let's start with some of the on the ground realities of the news coverage what's the lay of the land challenging assumptions and the official not. listening post on out is the. the world health organization says europe faces a high risk of a coronavirus resurgence months into 2021 as germany and the u.k. introduced tougher restrictions before christmas. peter dhabi live here in doha 30 minutes of international news from al-jazeera also coming up iran's supreme leader says hostilities with the u.s. will not end with donald trump's exit from the white house. fear and anxiety among parents of more than 330 children kidnapped by nigeria's book fighters. and south

korea receives a special designation from unesco for its lantern festival. the world health organization says the corona virus pandemic could worsen in europe early next year right now several e.u. countries including the netherlands and germany are struggling to contain rising numbers of infections and deaths in the u.k. london and surrounding areas have entered the highest level of restrictions the prime minister boris johnson is defending the tightening of restrictions over the christmas holiday period the smaller christmas is going to be a safer christmas and a shorter christmas is a safer christmas. when we see 3 households can meet on 5 days

i want to stress that these are maximums not targets to aim for but of course it's always going to be safest to minimize the number of people you meet well germany has now entered its 1st day of an emergency lockdown with limits on most christmas gatherings and events at the same time a record daily death toll was recorded with more than 950 when a hole has more now from london. there had been a great deal of pressure building on boris johnson particularly to revise or scrap those that relaxation in the face of rising infection rates particularly in the south in the south east here in london. which has just gone into to 3 restrictions warnings from the scientific and medical community that a relaxation of christmas would increase the number of deaths increase the number of hospitalizations potentially lead to a 3rd wave in january the prime minister had held his ground earlier in the day the

4 devolved nations of the u.k. they have their own powers over health issues of course had decided that they would keep that broad idea even place they felt it was too late to punish people essentially before christmas but would issue individual guidance about how those rules should be observed and so we saw wales and scotland earlier issuing much stricter guidance about how the rules should be observed that these ideas of of 3 families meeting for 5 days didn't necessarily be what every single person did in that if you could get away with less that would be a good idea in bars johnson has just followed suit in a press conference saying the situation is now much worse than it was when we made these rules we're asking you to exercise extreme levels of personal responsibility what he's saying is a smaller christmas is a safer christmas a shorter christmas one day together perhaps not 5 is a safer christmas avoid seeing your elderly relatives if you possibly can until the

vaccine has taken effect avoid travelling from low infected areas to high infected areas or vice versa and so there is this guidance as i said christmas though not cancelled boris johnson didn't want to be seen as the prime minister who was going to revoke of that at this point in time but much stricter guidance applies. well the daily number 19 infections in the netherlands has as we are reporting hit a new wreck or there have been more than 11000 cases in just the last 24 hours it's the 2nd day of a strict 5 week locked on their school so close and only essential businesses are allowed to operate the netherlands has recorded almost 650000 cases and more than 10000 virus related deaths need barker is following developments across europe he has this report for us from brussels many people see this is a necessary step others are treating this rather reluctantly particularly all the businesses that were hoping to recoup some of the lost profits ahead of christmas

we believe that there is some wiggle room though on christmas eve and christmas day in the day after allowing a certain limited number of family members to meet but nevertheless this is pretty much the tightest restrictions that the german government could implement across the country's 16 different federal states primarily primarily because the numbers have been going in the wrong direction for some time for at least 11 days in a row the death toll has been above 400 deaths today and now with this sudden surge 952 deaths in a 24 hour period the number is somewhat skewed by the late arrival of some data from saxony nevertheless though there has concerned an awful lot of people close to the german government including scientific advisors who say the 1st lockdown helped to reduce contact between people in the country by 40 percent they need it to be closer to 60 percent for it really to have a lasting effect but germany isn't the only country to be implementing this tight

