can afford it that guys tell these water. al-jazeera examines the social financial and environmental impact of war to privatisation loads of water on al-jazeera play an important role protecting human. steyer home orders come into force in the u.k. travel to some european countries is banned as scientists study new variant of the corona virus. hello i'm maryam namazie and london you're watching al-jazeera also coming up on the program ready to roll madonna's vaccine is shipped to hospitals across the united states while in washington of oh could happen soon on

a massive economic relief package. also ahead lines the story of the kidnapped school boys from katsina state now it's exposing the wider problem of nor lessness and insecurity in more than nigeria and a test for democracy thailand holds its 1st local elections after months of protests against the government and the money. come to the program while health organization is saying europe needs to boost measures to prevent the spread of a mutated strain of the corona virus which is spreading quickly in the united kingdom several european countries of either stopped or restrict to travel from the u.k. in response and the british government will meet on monday to discuss the impact it might have on the shipment of freight of many people living in the u.k. a stay at home order is now in force as well but the barber has the story from

london. with a week to go until christmas goodwill in some parts is being strained to the limit in much of the u.k. a planned relaxation of indoor mixing rules has been cut from 5 days to one day and didn't include a 3rd of the population is now a new to hear for restrictions people can't mix at all with other households here in surgery london there are people out and about for a walk but all the shops are shut these new restrictions are going to be devastating for thousands of this. this is as well as for families who had planned to get together a christmas. i think at the newsstand a virus the stuff i concerning and i think it is the right decision but i just wish it would have been made a few days earlier yeah i'm pretty upset about it i think the lack of planning and lack of ability to tell people that this is going to happen in advance of when it did. cause a lot of havoc and confusion there's also a ban on nonessential travel in and out of tier 4 areas that's where the rise in

covered $1000.00 cases has been steepest with london's mayor saying the numbers of coronavirus patients in hospital a back at levels last seen in the spring the government's put the surge down to a new variant that's much more easily transmitted the new variant is out of control and we need to bring it under control and this news about the new variant has been a an incredibly difficult and frankly an awful year and it's important for everybody to act. essentially act like they might have the virus. but trains out of london were packed on saturday ahead of the deadline and on sunday more travelers headed for the stations raising fears about the mutated virus spreading things like wearing a mask it's like to meet a social distancing they just reduce your chances of getting infected then they don't stop you getting infected. and i guess that this increased transmissibility

shifts the dial a bit back in the favor of the virus those things that mask very sick become a bit less effective. with many questions unanswered about the new strain the netherlands imposed a ban on flights to and from the u.k. other european nations have followed suit at least temporarily saying they have to protect their citizens and their health services that's also the reason the u.k. government's given for the last minute lock down its hinting the new restrictions may have to stay in place for at least 2 months until a far greater number of people have had the covered 1000 vaccine nadeem barbara al-jazeera london. well in other developments shipments for the 2nd approved covert 1000 vaccine have started across the united states container loads the vaccine by madonna are being moved from warehouses to hospitals across the country while the vaccine is rolled out lawmakers in washington are scrambling to finalize a massive financial relief package to help struggling families and businesses our

white house correspondent kimberly how could how small. with the approval of the 2nd vaccine in the united states tough decisions must now be made who is next to receive it last week it was front line health workers and the elderly in care homes who were the 1st for the vaccine from pfizer now is the vaccine from a journal rolls out essential workers are next but with just 15000000 doses available until the end of january there's not enough for the 87000000 americans who qualify we are very confident that by june anyone in america who wants to have a vaccine will have that opportunity but for now less than 6000000 doses of the durned a vaccine will be distributed starting on sunday with inoculations beginning on monday the centers for disease control advisory group voted on sunday on federal recommendations for who should receive the next batch of vaccinations but all 50

states have the power to set their own priorities in the northeast that includes the manufacturing sector in florida it's the broader elderly population police firefighters public transit workers and teachers top most state lists but businesses are also lobbying to prioritize their workers to allow local economies to get back up and running. still the number of infections hospitalizations and deaths in the united states due to cope with 19 continues to climb q care hospitals across the nation. are overwhelmed leaving ambulances with critically ill patients lined up outside sometimes for hours economic hardship is also great for new business closures and lockdowns jobless claims in the u.s. are rising congress is promising 900000000000 in economic relief and 1.4 trillion

to keep the government open if signed into law the bill would provide direct payments to most americans. for people who are out of work to no fault of their own $300.00 a week for enhanced unemployment going into next year and for the small businesses and the working families all across america we were going to do more paycheck protection loans so those small businesses can stay open but democrats and republicans on capitol hill have been working on the relief deal for months and if an agreement cannot be reached by midnight the government faces another shutdown vote on the relief package are expected on sunday members of congress have been told to expect those votes late into the night as congress tries to reach an 11th hour deal can really help that al-jazeera washington well speaking of 11th hour

