anchor: the beirut battleground, six killed and dozens injured. the country's president insists those responsible will be caught and held accountable. ♪ hello, i'm barbara serra. this is al jazeera live from london. police say a deadly bow and arrow attack in norway appears to be an active terror. the first african leader to meet

joe biden at the white house, as the u.s. pledges 17 million vaccine doses for the continent. and bali is back, but where are all the tourists? indonesia's most popular island reopens after 18 months. ♪ beirut is reeling from its worst day of street violence in more than a decade, violence which left six people dead and dozens injured. protesters were targeted by snipers positioned in buildings, but many of the dead shot from the head. crowds were making their way to a demonstration organized by hezbollah against the lead judge investigating last year's core explosion before the chaos broke out. fire echoed through the lebanese capital for several hours. seine a holder begins our coverage from beirut. reporter: sniper fire.

gunfights. rockets fired in the city. a battle across the dividing line that dates back to the civil war that ended in 1990. two longtime enemies turned part of beirut into a battleground. politz bounced from buildings as people ran for cover and children evacuated from school. >> we moved the children to lower levels and then we waited until the parents came to take their children. the children were going through panic and fear. they cried and screamed. reporter: a large army deployment failed to contain the situation. supporters of muslim shieh political groups were hunkered down in shieh neighborhoods. on the others of the street, were supporters party, there were casualties, many hit by stray bullets, some while hiding in their homes.

the clashes are in their third hour, one of the serious bouts of violence in recent years. the were over -- tensions were over a judge leading an investigation after an explosion. hezbollah say the confrontations began when a lebanese sniper ambushed protesters making their way to the justice palace, where they demanded where they demanded. they blamed the lebanese forces for the attack, a charge the group denied. >> the real threat lies in the use of weapons and in those who have targeted peaceful demonstrators. there were peaceful demonstrations everywhere during the past two years, but we have not seen such an attack against them. reporter: the dangerous escalation followed political tensions over the investigation, which is already paralyzed the government. hezbollah is threatening to pull their ministers, which means an entire set would be absent, in violation of the country's power-sharing agreement. the opposition is accusing

hezbollah of staging acute -- a coup. >> ever since hezbollah's harms no longer have any function except fighting wars in syria or assuming iran's agenda, and now imposing on the lebanese state, what the justice is allowed to do and not to do, what a judge can decide or can't decide, and they're drawing red lines around ministers who are corrupt and accused, and are saying that they are above the law. reporter: the guns eventually fell silent, but it further divided and already polarized society. there appears to be an undeclared truce, but the crisis is not over. demands for the judge's dismissal have not gone away. those against him say he is politicized. those who support him, and that includes the families of victims, say he is among the rare judges who are not

politically affiliated in a country where there is a culture of impunity and those in power act above the law. more than 200 people were killed in that blast that destroyed neighborhoods. >> let happened today was a show of force by hezbollah and its allies, essentially giving the lebanese public falsehoods, either stability without justice or justice but most ability. this is -- but no stability. this is just the latest act to undermine and block investigation into the beirut last. reporter: the balance of power is not in the judge's favor, but he did try to take on the powerful, almost unheard of in lebanese history. it brought back sings from a turbulent pass, a warning of what might come. barbara: lebanon's president has condemned the violence and said

that those behind the attack will be brought to justice. the army remains deployed on the streets and nine people have been arrested. >> we will never allow anyone to hijack the country. what has happened today will be followed on both levels of the judiciary and security, and the investigations will reach the reality and the truth and effects..those perpetrators will be taken to the courts. investigation of the beirut court blast will continue because it's a commitment to the lebanese people into our international community based on the independence of the judiciary. barbara: he is the cofounder of the international and transitional justice resource center, and he's based in beirut. he says the situation remains fragile and fractional powers could be pushing the country towards a civil conflict. >> this is a catastrophe. we have two bring a civil war

again, unfortunately, and this is due to a power play between practically hezbollah and the lebanese judiciary, if i may say. for people who are activists, lebanon have been calling for the independence of the judiciary for years, for decades if i may say. it's the first time we see signs of serious judicial process that is actually asking for high-ranking officers and high-ranking politicians to come to be investigated with. and this is something that is really giving some hope for the balance of the victims and the people who were killed in this massacre. now, i would not allow myself to go into whether the judge is doing the right thing or no because none of us know what is actually in the judicial proceeding and the investigation itself. and again, this is the investigative judge. it is still a very long process. if now, we are not even