lockdown the netherlands also begins a 5 week increase in restrictions there including the closure of schools and nurseries too after reporting an increase in 11000 infections. a french court has found 14 accomplices of the sharlee tax guilty one of the key figures were sentenced to 30 years in prison only 17 people were killed over 3 days in 2015 years all began with the killing of 12 people at the syracuse magazine which published cartoons of the prophet mohammed it was followed by the killing of a policewoman kone jewish supermarket the gunman who killed by the police. a new round of talks aimed at salvaging the 2015 iran nuclear deal has been announced foreign ministers from iran russia china germany and the u.k. will convene next week iran's supreme leader has suggested the u.s. will remain hostile to iran despite the change in presidency in washington in january now it is a sentiment echoed by the iranian president hassan rouhani they matter to me iran.

i tell our people if this pressure persists it is from an individual that unfortunately still has a few weeks to go he has been the united states is most lawless president and hopefully he is leaving we are not excited about mr biden taking office but we are very happy to see trump go he committed so many crimes he's a murderer a terrorist he even causes problems when he wants to buy a vaccine he's a man without humanity or moral principles we are very happy that this arrogant man who wasn't committed to any pledges has been toppled ok let's bring in mr chesham he's a journalist and an iranian affairs analyst he joins us on skype from tehran mustapha welcome back to al-jazeera is the administration in tehran ready for more sanctions . hello pierre thanks for having me well as a matter of fact the new sanctions are you know more inclusion of actors

economic actors or political actors into the brain of sanctions but they do not add up to the pressure you know ever since 2009 the united states has been. dealing with iran through the containment strategy that works through a hybrid war that the largest very much on sanctions and hand in hand with those incredible military threat even on their own donald trump it was the same but he played it very naive so he has the admission this formula somehow so in the past one year or better to say in the past 76 months the united states' efforts have focused on new rule that is called fortifying sanctions wall that means 2 adult layers of sanctions so that if iran and the united states work out a deal anyhow or the u.s. gets back to the nuclear deal and they remove the secondary nuclear related

sanctions that runs again on the actions in banking thought it would be blocked again and it would not be able to even send one single dollar or any other foreign currency abroad or important thing or work through its banking relations because the same and similar sanctions are in place on their other critics like terrorism likeness on the sea and so on so forth this is exactly in opposition to de scipio a potter books 202326 that's the bone of contention between to iran and the united states as soon as. i can get to ok why dallas he would probably maximum offer to remove the secretary nuclear related sanctions but he would be unwilling and adamant to removing these terrorism related sanctions that are in. exactly the same ok here's the thing if in the run up to in or be rationed at the end of january 2021 donald trump's

a thing of the past by that point if the the optics from the incoming biden ministration is this is an open church the doors are open we are here to talk if the optics are looking good if the choreography is heading in the right direction will iran buy on to that buy into that afresh as it did in the run up to 2015 without crucially without preconditions. i don't know because they're all believe it already has a deal in place it doesn't need to renegotiate on a launch new negotiation or anything else because it is been very loyal to the nuclear deal and then complements full compliance and the us has withdrawn and violate that deal so it has ruined tehran's competence and it's time for the united states to be a look at tehran stop it is and remove all the sanctions that's what they're on of them and remove all the sanctions imposed on the nation in the past or years that

saw the main building contentious probably assumes biden gets into office but let me be honest with you braun has learned how to deal with this new formula of containment of that that i just explained and it knows pretty well that the u.s. is not looking to or a conflict resolution that the u.s. is looking for containment of it stop iran's power components line hill run ever since it started thoughts with the united states in 2013 it moved to the top in order to resolve all flex up there as it approaches based on a conflict resolution now to iran has it rest assured an iranian public also rest assured everyone knows that the u.s. is not looking for a conflict or a solution unless the u.s. changes this impression and can i just interrupt you for a 2nd plus my stuff because we are running out of time so i apologize my bad

