the landscape of the middle east and north africa. on al-jazeera. this is al-jazeera. hello i'm still raman you're watching the al-jazeera news our live from our headquarters here in doha coming up in the next 60 minutes the european union calls for u.k. travel bans to be lifted but warns against any non-essential movement. another variant strain of the current virus is found in south africa where a spike in cases has left some hospitals overwhelmed also once hailed as a success in the fight against coronavirus thailand now faces

a major outbreak near its capital. and to accusations and fallen troops sent in we'll find out what's behind rising tensions in the central african republic. piece improve the sport football's governing body fever is a criminal case against former president sepp blatter husing him of mismanaging the finances of a multi-million dollar museum. welcome to the news that the european union is recommending its members lift barriers blocking cross border movement but says any non-essential travel should be limited trucks and travelers have been held up for days while countries try to contain a more infectious strain of corona virus that's been spreading in the united kingdom but the european union says people shouldn't be stopped from returning to their homes and that essential workers like doctors or nurses shouldn't face

quarantine but be tested and all of this with little more than a week left before the break deadline the u.k. and the e.u. are still struggling to reach an agreement on their future trade relationship well we'll get the latest from the european side shortly with bernard smith in paris but 1st let's join paul brennan who is near the port of dover in southern england and paul there has been a little bit of traction in terms of the movement where you are today what's been happening. well traction in the sense that the roads around the portent fronts which is where i'm standing at the moment the police have moved in and trying to clear the traffic congestion what we had early today was trucks from all over the place descending on the port in order to try to get in the queue so that when the borders do reopen they could be on the 1st ferries out of here we know that the police operation called operation stack which

is an operation which parks up these big heavy goods vehicles on the m 20 motorway that's been in operation there's also a holding area at manston airfield it's around 20 miles to the north of where i'm standing now and there are several 100 lorries up there as well but the movement that i can tell you about is not into the port because as you can see you have my shoulder there's still a barricade at the gates here and a sign that says french border is closed the movement has been from france into england we've seen a couple of ferries arrive bringing. in they're allowed to come in and also vehicles that are parked up here being moved away. we understand up to mount an airfield and that would be where it is likely the testing would take place if it is indeed testing that is required to get some of these drivers back across the channel into their home countries as a result of the end of this blockade it's almost up in the air at the moment is

exactly what kind of conditions will be required to reopen the borders but yeah there is small movement here. thanks very much let's cross over the channel to bennett smith in paris and paul just said it all up in the air really we're expecting more perhaps clarification from the e.u. they have spoken what they said. european commission has recommended that any bans on flights and trains from the u.k. is lifted to allow essential travelers to continue their journeys to allow people to get home but is recommended nonessential travel to be discouraged from the u.k. to the european union these are only recommendations and throughout the pandemic the european union has tried to have a sort of coordinated response towards towards its borders but in fact most european countries are made their own rules and regulations as the pandemic has

spread some require of a carone test before entry others don't some require quarantine before entry others don't these are recommendations these countries are sovereign so it's up to them as to whether they him they put these recommendations into effect france hasn't come out with a formal ruling yet but the suggestions are it will make it will insist on some sort of p.c.r. test or other sort of code related test for people coming from the u.k. to france of course you just touched on the fact that we're expecting a statement from the french but how is this all playing out in front in the public arena burnet because obviously there's a british perspective about what they think of the e.u. and the european commission but how's this all sort of playing out where you are. well most of the congestion most of the hassle is on the british side of the border

so it's not having a direct impact here in france the worst suggestion that people coming from the u.k. to france for christmas would have their journeys impacted but of course remember the low the southeast of england is already under a lockdown so even if you are french or you live in france and you're in that part of england the moment you're not supposed to travel from there anyway certainly you can't travel for holiday reasons there are only specific reasons you're allowed out of what the u.k. call this tier 4 locked down so it's not possible really to leave anyway the regulations when france introduces them will be mainly aimed at the whole is freight drivers coming back to france from the u.k. but it thanks very much for the better smith there for us in paris. well as you heard all of this is playing out as the u.k. and the e.u. try to hammer out a trade deal in brussels right now the u.s. brits is briefing member states on the latest progress let's cross over to the

british capital in us a beggar standing by for us in london i said you know we know that michel barnier has only really just gone into that briefing do we have an inkling of what we think he's about to say. when he spoke to journalists before going in to that preaching and he said we're at a crucial moment and they're giving it a final push now this is really at the last hour these discussions because the u.k. is set to leave at the end of of this year now the u.k. left the e.u. block at the end of january this year but they've been a part of e.u. rules just this period has been called a transition period now that ends at the end of the year where the u.k. relieved internal market and. the commission the european union so what that means is if they don't reach a deal if it don't have a compromise of some sort they will go to world trade organization rules that could

