmed cases in the world after the united states. and hong kong a teenage activist has become the 1st political figure to be prosecuted under a sweeping new national security law imposed by beijing 19 year old toni chong is a former member of student localism a small group that advocates on kong's independence from china. fighters in california are continuing to battle major wildfires near los angeles which have been raging since monday thousands of residents in some areas were allowed to return to their homes however after calmer winds helped firefighters be back to the places. well thousands of people of taking to the streets of numerous polish cities capping a week of delhi protests that's started after the country's top car court decision that effectively bans abortions the ruling means abortions are now only legal if a mother's health is at risk or if a pregnancy is a result of rape or incest protest orga

germany reduces new antivirus curves after a new flare up in delhi cases the return of restrictions is sparking a mixed reaction to. the us the us vice presidential candidates come on mike pence faced off wednesday night for their 1st and only debate this election and there were some high flying exchanges to be seen to break it all down for you here in this 2 you just bit later. good morning 801 on the bottom live from arts international and our world news center here in moscow this 8th of october monomers kevin owen here with the latest this morning for you for the next half hour or so can stick around as it takes you through this morning's news from us 1st it's day 12 of the conflict between azerbaijan and armenia over the disputed enclave of no kind of back students he says still continuing between those 2 fellows however it's not only the soldiers on the frontline who are losing their lives there are also many civilians being killed too according to the region's officials half the population living in a going to cut back for to flee the region where military operations began again

reports its highest number of new delhi infections about 5000 on wednesday the c.e.o. of dubai airport as warned that the air hub is facing a slow recovery and could see passenger traffic fall in as much as 70 percent this year the airport was the world's busiest for international travel before the crisis and there is some progress in the state of victoria in australia the epicenter of covert 1000 infections in that country it has not recorded any new cases for the last 48 hours it's the 1st time that's happened in more than 7 months. now the backlash between islamic countries and france over president micron's comments on islam and freedom of speech is growing strong as strongly defended characters of the prophet muhammad following the brutal murder of a french teacher or use them in classroom discussions about free speech since then there have been massive anti french rallies in muslim majority countries. the target of their anger is clear. here in pakistan protesters in karate and islamabad accuse the french president of attacking islam. for asking the behavior of t

student pritish reid says police in delhi mistreated him during a protest on wednesday. police it seems you know is functioning with complete immunity they're really don't care if you file cases they really don't care if the media covers i personally feel that you know delhi is on the word of becoming another german kashmir where you basically waste your time a critical pinion and you are welcome to the police station or the jail. sexual violence against women was at the center of widespread anger and nationwide protests in 2012 that led to changes in the rule. potato years later women here still face a significant risk of sexual assault according to the government's own national crime records bureau a woman is raped in india every 15 minutes set aside at al jazeera. french president emanuel mccraw has called radical islam the biggest threat to french society he also claimed that islam was in crisis around the world. outline proposals for a new anti separatism law aimed at improving integration and combating religious divisions in the country natasha butler holds. the fr

student pritish reid says police in delhi mistreated him during a protest on wednesday. police it seems you know is functioning with complete immunity they're really don't care if you file cases they really don't care if the media covers i personally feel that you know delhi is on the word of becoming another german kashmir where you basically waste your time a critical pinion and you are welcome to the police station or the jeep. sexual violence against women was at the center of widespread anger and nationwide protests in 2012 that led to changes in the rule. potato years later women here still face a significant risk of sexual assault according to the government's own national crime records bureau a woman is raped in india every 15 minutes set aside at al jazeera. french president has called radical islam the biggest threat to french society during a trip to paris he also claimed islam was in crisis around the world's most proposals for a new anti separatism law aimed at improving integration and combating religious divisions in the country and asked about the reports

student british marines says police in delhi mistreated him during a protest on wednesday. police it seems you know is functioning with complete immunity they're really don't care if you file cases they really don't care if the media covers i personally feel that you know delhi is on the word of becoming another german kashmir where you basically waste your time a critical pinion and you are welcome to the police station or digit. sexual violence against women was at the center of widespread anger and nationwide protests in 2012 that led to changes in the rule. potato years later women here still face a significant risk of sexual assault according to the government's own national crime records bureau a woman is raped in india every 15 minutes set aside at al jazeera.