accepting to be elongated by the judiciary procedures, what are we waiting until we have a trial in the proper fair trial for the people and the proper accountability for people who committed the crime. i think we are very, very far from that and unfortunately, hezbollah is taking that in the wrong direction and accusing the judge of leaving -- leading a biased process altogether. ♪ barbara: norway's intelligence agency says of bowen arrow attack that left five people dead appears to be an act of terrorism. two others were injured in the worst violence in the country in a decade. it happened southwest of the capital, oslo. a 37-year-old danish man has been arrested. alexi o'brien reports. reporter: an arrow pierces a

wall, part of what police say are several crime scenes after a man armed with a bow and arrow rode through the small town about 80 kilometers from oslo. over 30 minutes, he picked out targets, killing four women and a man. two others were injured, including an off-duty police officer. the attack and its aftermath overshadowed norway's new prime minister's first day in office. he called it a cruel and brutal act. >> my first thoughts really go to those affected, those who have lost their lives, who are injured, and who are shocked by this horrible incident that has hit this beautiful town. >> i am a messenger. alexi: police charged a 37-year-old danish man. the muslim convert earlier posted a warning on twitter.

intelligence agencies say the attack appears to be terrorism. >> there earlier had been worries of the man having been radicalized, which the police have followed up. but as previously stated, no reports from 2021, from 2020 or earlier. alexi: police and the scandinavian country aren't normally armed, the officers have been temporarily ordered to carry firearms. norway suffered its worst peace time mass shooting in july 2011, when a far right attacker killed 77 people, many of them teenagers at a summer holiday camp. now, flags are flying at half-mast and the attack is being felt across all of norway. alexi o'brien, al jazeera. barbara: u.s. president joe biden says his country will donate millions of vaccines to the african union.

he made the announcement while hosting kenyan president at the white house. he is the first african leader to visit since joe biden took office. along with the pandemic, the leaders also discussed climate change and security in the whole of africa. >> we're continuing our shared fight against covid. the united states has donated 2.8 million doses of vaccines to kenya as part of a 50 million doses to the african union. and i'm proud to announce that today, that we're making an additional historic one-time donation of 17 million j&j vaccines and sending more by the end of the year. barbara: my cannot is in washington, d.c. and explains what the two leaders are hoping to gain from the visit. reporter: well, the u.s. is seeking reassurances that kenya

will play a role in sorting out the problem in ethiopia, where there's fighting between government and tigre rebel forces. certainly, kenya's got an important role to play in that. in addition to the u.s. wanting to make clear that it is engaged in affairs on the continent, you heard president biden referring to yet another trench of vaccines being donated to kenya and to the african union as a whole. but there is a very big elephant in the room, too, and that is the pandora papers. now, just a few days ago, uhuru kenyatta was one of the 30 leaders named, more than $30 million supported transferred by him and members of his family. now, president biden is certain to have caught up this particular issue with him. a spokesman for the white house saying that the money issues to be discussed is financial

transparency, both on an international and on a domestic basis. president kenyatta himself has denied any wrongdoing in this particular event, but certainly that is going to be part of the conversation, or is being part of the conversation between president biden and his kenyan counterpart. barbara: still to come, five years after an italian student's body was found in a ditch, a murder trial begins, but the judge immediately suspends it. and thousands of georgians descend on the capital to demand the release of their former president, imprisoned over allegations of abuse of power. ♪ ♪ meteorologist: it has been damaging storms around sydney recently. this whole circulation is huge when you think of the size of this continent and the storms,

which are now going offshore's, have had been there worst in new south wales. the situation hasn't gone away. there's more rain to come for a good part of new south wales and victoria. in contrast, in western australia, it's really quite warm, perth up to 32 by friday. that won't last, but briefly warmer than it should be. this is vicious spring weather. the low moves away. you will see the sun come back amidst a few showers, sydney settled to 23 by the end of saturday. now, the remains of tropical storm compulsive is already over northern vietnam. the tracking came from the eastern side of the philippines. never typhoon strength, but produced an awful lot of rain from hong kong westwards. this is it disappearing friday. the rain is at its heaviest weekly in northern vietnam. this mass here, a tropical depression, which might wind itself into be something significant.

