if you want to help save the world's. sneeze into your own. as the lines of lorries stuck at the u.k. border grows longer the e.u. urges its members to lift their travel bans over a new variant of the corona virus thailand's prime minister blames illegal migration for a sudden spike in coded 19 cases centered on a seafood market. i'm our intel this is al jazeera live from london also coming up 5 prison doctors and health workers are killed on their way to work in the latest bomb attack in afghanistan. u.n.

troops push back rebels who plan to march on the capital ahead of sunday's election in central african republic i and tension in israel's parliament which has 3 hours to approve a budget or subject the country to its 4th national election in 2 years. i know there's hope of an end to the isolation imposed on the u.k. over fears but a highly infectious new strain of the current virus could spread france has now opened the door slightly letting in citizens who have a negative test it comes after the european union recommended members roll back the border closures but so far it's the only country to open up in the past day the u.k. recorded almost 37000 new cases a growing number of countries have also imposed travel bans on south africa after

a new variant emerged there too meanwhile south korea and thailand which were both seen to have had successfully controlled their outbreaks are now fighting a surge in cases and as the vaccine rollout continues worldwide america's top top pandemic official dr anthony found she has become the latest senior figure to get the job would begin with paul brennan in the u.k. port of dover. well there has been some movement but not in the way that the drive is over my shoulder we've seen some trucks arriving from france on the ferries arriving from kalai and going out into the u.k. bringing what appeared to be a lot of the fresh produce to be honest netherlands trucks it's in the spanish trucks as well but i'm going to just briefly stand out of the way and let some the camera man look over my shoulder because in the last half an hour these drivers van drivers and truckers superman facing a few off a single 3rd night trapped here on the outskirts of the vehicles actually blockaded

this roundabout in front of the port and friends the police have now persuaded them to move to the central reservation at least and some traffic is at least moving a tempest really fled here the grievances of these drivers are that there is no food the public toilets just a short way down the road are closed there's been no facilities laid on for the people who are trapped here and know where that's all as to how long this blockade is going to continue for there was a hope an expectation even that by this afternoon the discussions that have been taking place between britain and france would lead to some easing of the blockade that traffic would start to move again that hasn't happened and as we're now in just 2 days turning off days from christmas itself many of these drivers irritated some of resigned to the fact that they won't get home for christmas is very angry. when a smith in paris has a french government announcement. the french government has decided that from

midnight tuesday french time people who live in france and french citizens and non french citizens of france will be able to return to france as long as they're in possession of a negative p.c.r. or antigenic test from the u.k. in a loss a significant difference because all day they've been talking about a p.c.r. test but this antigenic test is antigen test is much quicker the results are within minutes and while it's not thought to be as reliable it's much easier to administer one of the biggest challenges for the french and the british was with the french insisting on a p.c.r. test was how the british were going to administer it to more than $600.00 not lorry drivers waiting in care kens to come back to france now the french have allowed this test to be performed instead it will be much easier to administer the results

will be much quicker and that should get the traffic moving much faster and people who live in london in the south east of england if they're allowed to return to france if they're allowed to leave their homes under the restrictions in the u.k. they too will be able to either have a p.c.r. test much more expensive and takes longer to give the results or they can have this antigen tested pretty quickly allowing them to allowing them to leave the u.k. and allowing them to come to france more countries are also blocked at travel from south africa over a variant of the coronavirus identified there the disease is now spreading faster cross south africa than when the pandemic began health officials say the mutation is likely to be behind the recent surge a variant is different from the type spreading here in the u.k. israel turkey germany switzerland and saudi arabia are among the countries that have barred travelers from south africa. her torso is in johannesburg and explains how damaging this strain is particular to south africa's tourism industry