mean border checks and tariffs on good speech in the u.k. and the e.u. which could cause an increase in prices and also destruction and as we've been witnessing over the last few days that destruction could be quite significant that the u.k. government has said that this still miles apart in terms of what's acceptable to britain and some of the opposition leaders here have called upon the government the u.k. government to us for an increase to extend that transition period but the prime minister blair is johnson has said that his position is unchanged he wants to stick to that deadline but the issue seems to be to the issues around the u.k. fishing industry and of course with those issues still pending there was perhaps the worst kept secret in the last 24 hours or yet another secret telephone call between the prime minister and the european commission president serve on the lay and i mean what came out of that conversation. well there was a secret conversation but it's been reported that it's not so secret anymore we're

talking about it but we don't exactly know what's or what they came out of it we know that the issue is around the fishing industry the u.k. fishing industry by sea ports and to note that the u.k. fishing industry in the u.k. economy only accounts to 0.02 percent and many feel that the u.k. government the conservative party in particular has backed itself into a corner because throughout the brics a campaign to leave the e.u. the conservative party spoke about independence this talk about sovereignty as talks spoke about taking back control and the heart of the argument that backbone of the argument was the british fishing industry and most the most the british public don't even know they only accounted for 0.02 percent in 2019 and it would be difficult for the u.k. government mag to compromise on those issues now the e.u. wants access to british waters they want to talk about the coaches that they will get but also the u.k. doesn't want any real retaliatory actions from the e.u.

if the u.k. every jew says e.u. cultures shoot fish in u.k. waters because 60 percent of the fish caught by british fisherman is sold export it to the e.u. so they don't want their industry affected in that the same time that you don't want their member states fishing industries affected so distilled in a deadlock on that and that deadline at the end of the year is fast approaching and we still don't have a deal and if we don't of course so monitor that in the coming days as a bank for us there in london now south africa struggling to contain a surgeon you cases of coronavirus health officials say it's being driven by a different code 19 variant from the mutated strain in the u.k. the virus is spreading faster than when the pandemic 1st began several countries have halted travel to and from south africa. well south africa is struggling to contain a surge in those new cases which are so small from johannesburg scientists say they

still studying this new strain of the data collected so far suggests that it's spreading fast and they also say it could be responsible for the 2nd wave of the country is currently experiencing some of the countries getting on average just under 10000 new infections a day is been identified in. the eastern cape province and the garden that's where you get the cape town area for example where lots of tourists usually flock to at this time of year and this is another blow to the tourism industry you've got this new strain and then the flight bans and so that because tourism industry has survived pretty much to some of the people coming in from the u.k. europe middle east asia and other parts of the world so now these businesses are now feeling another pressure as well for example you go to our province you find in a place called a very popular tourist resort they saying that they have had more than 50 percent of cancellations because of this you go to durban

a lot of hospitals are full of the hotels are closed commuter jana's the mayor the big hotel chains are also shut lots of people are losing out of work as well and this is the time of the year when people are in the face of mood many people come to their for tourism and now they're saying that people would who are hoping to make some kind of money this time around those hopes have not been dashed. is the director of the research innovation and sequencing platform joins me now from. i mean can you tell us how the variant in south africa is actually different from the original strain that we've been focused on these past few months. ok so yes so 'd what we have in south africa we have been busted quite heavily on gentlemen except basement so we haven't been surveying that virus since the beginning and then mix since february at and normally we would have like 20 or 30 in that just. kountry

and in the last month in the house we've seen that to be taking off by one unique yet and when we've got the close look yet because we have what it the how could it be taking over and transmitting so fast that you had multiple mutations a multiple change in days by a protein of the virus so as with the u.k. variant it's now seen in clusters in the southeast survey england and in south wales where is your variant is it presenting in the same way to in clusters in certain parts of south africa. look at the 1st thing to make clear is that salt africa and u.k. has true differently and then just yet. it is spreading very fast with the. similarities between then why not today and. why not that many mutations that that make that. protein interact with that human cell receptor at their 2nd think

it we saw quite similar from the u.k. we saw that emerging. nelson mandela bit that's and it used to kate and then most south west very fast in their action of cape town and not west and not east to west so it's quite similar in the u.k. but we see a common small origin but it's very fast spread across the country from the medical professionals and colleagues that you'll speaking to how well equipped all the facilities in south africa both in the urban and the rural areas to deal not just with the new strain but the general outbreak of covert 19 yes so again. our citizen said you know where i am a lot of them in this city that i am here when i believe the debt we don't have a single ice you bet in that private sector and the private health care sector was