by the time you get to saturday, this part of central vietnam will see 200, 300 millimeters again. ♪ >> in the world's most populous nation, one in every four women suffers domestic violence. we investigate china's battleground at home on al jazeera. ♪ >> did you know you can watch al jazeera english streaming live on our youtube channel? plus thousands of our programs, award-winning documentaries, and in-depth news reports. subscribto youtube.com/aljazee raenglish. ♪ ♪

barbara: a reminder now of the top stories on al jazeera. beirut has been rocked by its worst day of street violence in more than a decade, leaving six people dead and dozens injured. protesters were targeted by unidentified snipers positioned in buildings. norway's intelligence agency says about one arrow attack that left five people dead appears to be an act of terrorism. two others were injured in the worst violence in the country in a decade. and u.s. president joe biden says his country will donate millions of vaccines to the african union. he made the announcement while hosting the kenyan president uhuru kenyatta, the first african president to visit the white house since joe biden took office. the trial of four members of egypt's security forces for the kidnap and murder of an italian academic has been haunted by a judge.

the body was found in a ditch outside cairo in 2016. an autopsy showed that he had been tortured. the four security agents were due to be tried in abstention, but the trial was suspended when a judge found that it was unclear whether they actually knew about the charges against him. adam rainey was outside that courtroom. reporter: a judge here in rome ruled to suspend the trial of four egypt and security officers in rome. they were on trial in the torture and murder case of an italian researcher whose body was found in a ditch in cairo in 2016. the judge seemed to follow the reasoning defense attorneys, saying there's no way to continue with these proceedings because these four suspects have not been officially informed of the trial, despite prosecutors and attorneys saying they have made several attempts to inform these men. they say those attempts have been blocked by the egyptian government.

this case has been followed closely in italy, where there's a lot of pressure for authorities and for politicians to show that they're standing up for human rights around the world and human rights of their own citizens. right now, the case is effectively on hold. it's not clear what steps the family or prosecutors have at this time, because if they cannot inform these men, this court has made clear that the case cannot continue. barbara: george's opposition has held o'reilly to protest against the imprisoned -- a rally to protest. he entered the country illegally from exile. he faces six years in prison. we report. reporter: they came to the capital from across georgia for a jailed president who continues to command their respect. they gathered in the capital's freedom square to demand his

liberty. his team read his letter, penned from jail. >> i am here. i am firmly determined to stay. and that is to defeat the regime, to the contribution, to the fight of the georgian people against poverty, corruption, injustice, destruction. reporter: he was swiftly arrested after he secretly returned to georgia last month, found guilty in absentia of abuses of power in office, he faces six years in prison. he's been on hunger strike for two wekek.s to his supporters, he is a political prisoner. they remember him for what he achieved in office. >> the country made an unprecedented economic and social leap in 10 years.

this is what people remember. reporter: the opposition united national movement has been bored by his return from exile. they hope this rally will give the momentum in forthcoming elections. >> they keep asking come what is your plan? our plan is only one and there will be no second plan. victory, nothing else. reporter: but the party still lags behind the government in polls. there are many georgians who would rather forget shock is severely. but his supporters want him forgiven, even from prison, he retains a powerful influence over this country. ♪ robin first-year walker, al jazeera. barbara: turkey's foreign minister says the taliban must ensure any afghan government is inclusive of all ethnic and

religious groups. the high-level taliban delegation in turkey as it continues diplomatic support for recognition after taking over afghanistan in august. a day later in qatar, the group appealed to u.s. and european officials to end afghanistan's isolation. the group once the west to ease financial restrictions, which they say are crippling the country. the u.n. envoy to yemen is warning fighting in a city has taken an alarming turn. hundreds of people have been killed and many civilians are trapped as fighting intensified this week. houthi rebels regained. control of the city last month -- control of the city last month. it has rich oil reserves. >> it has persisted for almost a month, leaving thousands of

