mental activist and inspired artist and a voice for the plight of countless migrants. might you need such an al-jazeera? ethiopia's prime minister declares victory in a security operation in the north, which has left hundreds of people dead and thousands displaced. elam's the whole raman. you're watching al-jazeera live, my headquarters here in doha. also coming up republican should stop their shenanigans about in the election that president trump has already lost democratic party leaders asked republicans to help with the transition of power amid demands of president elect. joe biden be allowed into intelligence briefings,

also a desperate search for survivors after migrant boats think a 6 month old baby is amongst the dead in the mediterranean. and china faces a growing global condemnation of the new laws that have seen hong kong politicians sacked bought into the program. ethiopia's prime minister has claimed victory in the northern region of the gray, where the federal government is battling local forces. but there's now fear of a growing humanitarian crisis, with thousands displaced across the border rights group. amnesty international says that hundreds of civilians have been brutally killed while the offensive began last week. have to prime minister abu ahmed the qs, the regional government of attacking a military base. 11000 ethiopians have already fled the conflict to neighboring

sudan. local authorities say they're prepared for up. 220-0000 arrivals. is following developments for us. this update from added. they're saying they have gained ground in the western part of the country, close to the border with their a train and also on the border. if you appear with done, say they have taken at the town of america just on wednesday. they have said they have taken hold, they are now they've taken the town which is not far away from the airport. they say they've also taken the town. so she should out as well as ancient city of exit, which has got a lot of historical importance here. in ethiopia, because most of the fighting school has been concentrated on the western part of the to great region. and it has involved clashes between ground troops as well as

anthrax targeting fuel. and the polls as well as a killer duels which have caused so much casualties. on both sides, the government here in addis ababa maintains this operation will not stop until it achieves its objectives of this, that the people of militias, as well as bringing their leadership to justice or with ethiopia, where she says, aid workers are reporting cells of refugees have already crossed, they say hundreds of thousands more are waiting as per their estimation across the border of course they fear being border waiting for means to be able to come into sudan thinking reference. they say most of them are women and children, but they're also include former combatants, people who've laid down their arms to seek refuge here in sydney. is there a terry? so what happens upon arrival? they say is that those refugees are then screened for health reasons. but they also

screen to make sure that they're not armed, so that this conflict does not spill over the border. then comes the issue of settling them into camps already. there were refugee settlements here in the state of get out of as well as the neighboring states. of course, i know where refugees are already arriving. all of them have been saying that they already were in need of humanitarian assistance that the assistance was already too little. and that with this influx of refugees, it is expected to reach up to 200000 in the coming 3 days. the situation will be dire and that he is hearing organizations here in sadam and internationally need to step up to what's unfolding to be a crisis. today also version associate professor of the department of religion and center for african studies at the university of florida joins me now from gainesville, in florida via skype good to have you with us live on al-jazeera. so, i mean, how close are we to a civil war? the have always been very well armed and very well trained. i think we're actually, you know, are we know we can this year this year

new future and parties is determined to go on with no room sort of foot negotiations and refusing to back down. is there any war or groups like the african union or the u.n. that can really find a way to avert armed conflict? is there room for negotiation? is there room for dialogue? well, the t.v. there side has welcomed negotiation. it was, unfortunately, the prime minister has refused that. and it's really hard to imagine that as long as he feels that he's winning or being on your offensive that he would allow or open up for any negotiation. he seems. hell bent on destroying it, what he called you. and there's obviously a huge lack of trust on both sides. but what seems to be, or what are the issues that the authorities seem to gray have with the problem they have in dealing with out assad, the vice versa. well,

