now say they are essential to control the virus and receive messages on the scene that we only you know so i was a nurse back home what i am doing is not all that different from my passion helping others. the european union calls for u.k. travel bans to be lifted but warns against any non-essential movement. columns on romany what you have is their life my headquarters here in doha are also coming up the e.u. and britain make the final push to hammer out a breath sit trade deal in brussels but fishing rights remain a stumbling block. also another variant strain of the krona virus is found in south africa where a spike in cases has left some hospitals overwhelmed and once hailed as a success in the fight against crime the virus thailand now faces

a major outbreak near its capital. welcome to the program the european union is encouraging member states to limit nonessential travel to the u.k. but to lift the barriers currently blocking cross border movement trucks and travelers are being held up while countries scramble to contain a mutated strain of the corona virus in the u.k. but the e.u. says that people shouldn't be stopped from returning to their homes meanwhile covert 19 is still spreading rapidly across britain it's just reported a new daily infection record of nearly 37000 cases in a single day and all of this with little more than a week left before the brits deadline the u.k. and the european union are still struggling to reach an agreement on their trading relationship from january the 1st paul brennan has this update from dover in southern england. 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 goods vehicles in they're allowed to come in and also vehicles that are parked up here being moved away. we understand up to

mountain airfield and that would be where it is likely the testing would take place if it is deed 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 ben smith is following developments from paris he says the european commission has provided recommendations for u.k. travelers but it's up to european countries to enforce them. the european commission has recommended that european member countries do no longer prevent flights and trains coming traveling between the united kingdom and continental europe they say that essential travel and transit of passengers should be facilitated but they recommend they should discourage nonessential travel to united kingdom of course during the coronavirus panicked pandemic nonessential travel has

been generally discouraged anyway the european union though these are only recommendations from the european commission and throughout this pandemic most countries have generally made their own rules about who can and cannot go join the coronavirus some demand p.c.r. test others don't some demand quarantine and others don't suggestion here from the french is that they are going to demand a p.c.r. test from people who want to come from the u.k. to france when they're 48 hour self-imposed ban in france ends tonight it's over also worth reminding people though that much of the u.k. particular southeastern london is under a very strict lockdown and so you cannot leave your home if you live there for only a very specific reasons now the u.k. and the e.u. are trying to hammer out a trade deal in brussels several deadlines have already passed but the u.k.'s exit makes of takes effect at the end of the month. even if the

final push. today did you feel relieved to see the market. would continue to work the transparency we remember still like not hundreds of parliament thank you very much as a bag is in london with more on the so-called final push that's underway. elaborate for you chief negotiator michel barnier brinton to brief diplomats he spoke to reporters and he said that we are at a crucial moment and that giving it the final push and of course that deadline of for the u.k. to leave the e.u.'s fast approaching and they still don't have a deal now we understand prime minister barak's johnson did have a secret phone call with the head of the e.u. commission now we understand that some of the sticking points of the u.k. fishing industry and the u.k. fishing industry only accounts for 0.02 percent of the u.k. economy but it is a very important political issue especially for the conservative party for the

government also those that come paint for brics it now if the u.k. does not get a deal by the end of the year they will resort to world trade organization rules which means that they would could be tariffs and border checks on goods crossing between the u.k. and e.u. which could lead to increased costs for goods but also destruction and as we've seen over the last few days that could be quite significant but one of the key issues is the fishing industry now the e.u. wants access to u.k. waters they also want to make sure that those coaches that the e.u. fisherman have are not reduced too much but also that you kate wants to make sure that there's not retaliatory action from the e.u. if after brics in the u.k. reduces those quotas the still no agreement but we are expecting something soon because that deadline at the end of the game when the u.k. set to leave the e.u. internal market and the customs union is fast approaching. well to the u.s.

now our congress has passed a spending bill including the only a trillion dollars in covert $900.00 economic stimulus and money to keep the federal government running now this is the 2nd cave in 1000 relief deals and the start of the pandemic the 1st was the sweeping cares act signed into law in march it was the largest stimulus package in american history at $2.00 trillion dollars that's 10 percent of the country's g.d.p. it was unprecedented in the size and scope but some benefits including a boost to weekly unemployment and months ago. castro has more from washington d.c. . majority leader after months of partisan stalemate congress finally passed a code in $1000.00 relief 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 since 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 that a 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 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 us 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 6 $100.00 stimulus payment. for some time 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.

