al jazeera. every. step towards resolving the gulf crisis saudi arabia says a deal could be reached soon to end the 3 year land sea and air blockade of cattle . elam's all rommany watching of 0 life my headquarters here in doha are coming up in the next 30 minutes president all jump orders the withdrawal of nearly all u.s. troops from somalia raising questions about the fight against the armed group al shabaab. record numbers of credible ira's deaths and infections in the u.s. and its and it will be speaking to

a frontline health workers on the staggering impact of a deadly 2nd wanes. and calls to boycott nikkei in japan over a commercial exploring racism and teenage bullying and. welcome to the program we begin with the gulf crisis now in its 4th year the emir of kuwait says he's happy with progress made at talks aimed at resolving the dispute between 4 arab nations and qatar that's after saudi arabia's foreign minister said he's hopeful of a deal could be reached soon saudi arabia bahrain the united arab emirates and egypt imposed a land sea and air blockade on cats are in june 27th teen has hashem. crucial days are had for gulf nations talks aimed at and in the 3 and a half year blockade of qatar seem to have achieved significant progress kuwait's

foreign minister host country has been we generally mediate again and to the crisis says he is confident in fact that a constructive and fruitful talks have taken place recently where all the parties have stressed their desire to reach a final agreement and resolutions to preserve the region stability and harmony maintain the interest of the peoples within this context we express our appreciation for the latest efforts by jared cushion or the u.s. president advisor. qatar's for him an assertion mohammed another like manner 30 says he also remains optimistic about the prospect of a deal we have achieved certain point certain point of time more than a year ago and then things has giordano and right now there are some more moments that we hope that this will put an end for of this crisis because we see and we believe actually that gulf unity is very important for the security of the region

for the stability of that region and for for the sake of our people this need this crisis needs to end a few hours after the kuwaiti and qatari statements saudi arabia's point minister also said significant progress has been made and all sides are close to reaching an agreement we hope that. this progress can lead to a final agreement which looks in return i can say i am somewhat optimistic that we are close to finalizing. an agreement between all the nations in dispute to come to a resolution that we think will be satisfactory to all the gulf corporation council has welcomed the news in a statement it server development reflects the strength of the g.c.c. . and its ability to overcome all obstacles the new developments come

a few days after the us president's senior adviser jared. made a visit to the region he held talks with a meet of qatar shift i mean but how middle 30 and saudi crown prince mohammed bin sandman the visit was widely seen as a last ditch effort by the trump administration to end the land sea and blockade that was imposed by saudi arabia u.a.e. bahrain and egypt qatar. in june 2017 the locating countries sever diplomatic ties with doha and issued a list of 13 demands for qatar to implement. they include downgrading ties with iran closing a turkish military base and shutting down al jazeera qatar dismissed the demands as a violation of its sovereignty the us has been trying to end the blockade where reared its might undermine its efforts to contain iran's influence in the region in

the last few months american officials had been hoping saudi arabia would open his airspace to the tide of flights and move the trump administration believes will deny iran an estimated $100000000.00 in annual fees qatar pays to fly over its airspace the coming days and weeks which show if the gulf rival nations are ready to set aside their differences $1.00 of the words of the blockade might take even longer to heal but i'll to 0. in a secular state by composers washington is optimistic the deadlock will end but didn't say when. we are very hopeful that the. dispute between the saudis the countries. can be resolved we hope so because we think that's important for peace throughout the middle east but most importantly we think it's the right thing

for the people of each of those countries we're going to keep working to do our what we can to facilitate conversations and dialogue but the us president donald trump is pulling back nearly all american troops from somalia over the next few months they were deployed to train and advise somali forces in the fight against the armed group. trumps the latest order sollars a series of announcements post-election to withdraw all forces from missions abroad when lawrence is a professor at the american university's school of international service and he thinks the decision will hurt american interests in the region. the troops will be there they'll be in kenya they'll be in the truck drawls will be there but i think the blow from the u.s. operational standpoint is that over time it'll lose its ability to have american eyes on the ground to have more interaction with somalia jews who have not proven that resilient in the fight against terrorism and needed that u.s. backing and so it really is