manners briefly is there a feeling in tehran as far as the governments concerned of almost bringing its own bring it to us because we have survived multiple sanctions overlapping sanctions and we are dealing on our own with the reality of covert so is there a feeling in tehran of yes ok but we are actually in a position of strength here we are not in a position of weakness yes exactly because the maximum efficiency period of the sanctions in this formula to push to iran to the talks that's the objective. love and happiness the 2 years ever since may this year iran's economy has been improving to cope with an i think they cannot make out the impacts and according to i.m.f. and iranian central bank iran register a pos that actually runs economy which is the positive role and iran is now

according to reuters and many western media outlets. exporting over a 1000000 probably according to some reports along a half 1000000 barrels of oil each day and tehran has learned how to bypass the sanctions these new sanctions to the floor iran expects a better economy next year but their paws they pick a nominee growth rate next year so that iran believes that especially now that why then needs to work with sanctions that are not as reliable and productive as or so after the credible military threat was exposed out there events last year especially the global hawk that that was shut down by iran and nothing happened iranian missiles rained down on analysts that the nothing happened that iran has learned how to deal with the united states but there so it's feeling more self-confident and department built my last sentence the policy in that bill very recently approved by the parliament it shows how competent iran feels about the

biden ministration and is pressuring biden administration already ok mostafa question always good to get your insight on this complicated complex story thank you for talking to i think you from there from tehran thank you feet there from nigerian security forces have rescued at least 15 students kidnapped in the northern state to count ciena hundreds were taken on friday from a boarding school in concord a city the government is being accused of not being open about the number of children abducted it's also denied reports is negotiating with the kidnapped that was a faction of the group has claimed responsibility what address is it. the return of 15 more students are greeted with a relieved by communities in and cuts in the state however the emergence of these students is still shrouded in mystery a lot of people are saying a lot of some reports are saying that the military rescued them however a lot of witnesses are talking about how the children escaped their abductors and

made it to safety now some parents are maintaining vigil at government school insisting that they will be there they will continue to be there until the government and all the authorities rescue their children and return them to their parents safely now there are concerns in the west in nigeria after the claim bible koran that it's holding more than 520 of these students abducted last friday many communities are now concerned that boko haram has expanded its area of operations far away from its traditional power base in northeastern nigeria now to the north northwest and now i think to the existing problems of banditry and kidnappings that have displaced many communities in that area meanwhile the kids in the state government insist that it's not negotiating with the abductors of the children of the school children now when we come back we'll bring you these stories on al-jazeera an escalation in the growing trade between australia and china can break

demands intervention by the world trade organization. i also had. the 2030 asian games in doha. the storm that was in the eastern med is split into 2 hearts now the rain stopped falling in turkey it stopped falling in cyprus the stay. all right instead in the northeast of turkey and the lower bit is turned into an onshore breeze really from lebanon southward towards sinai bringing showers thunderstorms rain or cloudy skies a focus of the gaza reflects that showers on thursday still dark skies on friday in a brighter looking saturday now friday's national day in qatar the weather looks

set fair 24 degrees is probably minimal be warned that this could be a reason we humans are to feel warm and that with a few clouds in the sky otherwise it's looking fairly fine thread arabia it's iran which catches a bit of rain or snow or tighter. as well as a remaining storm just falls apart the active weather further south is seasonal it's been worse while it's balsam flash floods to cause it in a towel we're talking about 5200 millimeters typically in those big showers we're showing says day in friday will probably edge eastwards and northwards covering good part of some mozambique zimbabwe and zambia but johannesburg is not free of showers sundry on thursday and this wet again on saturday. for. frank assessments you've got colleagues on the ground and in the canaries what is the situation there's only one doctor and one nurse or 2200 people informed

opinions on how big this foreign policy they get in the early stages of a bi ministration he comes into office with a huge amount of foreign policy experience in-depth analysis of the day's global headlines how will a place like yours live get the vaccine when there's no money and all the rest of rich countries are fighting for an inside story on al jazeera. rule. welcome back less up to get top stories for you so far this half hour the world health organization says the coronavirus pandemic could worsen in europe early next year that warning comes as several e.u. countries including the netherlands and germany struggle to contain rising numbers