quite well developed insult africa yes and this 2nd wage ended zelin that by surprise especially because we had just seemed to me the whole summer we're not expecting that to be to come so fast and so quick so at the moment a lot of our hospitals are very weak get overwhelmed in the same way as the hospitals in the u.k. it seems that the rules around social distancing is the key how is that public service message getting out and and are people actually listening to it have they been listening to it in south africa. public insult upset they respond quite well within the 1st wave yet and both state government. bowls and non-pharmaceutical and and public health response but unfortunately in the 2nd wave we find people very very tired with quote of it yet and coming

together at the end of that yet it is stupid season yet and fortunately we have seen very little restraint and people just almost behaving normally of course people are trying to use some masks but it is a time of high mobility yet so so people whose basic behave as normal as they will be of course we're very close to the festive season across the globe and if you're a christian and in south africa it's no different what's your advice to people who are in south africa watching this program and want to advise from a senior medical professional yes my advice is very simple yet we really have to slow down now we have to slow down and even if you don't have extreme restrictions yet we have to try to control ourselves and spend as much time can at home and with one on samuel yet they help system it so read very

overwhelmed yet and when that happened is not only from their patients that they have to cope with that d t s patients dept that cannot access help get to seal it is that so my suggestion is that we have to really change our behavior and we have to change. big tragedy some good advise thanks very much for. joining us from but thanks very much the. the hong kong is one of the hubs imposing restrictions on flights from the united kingdom people who spent more than 2 hours in britain in the past fortnight will be banned from boarding flights to hong kong and that includes the city's residents to be appalled and has more from the province. this time last year this airport's arrivals hall was packed with people trying to get home ahead of the holidays this year a very different scene hong kong is the 1st city in asia to impose such

a flight ban on the u.k. now from the board behind me a couple of flights have managed to slip through before the deadline people from those flights will now have to quarantine for 3 weeks instead of the customary 2 weeks despite the pandemic travel between the u.k. and hong kong has been relatively robust in fact 5000 people arrived from the u.k. this month alone and many of them are students who are studying in the u.k. hong kong is experiencing its 4th and what see it as its most severe way yet and so the government has imposed some of its trick to social distancing measures including only 2 people are allowed to gather at any time everyone has to wear a face mask or they will be have to leave fine and nightlife during this holiday season has come to a virtual standstill with all dining and entertainment venues having to shut by 6 in the evening now businesses and hong kong's economy have been struggling over the

past year and a lie that this donkey kong government has passed its latest tranche of relief founded amounting to about a $1000000000.00 now south korea has been gatherings of more than 5 people starting from christmas eve the restrictions will be in place for at least 10 days as the country tries to contain a surge in infections about a 1000 new cases are being reported daily ski resorts and other major tourist spots will also be shot. bryant has moved from seoul. it was only monday that the authorities in the greater seoul area announced tougher restrictions home to around half of south korea's population and choose day these tougher restrictions are going to be put in place across south korea and it comes as we've seen this bill let 3rd wave produce around up to 1000 new cases a day we've also had another grim milestone of setting a record for the number of deaths from covert 924 now these numbers might not seem

large by comparison to other parts of the world but when you consider where south korea was even up to just a few weeks ago it seemed to be have this under control to have it beat so it is very concerning for the authorities there the worry is that when we get into this holiday period that they really want to try to deter people from having large gatherings so we are seeing a strong recommendation from the government that people do not meet in groups of private gatherings of 5 or more people now it's only a recommendation but it is a very strong one and in fact restaurants have been told they're not allowed to take any bookings of groups of 5 or more also we're seeing restrictions on for example hotels are only allowed to have 50 percent occupancy possibly a bigger measure with a closure of ski resorts ski resorts are normally very busy at this time of year just getting into the winter season they have now been told to close again and we've also had to announce the national parks will also be closed at this time of

year it is normal for families to go out and see sunsets and sunrises over the new year period well those 2 will be closed and all these measures in place through to the 1st week of january. thailand's prime minister is blaming illegal migration for a cluster war than a 1000 infections its biggest so far it's believed to have come from people working at a seafood market near bangkok is a major blow for the nation that had been held for its success in combating the virus tony chain reports from the capital bangkok. 5 was a mobile testing unit pulls into a market in the north of bangkok in 72 hours thailand's corona virus infection numbers have increased by 20 percent godlike he came here for screening before and found out there are floating i people who were in radio host contacted an infected person from their market today we will collect samples of all of the traders inside