these pictures are from new delhi. as you can see, police tried to disrupt this protest. much of the outrage has been focused on a dispute over the police decision to quickly cremate the victim's body. this is her mother. under indian law, we cannot show you herface. translation: i spent the whole night crying. i didn't know what had happened. they could have shown us her body and let us conduct the last rites. one doesn't get closure if this isn't done. they beat some people and the car reached the funeral ground. they started beating family members and kicking them there. is this any way to behave? today, a senior police officer has said forensic reports suggested the young woman hadn't been raped. combine that with decision to destroy her remains, and opposition politicians are alleging a cover up. also relevant is that both victims were from the dalit community, which is an underprivileged group in indian society. in the hathras case, four men of a higher caste have been arrested. here's a dalit activist and lawyer. this case is about caste and caste supremacy, and th

in the southern city of bengal lou they have continued today indeed in this meet again and here in delhi and number of offices of n.g.o.s and newspapers and owns and offices of prominent human rights activists have been raided they include the former chairman of the delhi minority commission now a prominent politician member he has condemned the raids he says that there are a vicious crackdown on dissent and members of the people's democratic party have been detained and indeed administration use capital for protesting against the raids. there's a growing divide between northern and southern england over the response to coronavirus local lockdowns are in force across much of the north of 19 factions rights and as andrew simmons reports from manchester those cities are demanding more help from the government. the north of england has long been the pole relation to the self in its economy and welfare with cove it hitting hard ahead now that the rest of the country it's open the gap even wider might just as initial refusal to move into the highest level of restrictions led to a standoff wit

pact to share military technology and classified satellite data elizabeth put on a reports from new delhi. u.s. secretary of defense mark i spoke was welcomed by a dad of honor in india's capital. just one week before the us election he and u.s. secretary of state mike pompei are landed to sign the 4th and final defense agreement between the 2 countries a deal which has eluded previous u.s. administrations during our meetings these last 3 days we have reaffirmed the united states' commitment to a comprehensive and forward looking defense partnership with india the basic exchange and cooperation agreement or beca as it's known will allow the sharing of military technology maps and classified satellite data and it comes as relations between nuclear neighbors india and china are at their worst in decades in june 20 indian soldiers and an unknown number of chinese troops were killed in clashes in the valley along by a disputed border the 1st military deaths in 45 he is this morning we visited the national war memorial to honor the brave men and women of the indian army forces who were sacrifi

student pritish reid says police in delhi mistreated him during a protest on wednesday police it seems you know is functioning with complete immunity there is really don't care if you file cases there really don't care if the media covers i personally feel that you know delhi is on the word of becoming another don when kashmir where you basically waste your democratic opinion and you are welcome to the police station or the jail. sexual violence against women was at the center of widespread anger a nationwide protest in 2012 that led to changes in the rule. but 8 years later women here still face a significant risk of sexual assault according to the government's own national crime records bureau a woman is raped in india every 15 minutes. set aside it and. tribes in northern thailand has spent decades fighting for citizenship tourism was one of the few ways that many of them like the current tribe and their livelihood that's dried up because of the pandemic and it's forcing some to consider heading back across the border to me in ma and the homes they fled could hide the reports now fr

a nearly 72000000 eligible voters in the state's indycar spondon elizabeth random reports from new delhi. a new set of voting protocols people in bihar sanitise they hands and have the temperature taken before casting their ballot in the 1st election in india since the start of the coronavirus pandemic around 20000000 people lined up to vote in a local election season as an important national test and whether the lodge of events like these can be held safely during the pandemic. wanted to have their say despite safety concerns. it's 100 percent not safe because you may be sanitizing the areas but you've seen the rallies weber's holding them they are so crowded we don't think anyone is safe. the government hasn't helped us deal with the coronavirus i would give them a 4 out of 10 people are forced to walk on roads they face many problems. the election is also seen as a test of how prime minister and his party have handled the coronavirus outbreak when the indian government imposed one of the world's strictest lockdowns in march hundreds of thousands of migrant workers were forced to walk

choosing between 12 candidates including incumbent president afrikander and his longtime rival solo delhi and. a car bomb has killed at least 12 people in central afghanistan dozens were injured in the city of call in the capital of or province no one has yet claimed responsibility 8 afghan security officials were killed in a taliban attack in conducive province with taliban says recent violence in afghanistan were talks with the government some of binge of aid has been monitoring developments in qatar. tens of thousands of afghans have been displaced in the last few weeks as fighting has intensified between the afghan government and the part of the taliban insisting that it is trying to retake areas that it had a vacated front of the gun people and saying that it has been launching defenses offensives only against those areas where checkpoints have been established where reinforcements have been sent and where it has come under attack by the wire night creates or airstrikes on the other hand the afghan government says that it is the taliban who have been launching an offensive and it is