of infections and deaths. iran's supreme leader has suggested the u.s. will remain hostile to tehran despite the change in the presidency in washington the u.s. treasury has today impose more sanctions against iranian individuals and companies . and nigerian security forces are rescued at least 15 students kidnapped in the northern state of cut scene and hundreds were taken on friday from a boarding school in concord a city the government is being accused of not being open about the number of children abducted. the u.s. health system is being strained under the pressure of the pandemic intensive care units have been running out of beds in at least one state mississippi and there were fewer than $100.00 available in los angeles county home to millions of people his rope reynolds. in california and across the u.s. the coded 900 numbers are staggering in los angeles county population 10000000 there were fewer than 100 intensive care unit beds available on tuesday in some

areas like the central valley and counties east of los angeles there are 0 i.c.u. beds left more people will die because the whole system is that well statewide more than 42000 cases of covert 19 were reported on monday breaking all previous single day records we're still in the tunnel going through the most challenging and difficult search we've experienced since the beginning of this pandemic most of the state is under a stay at home order still public officials pleaded with people to wear masks and socially distance. we just had to order $5000.00 additional body bags they just purchased for the state that should be sobering after more than 300000 deaths nationwide millions of doses of pfizer's vaccine are now being distributed around

the country with medical workers at the front of the line more encouraging news came from the u.s. food and drug administration which found moderna vaccine candidate to be 94 percent effective emergency f.d.a. authorization for the vaccine is expected by the end of the week a new poll shows 71 percent of the u.s. population wants to get vaccinated right away that's an 8 percent increase from september widespread vaccine acceptance is essential to combat in the virus vaccine rollout also costs money congress is still working on multi-billion dollar covert relief legislation but they're not there yet no matter how long it takes will be here until we get a codebook the country's top infectious disease expert dr anthony fauci recommended that president elect joe biden who is 78 years old and vice president elect kamel harris get vaccinated right away in the interests of national security we want him

fully protected as he enters into the presidency in january so that would be my strong recommendation biden said he'd take that advice. you are now to the public. much of the ongoing nationwide search is attributed to virus exposure during travel and family gatherings over the a thanksgiving holiday last month with hanukkah underway and christmas coming next week doctors are begging americans to stay home and stay safe rob reynolds al-jazeera los angeles. and the world's 3rd worst affected country the government has announced plans to buy billions of dollars worth of covert 19 vaccines the brazilian president. held a news conference in immunization plans after facing mounting condemnation over a lack of vaccine planning there have been more than 180000 deaths nearly 7000000 cases. the government of gaza is appealing for medical supplies help contain the

virus outbreak the gaza strip has reported a new record of 935 new cases in the last 24 hours the recent spike is further straining the health system there after more than a decade of israeli blockade restrictions have been tightened and doctors say the rate of infection could soon become uncontrollable so korea is preparing to implement its toughest virus measures yet on wednesday south korea reported a record daily number of infections with more than 1000 cases. let's move on australia is taking its trade dispute with china to the world trade organization is launching a formal appeal over china's decision to impose heavy tariffs on its barley is charlotte bellus. from bali fields in the astray and state of victoria to beijing and now to the world trade organization in geneva china has imposed tariffs of seem to illustrate ian barley effectively hosting the $1000000000.00 trade it wants the

largest market for these farmers a strain he is calling foul for the 1st time asking the world trade organization to intervene we along with many other countries use these prices in the right normally why and destroy an industry should say this is being about a strongly defending values operation in interests of a stroll in produces. but doing so. methodical and careful manner china insists a stray leah is preaching w t o rules it argues that australian farmers produce barley with government subsidies and sell at the low cost so should be subject to any dumping jussi the more when we're both ashore where we have said multiple times that some discriminatory practices by australia against chinese companies go against relevant international norms the australian government should take chinese concerns seriously and take concrete action to correct discriminatory actions against chinese companies. china