for a trade to scan a q.r. code to register with the health authority only the stallholders are eligible for testing today others who have coded concerns are being turned away. infections originating from the seafood market in cements a cone and now being discovered in bangkok and provinces even further away outside the unpleasant process begins these people are not alone the thai government says it will test 10000 people in an attempt to contain the outbreak on tuesday some of those tests revealed 427 new infections a huge rise in a country that had seen 0 local transmission for months. teams of health officials are now screening traders in markets across the thai capital migrant workers have also been targeted as being a particular concern and the prime minister said he might introduce a national lockdown the transmissions continue to rise. so on child local fishmonger says many customers are choosing to stay at home now he's worried about

his health and keeping his business afloat. to begin making the economy was picking up but we now are facing this and it makes us feel as if we are going back to the 1st outbreak traders in this market say that concern about the outbreak has caused business that drop by 70 or 80 percent and overall thailand has made huge economic sacrifices to rid itself of the coronavirus this outbreak continues to grow all of that will be for nothing. with the new year holiday approaching many thais thought normal life was almost within reach the latest outbreak appears to have some poor dreams tony ching al-jazeera bangkok. rising drone of virus infections in ireland have led to new restrictions being introduced earlier than planned restaurants and some shops will now be closed for christmas eve but says island's 5 day average of new covert 19 cases doubled in just 4 days hospitality was due to stay open until

closer to the new year. canada's most populous province is implementing new measures for. saturday affecting 14000000 people ontario is in the grip of a 2nd wave of credit iris infections recording 2000 new cases a day for the past week restrictions will be imposed on the north of the province for 2 weeks and for almost a month in the south schools will close non-essential services will be limited and gatherings restricted qatar's 1st shipment of the pfizer biotech coronavirus vaccine has arrived in the capital doha ready for distribution the elderly those with chronic illnesses and frontline workers will be the 1st in line what's the rollout begins it's been described as the largest vaccination program ever launched in the gulf country. but more ahead here on the al-jazeera news hour including what a top u.n. official says the prospects for

a 2 state solution for palestine is fading and we look at china's war on poverty and how its multi-billion dollar plan is working. and take years olympic costs balloon as the crow virus and almost $3000000000.00 toward is already the most expensive summer games in history he said i'll have those details in sport you see after the break. howlers bit of a cold breeze coming into the eastern med it's setting up showers it's part of the last system that's currently throwing snow into the higher grounds of northern syria northern iraq particularly turkey and beyond towards the caspian this rain to the south of that and this is the onshore breeze of bring a few showers north and egypt gaza israel up to lebanon's well and it is likely to

induce showers down the higher ground over us and saudi or even on the african side of the red sea port city to djibouti nothing significant i don't think in the whole thing becomes rather quieter during soused thursday as showers than might come down towards bahrain even qatar but the good to be light if they do appear it'll more significant rain has recently been recorded in the middle of south africa this white mass here that's going up through the eastern cape now going off shore really but it's part of a trough line that's drifting slowly eastwards is leaving behind fine weather not particularly warm in cape town which is stating this fine weather the rain itself will head into the southern part of mozambique in the puter reflects that look at the temperatures briefly on the high side but for the wind changes on that trough light you're dry they are showers back on friday and they're probably last. but. the virus is indiscriminate get those living in poverty are far more

vulnerable to the dangers of covert 90. mins the reasons for this disparity the social and economic inequalities that surround us a much deeper and much more problematic and we feel a dos whether lessons learned from the global pandemic could lead to positive change the planet of the poor the fix the killing of it all hail the lockdown exposes privilege on poverty during a crisis on a 0 a new perspective can change a wild. so one chin is ian what began as a hobby has grown into a passion a way of life. teaching the next generation to strive for a higher level. and ensoul installing in his country a sense of freedom and strength. new heights my chin is yet on al-jazeera. the

role the whole. world. what about watching al-jazeera news hour with me said robin a reminder of our top stories the e.u. is warning against all but essential travel to the united kingdom but it also wants border closures and travel bans that have isolated britain to be eased the restrictions came after a mutated strain of the corona virus spread rapidly across the u.k. . michel barnier says talks with the u.k. are in their final push these updates again voice from the blocks 27 member states on the latest talks fishing rights remained obstacle to achieve a trade deal before december 31st. and health officials in south africa say

