some lively outbreaks of right as we go to the next. and those showers pushing down into indonesia, some very wet weather, pushing into india as well. at the moment we got this circulation, this nasty development that may well develop into why cycling as we go through the next. let's choose days. pitcher pushing into town will not be on to but destiny increased the wet as we go on through wednesday. and that rain pushing further west the thursday in 2012, al-jazeera traveled to iraq. people here exactly scared to speak on camera, saying that if they talk to us, they think they'll be arrested down the line to take the pulse of a country ravaged under us occupation. some of these graves are completely destroyed, it's one of the most holy and sacred sites in all of iraq could turn into a battleground between the 90 army and the americans rewind returns to iraq after the americans. at this time on al-jazeera

move joe biden's transition to the white house can now begin until now he's been doing it without the support of the federal office that's tasked with overseeing the transfer of power. well, more than 2 weeks after his victory speech, the head of the general services administration is filing told the president elect's that the transition can formally begin. it means biden's new administration can meet with federal officials to work on the pandemic response and national security. will trump took to twitter to announce that he is ready for the transition? he wrote, she wants to thank emily murphy at the g.s.a. for his steadfast dedication and loyalty to a country he went on to say she's been harassed and threatened that he doesn't want

this for her or her family or anyone at the g.s.a. . he went on to say that case, strongly continues wanting to keep up the good fight and believing that he will prevail, nevertheless, that he is recommending emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols and that he's told his team to do the same joe biden's transition team is welcome the move from the statement. his team says, today's decision is a needed step to begin tackling the challenges facing our nation. in the days ahead, transition officials will begin meeting with federal officials to discuss the pandemic response. the full accounting of and that of our national security interests and gain complete understanding of the trump administration's efforts to hollow out government agencies. we have 2 correspondents that are covering the story. shepparton z. is in wilmington, medical hane is in washington. d.c.

. patty, just remind our viewers of how significant this well, it's significant just because of what we've seen out of the white house out of the president and constant e-mails, constant tweets saying i've won this election, it was stolen. we're going to win in the courts. this is the 1st time the president is even giving an indication that there could be a transition that it's possible not just that it's likely in going to happen, but he's indicating that he now thinks it's possible that come january 20th at noon he will no longer call the building behind me home. he said he's going to continue the fight, but let's look at where that fight is. he tried to get states to try and get rid of the electors, especially when it came to places like michigan, the lawmaker said, no, we're not going to do that. that vote has been certified. the vote in georgia has been certified the vote in pennsylvania is in the process of being certified so that that strategy isn't going to happen. he has to realize that now his legal team has filed dozens of lawsuits and really pretty much been laughed out of court,

thrown out of court to minor victory is better than that. a lot of these cases are being dismissed because in these cases, the judge is saying to his lawyers, where's the fraud? are you alleging fraud? and they're saying to the judge in front of microphones, they say, yeah, there was fraud. we've got proof in front of judges. they're saying there has been no fraud. the reason for that is you can't keep a law license and lie to a judge. so the legal avenues are being expended on a daily basis and we're starting to see pressure against the president. you can count on 2 hands, the number of prominent republicans who've come out and said, joe biden is the next president that could start to change because the president cracked open the store just a little bit, but also because of outside influences. we've had the big wigs of republican national security come out and say this is bad for democracy. it's bad for the president. it's bad for the country. it's bad for national security. it's time to knowledge the reality of what is going to happen. but more important, like the bar, importantly likely, is going to be this dozens and dozens of prominent republican donors. they've come

out and said, this is not a good move this need. we need to transition joe biden is going to be the next president. so republicans, not just here in both the national security implications, but now they're in from the people who make sure they have enough money to run for reelection. that might move the needle, especially now that the president is even just opened up a crack of possibility. it would be pretty much is the reality. he lost the election. joe biden will be the next president of the united states, the president, sending a message on twitter that yeah, maybe that's possible. how do you talk about pressure on republicans? i guess republicans will, my question is will republicans really be keeping an eye on their own re-election in 2022, not talking about the next presidential election 2024 but, but their reelection in 2022. will that be in the back of their minds here? oh it's in the back of their mind, the side of the mind, the politicians like to keep their jobs is sort of what they do here in washington