deal that committee was mentioning congress is due to vote on a coven 1900 minutes package heidi jocasta is following the latest developments with in washington she says that they are close to an agreement. lawmakers are working furiously and capitol hill just in the within the last hour we heard in their announcement from one senator that a deal has been struck that something that has been in the making now for a month of stalemate what we know about this deal is that it will include a $600.00 stimulus check to almost every american as well as extended unemployment benefits earlier we knew there were some sticking points still about the big moratorium how much funding for local governments but it appears that those kinks have been ironed out but still they have to write up the bill they have to distribute it to all the members of congress to read there are all racing against the clock here with a vote expected before the end of the night. attacks

by armed bandits have crippled the agriculture and all the economic activities in north and northwest nigeria officials estimate as much as a 60 percent drop in output in the region has been caused i'm address reports now from katsina where hundreds of people including school children have recently been abducted. in north western nigeria where armed bandits rule free. barrios are regularly event hardly a day passes without an attack on a village somewhere that leaves either dead or injured and those taken hostage entire villages have been sacked crippling local economies and social activities. if you. spent well over 6 years in towns of trying to control this the loss of money hours by farmers that cannot access their farms the loss of what you

booze the loss of cattle the loss of means of livelihood people who cannot accept their farms the quantum is imagine it has negatively effect impacted on the lives of our people the violence that began as a localized conflict between farmers and cattle herders in just one area has now escalated to a full blown crisis affecting the whole region and beyond. the recent abduction of hundreds of school children by those the government describes as bandits underlines the worsening security situation in northwest nigeria. many pharmacy have been forced to leave their land after being unable to pay off their armed groups. to find a farmer who can pump about $2.00 to $20.00 had just bought this is cutie they cannot be able to fund their farms and it under small power most who are about to

cut a bit less to be up to 5 hectares there where earth would be important to abandon their land and be inside the town this to take a food again the insecurity. the cattle herders association says nearly every member has had some animal story line here but cattle market there are only a few animals on display raids by armed bandits have depleted stocks and potential buyers are staying away and in the grain section of the market it's a similar picture the northwest is nigeria's main grain and cereal producing region the fighting here sparked fears of food shortages in the months ahead. with the turks now growing in number and sophistication reassuring words from the central government of a little comfort to those facing such violence and the misery brings harm idrees al-jazeera northwest nigeria. now some news from iraq the u.s.

embassy in baghdad has condemned a rocket attack on its compound and called on iraqi leaders to take steps to prevent any further attacks the iraqi military said several rockets hit the green zone on sunday it's believed the u.s. embassy was the target one iraqi soldier was injured and buildings were damaged baghdad's green zone area houses government buildings and foreign missions. talks between the u.k. and the european union over a trade deal are over for the day in brussels but they will resume on monday the e.u. chief negotiator michel barnier is u.k. counterpart david frost still have to agree on the final points fishing rights and fair competition rules for businesses there at european parliament has warned that it wouldn't have time to ratify any deal before the official deadline at the end of the year unless it was agreed by midnight brussels time. you're watching out there at live from london still ahead we're looking at what's behind a series of violent attacks on truck drivers in south africa that story coming up

shortly. however it looks like it's going to be a rather wet week for a good part of australia we got a fair amount of cloud still spilling in across the northwest we have a tropical low just feeding some wet weather and across the kimberley plateau very close to broome there but some showers some long spells of right also developing across the interior will be heavy at times that could lead to some flooding just around alice we'll see some wet weather coming in here southwestern parts of queensland seeing some heavy rain northern parts of new south wales also looking very disturbed western areas 2 showers there just coming in across poor ferry pushing into that western side of victoria moving further east as we go through chews day lots of rain in the full cost as you can see but we just point

a finger but you why it's was the southwestern corner 35 celsius there in perth on shoes they could touch 39 by wednesday within a very warm christmas here then fine in try for the time being into these in a bit some bits and pieces of cloud of rain pushing into central areas we got some unsettled weather still continuing meanwhile across a good part of northern japan hopefully we're seeing the snow grassy tended to rain as the wind starts pushing for more westerly direction but we have still got a few flurries as we go on through cheese day dry amp right behind. an invitation to bear witness to all that life office. the heidi's lives the trials and tribulations. and everything miracles the injustices the defiance the tests of character

