the new african photography this time on the al-jazeera. u.s. republicans poised to hand president trump his first a major legislative victory with the final approval of sweeping tax reforms.

are you watching al-jazeera live from london also coming up on the program the zimbabwe's news new president makes fixing the economy the number one priority in his state of the nation speech the u.s. ambassador a sense of threatening e-mail to other u.n. member states one day before a major vote. by the e.u. is taking the unprecedented step of moving to suspend the poland's voting rights. this is the court rules that is officially a transport for minolta digital service what does it mean though for the right.

thank you for joining us the biggest overhaul of the u.s. tax system in thirty years is about to become law with the u.s. house of representatives expected to give the bill its final approval. the tax cuts and jobs act is passed. with the senate approved the one point five trillion dollar tax reform bill in the early hours of wednesday morning it will be a huge legislative victory for president donald trump and repeals part of the obamacare health system however one recent poll suggests that fifty five percent of americans opposing democrats say the bill was passed in secret and the new law will benefit the ultra rich at the expense of the middle class well the bill slashes the corporate tax rate from thirty five to twenty one percent as of january first then ends tax advantages for companies that move overseas income tax rates and then heritance tax would be reduced for most people those earning over half

a million dollars a year will experience higher tax reductions but those provisions are temporary they and in twenty twenty six the bill is expected to add one point five trillion dollars to the u.s. national debt over the next decade it currently stands at twenty trillion dollars after eight straight years of slow growth and under performance america is ready to take off coupled with a regulatory reforms that have already been implemented by the administration we now a comprehensive tax reform major middle class tax relief and making our businesses both large and small more competitive around the world well our white house correspondent kimberly hackett joins us live now from washington d.c. a kimberly this obviously a legislative victory for donald trump but it hasn't gone without controversy has it. you know it certainly hasn't this is deeply unpopular with two thirds of

americans mostly because they haven't had an opportunity to read the legislation just yet in fact that's true of even some of the legislators who haven't fully read the five hundred plus pages but what i can tell you is the white house telling me that this is a victory for middle class americans their thinking is by cutting these corporate tax rates that jobs that were outsourced overseas will return to the united states and benefit the middle class but democrats seeing that much more differently saying this is as you point out the start of the show a boon for the wealthiest americans something that the deputy press secretary hogan gidley defended when he spoke to me just moments ago quite frankly after the last presidential election you hear a lot of democrats doing an autopsy saying we forgot about the middle class we refused to address the middle class had on hillary clinton couldn't do it we didn't do it and then we put forth a bill that actually gives tax cuts to move a class about two thousand dollars on average per family and no democrat decides to

vote for it it's absolutely incredible i think they're going to pay for it next year so what this means is this is shaping up to be a big political issue in the next major legislative election the midterm elections that will happen in twenty eighteen november democrats saying that americans have been hurt republicans saying this is help middle class americans all timidly it'll be those middle class americans that will decide these are tax reforms that are set to take effect in just twelve days and the reaction expected to be immediate whether or not americans really do see the savings that have been promised to be interesting to see what reaction there is when they do come into play but trump is actually signing this. into law on wednesday using. right so we kept hearing from president trump that this would be you know passed and signed into law by the end of the year but now we're hearing things shifting a little bit i asked the white house why that is i was told that it really has

something to do with legal issues and arcane sort of legislative requirements that there is a ten day period that this has to be fully analyzed before the president can sign it in the end though what they're saying is that you know i asked the this certainly you were promised this would be done by the end of the year optics are everything this isn't going to look very good they said this is going to look great because this will be done in the president's first year in office and it's a great way for americans to start the year so a lot of spin a lot of sell again as the americans who will decide whether or not they're whether or not care really health care with the latest from the white house kimberly thank you while republicans call the tax bill in touch lament reform but will it but it will see cuts to social welfare programs like medicare that could impact millions some reports just medicare could be cut by twenty five billion dollars next year he was on the gallagher from florida. for insensitivity through the basics retirement home in miami has been housing the elderly for seven two years many of its