. right? nobody, not very few people are like, oh, i've had it. i've had my turn. i'm going to go, so this, they think about this all the time. and this is the big question in washington right now. it's not whether donald trump lost the election. people know he lost the election. they know that the transition is happening, and joe biden is going to move in on january 20th at noon. they don't know how powerful donald trump is going to be out of office. he sent messages that he's going to announce that he's running 2024. he got more than 70000000 votes, his base is very fired up. he has his twitter feed, he's shown that he's willing to use it. we saw the republican governor, governor of ohio, say there needs to be a transition, it's time to move on you last. and he basically tweeted out, when are you running for reelection, who's going to primary him? because in order to run for office, you need your party's nomination and could say i'm going to put my support behind this republican and see if he still has the power in 2 years' time in 4 years time . but the bigger concern for them is ga ga's going to depend, it's sounds crazy,

but there's 2 senate races that will still happen. there's going to be 2 elections, and that is going to determine if joe biden can go big, or if he has to compromise, can he get the green new deal that the democrats win these 2 seats? maybe. if he does, if you don't probably know what and so what the republicans are worried about is what we've already seen from sort of some trump supporters. is there some in the message to the base? look these republicans, they run this state. it's a republican who ran the election. it's a republican governor, they couldn't give georgia to the president. so don't give the republicans in the senate. that is their biggest concern because that would probably have a huge implication, especially among his most hardcore base. if he comes out and says, stay home and let the democrats win these republicans abandon me, then it's likely that mitch mcconnell who really likes to be in power is no longer actually the senate majority leader. so there is a whole the calculations in every side of the break. but yes,

this is about is donald trump still going to be the man in control of the republican party for the next 4 years or z. not. are you willing to take the chance that he is or is that he isn't? so we'll see what happens in the coming days, but pressure is mounting and the president has made clear that he sees at least something of the writing on the wall. ok, thank you for that. put it all, a lie for us in washington. d.c., it's going to show up. are tons of you who joins us live from wilmington, delaware, the home states of president elect joe biden, and she had this must be very welcome news for joe biden. right, and we saw that statement, you read outs. they outlines about biden transition team outline 3 priorities talks with federal officials, officials about pandemic response talks about national security, and i thought, hillary mann leverett, a few minutes ago your interview was, it was, it was really interesting because she mentioned that in recent weeks we have seen various interesting of taxing perhaps foreign policy moves by donald trump,

but there was a fear that perhaps the trump of ministration was planning some sort of some sort of action on the way out to perhaps as regards to iran, for example, now go transition team will they be able to have classified briefings with the foreign policy mandarins in the, in the government and find out what actually is going on. and then thirdly, there was an interesting, interesting clause. and again, complete understanding of the trumpet, ministrations efforts to hollow out government agencies. so it's always as if having a situation report and what's left of government after 4 years of trying, you know, we know that the agencies have been disregarded by the trumpet, ministration. you think of the environmental protection agency, for example, in another's, you know, completely disregarded as they try and combat pollution and climate change and the corporate agenda, the very mainstream republican corporate agenda it has to be said, this is something that, that is a particular trump, ian but the deregulate treaty deregulate tree agenda of the last 4 years,

was it acted, which meant that protections for the environment, for example, were stripped away. so it all very interesting. covert 19, they're clearly the big issue. but the biden transition team has been saying to us over the last few weeks, they really have a very ambitious plan that they haven't been saying they really want of the flow of the u.s. using the defense production act, for example, to, to centralize manufacturing and distribution of not just personal protective equipment, not just the equipment needed to tie other than almost vaccination program, but also to keep track of that is to increase testing enormously as well. they're going off to asymptomatic carriers. they keep saying they want to have as many tests as possible, available for americans. they need to know who their, what is the current state of the stockpile and what, how supply chains are being, have been, have been constructed around the country. they really are very keen on getting that