a blow to smile in that sense if for no good reason. and there's no good military or strategic reason to do this and the reaction as you saw from the pentagon statement is going to be very negative in africa like it was when the u.s. was contemplating pulling out of the help they said well there's no reason lotus hell and the u.s. didn't need to when they ended up not pulling out but the troops will be right there if there is another major terrorist attack i'm sure they'll be an opportunity for a redeployment within somalia so this again is i think necessary with negative symbolic implications the u.s. population is very new reactor 1718 years of war around the world fighting isis this is isis. affiliated group but the u.s. is all over africa they're all over the world there are some you know 40 or 50 countries of the american troops and so biden will probably be able to get that level of troops back into somalia if he needs to the republicans will beat him up

off so americans will be upset but given the numbers of americans around the world i don't think it's a major decrease or increase terms of deployments against terrorist threats. now the us has seen another day of record high crime virus infections reporting more than 2 125000 new cases more than 2500 deaths were reported in just 24 hours and in recent weeks the country has seen a resurgence in cases and deaths from too many areas to impose new regulations among them the city of san francisco whose man has warned the current spike is and we quote unlike anything we've seen so far italy has reported another 814 deaths and more than 24000 new infections more than 58000 italians have died so far restrictions have been tightened over christmas with movement between regions banned. in mexico new restrictions are also being imposed in the capital to curb a rise in the number of new infections the mayor of mexico city has suspended all

non-essential government work and is urged people to stay at home present and resume lopez obrador is asking people to counsel their end of year travel plans and even avoid exchanging christmas presents well nearly a year into the pandemic the impact of the outbreak on frontline health workers has been staggering rising numbers of infections are putting enormous strains on hospitals and their staff who are struggling to cope with burn outs and exhaustion dr parikh pilly is an emergency room doctor joins me now via skype from new york good to have you with us live on al-jazeera dr just paint the picture for us you get ready for work in the morning you enter the hospital what have you been seeing and what are your colleagues been dealing with when it comes to cope with 1000 cases. thanks to have me on again i'm very appreciative of you guys having a previous interview you know. obviously getting bad again but it was just not as

bad as it was before because we didn't know what was going on and we have a better idea that the surge is happening and i think what's troubling is that despite masks lockdowns and i think people are trying to understand why it's happening again you know those things are good lock downs are good you know hardly the lockdowns and wearing masks but i think what we're missing i think why we're seeing this surge again is obviously relaxed a little things i think you know people were getting very tied up and i think that what we're missing. another aspect of this virus being you know basically can go through the surfaces it can not only be like everyone has i mentioned the previous interview we did back in april like air war and. we seem to have lost the doctor that's like legal scholar. i think we're not going to be able to get him but right now we will try again and talk to police and i think we can get

into. obviously we're going to hear actually we're having i was having a slight skype issues if you can keep the answers short just tell us what you'll seeing right now in terms of the underlying problems that your patients patients that you'll hearing about across the state of the city that your colleagues are telling you about what are they actually coming in with one of the symptoms. well they present with so many different systems the virus is such on the known virus in the sense that it can affect so many different we're going to so what we thought was a cough you were in all the traditional symptoms it comes in with so many other things like lack of concentration difficulty in balance and pain so it's so hard to quantify and get that like you know this is core a virus and so it can present in so many different ways it can affect people in so many things. and i think it's about spread is the problem and i think that's why we're having a tough time containing this i mentioned having hermetically sealed or treatment