against women has been under the spotlight in india since the 2012 gang rape and murder of a woman in delhi which led to huge nationwide protests and changes to the country's great throws but this time protesters say it's hasn't been enough to protect these 2 women in a to pradesh sort of hired al-jazeera. britain's exit from the european union might have just become even more complicated formal talks to hammer out a trade deal by december 31st deadline are set to conclude on friday but now the e.u. is launching legal action against the u.k. of a plans to breach parts of the brics it divorce agreement a letter of formal notice has been sent to the british government which has a month to now respond it could eventually lead to a case in the european court of justice the disagreement centers around a bill in the british parliament which would violate international law if passed it could ignore trade rules involving northern ireland brics it is one of the topics that leaders from the bloc of discussed during a summit that is taking place in brussels this morning the commission has decided to s

she died in hospital in delhi a fortnight after the attack. tougher laws against rape in india have been brought in, but the country's still struggling to tackle sexual violence against women. a warning — some viewers may find this report from our india correspondent yogita limaye distressing. the last video of maneesha in which she says she had been gang raped and assaulted. her spinal—cord had been damaged, she was paralysed and a week later she died. the 19—year—old belonged to the dalit cast, at the bottom of hindu social hierarchy. she was attacked in these fields, allegedly by four men who belong to an upper caste. i found her unconscious, her clothes had been torn and she was bleeding. the men who did this should be hanged, said her mother. serious questions are now being raised about the investigation. the family alleges police delayed arresting the accused and that they cremated her body hastily without them. her mother pleaded to get one last glimpse of maneesha, but she was not allowed. here, a local official is seen telling

student british marines says police in delhi mistreated him during a protest on wednesday. police it seems you know is functioning with complete immunity there is really don't care if you file cases there really don't care if the media covers i personally feel that you know delhi is on the word of becoming another german kashmir where you basically waste your demographic opinion and you are welcome to the police station or digit. sexual violence against women was at the center of widespread anger and nationwide protests in 2012 that led to changes in the rule. but 80 years later women here still face a significant risk of sexual assault according to the government's own national crime records bureau a woman is raped in india every 15 minutes. so tonight it has been a russian journalist has died after setting herself on fire a day after police searched her apartment arena's levinas set herself ablaze outside an interior ministry office the journalist worked for a kozo press that's a news website advertised as being free from state influence of 5 european members of the u.n.

student pritish reid says police in delhi mistreated him during a protest on wednesday. police it seems you know is functioning with complete immunity there is really don't care if you file cases there really don't care if the media covers i personally feel that you know delhi is on the word of becoming another don when kashmir where you basically waste your don't agree to go pinion and you are welcome to the police station or the jail. sexual violence against women was at the center of widespread anger and nationwide protests in 2012 that led to changes in the little. potato years later women here still face a significant risk of sexual assault according to the government's own national crime records bureau a woman is raped in india every 15 minutes set aside at al jazeera. it's pretty sad news that reuters reporting that the democratic presidential candidate joe biden has tested negative for coronavirus tested negative of course u.s. president donald trump is in isolation and suffering from mild symptoms of coronavirus after testing positive joe biden has now tested ne

quad alliance something analysts say will further antagonize china elizabeth pradhan al jazeera new delhi the chinese payments company and school says its share sale will be the biggest stock market flotation in history the tech firm behind china's largest online payments form has spice its share launch at $10.30 each that values a company at around $34000000000.00 for $1670000000.00 of its shares if all goes well the launch will surpass the previous record set by saudi arabia's around code last december at around $29000000000.00 and group is owned by one of china's richest men jack ma and is expected to begin trading shares on the hong kong and shanghai stock exchanges next month duncan clark is a chairman of b.d.a. china an advisory firm serving investors in chinese technology and consumer sectors he says the and will bend his online payment system pay have transformed personal finance. it's very much focused on not only young users but young users love it because it's a game of fight there's lots of games you can play imagine your bank having a gaming at the. but also it's accessible t

in 2012, a young student was brutally tortured and gang raped on a moving bus in new delhi. the case attracted global headlines and sparked unprecedented protests, forcing the government to introduce the death penalty for rapists in india. but it's achieved little. the cult of masculinity is the biggest demerit of policing in india. whether it is a police station, whether it is the subculture in which the police operates, the cult of masculinity that percolates down to the dna of policing needs to be set right and that would be a major course correction. the dust has barely settled on this case, but news of another gang rape and murder are dominating headlines. a 22—year—old woman, allegedly drugged, tortured and raped, died on her way to the hospital in the same state. another grim reminder of the realities on the ground. a shocked india reflects today. what more can be done to stop this horrific trend? let's get more now on our top story, one of president trump's top aides, hope hicks, has tested positive for coronavirus. peter, what more do we know here? we know from