information. it does have to be said that a lot of these plans are being, have been made. so that when it comes to vaccine distribution by career civil servants who will still be around in january. but they want to get into this is quickly as possible. this is the number one issue for the biden transition team. so i think they'll be a lot relieved that they can get to work on that. ok. tons of their lives for us and willing to delaware. well, us president elect joe biden has released the names of his national security team. lots of seasoned veterans returning to washington. and as we have from state department, correspondent jordan, the challenges facing the incoming team are many. so all the opportunities ahead of tuesday's announcement of his cabinet members, president elect joe biden spoke briefly to reporters. but there's a massive security biden's, team of diplomats and military leaders. it's familiar to washington insiders and foreign leaders alike. former deputy secretary of state tony blinken nominee to be

the u.s. is top diplomat and acid, or linda thomas greenfield, chosen to represent the u.s. at the united nations and former secretary of state john kerry, back in government once more. this time as biden's point person on climate change beneath a photo of his granddaughter watching him sign the paris climate accords in 2015, kerry told his twitter followers the climate crisis demands nothing less than all hands on deck. foreign policy experts say it will take the us years to repair the damage caused by the current president, donald trump, whose america 1st foreign policy shredded relations with the european union. the un and nato. for the honor to be with you trumps affection for strongman leaders such as vladimir putin and kim jong un. horrified both his political opponents and the

u.s. as allies from a refusal to grant asylum seekers. safe haven to deciding to abandon both the paris climate agreement and the iran nuclear deal. experts say trumps foreign policy ultimately undermined the u.s. his reputation overseas. you know, i think repairing and renewing america at home is critical. if we're going to be model soft power influence. countries want to work with us. the biggest challenge facing the new white house getting too comfortable. the only slight concern is that this team may convince itself that they've got the right answer because they all sort of look at the world the same way. they've all been through a lot of the same experiences and they're going to have to ask, how do we bring in fresh ideas? some recommendations, finding ways to restart. denuclearization talks with young,

young, updating and improving the nuclear deal with terror. han and keeping the afghan peace talks on track, no matter how long it takes. maybe most important say foreign policy expert, reassuring the u.s. allies that it is reliable. and then proving it from day one. rosalynn jordan al-jazeera, which on markham is the vice president for the institute for constitutional, government at the heritage foundation, joins us via skype from washington. d.c., thank you for your time. i want to ask you about something that emily murphy put in her letter to joe biden. she says, the g.s.a. doesn't dictate the outcome of the eagle disputes. obviously talking about donald trump's legal challenges, saying their issues for the constitution and federal laws and staples, she goes on to say that she strongly urges congress to consider amendments to the acts. i guess the presidential transition acts. what's that about? i'm not sure what that is about. there are cases still going on in court. the

president's path to victory is narrowing. although the 3rd circuit court of appeals decided to hear the dismissal of one of his lawsuits in pennsylvania today and look on january 20th, there is going to be an inauguration. and if it is indeed, joe biden, who is inaugurated, you know, he needs to have a transition before that. now mind you, he's been in politics for 47 years. he will be 8 years in the white house and a number of the people who he's naming to his cabinet. if indeed he is the president or old hands at washington. but you know, there will have to be a transition between now and january 20th. if joe biden is, in fact the president and says she didn't receive any direction to delay her determination in making this move. was she under pressure to not think in this transition process and in your opinion?

well, i'm not in the white house, so i can't tell, i mean there is still plenty of time for a transition. it's my understanding that he is receiving joe biden is receiving classified briefings at this time. the electoral college is not meeting told december the 14th that inauguration is not equal january 20th, so there's plenty of time to get it for him to get up to speed again, the packet, he is an old and in politics and in washington, should make this a relatively smooth transition, if that back he is president, told me through what you can of the, of the presidential transition act and what that actually, what this, this g.s.a. nesa, what it actually unlocks the process of the transition. what will this mean in actuality for joe biden? and for the transition, well, i'm not an expert in that particular act, but i will, you know, you'll obviously be given facilities. those facilities will be secure. it's important to have secure facility when you're receiving classified briefings. you don't want whatever that classified information is to be subject to hackers. and

you know that he will receive intelligence briefings at the highest levels of government, including the national security agency from the cia, from the office of the director of national intelligence. and all of that will happen in due course, if in fact it is determined that me is the next president. ok, as we've been saying, the g.s.a. is not actually determining the winner. it's saying that this transition process has been unlocked, but still, how significant is this in your opinion? well, if there is going to be a transition in power, it has to happen and it should happen smoothly. because the next president, whoever that is, needs to hit the ground running in terms of defending our national interests and national security. i expect that it will happen in past elections. it has happened some time smoothly, sometimes less moodily. in this case, joe biden has spent 8 years in the white house, ron klain, his designated chief of staff, has been with import decades. so i expect that it is determined that he is the