what i'm going much indeed tell this, going back to the original. i've not met the prime minister and his permission or the prosperity party, which i think that was sidelined for t.p.m. there. and then when we came in the prime minister and the postponed directions, the region, the leadership there refused to accept that it went ahead with their own elections in september. and that continued to escalate situation or to at loggerheads, ending the government than enough refuse to accept the new government integral. and now we are where we are, where the army has been attacking me. we've had various contributors on the program throughout the day. i mean, there are reports of a massacre in my car, drove out fuel to the fire has certain rights groups that apparent eyewitness testimony. pins the blame on the special police force of the region controlled by the left. this is not going to go down very well in other parts of ethiopia,

where they see their own country been killed. absolutely. now this is a horrifying news that's coming out from that area. and there i hope that the authorities are able to let independent investigation be carried on. so really in normal, what is actually going to happen in that area? terry austin, from the university of florida. thanks very much for joining us this evening here on al-jazeera. now the u.s. president has banned americans from doing business with companies that could help the chinese military. the move further escalates tensions between the world's 2 largest economies. donald trump declared a national emergency to facilitate the and the execute order. it says beijing's forces chinese companies to help finance and modernize its military. now the ban, it takes effect on january the 11th, just days before trump will to step down. while republican politicians

are breaking up with donald trump over his refusal to cooperate with president elect joe biden, several republican senators urged to allow biden access to crucial intelligence briefings that says 2 top democrats in congress. nancy pelosi and chuck schumer called on republicans to help pass legislation over the worsening health and economic situation. the republicans should stop their shenanigans about an election that president trump has already lost and focus their attention on the immediate issue at hand. providing relief to a country living through the cold it health and economic crises when it comes to the election. republicans, congressional republicans don't have the evidence. they don't have the proof. they don't have anything. neither does the president, congress, congressional republicans are deliberately casting doubt on our elections for no

other reason. but fear of donald trump must join alan fischer, our correspondent in washington, d.c. and allan and what seems to be happening with the biden transition. and these legal challenges that the trumpet administration are trying to bring to court. well, the family, a number of republican senators there say that the transition should start in the very least. joe biden should start getting the daily intelligence briefing. that's important to see if that hasn't happened by friday, then they will step in because they're worried about a gaffe. they're worried that america could be exposed. that any point, of course, the advantage joe biden has, is that he's been in the white house before. he's almost of and ready for day one, but there are a number of cases that are going through the courts. donald trump, again in the last couple of hours says, tweeted out that 2700000 votes suddenly disappeared when people used one of the voting machines and they were all trumped votes, the company behind the machine said that simply not true. the other court cases are

running into problems such as an arizona, where the term campaign had been saying, there was widespread fraud. but in court, where you're not allowed to lie to a judge, they have said that they're not actually alleging there was widespread fraud that there were, may have been one or 2 problems in michigan. and they say they've gathered affidavits from hundreds of people going through those affidavits. you see that some people who were republican poll watchers are saying they felt uncomfortable because people were staring at them or because someone was unkind to them. one of the affidavits actually says that there was a problem with the counting process because the public address system was to load. that's simply not going to reach the, the body or the mark that the courts expect for there to prove that there is widespread voter fraud. that is going to be enough to overturn this election that's not stopping donald trump and some of his closest allies are saying, look, this is

a process. this is just the start of the process. they continue to gather evidence . and donald trump is going to continue with his fight, but there are still those in the white house in donald trump's orbit, who are saying this is no becoming a bit unsustainable. and he really should walk away. i was speaking to one fairly prominent republican in the middle in the midwest state earlier today. and he said, look, the some of the things that republicans are saying they're beginning to make is look, make comical. ali, look like ed model at a veered. venerated american journalist and in other news because the president of the as a sign this executive order regarding china, what more do we know about it? what some people would suggest this is don't trump cleaning house before he moves on, on january the 20th, earlier this year, the department of defense, a dent in the one companies that they said were able to improve and access u.s. markets to improve their facilities. but also are funneling some of that money to

the army and china. and so donald trump is no signed an executive order, which says that anyone who invests in these companies after january 11th, will be committing an offense. but it will also be prohibited because they believe that the chinese army is taking that money and using it to gain advantage over the united states to aid the development to increase their arms sales, all those sort of things. so this is a step by donald trump through executive order to stop that happening. well, joe biden overturned that as cities in the white house. it's not one of his immediate priorities, but it's obviously something that will no come across his desk. there has been no comment from the biden campaign about this new executive order from donald trump. ellen fisher, thank you. alan fischer, there are white house correspondent now more than 90 people, including a 6 month old baby of died off libya's coast in the past 2 days and attempted to boat crossings to europe.