a resurgence in cases is being driven by a different covert 19 variant from the mutated strain that's emerged in the u.k. several countries have halted and travel to and from south africa. in the u.s. congress has voted to pass a spending bill that includes nearly a trillion dollars in covert 19 economic stimulus the money will also keep the federal government running through next september i did hear castro has more from washington d.c. . majority leader after months of partisan stalemate congress finally passed a code in $1000.00 relieved bill totaling $900000000000.00 it includes direct payment of $600.00 to most americans unemployment benefits into march and food and rental assistance it's far from perfect i haven't met perfect legislation ships coming to washington i wish we could have done even more but i am pleased we have done as well as we could have done people like 79 year old harold valentine can

expect to see government checks as early as next week he says he could use it for groceries but it's not enough for the christmas gifts he'd like to send his grandkids i'm not going to have that much pride to say i don't want it i need it. this is a definite a lot of need here. it is worse it is getting worse. more than $20000000.00 americans are receiving unemployment benefits with an additional $885000.00 applying for aid during the 1st week of december and then there are the $3.00 to $7000000.00 americans who lost jobs but never got unemployment benefits because of problems processing their applications researchers say some 8000000 people when they do u.s. have fallen into poverty since may and half of all small business owners say if things continue as they are they'll be forced to close permanently within

a year and general you know it's been very difficult to get a you know for our for our business as well as for our staff definitely starting to feel like there's no light at the end of the tunnel this food pantry in washington has been delivering up to a 1000 bags of groceries a day to struggling families every little bit helps the communities we serve and so you know a $600.00 stimulus payment. for something and these people who go in this pandemic have actually lost relatives and they've had to use some of their own money for some of the barrel expenses as the number of kobe 900 cases in the u.s. surpasses 18000000 the government is racing to deliver 20000000 doses of vaccine by the 1st week of january to save lives and the economy about to receive its own injection of stimulus to save livelihoods. castro al-jazeera washington. well saying in the u.s. southern california health officials say they're looking for thousands of medical

staff as the region runs out of intensive cabot's and people to manage them the state government says that i'll name all intensive habits in 2 regions including los angeles county to more than 10000000 people at least 4 hospitals are facing the prospect of having to limit lifesaving tat to adam rich it is a senior technical advisor at community partners international he says the virus is surging to very worrying levels in the united states and perhaps you know around the world we've got a little over 12000 cases today really old to 630 almost 635000 in the beginning of. the 6 people died now like today so less to get. every hour that much is a racial or ethnic the spirit of this is you can connect with either tremendous fear so you're more likely who if you're poor. poorest neighborhoods where what you are is for. those folks in the wealthier you know. what is that like you know

here in the ground although there's very few as you know bill for anybody who says implications for the cure other so folks who come here are now. you know otherwise if we did our stairs in the i.c.u. right now we're going to urgently they're physically located in taken care of by the words the wrong. nurse. and that is her new patient we're trying to get it we're seeing it was you know their actions some of your doctor seeing patients you know inside. people are really doing their best. u.s. presidents like joe biden received his 1st dose of the fires up by on tech crunch virus vaccine on monday by one of a growing list of high profile people being publicly vaccinated it's part of an effort to encourage confidence in cave at 19 vaccines biden says he wants to see at

least 100000000 doses administered joining the 1st 100 days in office i'm doing this to demonstrate that people should be compared want to available 'd to take the vaccine there's nothing to worry about i'm looking forward to the 2nd shot so we still see senator sherrod really today and i hope people listen to all the experts from the doctor from t.'s on talking about the need to wear a mask during this christmas and new year's holidays where mass socially distance and and if you don't have to travel don't travel. let's take you straight to washington where alex azhar the u.s. health secretary has just had his covert 19 vaccination he's taken the madonna that scene of course there have been several health professionals just before him but taken to the stage they've been monitored as is and then had their vaccination in

front of the public cameras there in front of the public and also in front of the cameras not taking to the stage obviously of the face that we've all recognized over this past year as dr anthony found she is of course the u.s. is top infectious disease expert and he's of course is incredibly proud of what's been achieved because this particular vaccine has been developed within his institute and of course he had been advising the american government as well as the american people as to what needs to be done to combat covert nineteen's which is obviously ravaging the u.s. we can actually listen to what he's saying let's dip in up to see of this vaccine and i want to encourage everyone who has the opportunity to get vaccinated so that we could have a veil of protection over this country that would end this pandemic. for

coming of course like with many other people have just taken to the stage it's just one injection here with the maternal vaccine of course joe biden as we've just mentioned the president elect took his 1st of 2 doses of the pfizer vaccine within the last 24 hours so of course the public messaging very evident to this is being carried across all of the u.s. channels as it is globally that there is a great deal of support and advocacy to take this vaccine wherever you are in the world and these medical professionals are saying it is safe and there's nothing to worry about the matter who you are or where you're from. thank you. unfortunately for actually taking the himself off the stage or to a short applause and of course the world watching both him and lots of the medical