residents rely on social welfare programs and have for decades so i'm like eighty seven year old janet lied because of paying close attention to what's happening in washington a form of social worker janet says well maybe coming to an end my generation i think we never. saw security having an end date. but i believe it will perhaps it will be two thousand and twenty five to have thirty but there will come in and but this is plenty of time for everybody to get their act together. a neat. very. nice team of particular concern a potential changes to medicare a federal program for over sixty five's it could face cuts of up to twenty five billion dollars when medicare and medicaid was set up in the one nine hundred sixty s. it encompassed the idea of a greater society one that took care of its poor and elderly experts say any of

those programs won't necessarily mean less money for recipients but it will mean less cash for doctors hospitals and nursing facilities and advocates say that could have terrible consequences this was going to be terrible my clinic represent you know newman says without access to affordable health care millions could suffer doctors who take care of the elderly patients will find themselves unable to accept patients they will turn people away who need the care most of all and who can't afford to pay high private market rates or premiums more than fifty million americans currently receive medicaid benefits and with a rapidly aging population it's seen by many as a vital safety net it's a curious thing ten thousand people turn sixty five every day in america and will for the next twenty years so i imagine them a majority of those people though and i imagine that when the tax cuts actually

take place they'll be adversely affected and they're going to go the polls the contrary parties adopted without objection a motion to the region are basically upon the table the republicans tax reform bill it's already in popular among many voters it's hope with next year's midterm elections approaching drastic cuts may be avoided and it gallacher al-jazeera miami florida. zimbabwe's new president i'm assuming jaguar has the liver of his first state of the nation address in the capital harare economic recovery recovery was the focus of it he said his government was determined to open up the economy to foreign investors government will soon and really it robust engagement and to reengage meant program with the international community in our continued to

be to rejoin the community of nations may government is committed to open a zimbabwe up to this meant by building a free and transparent economy which are brilliant for its zimbabweans mts well coming out saved us. well how has more now from harare. the feedback has been generally positive it's ultimately about the economy like he said people want jobs they want the economy to recover and they say the president said all the right things but some are saying we've heard this all before robert mugabe when he was head of state the former head of state he promised to create jobs and he never really did so people are saying they are tired of talk they were in action they want to see results president expected in south africa on thursday he clearly can leave the country without someone in charge so what we could see happening is him appointing two vice presidents one of them could be general constantine he used to

hit the zimbabwe defense forces yesterday and he is the man who played a huge huge role in removing robert mugabe from power. to the international community the. soldier retired major general. minister he met ambassadors few days ago he says this forget about the past it by going to be bygones we know we made mistakes some of you didn't like our policies we now starting over is no longer around it's now a new country so he is really trying to engage and which is very very key but i think most people in. spoken to here have said they want to wait and see how the elections next year play out if they're free fair and credible and there's no violence it could indicate there's nost ability in the country which could encourage investors to come back and pour money into the country. to ugandan politicians have been detained as they try to enter parliament for the second day of a controversial debate about extending the rule of the president scuffles broke out as police tried to block several opposition members two of them were pushed into

security vehicles and driven away they were against the bill that would remove the age of seventy five years on the president allowing seventy three year old president seventy two it further extend his three decades in charge. palestinians protesting against president. trump's plans to move the u.s. embassy to jerusalem have again called for a day of rage there have been clashes with israeli security forces across the occupied palestinian territories in bethlehem protesters marched in the street denounced aung trumps recognition of jerusalem as israel's capital israeli security forces disperse them with tear gas well one day ahead of a vote on the u.s. decision on jerusalem at the u.n. the u.s. ambassador has sent a threatening e-mail to other members of the general assembly nikki haley warned them against supporting a resolution to reject donald trump's recognition of jerusalem the e-mail reads the

president will be watching this vote carefully and has requests that i report back on those who voted against us as you consider your vote i encourage you to know the president and the u.s. take this vote personally. i can't has more now from the united nations in new york well the united states of bringing great pressure to bear on all fellow member nations within the united nations the us ambassador sending a letter to all these members in which he states that as you consider your vote in the general assembly proceedings on thursday i want you to know that the president and the u.s. take this personally she goes on and she says i will report back on those countries voted against us we will take note of each and every vote on this issue clearly a but not so veiled threat against member nations within the united nations this followed her response to the security council vote earlier this week in which