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 countries currently experiencing in 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 is survive is pretty much a time of the year on 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 the place cotton 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 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 a festive mood many people come to there for tourism and now this saying that people would who are hoping to make some kind of money this time around those hopes have not been dashed. top health officials in the u.s. of rolled up their sleeves to receive a coronavirus vaccine in an effort to inspire public confidence top infectious disease expert dr anthony found she received the job he was joined by the health secretary and the head of the national institutes of health they were given a madonna vaccine which only received emergency approval from regulators last week she says most americans should be able to access a vaccine by the middle of next year i feel extreme confidence in the safety and the efficacy 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. coronavirus cases are accelerating in russia with more than $28000.00 new infections confirmed in 24 hours another $561.00 fatalities were also reported taking the country's total death toll to almost $52000.00 this month russia began inoculating frontline health workers with its owners put nick v. coronavirus vaccine and says more than $200000.00 have so far received it but many people in moscow say they're unsure whether they'll take it once it's rolled out to the general population you. still believe i don't think i'm going to get a coronavirus jab i need to learn more about my health condition 1st and then decide whether or not i can do it. in the stove or the something i'm not sure whether i'm trying to get vaccinated i believe me to improve the vaccines because i cannot be sold by work effectively and yet people in europe i am not going to get the vaccine i do not approve of vaccines in general. thailand's prime minister is

blaming illegal migration for a sudden rise in infections their wellness 1000 have now been identified centered on a seafood market near the capital is a major blow for a nation which had been hailed print success in combating the virus tony chang reports from bangkok. 5. 55. 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 got my copy came here for screening my fall and found out there are 14 i people who were in radio host one type and infected person a from the 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 some months a corn 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 a test 10000 people in a attempt to contain the outbreak on tuesday some of those tests revealed 427 new infections the huge rise in a country that had seen 0 to transmission for months. teams of health officials are now screening traders in markets across the thai capital michael 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. that they could make about the economy was picking up what we now are facing this and it makes his feel as if we are going

back to the 1st outbreak traders in this market say the concern about the outbreak has caused business the drop by 70 or 80 percent overall thailand has made huge economic sacrifices to rid itself of the coronavirus that 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 something. tony ching al-jazeera. south korea is banning gatherings of more than 4 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. taiwan has reported its 1st locally transmitted coronavirus case in 8 months. and it was thought to be the world's longest period without

a domestic infection health authorities say the person had close contact with a new zealand pilot who picked up the virus after flying to the u.s. taiwan's containment measures have been hailed as some of the most effective with widespread mask wearing and contact tracing it's confirmed only 770 cases this year the corona virus has now spread to every continent on the globe after 36 cases were discovered at a chilean research station on the antarctic peninsula the country's army confirmed infections at the military research station all affected personnel and maintenance workers have been taken back to chile to isolate comes days after the navy confirmed 3 cases on a ship which had taken supplies to the station. to afghanistan now where at least 5 prison doctors and health workers have died in kabul after

a bomb attached to their car exploded had been on their way to work at afghanistan's largest prison. the taliban which has scores of fighters in that prison denies responsibility for the attack violence in afghanistan despite recently with a series of targeted killings of prominent figures of the government and taliban hold talks in qatar. with. my car was in front of their car there was about 10 metres distance suddenly the explosion occurred the small bridge collapsed i cannot hear properly now and i'm hearing noises 3 victims who are on the back seats as one of them was thrown on the road as we took them out of the car as well as the driver. i saw woman lying on the ground and 3 others as well cite a car another person a split to pieces and his body was thrown by the blast into the nearby house. the u.n. says it's pushed back on rebels in central african republic who are looking to march on the capital before sunday's election the president has criticised violence in

the run up to the vote the government has accused the rebels backed by the former president. of attempting a coup his candidacy was rejected by the courts. and russia have sent additional troops and supplies to help counter the surge in violence. katherine sawyer in the capital bangui has more on efforts to content sions ahead of the vote. 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 kids we are the country's main groups and they started seeing onto the copy told calling for among other things a conditional government without president full steam. so as officials of 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 groups outside of this main. that are causing trouble so in the same area we also have run the troops we have a russian. also carrying out operations against this groupings they are this the russians and the londons are not under the un mandate that means that they are able to use more force. signed the countries of 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. so don this hoffa fishermen's a stumbling block in the bracks it talks with the e.u. branding the case they just offer unacceptable. and china spends billions on its