president, that this will happen, and it's important that it happened so that he can be up to speed, protect our national interest, and the classified information that you provided. it helps if you're ok. i thank you for that, john malcolm vice president for the institute for constitutional government spiraling number of new coronavirus cases is causing alarm. as the u.s. approaches, one of its busiest travel days of the year, millions of americans have already started the journey to see family and friends for the thanksgiving weekend holiday. despite warnings to stay at home. christensen, amid reports from new york, getting together for a big meal in person with loved ones is what the thanksgiving holiday is usually about. but given, traveling and eating together are considered high risk activities in a pandemic. public officials are encouraging people to play it safe with public service announcements like this one while the care giving dinner. her chilling

and warnings like this one. this is not a normal for a given. nationwide, daily coronavirus hospitalizations are at record highs in the united states and deaths continue to climb. you put that rate of increase together with an additional increase from the high level of social activity. that is a dangerous situation even in new york with one of the lowest infection rates in the country. private gatherings are being officially limited to 10 people, amid reports of large forbidden events like this orthodox wedding, attended by thousands. but restrictions vary from state to state. our clear public is to see this thing to do is, is not to travel. and that is also a very important message along with our message to get. travel is being strongly discouraged, but if you must fly, the c.d.c. recommends covert testing one to 3 days before airline passengers are required to

wear masks and airports are supposed to enforce social distancing. no one at fixed speed apart, like everyone kind of 3 feet apart. are, you know, part it's more and more, but with no end to the pandemic in sight, many travelers appear willing to risk. it just felt like ok, it doesn't seem like it's getting any better. i mean, mine's relative, chided us, have a little bit of fun without getting sick. transmission concerns are likely to drive some to travel by car, but with intensive care units becoming overwhelmed in many parts of the country and the bodies of the dead still unclaimed from new york surge in the spring. officials are hoping many americans, especially those most at risk, will just stay home. kristen salumi al-jazeera, new york british drug company astra zeneca, an oxford university say length stage testing of a covert. 19 vaccine shows it's highly effective. they say it can be stored in

french temperature, making it cheaper and easier to distribute. u.k. prime minister boss johnson is welcoming development. so how reports from london it's being hailed as a vaccine for the world pharmaceuticals firm astra zeneca in partnership with the university of oxford says interim trial results will be sent to regulators immediately in the hope their product is approved for rollout before the end of the year we've got a vaccine which is a fact it prevents a live action intriguingly in result of a headline is that we do have as our are and then have all those of the back. and i guess where we saw 90 percent or more data may be needed to confirm the 90 percent subgroup results, but cheaper to mass produce, easier to distribute, to more moderate temperatures than its competitors. the british vaccine is good

news for poorer parts of the world. in time, the astra zeneca oxford vaccine could lead to an end to the pandemic world wide reaching parts of the world. the other vaccines on offer simply can't, but on a much shorter time scale, it's already being projected by the government here. that vaccine technology may lead to a resumption of normal life by easter for national restrictions in england was december addressing parliament remotely while serving a period of isolation himself. prime minister johnson outlined a post lockdown plan for england, a return to the regional system of tiered restrictions introduced in october, but strengthened this time to guard against a further surge 1st. we must get through winter without the virus really out of control. very hard by the gate at exactly the time when the burden on the

n.h.s. is always great. the plan is designed to carry out safely just so from december, the 2nd until april shops will reopen, parts of the economy will be allowed to breathe again and the government has promised the trammels can meet up over the christmas period. there is more than cautious optimism that in to all of this is inside. jonah, how al-jazeera london. those behind the oxford astra zeneca experimental vaccine are talking up its low price and how it would be easier to distribute, especially in developing countries. astra zeneca says it would cost about $2.50, a dose would be stored in normal fridge temperatures for up to 6 months. the dirt is that same, can sit in the fridge for 30 days or a regular freezer for 6 months. will cost between $15.00 and $25.00 per pfizer's vaccine will be about $20.00. however, it requires specialist deep freeze it. so here are small cells is