centers back then but that in addition to just you know it will continue to spiral then what we're seeing because people are not following it unfortunately it's hard to pay the populations are having a tough time with it and we're not only. for your eyes nose and ears and all such like that not so not the years but the skin is also an effect i think surfaces i think people are missing that context is a big aspect of this and that even in this other public at large taking on the public at large taking on both the advice that they're hearing from presidents like biden for example the w.h.o. about distance about masks about washing your hands on a regular basis. i think they are the problem is that we as health care workers are trained in how to wear a mask how to dispose of a mask i think people just think oh putting on a mask you know a surgical mask is just not enough i think and 95 i think it's f t 2 in the your european union it's almost like standard you need that because

viruses compared even outdoors you know the sources i've had back in april and march said you know even the wind can carry this i think that was a big ask that it was like the flu it's you know it's only droplets you know coughing or whatever and you see having symptoms they can but you could be talking to somebody outside even a distinct character 10 to 15 meters that's an issue right like you know this this thing also with back seems to be you want to get into treatment center like it mutates so fast if we're allowed to spread in this way will the vaccines be affected ok right this doesn't have any climate or temperature sensitivity like influence which i discovered back in february it's not like we were out to sea saying it affects so many different organs it can have long term damage not just the mortality everyone's like oh you've got to get over a long term this can do brain damage you can do you know there's one parent hearing this you know i've been. wanting to leave

a mess right unfortunately already got to tell you if you thanks very much for your input and it's good to speak to you again thank you yeah absolutely thank you so the world health organization is warning that vaccines alone will eliminate kovac 19 they say data suggests they may not lifelong protection that's off the w.h.o. says the light at the end of the tunnel but the world's pull shouldn't be overlooked let me be clear we simply cannot accept a world in which the pool and money do not. buy that of each and powerful in the stop it. this is a global crisis and the solutions must be shared equitably as global public goods not as private commodities that widen inequalities and become yet another reason some people are left behind. still ahead here on al-jazeera pressure mounts on

ethiopia to allow aid groups to access every train refugees in the embattled to gray region. a relief a dream is a u.s. federal judge orders the trumpet ministration to restore a program that shields young undocumented immigrants from deportation. hello there we've got stormy weather gathering across southern parts of the u.s. at the moment big area cloud here just easing across the panhandle pushing up across the carolinas as we go on through the weekend that wetter weather sweeps up towards the mid atlantic states grew as he rolls up towards new york snow on the northern flank of that maybe as much as 15 centimeters of snow for some anywhere from around new york for new england into that eastern side of canada dry weather

does come back in behind not too bad crisp sunshine for many hot sunshine down towards the southwest of the u.s. and southern parts of california with strong santa ana winds as dry winds off the mountains we are looking at an increased fire risk here over the next couple of days red flag warnings in force many in southern california somewhat of weather some wintry weather a little further north as preaching out some wetter weather and some which weather to into b.c. as we go on through sunday but some places the snow over towards ontario if it was go back towards the canadian maritimes southern part of the u.s. a good deal dry but a few showers still in play here over the next day or so showers to continue across the western side of the caribbean we see some wet weather pushing towards honduras towards nicaragua also billie's. with tiny hidden cameras and. announcer illegally filming and sharing people's most

intimate moments when i went east investigate south korea's i can't identify on al-jazeera. if you want to help save the world. isn't here on. the news or. welcome back you're watching i was there with the whole run a reminder of our top news stories the emir of kuwait says he's pleased with the progress of talks aimed at ending a blockade of cattle by neighboring countries the saudi foreign minister says all

the nations involved are close to finalizing an agreement. president all trump has ordered the withdrawal of most american troops from somalia about $700.00 a base there advising local forces in the fight against al shabaab the drawdown is part of tom's plan to reduce u.s. involvement in counter terrorism abroad and the u.s. has also seen another day of record high corona virus infections reporting more than 225000 new cases in recent weeks the country has seen a resurgence in cases and deaths prompting many areas to impose new regulations. u.s. president elect joe biden is calling on congress to urgently pass a coded relief bill to help millions of americans suffering during the pandemic biden says the situation is bleak with job growth slowing new data shows the economy still has 10000000 fewer jobs than before the pandemic kristen salumi reports now from wilmington in delaware. with colder weather on the horizon and the