fourteen to one voted in favor of a resolution condemning unilateral moves in jerusalem altering that city's status she said that vote fourteen to one was an insult and she added we will not forget so clearly the u.s. taking very hardline steps in an attempt to persuade nations either to abstain from voting in the general assembly vote or to vote against the resolution that will be introduced condemning any attempts to unilaterally change the status of jerusalem. so to come in this half hour families from broadcast say they're being pressured to return to their ruined homes despite the risk of unexploded minds and a miserable milestone al jazeera journalists know what a saint marks one year behind bars in egypt.

hell or off that cold push of winter three or four days ago temperatures slowly rising again in shanghai and hong kong it's still winter monsoon season the winds coming off the north was tucking back in as well and i think that's one reason why attention will rise a little bit in hong kong bit more more should be more humidity will feel a little bit different. but to say the sky should be clear the air quality is still pretty good in china which can't be said for northern india is has a disorder is very unhealthy from delhi all the way down to was bangladesh faculty that's the size of forest is reported is good air quality you might think this indicates a change that's very high crimes not bringing any sort of rain with it that doesn't decay the atmosphere is a bit more turbulent we might get more of a surface breeze which would in prove things a little bit in you don't otherwise the pictures essentially quiet nothing moving very much not much rain is falling as it should be dry throughout the arabian peninsula now as well whatever flash floods they were in

a man the thing of memory now temperature wise it's still about eight degrees difference east to west and it's quite hazy the moment leaving the arabian peninsula going north we pick up an interesting change there's been something a breeze coming out of the side of egypt and that's lifted temperatures throughout levant and iraq eight degrees above average. witness documentaries that open your eyes at this time on al-jazeera.

a reminder of the top stories here on al-jazeera the biggest overhaul of the u.s. tax system in thirty years is about to become law with the u.s. house of representatives expected to give the bill its final approval zimbabwe's new president. his first the state of nation address promising to open the country's economy to foreign investors after years of isolation and palestinians have been clashing with israeli security forces and protests that the u.s. this is to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital it's also been revealed the u.s. ambassador to the way the threatening e-mail to other members ahead of a u.n.

vote on the matter. mia maher has blocked an independent u.n. investigator from entering the country the u.n. special repertory for me and young levy was to visit in january to assess the state of human rights the un has accused troops of ethnic cleansing and possible elements of genocide against the judge he says she's disappointed by the decision from the nie and more government saying there must be something terrible. happening in record time and he spoke with us a little earlier from seoul. i am really deeply. disappointed and then. why the decision. to deny gratian my mandate over there you know the human rights mechanisms and most of to silence people who speak out about these kind of.

at least seven thousand people have been killed in air strikes in syria is the province it's believed four children and two women one among the dead the syrian civil defense the team of first responders known as the white helmets say that there still is higher and they put the figure at nineteen the province has been a rebel stronghold for three years and president bashar al assad has recently launched an offensive to try to retake it. meanwhile elsewhere in syria people displaced from i saw as a former stronghold of iraq say they are being pressured into returning to their destroyed homes of some avenge of i'd reports. from rebel but the family have little choice. their home in iraq i was hit by an e.f. strike as i said was driven out they've been living in displacement camps but life was so tough there back home fears the children could step on a mine on an unexploded munition. pastimes i'm from the el michel that neighborhood

i'm constantly worried about the young children it's difficult to live here there's nothing no house outside now after the fall of isis de facto capital the people of ruffo complain no one is helping them or his thirteen children and he says the camp management i need told him to go home and they're going to look at this the house is gone there's nothing left nothing to eat or drink we need something to survive i was once home to more than a quarter of a million people after nearly five months of fighting eighty percent of the city's destroyed. doctors without borders says during the battle nobody cared about this villian and the coalition inflicted a deluge of fire on the city. reconstruction is estimated to cost billions of dollars but since isis defeat in october if you have announced the billing this to foot the bill or even provide basic infrastructure health care and education the ancient city was a crown jewel of empires dating back more than two thousand years it's never been leveled like this before beyond the river euphrates was isis capital rock which was