the child originally from guinea was more than was among more than $100.00 migrants in the doing the that capsized in the central mediterranean. on wednesday, a search operation is also underway after another $74.00 people drowned on thursday . after leaving the libyan port of call. mahmoud of the white house, the latest from tripoli, about 31, but is, will retrieve some of them, were retrieved by libya's coast guard. in the city of worst of the capital tripoli . international organization for migration is raising concern over 3 cuenta cases where migrants and refugees, including women and children drown in the mediterranean sea. but i spoke to libya's coast guard officers. they say that they have not been encouraged to conduct an interception patrols recently because they don't want to bring

risk, you'd migrants and refugees back to libya for the safety. they say that they cannot afford to accommodate them with detention centers closed for the time being because of fear of covert 19 infection. i would break well still ahead here on al-jazeera pretenses return to the streets of peru unhappy with the ousting of the former president and a prehistoric monument with a modern problem, archaeologists and environmentalist battle a plan to divert traffic from england's stonehenge to stay with us from tropical storm rita was much quicker in thought it would be running across almost the north of rodgers and hart seeing the rain here and in georgia. it's now

over open water and it's just briefly along going to be heavy, the eastern seaboard. and as it's going in this direction, so it's being replaced by increasingly cold weather. it's showing by the amount of snow in the rockies and the cascades. rain coming down central valley of california as well, but the temperature drop be significant. could be persistent as well. and we've got that junction of the walrus in the coldish. you develop showers in the southern plain states and further east in the ohio valley. they could be quite poky once, but the time being it remains cold. the snows to easy about time to get to saturday, but still on pacific coast, and certainly in oregon and washington the next system is already on its way in, but will be a particularly rainy one, at least for the next. so we saying goodbye to each other, we leave behind, you sink a bit of a vacuum. you'd be right as well as much quieter in cuba. most of central america is that a hint of a circulation trying to get in here in the caribbean. but it's staying over water,

so that might give you some big showers in jamaica with a flood risk here. for most places. it's a dry, a picture of an ethiopian hours to crack and communist rebel only to be disappeared. a family's tragedy and twined with a violent chapter in the country's history. when you see the blood in the seas, i'm going to be my man. i don't want to be a lifelong search for answers and closure. finding silent witness on al-jazeera. the

book about you watching over there with me cell rom, a reminder of our top stories. the therapy as prime minister has declared victory in the northern region of ukraine where the federal government is battling local forces. there are fears of a growing humanitarian crisis with thousands displaced across the border. mr. international says hundreds of civilians have died. also more than 90 people, including a 6 month old child, have died off libya's coast in the past 2 days and attempted boat crossings to europe. the baby originally from guinea was amongst more than 100 my parents in a doing here that capsized in the central mediterranean on wednesday. and in the us, some republican politicians are breaking away from donald trump over his refusal to concede and allow a transfer of power. several republican senators urged trying to give president elect joe biden,

access to crucial intelligence briefings. the u.s. is top infectious disease expert says the country can avoid another current virus lock down. if people get serious about hygiene measures, including wearing masks and social distancing, she has urged vigilance during the wait for effective vaccines, but says they could start having a major positive effect as early as next month. on wednesday, the u.s. has seen its highest number of daily deaths since may police in peru's capital, lima have blocked protesters from reaching government headquarters. they're marching against the impeachment of the former president part of his car. his car was voted out of office over corruption charges and replaced by the former head of congress and will serve as the interim president until july. but in a, such as our correspondent is in the peruvian capital, lima joins us now. i mean, is the 4th day peruvians are protesting after martin the scar was impeached on