is a strain as largest trade partner with 2 way trade totaling nearly 200000000000 dollars last year but diplomatic relations have deteriorated and with a trait it worsened after a stray leah rallied international support for a un inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus since then it is belated further with a range of trade measures it's not posed by its tourists it's why in its call even lobsters sugar so it's quite sharp now between the 2 countries where the world trade organization will act as a referee for china and australia a result will take time potentially years in the meantime china is piling tariffs on a straight in goods in canberra is searching for new markets shalah bellus al-jazeera . south korea's lantern festival has been honored by unesco with a special designation for intangible cultural heritage the lotus lantern festival

is an event to celebrate the birthday of buddha it was among $25.00 applicants to receive the honor from the united nations reports from seoul. it's an annual event eagerly anticipated across south korea held around borders birthday tracing its origins back more than a 1000 years the festival symbolizes the enlightenment of mines through buddha's wisdom but coming in spring it is also a celebration of life that all koreans can share in this year's event was scaled back because of the pandemic. this reflects the philosophy of buddhism that we care about people normally large crowds gather to see the illuminated floats that often reflect current events recent improvements in into korean relations that lead to joint a limb picked teams and the possibility of reestablishing rail services between north and south were celebrated last year who were to tear this year's festival

with the goal of peace on the korean peninsula and the world by overcoming conflicts with buddhist spirit of mercy 2 years ago south korea's buddhist temples were recognized by unesco for their contribution to the heritage of humanity for the cementing buddhism's role in the fabric of south korean society. the law total enterprise will represent traditional culture that has been practiced by the korean people for a long time and has also played a leading role in promoting korea to the world south korea's bed to have this festival included on the unesco list emphasizes it's important beyond religious boundaries and coming during a winter dominated by the global pandemic lengthens for many here are reminded of the. promise of future springs to come robert bride al-jazeera sold. fish and

games are coming to doha for a 2nd time the country capital has won a vote in oman to host the 21st edition of the event in 2030 rival bidding city riyadh the saudi capital will stage the games 4 years later there's only richardson the city will have the high forty's and will host the world disparity is. another sporting victory for cattles capital doha this time winning the rights to host the 2030 asian games the 2nd biggest multi sports event after the olympics doha beating saudi arabia's capital riyadh in a vote by the olympic council of asia riyadh will host the 2034 edition other than just limit this achievement wasn't made just today but is the result of 16 years of hard work we are proud of these historical moment today we have won the bid for 2030 and it's no surprise. the wider context of 2 regional rivals going head to head in this photo is hard to ignore since 27 seen saudi arabia along with bahrain

the united arab emirates and egypt has imposed a blockade on qatar. but for both nations there is more than political point scoring a play with cats are already looking beyond the football world cup it will host in 2 years' time as we know cats are effectively built a nation. based upon sport so a lot of its infrastructure a lot of its urban developments have been connected to the staging of the world cup and so it was absolutely crucial i think in terms of legacy and in terms of delivering a return on investment for the. from its. various projects to not only did over the world cup but to subsequently also host of the makers and. in 2006 doha held the asian games for the 1st time it was the starting point of an ambitious plan to make cattle

a global sporting haarp since then the country has hosted a series of major events including last year's world athletics championships and in 2022 the football world cup will be coming to cats are the nation has made no secret of its desire to one day host an olympics with 2032 now looking at increasingly realistic targets and the richardson al-jazeera. this is al-jazeera these are your top stories the world health organization says the coronavirus pandemic could worsen in europe early next year warning comes as several e.u. countries including the netherlands and the u.k. struggle to contain rising numbers of infections ahead of the festive season the smaller christmas is going to be a safer christmas and a shorter christmas is a safer christmas when we see.