and the person to. witness documentaries with a delicate touch on al-jazeera. button back the main story this hour fears over a new fast moving strain of the coronavirus of led to calls for action from the world health organization several european countries of the stopped or are restricting travel from the u.k. where the health ministers warn the various strain is out of control meanwhile in the u.s. shipments of the 2nd approved covered 1000 vaccine developed by a donor in the national institutes of health have started the rollout will begin on

monday it's that this is all happening as the u.s. congress prepares to vote on a massive bypass and stimulus aimed at kickstarting the economy. now to israel where a mass vaccination campaign is underway the government is aiming to inoculate $60000.00 people each day but the national rollout excludes 2 and a half 1000000 palestinians living in the occupied west bank and gaza irene nasser reports from west jerusalem. idea of hope and celebration in israel the us people here received the 1st doses of the pfizer bio and take vaccines. government ministers hospital managers and health care workers received the job in the early hours of sunday when the. prime minister netanyahu was the 1st israeli to be inoculated so. it's a very big day for the state of israel we have been living for almost

a year with the most difficult pandemic that humanity has seen for the last 100 years and now is the beginning of the way out millions of vaccines will arrive in our small state it's not trivial millions more have to come and everyone needs to get vaccinated but as the vaccination program rolls out in israel millions of palestinians in the occupied west bank and gaza are waiting to hear when they'll be vaccinated the palestinian authority says it's in talks with the world health organization and vaccine developers analysts and human rights groups say even if enough doses can be bought the palestinian authority will need international help to distribute them and we know that it will not be able to or think you are. alone they do hope there and you know assistance. program countries c their partners their word her going to and there will be

if secured as well. in gaza there's a record number of covert 19 cases w.h.o. is warning the health care system there may collapse. israel is being asked by human rights organizations to insure all palestinians are also vaccinated in response the israeli government says it may donate doses left over after all israelis have had their us. so for now there are celebrations in israel but in the west bank and gaza there is no way of knowing when palestinians can feel the same sense of relief every now sir al-jazeera western news. now we're looking at some other stories from around the world and actually somalia and kenya have agreed to hold talks to restore diplomatic ties this is after east african leaders met at

a summit that is currently taking place in djibouti all those talks are continuing after somalia cut ties with kenya on tuesday husing it of violating its sovereignty and meddling in the country's internal affairs it is of the intergovernmental authority on development or egads made that the disagreement a priority of that talks. are going to doa is covering the summit force from djibouti. officials of the region organization calling the summit a success they hailed as a breakthrough an agreement between the kenyan and somali leaders to hold talks and resolve the dispute through dialogue the dispute between kenya and somalia dominated talks of the summit and president smiling again of djibouti the ethiopian prime minister. of played a crucial role 1st of all meeting the 2 leaders separately and then later on as the day went on bringing them together in the same room so they have face to face talks

on its side it's there they agreed to commit to talks between them the chairperson of the african union most of the mahomedan is a dress to the regional leaders said the dispute between kenya and somalia was undermining their efforts to fight al shabaab of the african peacekeeping mission in somalia. which kenya contributes files on soft troops kenya also plays host to hundreds of thousands of somali refugees and husband who sial efforts to find peace in somalia in the past kenya has always denied that it's interfering in the in tunnel matters of somalia and other issues that were discussed include the present war in if you appear between the federal government. to grow a regional administration something that the government says it's up 100 and the leaders who are governed here in djibouti today pledged to assist the prime

minister of the moment in dealing with the impact the humanitarian situation that's resulted from the war. in thailand voters have cast their ballots in a regional election for the 1st time since the military coup in 2014 and it's also the 1st time since last just a speech or general election which inspired a mass shooting protest movement while turnout in local elections is usually low this year could be different as it seen as a test of the strength of anti-government sentiment in the country tony chang reports from the city of some. once he was seen as the savior of thai politics a charismatic leader whose reform agenda captures a culture of the votes in last year's election since then his party future forward has been dissolved and he's been banned from politics for a decade but tenet on jong un is not giving up his party has reformed under the

new bern a move forward bigger asli contesting local elections across time. understand the importance of local politics and you want to be of an is that. if this has evolved. antigovernment protests in bangkok and around the country the flared up for the past 5 months giving the folk new impetus younger voters disenfranchised by the military coup in 2014 could turn to candidates bank by move forward and their agenda political reform. that they face stiff opposition local politics in thailand dominated by well established political families well known to world voters and with money to spend on their campaigns. is running in the affluent province of chonburi his father convicted of corruption of murdering a political rival held the position before him his brother who failed to win