a molecular viral or just the northumbria university says the advantages of the oxford astra. zeneca vaccine are exaggerated, mainly easier to store and transport, and that is the major advantage that he's presenting. there's no huge other additional advantages. if anything, one could argue that the pfizer and the maternal vaccines actually have more advantages. because although in the short term, it costs literally 10 times as much just to move these things around. the phrases consume tow times as much energy at minus 85 better up to minus 20 degrees. the fact is that we know how to turn these kind of compound into powders and keep them us room temperature stored or even just played fridge thought powders. and therefore, within a year from now, it is quite likely that these companies will be looking to bring to the market to

the clinic. these ultra cold boxing's, but in a powder form of that can be stored turned on the shelf because of the damage that has been wrought by this virus globally. literally, all the companies are turned extent benefiting all of the opportunity to submit for this so-called early use of arrows sation approval. and this is a really keen, double edged sword, because if something happens, the dosing numbers increase and a lot more people are saved, that there's the slightest indication that there might be a strike, a safety concern that regulators will pull the plug straight away. so the companies that are putting these things into market are going to go in there, like many of them have been to go in a nonprofit approach like astra zeneca on oxford have done. but no, there's not enough. applauded for them for doing this, for societal gold. and if something goes wrong from the impact to their reputation is going to be quite significant. lead is an ethiopian stingray region that denying

government claims that the military is surrounding the regional capital mckelway prime minister abi ahmed. is given the 2 great people's liberation front until wednesday to surrender or face an assault on the city. some to around half a 1000000 people, the team p.l.f. is so far, refused to stand aside saying its people are ready to die in defense of that and welcome web is following developments from nairobi in neighboring kenya. the government has said that it forces a surrounded gray and capital regional capital of mackay, and that there are about 50 kilometers away. that follows an ultimatum given by president prime minister made on sunday. he said that he was giving that to ground forces 3 days to lay down their arms ahead of what he said was a final would be a final assault on the regional capital mckelway. but the bread in the bread to get free, michael, the leader of the to grain forces, has refuted these claims. he said that it's not true that the city's surrounded.

and he said that 3 day ultimatum was actually a cover up on the part of the federal forces who he says are suffering following 3 defeats. so these reports, these claims by both sides completely contradict each other, but it's very hard to work out exactly what's going on. since communications, phone lines and internet in that part of the country have been cut off for weeks. now if you're just joining us, let's recap. our main story. donald trump has accepted that a formal transition can begin for joe biden to take office. that's after the head of the general services administration, acknowledged biden as the apparent when trump said in a tweet that he's directing his team to cooperate. promising to keep up the phone, it means biden's new administration can meet with federal officials to work on the pandemic response and national security. i'll have much more on this developing story in just a few minutes time. so keep it here. want to say,

i'm december on al-jazeera, it's 10 years since of revolution in tunisia ignited the arab spring. al-jazeera looks back at the uprising and asks, what really changed across the middle east. this stream is why al-jazeera has global audience becomes a global community. a year after the 1st coronavirus case in china will examine the devastation caused by the virus and the efforts made to eliminate covert 90 people in power is back with more investigative documentaries and in-depth stories.

climate leaders will gather online to press ahead with a new stage of the paris climate agreement and examine the possible global solutions. december on al-jazeera, france once had, a vast empire spanning several continents. but by the 1940, s., the french were forced to confront reality. and to moms from dependence and a fast part of a new documentary series. al-jazeera looks at how the colonial unrest room conflict a non-jury up and full scale war in and do china modern chance french to colonize ation on al-jazeera. soon as the sun goes down, the ballot box is a very challenging place to work. i think i live here always thinking part of the plan from most always on the love we are the while traveling from miles where all

the media going to go and we go there and we give them a chance to tell their story., u.s. president elect joe biden gets the green light to begin his transition to the was else. and donald trump agrees to the transition. us insists he won't keep us, wanted to overturn the election result other income, but al, this is of their life in doha. also coming up astra zeneca says it's called the bounty vaccine is 90 percent effective and cheaper than rivals make it more affordable for the developing world. and the stand off a northern ethiopia government forces.