under their control since two thousand and fourteen now the city has been taken over by kurdish led forces but it remains in ruins and i say the limits are still being clear. fighters continue to discover weapons dumps. eisel to leave guns and ammunition from the syrian army. generally the area is safe but there are some mice a weapons left to protect the people we are do mining of the city we are here to protect civilians before the defaced our population find things hard to believe people wouldn't comment on camera but many say they're under another occupying force kurdish white b.g. fighters deny accusations that their arabs from their towns and villages. but unless there is a serious push to rebuild and rehabilitate raptors gaping wounds bear the risk of fostering some of the group like i saw with some of the job made out of iraq on the western bank of the euphrates river al-jazeera journalists around the world are

calling for the release of our colleague hussein who is now being detained in an egyptian prison for exactly a year he was taken into custody while visiting family security services say he is under investigation but have not referred him to a court in ts type reports. standing in solidarity with mahmoud hussein at al-jazeera headquarters in doha journalists from around the world showed their support for hussein who has been held in any gyptian prison for a year the correspondent is accused of crimes ranging from incitement to broadcasting fake news with the aim of spreading chaos trendall is the managing director of al-jazeera english he says the allegations against hussein are false and it's quite outrageous that his imprisonment has been extended i believe that every forty five days they extend that his detention and that it's now out in two years so it's it's really outrageous and of course we call for his freedom of all

as we do for all journalists who were unjustly imprisoned before working at network headquarters in doha hussein was based in al-jazeera is now closed bureau in cairo his family says his physical and mental health have deteriorated considerably over the past year and that he's been denied adequate medical attention for a broken arm my father is emotionally and mentally distressed because he feels that he's there underdogs and behind the bars without committing any crime the coverage of his saints case by gyptian media has also had a major impact on his family shortly after being arrested he was paraded on national television which branded him a terrorist my sisters and brother face social stigma everything in their schools is the one constant and they are sons and daughters of protest and they are not sure fingering egypt they are not safe each one of us is not safe human rights and

press freedom groups have also condemned hussein's arrest it's unclear when or if not move who say he will be released from prison but the message to his egyptian jailers from him his family and all his colleagues at al-jazeera remains the same free mood because. journalism is not a crime. hussein's detention is the latest in a string of arrests by egyptian authorities targeting al jazeera staff in the country a year and a half ago ibrahim hello the former editor in chief of al-jazeera arabic was sentenced to death in the censure for in danger of national security accusations he denies egypt also imprisoned al jazeera mohammed fahmy and peter greste on charges of spreading false news in a case that was widely condemned by international media outlets and politicians alike they were freed after being held in prison for over a year and while it's unclear what will happen to mahmoud hussain the demands for

his release will continue until he's free in al jazeera doha a mexican journalist has been shot dead at a school where he was attending his six year old's christmas party thirty four year old perez was a reporter who wrote regularly on security and drugs stories in southeast and that accrues state the state security coordinator has confirmed a lone gunman shot him dead in front of dozens of parents and children he is the twelfth journalist to be killed in mexico this year. the disgraced former archbishop of boston cardinal bernard bernard law has died once an influential figure in the u.s. catholic church he was forced to step down after it was revealed that he protected several priests accused of abusing children had a hawk star has more. it was a dramatic fall from grace for the highest ranking catholic official in the united

states. cardinal law once favored by the late pope john paul the second was forced to resign after it was revealed that he had failed to remove priests from his ministry who had been accused of abusing children the former archbishop silence of the child molesters in the priesthood sparked the worst crisis and american catholicism news of his death provoked more anger in massachusetts where he was the archbishop of boston good riddance to bad rubbish i hope the gates of hell are swinging wide to allow him entrance i am a mother of three of children that have been sexually abused by a priest. tom the law has everything under the cap and he will not admit anything he will not me what does. he abuse in boston extended over six decades involving over two hundred thirty priests and more than