a seat as an m.p. is currently a cabinet minister and he vehemently denies he's part of a political dynasty. if in fact even they myself and my family have been in politics for a long time and every time that we were given a chance to work in politics our position came from an election. and while the results of the election were unlikely change much it could signify deep shifts in thai society thailand has been ruled by the rich it socio political hierarchy with the monarchy at the center. that whole ruling regime now is being tested and the election this $11.00 small indicator but also one contests that reflects the broader struggle despite a pretty good showing here voter turnout is not expected to be high so close to the long new year holiday the election commission has warned that if voters don't cast their ballots they could well be disqualified in the next general election and even

if voters do turn out in large numbers in reality these elections won't bring much change the government's paid little attention to the demands from the protest movement but this is a chance for toys to make their voice heard at the ballot box which in recent years has prickly been denied. some time. spyware sold by an israeli private intelligence firm has been used to hack the phone of dozens of al jazeera journalists that's according to citizen lab research at the university of toronto intelligence experts say the unprecedented cyber attack is likely to have been ordered by saudi arabia and the united arab emirates the report also raises questions around the security of apple i phones. macau is marking the 21st anniversary of its return to china from portuguese control but unlike hong kong a gambling house has embrace beijing's tightening grip as to vehicle pollen reports

. this is a tale of 2 cities macau a former portuguese colony now a casino powerhouse the other hong kong a former british colony and an international financial center both returned to chinese rule in the late 1990 s. . but while hong kong pushed back against beijing's tightening control in the following years there was little opposition in macau macau has a large population with a very strong mainland chinese attachment emotion the politically and culturally having said that in the reason years there are a minority of young people in macau who tend to support western style democracy and one of those is 29 year old sulu sue an opposition member of my cows legislative assembly who says gaining support for the fight for democracy is an uphill battle.

china. started. while the british in hong kong instilled the idea of democracy in their final years the portuguese largely recognise china's sovereignty over macau. mainland china is crucial for the city's economy bestowing favorable policies boosting tourism and building major infrastructure projects like the $20000000000.00 hong kong macau zhuhai bridge perhaps this is the most tangible symbol of the. communist parties pushed to integrate hong kong and macau into mainland china when it was launched 2 years ago it became the 1st physical link between the 2 former colonies and set

them up for the next phase of unification the greater bay area development plan it's part of beijing's efforts to knit hong kong macau and southern chinese cities into a. more. and i'll ask for it to. slap western. china. i. asked. china's leaders sheeting ping called macau a shining example of the one country 2 systems policy one that beijing says hong kong outspoken people could learn from if you go poland al-jazeera hong kong. the south african presidents are all around a poser is being urged to intervene in a violent campaign targeting foreign truck drivers around 30 trucks have been set

alight and drivers shot in recent weeks at least 2 people have died. of course now from johannesburg and a warning this report contains images of burn victims that some of us might find disturbing collins my sukhumi was on a routine delivery when a car with 3 men inside blocked the road and forced him out of his truck he says he's lucky to be alive come of it but he gave out another on us go to. another one if you don't if you are you don't know what is a day i mean if you come down for a term our pain may go. when i put in my leg down just someone. or you 10. 0. unions representing foreigners working in south africa say gasoline bombs have been thrown at trucks driven by non south africans and dozens of drivers have been shot at stoned and even killed south african union leaders who have condemned the violence insist it is not xenophobia

but they say they do want jobs to go to south africans 1st zimbabwe. has been vocal about. their own citizens in fact littered over there would drop opportunity does there's been committed in their particular country but it can't. be given to. the citizens or but what about over the years competition for jobs in south africa has caused tensions between locals and those from other parts of the continent but africa economy was struggling even before the call of a 19 pandemic the unemployment rate is down more than 30 percent every year the african poverty and conflict come here looking for work and a better life economists say instability in the transport sector doesn't help matters the damage to the reputation not only of the particular company but is affected by such violence but the country itself is very massive because then we

begin not to be trusted it's not like we're the only people producing anything you know people all over the world they've got options they can go to other countries as well president has been asked by unions and business leaders to intervene in what is seen as a growing crisis in south africa's trucking industry the fine drivers say they have no choice but to carry on working violence or nonviolence they have families to feed. janice make. a reminder now the headlines this hour fears of a new fast moving strain of the coronavirus have led to calls for action from the world health organization several european countries of the stopped all restricting travel from the u.k. but the health ministers warn the variant strain is out of control a stay at home order is also now in force in parts of the country meanwhile in the

u.s. shipments of started of the 2nd approved covered 1000 vaccine which was developed by mcdonough are in the national institutes of health the u.s. congress is on.