professionals take the vaccine and encouraging everybody else to take it when they can now mink breeding has been temporarily banned in denmark 17000000 of the animals have now been cold following fears the covert 19 outbreaks on farms could spread to humans and as paul restricts the impact on farmers could last longer than any. andrea's hinde bio prices up what's likely to be one of the last shipments of milk pellets to leave the farm his father started nearly 40 years ago the rest of their herds are among the millions of minks that the danish government ordered to be slaughtered after me taishan of covert $900.00 was found in the animals it could mean the country's main industry the largest in the world disappears altogether. so apartment to me must mean farming is a lot of stars they made in march you get kids in a product then you watch them grow them and get this beautiful fur here that's hard

for me to live without but i'll have to learn it. farmers began the color of the country's $17000000.00 strong mink population last month when a strain of corona virus called cluster 5 spread from the animals to humans they were told to continue even when it was found that the mutation had probably died out weeks earlier and that the government had lacked the legal authority to order the cole in the 1st place 2 months ago this farm had more than 25000 minks housed in these buildings now like in more than a 1000 other farms across denmark it's totally. on monday the government finally passed its order into law on the banned mink farming until december 2021 but address and peta say it's already too late to save the industry which until now accounted for 40 percent of the world's milk production denmark's mink was also the most expensive bringing in an estimated $1000000000.00 a year i don't see any future forming farming in denmark because all the dead now

of course. saying that it's good for. us that we don't have this industry anymore. what will have been happen is that. this industry will move. china. russia where they don't have this organization as we have in europe that's already seems to be happening with chinese make pharma saying they are ramping up production to take advantage of a surge in milk prices caused by the danish crisis animal welfare groups don't believe that's a reason to protect the industry. do you. think their posters that live completely alone in the large territories it's not ok for me to live in poor conditions here just because they could be worse it's you don't think there should be minks in denmark. the crisis that the danes have labelled the mink saga doesn't and some of the animals buried in mass graves after the cold started

have risen to the surface due to the. effects of decomposition and or 30 spear ground water and lakes could have been contaminated by the rotting bodies as a commission looks into the handling of the affair farmers are demanding up to $4000000000.00 in compensation saying that businesses were buried along with the minkes paul reese al-jazeera jutland denmark. the indian government says it's ready for more talks with striking farmers protesters of blockaded roads into new delhi for weeks now they're demanding the repeal of new agricultural pricing laws they say will hurt their livelihoods and benefit large corporations the government and farmers unions of previously held talks but remain deadlocked now the number of journalists murdered worldwide in retaliation for their work has more than double the share that's according to a tally by the committee to protect journalists mexico's most dangerous country for the media workers are routinely threatened and targeted by organized criminal groups and corrupt politicians of ghana's than syria and the philippines follow on

the list out of at least 30 killed this year 21 were killed for doing their job the united nations refugee agency is calling for urgent funding to address what it calls a full scale humanitarian emergency in ethiopia's north and to grow the region it says it needs 156000000 dollars so it can keep providing aid to the 10s of thousands left displaced since last month's military operation 52000 people have fled into neighboring sudan in the past 6 weeks and an estimated 96000 eritrean refugees are already into grey before the conflict currently many refugees remain in overcrowded conditions without proper facilities and there continues to be a shortage of medicine and other supplies we have seen a huge demand for family tracing and unification education and for child friendly spaces and nutritional programs. the president of the central african republic has

criticized those behind an escalation of violence ahead of next week's election tension has been rising of the run up to the december 27th vote rwanda has sent additional troops to the country to help deal with the find to government times accused rebels fact finding for the president francois it was easy of attempting a coup de france always in the comfortable with more. we've been speaking to officials from the un peacekeeping mission here in central african republic and that telling us that they have been able to push back this rebel movement remember this is a group that was formed over the weekend the calling themselves the patriots for change it's a group of 3 of the country's main groups and they started advancing on to the copy told of calling for among other things up in this no government without president full steam in daraa so it's official that the u.n. says that in the west where this is a rebellion has stock said they've been able to contain the situation in some towns

and villages but in many other areas it remains very fluid indeed because we also have i'm groups outside of this main. that are causing trouble so in the same area we also have other run troops we have a rush to pass in the us while also carrying out operations against this grouping they are this the russians and the londons are not under the u.n. mandate that means that they are able to use more force. signed the country a bilateral agreement. with our government allowing them to use force and to contain the situation to make sure that this election is not disrupted in any way. there's very lawmakers of rejected a key budget vote paving the way for the 4th national elections in just 2 years the knesset has to pass its budget before midnight on tuesday if an agreement cannot be