seven hundred fifty victims there harvard educated law was implicated in a scandal after a boston globe newspaper investigation was published in two thousand and two please know that as long as i have a position to do so i will work tirelessly to address this crisis and to underscore it's a very good. this is a wake up call for the term the paper used court documents reveal in the car to had moved priests who had abused children from parish to parish without alerting police parents. his actions led to a public uproar and mass protests before his resignation at the end of the year the newspaper's investigation was then made into an oscar winning movie in two thousand and fifteen. boston priest molested kids in six different versions over the last thirty years the church found out about it and did nothing we haven't committed any long term investigator for sorcerer's despite his involvement in the clergy sex

abuse scandal of the vatican continue to support cardinal law and offered him a position in rome within the church he focused on building catholic jewish relations and acting as an unofficial envoy to cuba cardinal bernard law who died in rome he was eighty six years old. there. the european commission has announced unprecedented measures against poland over planned reforms to its judiciary the e.u. has triggered its article seven procedure a process that could see poland stripped of its voting rights within the european bloc and the e.u. wants to pressure poland's government to drop a controversial new judicial laws that the e.u. calls a threat to democracy hungary has said it will not support the measure while poland this calling the situation politically motivated well the european commission first vice president of france a timorous man's made the announcement on wednesday. the common pattern of all

these legislative changes is that the executive or legislative powers and are set up in such a way that the ruling majority can systematically politically interfere with the composition the powers of ministration and the functioning of these authorities thereby rendering the independence of the judiciary. to be moot tom nuttall is a columnist specializing in european politics the economist magazine he says it's highly unlikely the will take the so-called nuclear option of actually removing poland's voting rights to suspend the voting rights of poland under this treaty would require a unanimous backing of every other government inside the european union and apart from anything else on gary ns i'm who have their own battles with brussels have said that they would veto that so i don't think there's much prospect of that happening anytime soon that doesn't mean that we should underestimate the

importance of what happened today the e.u. has never done this before it's never triggered off course seven against the government and inside the e.u. before and i think one reason why the commission felt it had to do so today well not only because of what the polish government doing but also to put down the markets about deter other governments who might be considering tampering with their own judiciary in the future to indicate that it isn't something that they're going to look at lightly ober has suffered a setback after europe's top court ruled that it is a transport company and it can be regulated like other taxi firms the right hailing app had argued that it's an information sharing app putting drivers and passengers in contact not a taxi service however the european court of justice says e.u. governments can now regulate ober as they would for any other transport company more on the website al-jazeera dot com.

now reminder of the top stories on al-jazeera the biggest overhaul of the u.s. tax system in thirty years is about to become law with the u.s. house of representatives expected to give the bill its final approval the senate approved a one point five trillion dollars tax reform bill in the early hours of wednesday morning it will be a huge legislative victory for president trump but one recent poll suggests that fifty five percent of americans oppose it democrats say the bill was passed in secret and the new law will benefit the ultra rich at the expense of the middle class after eight straight years of slow growth and under performance america is ready to take off coupled with a regulatory reforms that have already been implemented by the administration we now a comprehensive tax reform major middle class tax relief and making our businesses both large and small more competitive around the world zimbabwe's new president

them or so many god has the livered his first state of the nation address in the capital harare his speech focused on the economy which he promised to revitalize by opening zimbabwe to foreign investors after years of isolation he also promised zero tolerance against corruption calling it a major source of the country's problems two ugandan politicians have been detained as they tried to enter parliament for the second day of a controversial debate about extending the rule of the president the bill would remove the age cap of seventy five years on the presidency which would then allow seventy three year old president here what he was seventy to extend his three decades in charge in charge. palestinians protesting against the u.s. plans to move its embassy to jerusalem have again called for a day of rage palestinians have been clashing with israeli security forces in the occupied west bank in protest of the u.s. decision to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital it's also been revealed that

the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. has sent a threatening e-mail to other members ahead of a u.n. vote on the matter nikki haley warned them that president trump would be watching the vote carefully and would take the results personally i'll have more news an awful hour coming up next it's for this thanks for watching life.