coronavirus surging in an already fragile economy the united states is bracing for a tough winter american employers sharply scaled back hiring in the last month adding just 245000 jobs the fewest since april president elect joe biden says quick action is needed to reverse what he described as one of the worst economic crises in modern history the folks out there aren't looking for a handout they just need help they are in trouble through no fault of their own nothing they did cause them to have hours cut or lose their job or drop out of the market but they need they need us to understand when a crisis need to come together as a nation be the congress to act and act now biden has highlighted the plight of working class americans and struggling business owners speaking to those who have

lost jobs in the service industry and public sector in a virtual round table discussion earlier this week like karen coffey who lost her job working in a sports stadium we do we have a lot of concerns mr but i think it's been i mean my last day we're march 8th when everything shut down retailers shed jobs in november what would normally be peak holiday shopping season a reflection of fewer consumers shopping in physical stores restaurants bars and hotels some modest job growth but many continue to struggle amid the pandemic with parts of the country beginning to reimpose restrictions on businesses trying to state why is. it. that you. wanted to close this is it will be not enough shelter and you not. so there is a balance. right here in all nearly 10000000 jobs lost since the pandemic have yet

to return with a rising proportion of the unemployed describing their jobs as gone for good i must congress approves another aid package before the end of the year millions of unemployed workers stand to lose all of their jobless assistance and president elect biden says that should be just the 1st step he plans to introduce more measures to stimulate the economy as soon as he's inaugurated on january 20th christian salumi al-jazeera wilmington delaware. a u.s. federal judge has ordered the trumpet ministration to fully restore an obama era initiative protecting young undocumented immigrants from deportation in 2017 trying tried to end the deferred action for childhood arrivals program also known as dhaka fronting angry demonstrations earlier this year the move was blocked by the supreme court but in july trump officials tried to limit the program by stopping new of locations where friday's ruling clears the way for undocumented teens and young

adults to apply i would join us by phone for us he was a deputy assistant attorney general in charge of immigration during the obama administration mr prescott good to have you with us live on al-jazeera as this is a huge setback for president trump so what specifically does the judgment means for those fighting really to stay in the u.s. mean. so what that judgment means is for all of those young people who game under the age of 16 who are here prior to 2007 those individuals who have sort of grown up and aged into the program can now apply again if they if they lost their status under naca they can apply again to regain it or they have never applied in the 1st place they can apply to obtain their status on their dock only protects them from the board asian and allows them to also work illegally in the united states how many cases that we talking about what are the demographics of the type of people that are applying for this well so there were 700000 individuals who

added dhaka at the time of the doc up programs stalling by president trump but there's an estimate of about another 400000 people that could take advantage of this doc a program for it to be reopened for people to apply who are eligible of the kind but never apply either because they didn't draw us the system or or other reasons of the inability to apply this issue not fully into the law of president elect by the democrats that approach to the issue is going to be very different yet president elect biden it's basically also saying you know we're not the 3rd term of an obama administration has to be a difference that doesn't. well yes i do think that one of the 1st acts president biden is going to do is to reinstate the docket program in its entirety but then the question is will he expand it and allow it for later on writing people then the

people who write that after 2007 and he's getting a lot of pressure to do that but one of the problems with that pressure is that he does that that will expand the ability for the challengers of the program and there's a lot of state governments who are challenging the program to sue in federal court and if they sue in federal court it is possible they can get the program invalidated once again to the supreme court which is a very conservative supreme court but we will see what happens and continue to monitor this story on fresca thanks very much for joining us from the u.s. thank you ethiopia says it's captured all killed most of the leaders of the embattled to gray region as it tries to bring an end to the month long conflict but the head of the 2 graham people's liberation front says residents of the region's competent mckellen have been protesting about looting but ever trained soldiers who support ethiopia it's difficult to consider me the science claim due to a media blackout in the area catherine mahoney is