reached the parliament will automatically dissolve triggering snap elections a coalition government formed in may by a power sharing agreement has been played by infighting canada has pledged to give $17000000.00 to the u.n. agency for palestinian refugees to help tackle its worst ever financial crisis the agency has been struggling to run operations after the u.s. cut contributions the money from canada will be distributed over 3 years it will go towards running schools and providing health services to more than 5000000 palestinians. the un's outgoing special coordinator for the middle east is warning the prospect of a 2 state solution to palestine is fading away the client made the comment during the last briefing on monday saying the situation has gone from bad to worse as there was kristen salumi has more from the u.n. . because of the. problems but it was a 1st at the united nations

a moroccan ambassador celebrating hanukkah with his israeli counterpart morocco is one of 4 arab nations to reestablish diplomatic relations with israel the deal was brokered by the united states for decades the prevailing assumption was that the world would only see norm was normalized in international relations with israel following a resolution of the israeli palestinian dispute but we have proven this is sumption wrong while the u.s. took credit in the security council outgoing middle east special coordinator nicol i'm alive no to the situation has gone from bad to worse for most palestinians despite an 8 month pas in the building of a legal jewish settlements in the occupied territories israel's destruction of palestinian homes for lacking permits that are rarely granted escalated by 70 percent with plans to build in areas seen as crucial to a future palestinian state advancing i do believe in a 2 state solution although every day we see

a. chance of. realization frankly i do believe that it is possible and it is possible in the way that it recognizes the legitimate story. rights both israelis and palestinians alike. and exchange from morocco normalizing ties with israel the united states recognize morocco sovereignty over the western sahara region and separatists there with whom the united nations had also been engaging in peace negotiations many here in the international community see these unilateral moves by the united states as undermining longstanding norms in international agreements it was 4 years ago that the security council passed resolution 2334 calling settlement expansion a flagrant violation of international law what was significant about it was that it was the 1st one and it was 10 years to do so the 1st one since 1980 to talk about.

the united states which shows such a solutions abstained and that's what was significant about it but there's nothing controversial new in the actual resolution while president elect joe biden has promised to return to international agreements many living under occupation have to wonder what difference if any at all it will make for them kristen salumi al jazeera the united nations tried as leaders say the country has eradicated extreme poverty over the past 5 years the communist party has but billions of dollars are dispatched thousands of officials to help rural households the critics question the sustainability of the program and save millions of people risk of falling back into hardship between e.u. revolts from log chain county in the province. lawton county in china south is known for its mountains its rivers and its poverty. it was among those one struggling to get by living in this dilapidated house she struggled to

raise enough money to send her 2 children to school. but she says thanks to the chinese government her life has been transformed she's been given a new harmon town and left this old farmhouse behind this is how. to live in crumbling buildings built about 50 years ago without any water or electricity this area is also deep in the mountains and far away for many essential services including hospitals during the past 5 years millions of people in rural china have been relocated to apartment buildings in upgraded townships here almost everything is new including the roads and schools. in 2018. that he doesn't want to go back to the old house again it was dark and dirty and had many rats they say our new home is clean and bright beijing has spent more than

20000000000 dollars this year to meet president xi didn't pigs deadline of eradicating extreme poverty nationwide by the end of 2020 communist party officials say they've succeeded so. people used to have a few options. it was hard to find jobs. good health care and education. now they basically live in the same conditions as people in the quality of life has a improved but not everyone has benefited some have been able to adjust to life in the towns others say they've been forced to relocate analysts have also questioned the sustainability of the program saying no use risk falling back into prophecy poverty line. many people is trans is temporary is short term spells and those kinds of people have very very different kinds of needs than others for whom already is a chronic experience a policy implement the policy response to those different states needs to be

different. as life is better but not easier. by factory involves working 12 hours a day with only 2 days off. but the sacrifice she says is worth it she's making the most of the new opportunities in the heart her children might have better ones katrina al-jazeera county china. well still ahead in sports the new n.b.a. season starts and they have a plan in place. have more details on monday in school so do stay with all the news out.

of the.