mission to end extreme poverty but is it really a rags to riches story. where we've just gone past the winter solstice so we injecting warm air relative to the time of year across a good part of central europe is that massive cloud that it will bring a lot of cloud of rain with it will affect the british isles france germany the warm push will go a long way east on its eastern flank where it comes of against this drive and cold and cold i would see some snow reaching into ukraine to the baltic states and into western russia there's obviously a change in wind direction afterwards and that'll be noticed in vienna or it gets down by friday but you go to warm pretty warm couple days certainly wednesday looks pretty high but the temp changes so the weather type changes the cloud sort to

clear the sun comes out of course a long night snack even though just compasses solstice so you're going to get out of frost levels that happens in london by the end of thursday cold north wind by day frosty overnight front of christmas day washing the ground sun in the sky sizable les paul from a few showers in libya and they are just a few showers it's a fairly quiet picture that onshore breeze will make norton egypt quite cloudy possibly but still quite warm in the sahara will $36.00 about 3 above normal and there's still showers around the gulf of guinea. i've had 3 jobs and now i only have one but i'm soo providing for my family. and the 1st time i was admitted to hospital i didn't show any signs of m.s. . a lot but all about my opinion women have become very past

and stop thinking about the negative sides from. al-jazeera while he is from living with them in egypt. or money the top stories here on jazeera is the number of trucks stuck near the british port of dover grose the e.u. has recommended its members reopen their borders despite the new variant of code 19 front is opening the door slightly letting in citizens who have a negative test. at least 5 prison doctors and health workers have died in kabul after a bomb attached to their car exploded had been on their way to work at afghanistan's

largest prison. and the un says it's pushed back armed rebels in central african republic who were looking to march on the capital before sunday's election government has accused the rebels backed by the former president. of attempting a coup. talks between the european union and u.k. on a post brics a trade deal could carry on even after their trading relationship ends next week comes as europe's chief negotiator told member states that the 2 parties remain a deeply divided over fishing rights issue banias of the e.u.'s october's final value case proposal was unacceptable several deadlines have already passed with a deal still not reached. even if the final push. today did you feel relieved to see the market turn go i would continue to work in total transparency remember states by now hundreds are part of thank you thank you

very much. i surveyed joins me now in the studio so fishing still a big stumbling block sort of it seems to go from things a positive things a negative it's backwards and forwards isn't it yes the time time is running out but the fishing industry seems to be a major sticking point that's because currently e.u. member states have access to british waters now after brics in the u.k. wants to change that you can't just change the quota that the e.u. countries get the debate is whether about the number that quote what figure it should be but also it's about the transition period before changes come in they don't seem to be agreeing on those but the final point that's really seems to be a sticking point is any retaliatory action from the e.u. so if in future in the future the u.k. changes those fishing quotas they don't want any retaliatory action from the e.u. in the fishing industry or otherwise to complicate matters further the majority of fish caught by british fisherman exported to the e.u.

and the majority of fish consumed by people in britain are imported so both the u.k. and the e.u. are trying to protect their fishing industries so we have just such in the last few minutes they are prime ministers is the number of ways to deal with efficiency and from a percentage share and he's would like to see a deal before christmas talks make it beyond december 25th so they're still all of them trying to keep pushes right down to that to the one and still hopeful in some quarters that there might be a deal well there's been calls from opposition m.p.'s hair in the u.k. calling on the british government and prime minister by his johnson to extend that transition period to continue those talks but right now british prime minister promised johnson think he's position is unchanged the u.k. did leave the e.u. block earlier this year on january 31st but they've blighted by e.u. trade rules on 31st of december that is set to end the u.k. will leave the customs union and the internal e.u. market now if a deal isn't reach reached they will go to world trade organization rules that could mean border checks and tariffs on goods between the e.u. . and the u.k.

could mean higher cost for goods but also a lot of disruption then as we've been seeing over the last few days that could be really significant on the for the sort of logistics of it if they do agree something in the next few days is there enough parliamentary time on either side to to get it through the seems that seems to be yes that this is the parliament have to be recalled it have to ratify this and it could mean that the e.u. in principle signs this and then a too late to date it will become law so this seems to be that there is time but there's still those sticking points they haven't been able to agree on those and until they budge on those they may not be in agreement that they thank you very much but israel's parliament has less than 3 hours to pass a budget if it fails the country will be forced into its 4th general election in just 2 years is prime minister benjamin netanyahu government has been moving towards collapse as rift with his governing partner and rival benny gantz it's