a spokeswoman for the united nations high commission of refugees and she says the u.n. is hearing unverified reports of human rights violations. you know we've had some 47000 people cross the border from ethiopia into sudan a 1000 people cross the border just last night now what's different about the situation now we know people are still on the move those that are arriving say that more are coming but what's different in the past few days is the number of eritreans who have arrived which raises our concern for the situation and inside to grow that word we're still waiting to see ourselves so the reports that we're hearing are unverified but they are alarming gruesome reports of you know potential attacks on refugee camps of potential abductions even the possibility of the killing of civilians refugees or humanitarian staff the united kingdom and the

european union still haven't managed to work out a bricks deal with less than 4 weeks to go until britain's transition period ends the e.u. as chief negotiator michel barnier says they've agreed to paul's talks because the conditions for a deal haven't been met british prime minister boris johnson is expected to hold the goshi ations with european that commission president to lay in on saturday both sides have clashed on fishing rights and fair trade rules the un's top human rights official has called on valerie's to release people unlawfully arrested during months of anti-government protests bashfully says that she's had reports that at least $27000.00 people have been detained since august still speeches election that includes protesters activists and journalists hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have been rallying against president alexander lukashenko despite a government crackdown. ewan's refugee agency says bangladesh was not for stronger refugees to move on an island off the coast which is prone to storms and flooding

aid groups have expressed concern that people are being coerced into going there navy officials say more than 1600 rangar refugees are heading to the island. from cox's bazaar and the u.n. says it's ready to evaluate conditions in the new location if the government allows them. well india's government says it's open to amending some of its agricultural reforms as farmers continue to protest outside the capital tens of thousands were out on friday demanding the government give them a minimum guaranteed price for their crops they were it legislation passed in september world lead to corporate exploitation. the cuban government has rejected the demands of artists protesting for freedom of expression last week hundreds of people demonstrated in a rare show of dissent against the government now the government initially agreed to hear their demands but it now says it won't negotiate with them accusing them of receiving u.s. support and money they are to say police have surrounded their homes and are

preventing them from leaving. nike is facing a backlash in japan over commercial pilots racial discrimination in the country the 2 minute hand that has been shared widely on social media and some users are calling for a boycott of the company rob mcbride has more. the video features 3 teenagers who face bullying at school but overcome discrimination through sport. 2 of the girls are from racial minority groups and for some the ad wrongly portrays japanise prejudiced online criticism accuses nike of creating a false impression of japan from another critic the one that's prejudiced is nike while others have promised i won't buy nike ever again i think that they see the as be unnecessarily negative towards and then i think you have an older demographic it more male who are against one of the featured teenagers belongs to

japan's ethnically korean community mainly a legacy from japan's colonial period when it ruled over the korean peninsula touching on the troubled relationship between the 2 neighbors always rekindles old animosities especially for the older generation but for younger people in japan there seems to be a greater acceptance of diversity with sports leading the way the success of japan's multi racial rugby team in last year's rugby world cup was widely celebrated and the emergence of biracial tennis star nyoman osaka who is featured in the ad is having a profound impact the images experiences that are projected in the ad you know i think resonate with young japanese over the summer we had black lives matters marches here japan is served lead and zigzaggy towards greater

tolerance and diversity but of course there are people are not comfortable. for its part to nike is standing by the ad saying discrimination is a global issue and it exists around the world but clearly some in japan would have been happier if the company had focused on a different part of the world of the broad al-jazeera. watching all deserve that means the whole rahman a reminder of our top stories the amir of kuwait says he's pleased with the progress of talks aimed at ending a blockade of qatar by neighboring countries the saudi foreign minister says all the nations of volved are close to finalizing the agreement meanwhile u.s. secretary of state pompei or says washington is optimus.