monday? i mean, what's the situation on the ground we're seeing sort of sudden pictures of protesters in the streets? that's right. so hill 4th day of protests in march since martin discover was unseeded from government on monday and people have been marching. they have been banging pots and pans, they have been protesting in many cities around the country. and today, there was a call for a nationwide protest. there have been some violent protests in the past few days with a lot of arrests from plainclothes officers who have done this illegally. a lot of several human rights organizations have denounced this as illegal, but mainly the protests have been and are at this moment calm and they're peaceful . mostly students, i have to say people who see that this is a very important for their future. now what they're saying on the ground is that

they want maybe not to be to leave. they say maybe not. the new interim president does not represent them. they say that he has to leave and the people are very angry because they feel that a mafia has taken over the government. and especially the congress. there's 68, which is more than half of the 130 congress men who have open investigations for many different causes. among them, homicide, money laundering, fraud abuse, and a long list. so the perception of many peruvians now is that these legislative legislators, these carrots, so he wouldn't implement the reforms, anti-corruption reforms, and that they can actually continue to be in congress and remain

immune to those to those investigations. that's what's making people really angry and continue to be on the streets of lima. if that's the case. if that's the case, they are protesting against the new presidency and the new government of merino. i mean, what are the chances of sort of people power being able to reinstate visit car? is that a tall possible? i don't think that's going to be possible. the new cabinet has been has been named today. and even if protests are really strong, it's highly unlikely that he's got a coup. go back. and people who are analysts and folds to this new government are realistic about this. so what they're saying is to me, to give another chance for a different panorama in the country. and what they're saying is that there should

be another election to unseat manuel, maybe not elect a neutral new interim president. and that will defeat the idea that this was a coup to try and calm the waters on the streets of the country. but in a, such as in lima. thanks very much. now there's widespread anger and fear in armenia over an agreement which allows aries to keep is captured during 6 weeks of fighting of the disputed region of nagorno-karabakh. or abdul hamid is in the regional capital panicker and says it appears that people are leaving on mass towards the armenian border. we have seen very few civilians all military since we arrived here in state by and i care it. now. the vast majority of people had left throughout the war, and it seems that no one is intent to come back even though there is a cessation of hostilities ever since the ceasefire agreement was signed. on november 9th. now, driving here, we went through a region called killed by

a jar. it was a region that or armenia had occupied in 1904 and according to idea agreement, is now has to return to azerbaijan. well, on the road, driving in the opposite direction towards the border with armenia, we show a lot of civilians, so trucks carrying beds, cupper cupboards, all sorts of personal belongings. and we also saw military personnel, most likely armenian volunteers. being bussed out, we still military underground, dismantling their positions. so you do get really did feel in when you're driving on the road that people are leaving are mass, they know they're not going to come back and they're taking with them as much as they can because they know that the life they knew before is not going to be the same anymore. the european union is demanding china reverse. a new rule that's led to 4 hong kong legislators being sanct, 15 opposition. politicians in the city have resigned in protest of the ruling on

wednesday in china passed a law allowing legislators to be barred if they pose a national security threat to the territory to china. in 1997 says the move undermines hong kong autonomy and to some of the chinese ambassador they dream. brown has more from hong kong. hong kong's legislative assembly was quieter than usual on thursday. now that almost a quarter of its lawmakers have resigned or been disqualified. and staging what's likely to be their last protest. the chinese characters say hong kong's leader carrie lamb has pulled calamity to the territory and its people she'll stink for, 10000 years. the slogan was displayed by democratic lawmaker lambchop t., who must now give up his office. by the end of the month, i will keep fighting for democracy of hong kong, their version of enda and hand together with all the hong kong people and the