well the top spot is peter thank you sir football's governing body fever has filed a criminal complaint against its former president sepp blatter over the finances of its museum in zurich fever says suspects criminal mismanagement the museum which was a pet project of platters opened in 2016 of the $140000000.00 was spent on refurbishing it battered also signed a contract with the building's owners which requires pfieffer to pay 360000000 dollars in rent until 2045 the 84 year old is already a suspect into criminal proceedings in switzerland into how he spent fief as money as president he has always maintained he is innocent the an army i think could make history later if he's also barcelona. in the league the argentine star is on $643.00 goals for the catalan club one more and he'll eclipse the record he holds

with pele of most golds for one club messi was also named last season's top scorer in the league for a 7th time on monday now to a big game in the us the concord careful champions league final takes place in florida later with 2 teams battling to make history of angelus a.f.c. will take on to get it so 18 orlando they're the 1st major league soccer club to beat 3 mexican teams on route to the final and will hope to make that for later they could also be the 1st team from m.l.s. to lift the trophy if they win and she just didn't excite them for being in a final shot on. people how we play football and for competing against the great team that's the only part we really were thinking to go. you know when you're a player and you get a chance to be in a final special. the mexican opponents take us saw into the 4th champions league

final but have never won the trophy either have scored the most goals of any team in this year's competition with 13 but they could be without 2 of the big players. to find 3 and a clean you have a muscle strain they must monday's training session and face a late for the test on tuesday before a decision can be made on their inclusion in the team. so here's the lady to games will cost almost $3000000000.00 more than originally expected because of the coronavirus pandemic the games were postponed for a year because of the outbreak on tuesday organizers announced a new budget of $15400000000.00 'd up 22 percent in the last year although the japanese government ordered 70 k. to the cost could be much higher at least $25000000000.00 tokyo's games are already said to be the most expensive summer olympics on record head of the committee says it's important that they do go ahead i don't buy that we're not going to we have 7 months until the opening of the games. of the games was unprecedented and we have

been working closely with all people who are involved we need to hold the olympics as a symbol of overcoming the coronavirus and to have the olympic flame that at the stadium that's the mission we need to for thought. the new n.b.a. 'd season tips off later on tuesday and will do so without using a bio security bubble last season was interrupted by the coronavirus to the extent that the regular season had to be completed at disney world and then the orlando venue hosted the entire playoff stage teams will be traveling between games this time around though and the league's commissioner adam silver says the n.b.a. has an extensive safety plan in place. we made it you know see changes to the schedule to travel changes to help reduce the chances of an incident but you know we keep the answers we have lots of plans in the drawer and we'll just see you know we're we're going to go we're going to go forward you know are we have as i said

a very competent but i i don't know i want to make sure everyone understands that safety and health of our players and all just it's our number one priority and any time we feel that being jeopardized we will stop. le bron james and the defending champions los angeles lakers will be in action on the opening night they will be up against the l a rivals the. clippers at 35 years of age james says he is mindful of taking care of his body to make sure he does not weigh himself out. this into my bottom up i would summarize that point. you know just to this was about. to be very smart we are america. you know. we want to get better every day. on these me if i line up well i'll listen to my body australia not only going to the 2nd cricket test against india in melbourne or the one nil series lead but they

task has also been little bit easier that's because the indians will be without a captain very out kohli for the remainder of the 4 match series kohli is on paternity leave and another blow for me has been ruled out of the 2nd test australia bowled india out for a record low 36 in the 1st test to win comfortably inside 3 days i think it's important to keep moving forward. look at. yourself individually what you could have done better. which i think is important after any game with the bat well or or you don't. you reflect and you say what you can do in the next game or the rest of the games for the series. to have an impact. that's a sports news on the way again later thanks very much peter and of course i will have more news after the break but you can follow all of all stories on our website i'll just have a dot com until every piece of me on the i was there a news article thanks very much your time in the company will see it in

a few minutes. in december 2019 the 1st coronavirus case was reported in china within months a local outbreak became a global pandemic one year on week some of the devastation caused by covert 19 with more than a 1000000 fatalities and economies crippled vaccines now offer hope of protection from the virus but how long will it take for the world to recover the corona virus and then the special coverage on

a. an award winning investigation i know workers really right behind it has been factory when we operate for less and we buy for less we can pass those savings all of our customers into the supply chains that produce cheap clothing. with little regard for workers' lives of remains of the fire still everywhere rewind made in bangladesh on al-jazeera. i was raised in france. these are my grandparents. these are my parents and this is mean. fighting both isis and us. this 2nd of a 2 part epic tale of a remarkable salmon. the father the son and the jihad. to an al-jazeera. unprompted and uninterrupted discussions

from our london broadcast center. on al-jazeera. the european union calls for u.k. travel bans to be lifted but warns against any non-essential movement. parts of iraq and this is al jazeera live my headquarters here in doha also coming up one of the best known faces of the pandemic gets his covert shot. also another variant strain of the coronavirus a start in south africa where it's by kim cases left some hospitals overwhelmed. it was hailed as a success in the fight against coronavirus thailand now.