says professor of american and canadian studies at the university of birmingham in england he says it doesn't go far enough. republicans and democrats acknowledge that it's only an interim measure and present like joe biden has said that one of the priorities when he takes office in january 20th is to get a broader measure the reason for that is that although this provides for the renewal of unemployment benefits it does solely for a short period of time although it provides for loans to small businesses it does only cover some businesses you'll need more as the economy tries to come out of the pandemic and it doesn't deal with important issues such as aid to states and communities who are facing budget true crises because they're having to spend quite a bit to deal with the crisis as well the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell arguably the most important person in washington right now said no aid to states no aid to cities there's a trope much republicans that these democratic red states and cities they're to

blame for all the problems and mcconnell was playing politics with that so no wait in the interim measure on the other hand mcconnell wanted to provide liability protection for businesses who might face lawsuits from workers over being exposed to corona virus and democrats said no you can't give businesses carte blanche of unity from being irresponsible he's backed down on that that was the key compromise excluding those 2 provisions but doesn't mention a moment ago i don't think you can go through 2021 and not do something to deal with the states and communities which of course is where the pandemic is being felt on a day to day basis the top infectious disease expert in the u.s. has been given the covert 1000 vaccination talked on the phone she got the inoculation the longside health secretary alex's and other health officials they received the maternal vaccine it was approved last week becoming the 2nd vaccine allowed in the u.s. the wall's estimates it has

a 3 way to that most americans will get access by mid summer of extra. what we're seeing now is the culmination of years of research which have led to a phenomenon that has truly been unprecedented and that is to go from the realisation that we're dealing with a new pathogen a virus that was described in january of this year to less than one year later to have vaccines that are going into the arms of so many people including myself and so i consider it an honor to be part of this process while still ahead here on al-jazeera why a top u.n. official says the prospects for a 2 state solution for palestine a fainting and we look at china's war on poverty and how it's multi-billion dollar plan is working to stay with us.

hellas bit of a cold breeze coming out of 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 and particularly turkey and beyond towards the caspian this right into the south of that and this is the onshore breeze of being a few shots north and egypt gaza israel up to 11 as well and it is likely to induce showers down the higher ground over society or even on the african side of the red sea port so you know djibouti nothing significant i don't think in the whole thing becomes druther quite a during soused thursday as showers and might come down towards bahrain even qatar but the good to be light if they do appear atoll 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 snow only eastwards is leaving behind fine weather not particularly warm in cape town which is staging this fine weather the rain itself would head into the southern part of mozambique the puter reflects that look at the temperatures briefly on the high side but for the wind changes on that trough light your drive day on thursday showers back on friday and they're probably lost. frank assessments you've got colleagues on the ground in the canaries what is the situation there is only one doctor and one nurse or 2200 people informed opinions how big this foreign policy they get in the early stages of a by 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 you 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.

welcome back you're watching al-jazeera with me as a whole 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 mutated strain of the corona virus spread rapidly in the country. brits it negotiator michel barnier says it talks with the u.k. are in their final push he's updated envoys from the blocks 27 member states on the latest talks fishing rights remain an obstacle to receiving a trade deal before december 31st deadline. top u.s.

infectious disease expert actually found she has received madonna's covert 19 vaccine it was authorized for emergency use last week that she has to miss most americans will have access to that seeds by mid summer next year. south africa is struggling to contain a surge in new cases of krona virus health officials say it's being driven by a different cave in 1000 variant from the mutated strain in the u.k. the virus is spreading faster than when the pandemic 1st began several countries of holter that travel to and from south africa has more from johannesburg. scientists say they are 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 countries 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 survives 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 question as well for example you go to our province you find in the place very popular tourist resort is 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 janice 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 there 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.