people in a desperate situation. as repeatedly stated in this council, the military escalation must stop. the secretary-general himself is following the developments closely. and i reiterate that you when's call on -- you and -- u.n.'s call on all parties to cease and desist. barbara: they have killed a leader of ice holes affiliate -- isul's affiliate. he split the party, fighting a bloody ideological feud. a committed wrist has more now. reporter: nigeria's chief of staff confirmed categorically that he has been killed, but did not elaborate as to whether it was military airstrike or military operations that killed the isul later or bow, leader,

or it's because of that ongoing frighting -- fighting between the main group and isul affiliate, boko haram. the boko haram found out his actual name, but when his father was killed, he was old enough to take over command. at that time, the group wanted a radical leader who, as a result of the fractional fighting, was killed by isul members just months ago. now, a lot of operations have been going on. and in the recent region, and one fighter confirmed to al jazeera that there were irreconcilable differences. in fact, in nigeria, they stop the help of military organizers, armed fighters in libya that they killed him. and since then, there's been fighting going on between the

two camps. as a result, many fighters were killed in the process. barbara: the belgian government is being sued over the separation of biracial children from their african mothers in what is now the democratic republic of congo. five women are demanding liberation -- reparations. they say the policy that separated thousands of children amounted to abduction. the mixed race children were born to belgian fathers. they were placed under state guardianship in orphanages, usually by the catholic church. the belgian prime minister apologized for the state's role. >> in the case of those women, they actually want to show that they are more than hurt. the problem was also that we were considered children of the state. it was not the mother who exercised power. it was the state that was allowed to exercise power. and in that sense, they were free to do as they pleased. barbara: the indonesian island

of bali is welcoming back tourists after an 18 month hiatus, so long as the tourists are vaccinated and also complete five days of hotel quarantine. travelers from 19 different countries are to be committed, but no international flights are actually scheduled. after months of economic hardship, many say that they are eager to welcome back tourists, as jessica washington now reports. jessica: on the island of volley, -- bali, one of indonesia's most popular tourist attractions. for months, some of their fame to beaches were closed due to the pandemic. now, many say they are feeling optimistic the worst is over. >> i hope tourists will come back, just like before, and in getting my surfboards ready. jessica: shortly after the pandemic began, indonesia shut its borders to tourists.

the restrictions had a devastating effect on bali's economy. thousands of people faced financial hardship. >> before the pandemic, there were around three to five people each day who wanted to learn how to serve. now, there's no one. jessica: a few months ago, indonesia was the global epicenter of the virus, with thousands of people dying every day. but after months of tragedy, infections have declined and a vaccine drive has been accelerated. on the first day of its reopening, no flats arrived at the international terminal. officials say it may take weeks or months before the industry properly restarts. >> in november, according to our data, there are folks in china, south korea, and japan. hopefully the blockades will keep going on. jessica: some owners are hopeful they will be able to revive their business as restrictions are further eased. >> if the regulations were

simpler, more tourists would come. we just want bali to be normal again as soon as possible. jessica: like many in the industry, she fears a compulsory five day hotel quarantine may put off visitors. the partial reopening of indonesia's borders is just the first step in rejuvenating the country's tourism industry, and experts say they are confident the industry will begin to recover in coming months. some are confident the appeal of bali remains unchanged. >> this is the magic of bali. i think that's why i'm optimistic that bali will rebound, will revive again. jessica: more than 6 million travelers visited bali in 2019, and those in the tourism industry are hoping they and others will soon return. jessica washington, al jazeera, jakarta. barbara: the world health organization has named 26 experts who will revive the

investigation into the pandemic. the group will look into the origins of the virus that emerged in china in late 2019. the disease has since killed nearly 5 million people. >> that is a human endeavor to understand of virus that has stopped our whole world. and i would ask everyone, countries, journalists, everybody else to create a little bit of space for that discussion to happen. because this is probably, right now, this is our best chance and it may be our last chance to understand the origins of this virus in a collegiate, collective, and mutually responsible way. barbara: at least 46 people have been killed in a fire in southern taiwan. dozens of others were injured in the blaze, which broke out in a 13 story building early on thursday. authorities are investigating whether the firecccccc [ video casste rating ]

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