civil society. to face against the dictatorship this is what china's leaders want to stamp out lawmakers behaving badly. with those from the democratic camp accused of being the main culprits. china's government has condemned the mass resignation of almost all hong kong's opposition as a farce with only themselves to blame for their downfall. says a sole hong kong delegate to china's most powerful political body. it's only a little the year. what china has been doing is based on the constitution and basic law, therefore everything should be done in accordance with the law. we cannot bad mouth one country 2 systems and the chinese government analysts say hong kong's legislature is set to become little more than a rubber stamp parliament,

but dissent outside the chamber will likely continue. what does this mean? this means continuing instability. you can push it down with a police, you can push it down with the rest, but it will just it. remember, it is not clear what this means for elections supposed to have been held 2 months ago, but now pushed back until september next year. because of covert 19 on thursday, chinese officials here in hong kong warned that legislators who resign or have been disqualified, should not be eligible to stand in that poll. wednesday shake up of parliament comes just 4 months after china's government imposed a sweeping national security law on the territory that some critics call draconian . and in spite of continuing international criticism, china's leadership remains both confident and defiant. adrian brown al jazeera hong kong. meanwhile,

canada is easing immigration rules for people from hong kong to receive citizenship . canada's immigration minister says charges for breaching china's national security law won't disqualify them. the country wants to speed of applications for young people in hong kong who wish to work and study. there not a road tunnel that would go beneath the prince story. stone circle at stonehenge in england has been approved. the tunnel is designed to divert traffic away from the world heritage site. but the $3100000000.00 project has been widely criticized by environmentalists and archaeologists, and charlie rangel reports ancient, mysterious, and at the heart of a bitter dispute. stonehenge is one of the most important neolithic landscapes in europe, with one of england's most congested roads running past it. this section of the a 3 or 3 was designed for around 13000 cars a day, but struggles with double that amount. traffic and local residents say it's unsafe

. we have people who will stop their vehicles on the side of the road to stonehenge or simply slow to take photographs. so when the great is right, it's annoying because you have trucks trying very hard to get to the other side. so we have speeding because of course, when the traffic stopped drugs to a halt, which it does towards leach and we think confidentially village centers. the latest proposal to widen the road with a 2.9 kilometer tunnel would remove the sight and sound of the traffic and speed it up, but would also involve boring deep into the landscape. a landscape rich in archaeology still being uncovered. the deep cutting the dual carriageway into the tunnels would cut through us i say unique in the u.k. group of nearly thick long virus. possibly also through late nearly 6 settlements a place of pilgrimage 5 of 5000 years. the site is sacred to many. beyond the

thousands of tourists that visit, arthur penn dragon is a druid, a believer in ancient religion, and he worships here 4 times a year. he says a tunnel would ruin what he believes stonehenge was built for. directly. there is where the sun comes up and tells you it's the summer solstice and directly opposite, which is where they want to put the portal for the telmo is where the sun sets that winter. so if they put the portal over there where they intend to, the light pollution is going to stop us from observing the sunset on the shortest day. opposing sides recognise there is a problem here, but neither believe the tunnel is the best solution. diverting the road north through britain's biggest military training ground is one they all agree on. but the government doesn't have been trying and failing the night to solve the problem of this road. the a 3 o 3. numerous plan to be proposed in the drop of the 5. it is

unlikely, even this decision will be the end of the brain, that it is ancient site charlie and al-jazeera stone. of course, you can follow all of the stories that we're covering here on al-jazeera by locking onto our website at al-jazeera dot com. with me celeron the reminder of our top stories, ethiopia's prime minister has declared victory in the northern region of gray, where the federal government is battling local forces. there are fears are growing humanitarian crisis with thousands displaced across the border. international says hundreds of civilians have died. the u.s. president has banned americans from doing business with companies that could help the chinese military, donald trump declared a national emergency to facilitate and digges execute the order. the.