research innovation and sequencing platform explains how scientists are monitoring different mutations of the virus. the 1st thing to make clear is that salt africa and u.k. has truth differently in it just yet both is spreading very fast with. few similarities between then why not today and it is there one of the many mutations that to make that. white protein interact with the human cell receptor at this 2nd think we saw are quite similar from the u.k. we saw that emerging in their nelson mandela bay that's in that you stand cape and then moves south west very fast and there direction of cape town and not west and not east to quell saloon where so it's quite similar in the u.k. but we see a common use of all origin but it's very fast spread across the country we haven't been surveying that virus since the beginning of that and then mick since february

and we would have like 20 or 30 lyn that just course kountry and in the last month in the house we've seen that they've been taking off by one unique yet and this lineage when we both took a close look because we are what is the how one lineage could be taking over and transmitting so fast this lynn that you had multiple mutations a multiple change in the spike protein of the divide us thailand's prime minister is blaming illegal migration for a cluster of war than a 1000 factions is because so far it's believed to have come from people working at a seafood market near bangkok it's a major blow for the nation that had been hailed for its success in combating the virus tony chain reports now from bangkok. was a mobile testing unit pulls into a market in the north of bangkok in 72 hours thailand's corona virus infection

numbers increased by 20 percent came here for screening for. and found out there are floating i people who were in radio close contact that i need to press any phone that might get today the recall examples of all of the traitors inside word 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 of being turned away infections originating from the seafood market in some months a colon and now being discovered in bangkok and provinces even further away outside the unpleasant process begins but 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 in 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 of the transmissions continue to rise. so much i local fishmonger says many customers a choosing to stay at home now he's worried about his health and keeping his business afloat. to begin with 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 dreams tony chang al jazeera

bangkok. now the united nations refugee agency is calling for urgent funding to address what it calls a full scale humanitarian emergency in ethiopia's northern to grow 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 gray or worse 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 talks have begun in sudan as the country tries to

settle a border dispute with neighboring ethiopia it comes after weeks of fighting between the 2 sides over farmland which is claimed by both sides sudan says it's referring to the colonial border as proof that they owed the territory ethiopia describes the attacks as raids and says they put past border deals at risk. the indian government says it's ready for talks with the striking farmers protesters have been blockading 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 have previously held talks to remain deadlocked. israeli lawmakers have rejected a key budget vote paving the way for potential national elections the 4th in 2 years the knesset has a midnight deadline on tuesday to pass the 2020 budget if an agreement is not reached the parliament will automatically dissolve triggering snap elections the coalition government formed in may by

a power sharing agreement has been plagued by infighting canada has pledged to give $70000000000.00 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 $5000000.00 palestinians now the un's outgoing special coordinator for the middle east is warning the prospect of a 2 state solution for palestine is fading little i'm allowed off made the comment during his last briefing on monday saying the situation has gone from bad to worse out there is kristen salumi has more from the un. it was a 1st at the united nations are moroccan in basad are 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 nor was it normalized in international relations with israel following a resolution of the israeli palestinian dispute but we have proven this assumption wrong while the us took credit in the security council outgoing middle east special coordinator nicholai lad not noted the situation has gone from bad to worse for most palestinians despite an 8 month pas in the building of illegal 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 it the chance of its realization frankly i do believe that it is the possible and it is possible in the way that it

recognizes the legitimate story of. 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 is not

a 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 is not trying as lee to say the country has a right to cater to extreme poverty over the past 5 years the communist party has spent billions of dollars and dispatched thousands of officials to help rural households but critics question the sustainability of the program and so millions of people are at risk of falling back into hardship the treaty you reported from love ching county in quantity province. lawton county in china south is known for its mountains its rivers and its poverty. 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 roads and schools. in 2018. my son told me 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 jinping deadline of eradicating extreme poverty nationwide by the end of 2020 communist party

officials say they've succeeded so. people used to have 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 as a rock will improve. 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 millions of risk falling back into prophecy poverty i nature for many people. it's temporary is short term spells and those kinds of people have very very different kinds of needs and others for whom already is a chronic strains a policy implement the policy response to those different states needs to be just.

as his 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 new al-jazeera lawton county china. is there with means the whole romney reminder of all 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 britain bennett smith has more from paris the european commission has recommended that european member countries do no longer prevent flights and trains coming traveling between the united kingdom.