a budget dispute isn't resolved by midnight local time the knesset is automatically dissolved means you elections will be held in march. often is the chief political correspondent for the jerusalem post he says an election would be a referendum on netanyahu the public that wants to get rid of nets and you know that wants to get rid of benny gantz and wants a government that could function and has no hope that the current government could function is absolutely overjoyed that israel is going to elections the rest of the population is just upset at going to elections for the 4th time in 2 years of course there are cabinet ministers who would love the election to be about the economy or about the health crisis but no it's going to be out about it's you know how and whether people want him to remain in power and that's what our last 3 elections have been about where we've definitely fallen into personality politics here in israel and it's you know i was facing 3 criminal indictments and blue and white wanted to protect the rule of law prevents you know from bypassing it. number

of people killed by india's polluted air rose last year more than 1600000 people died as a result of toxic air and 29000 according to the medical journal the lancet that's nearly one in 5 of all deaths and is 5 and a half percent more than in 2017 india's economy also suffered with fatalities last year costing it's $36800000000.00 new delhi which is the world's most polluted capital was the part of the country hardest hit economically brazilian police have arrested the outgoing rio de janiero mer. in connection with alleged bribery evangelical pastor turned politician is sure you want to leave office on the 1st of january after losing his re-election bid to his predecessor it about a pious trivial or who was arrested at home denied any wrongdoing and said he was the target of political persecution is a rest far as a wave of corruption investigations that have landed 5 former rio state governors

in jail. they fought against the on just under legal tolling i took resources from the con involved and i negotiated the b.l.t. rail project my government for the most against corruption in rio de janeiro the family of a mother and son shot dead by an off duty policeman in the philippines a calling for justice relatives and friends a visit to the house of saud here you go you to pay their respects she and her son frank were both shot in the head on sunday in tarlac province video of the shooting has sparked public outrage and litigation began after frank set off a loud homemade air cannon the officer later surrendered and has been charged with them murders critics say the president's war on drugs has allowed the police to act with impunity. china's leaders say they've eradicated extreme poverty in the country over the past 5 years the communist party has spent billions of dollars on

rural households but critics question the program's sustainability and as katrina you reports from your chain county millions of people risk falling back into hardship. lawton county in china south is known for its mountains its privileges 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 from any 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 chad moved here 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. so it was hard to find jobs outside of farming good health care and education. now they basically live in the same conditions as people in the quality of life has a right really 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 millions of risk falling back into prophecy poverty line. many people it's trends it's temporary it's short term spells and those kinds of people have very very different kinds of needs than others for whom already is a chronic extreme it's a policy implement the policy response to those different states needs to be different. his life is better but not easier when you told the nearby factory involves working 12 hours a day with only 2 days off tomorrow. 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 russia has expanded its list of european officials who are barred from entering the country it's in response to e.u. sanctions on 6 russian officials and

a state research institute over the poisoning of opposition leader saying the valley ministry didn't reveal either the exact number of e.u. officials or the names of those barred from russia president putin's spokesman also accused me of suffering delusions of persecution after he said he tricked a russian agent into disclosing details of the plot to kill him i mean you know opposition supporters have set up a protest camp outside government headquarters as a escalate their campaign against the prime minister thousands of people also rallied in yerevan demanding that nico fashion young step down something he's refused to do i know has grown since armenia lost territory to neighboring azerbaijan in a peace deal to end a 6 week conflict over the disputed they're going to care about region. thousands of spaniards have shed an $83000000000.00 payday in the el gordo or fat one lottery . keeping up tradition of schoolchildren sang out the winning

numbers it's boresome end of year hope to millions of people in one of the country's worst hit by the coronavirus in europe can have multiple winners of up 240-0000 euros per ticket families friends and colleagues traditionally band together to buy the 20 euro tickets. from out of the top stories on out to 0 as hope of a breakthrough in the u.k.'s isolation from the rest of europe as the number of trucks stuck near the british port of dover grows the e.u. has recommended its members reopen their borders despite the new variant of code 19 france is opening the door slightly letting in e.u. citizens you can show a negative test all countries are blocked and travel from south africa over variants of the greater virus identified their.