if you treat it. even further join me richelle carey and outfront is my guest from around the world take the hot seat and we debate the week's top stories in pressing issues here on al-jazeera. israel to hold its fulfill ection in just 2 years the knesset is dissolved because it couldn't pass a budget. and our intelligence is our 0 live from london also coming up as the lines of lorries stuck in the u.k. grow longer france says it will reopen the border but only to citizens with negative code protests. 5 prison doctors and health workers are killed on their way to work in the latest bomb attack in afghanistan. and u.n.

troops push back rebels who plan to march on the capital in the lead up to sunday's election in central african republic. we begin with breaking news out of israel it's just gone midnight there the deadline for the parliament to pass its budget but politicians failed to resolve the dispute sending the country to its 4th general election in just 2 years from minister benjamin netanyahu government had been moving towards collapse as rifts opened up with his governing partner and rival benny gantz new elections will be held in march and that could be risky finitum yahoo has faced 6 months of protests because of alleged corruption and his handling of the pandemic has cost you are a nutter who's in west jerusalem for us i mean remind us how we got to this point. well it really all goes back to that power sharing agreement that you mentioned

between netanyahu and got that agreement was signed after the latest and last election and the idea behind it was that netanyahu and gonski would swap between the seats of premiership with guns taking over in november of 2021 but the one key point was that they would have to pass this budget in order for guns to take over and really the only way for an it and yahoo to hold on to his seat as prime minister was to delay the vote of that budget as much as possible and that's basically exactly what has just happened and so 3 elections with no firm outcome but what can we expect in a 4th. well i mean one thing we can definitely expect is for yahoo to do as much as possible for him to hold on to his seat as prime minister his numbers are quite low over the past few months and as you mentioned he's faced a lot of protests also criticism over the handling of the of the pandemic he also

faces corruption charges but he also has some plans he had a speech earlier this evening and he spoke about some of the achievement that he has accomplished over the last few months including signing of normalization tie agreements with 4 arab countries as well as starting the campaign of covert vaccinations here in israel just this week in terms of guns analysts are really talking about him being the last man standing in his party with a lot of his party members having left and joined others in the parliament and really the latest polls don't really show much support for him and he seems he seems like he will not really play a big role in the upcoming election but netanyahu does have a political contender. who has who split from likud makhanya who's party earlier this month and form

a new party new hope but then young who at the end of the day is a political survivor and he still has quite a few months to gain even more support for him thank you very much indeed there was an artist on that breaking news from israel with us could be another election will have been is the chief political correspondent of the drislane post he says the election will be a referendum on netanyahu. public that wants to get rid of nets and you know that wants to get rid of benny gantz and wants a government that can 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 an it's and you know how and whether people want him to remain in power and that's what our last 3 elections have been about and we're we've definitely fallen into personality

politics here in israel and it's you know is facing 3 criminal indictments and blue and white wanted to protect the rule of law prevents you know from bypassing it. prevents you know from having involvement in choosing the next state's attorney and then after that the next attorney general. of an end to the isolation imposed on the u.k. because if it is the highly infectious new strain of the corona virus could spread from 2 has now opened the door slightly say it will let in e.u. citizens who have a negative test the european union recommended members roll back the border coaches but sofa france is the only country to open up an apostate the u.k. recorded almost 37000 new cases a great number of countries have also imposed travel bans on the south africa after a new variant emerged that 2 meanwhile south korea and thailand which were both

seen as having successfully control their outbreaks and are fighting a surge in cases that has the facts in rollout continues weld wide america's top 10 pandemic official dr anthony fat she has become the latest senior figure to be not created already and is in the u.k. port of dave. along the main 82 road into dover the queue was continuous the u.k. government estimated some 1500 lorries had been stranded on a drive around the approach roads to the porter revealed many many more than that parked up and waiting for news use eventually came with the blockade would be lifted but only for those with proof of a negative code test and that is no use at all to the thousands of drivers whose hopes of reaching home for christmas and now gone and now it's. this initial trauma here to go home for we have. almost 2 dozen last events of

this $45.00 followers to drive north of. no sleep just right. now we can make it. if covert testing is to be the precondition for reopening the border with france that presents an enormous logistical challenge for the u.k. of farces there are now thousands of truck and van drivers parked up in labor eyes all across the county of kent and getting the testing to them or them to the testing is going to be an enormous task and all this just days before christmas this german businessman was just minutes away from boarding his ferry when the blockade came into force yes through a car for freedom so if i had been 10 minutes earlier i would be now on the other side and be safe and at home for christmas with my family he's resigned to the possibility that he'll spend christmas stuck in dover but he says the u.k. or thora t's have been totally inadequate down there their public toilets which are not open for the drivers they should be open i think that's what you had the coffee

or tea to the drivers immediately government short do something and they should do it immediately. the airfield at manston in kent has been made a temporary lorry park for the hundreds of vehicles here are again just a section of the true scale of the problem and a. scarcity of food in some a 3 facilities is also creating tensions the member of parliament for denver blames france for this crisis i just think the way in which french government reacted was just really on helpful i mean that you can the french government the whole it industry the ferry industry they've what handing glove over the last 8 few months since trance since the virus started to make sure that it's managed and i think that's what should have happened here. as night fell in dover the rayna right on the driver stage the blockade of their own. many of these truckers and van drivers now facing the 3rd night stranded here tempers are clearly starting to fray

they were occupied the roundabout which is here at the entrance to the port behind me they've blocked the traffic there is a long snaking line of lorries and not direction the police are trying to restore order but for the moment they're not being successful saying. my my children my song. my. daughter is crying for me to go through reinforcements restore order the situation remains tense. al-jazeera dover. bennett smith in paris has more on the french government's announcement. the french government has decided that from midnight tuesday french time people who live in france and french citizens and known 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 last 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 have also blocked travel from south africa over a very into the coronavirus identified there the disease is now spreading faster across south africa than when the pandemic began and health officials say the mutation is likely to be behind the recent surge 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. top health officials in the u.s. have rolled up their sleeves to receive a coronavirus vaccine in effort to inspire public confidence top infectious disease expert dr anthony factory as well as the health secretary and the head of the national institutes of health were all given the modena 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 can have a veil of protection over this country that would end this pandemic. a day after the u.s. congress finally passed a 900000000000 dollars relief bill president elect joe biden says he'll ask congress to pass another coronavirus stimulus package when he takes office the pledge came in an address before the christmas holiday which he used to urge americans to remain vigilant one thing i promise you bob i'm leadership during this crisis i'm going to tell it to you straight and we'll tell you the truth and here's the simple truth our darkest days in the battle against covert or ahead of us not behind us biden also spoke about the cyber attack on u.s. government agencies how did your castro is in washington d.c.

and has been following the story so what did he say about the hacking situation. well his response to lauren could be no more different than that of president trump who in days prior try to downplay that attack saying that it was fully under control and failing to acknowledge the the suggestion of his 'd security officials that it was russia behind the attack biden today in that last public address of the year said that this was a massive attack whose damage and scope is still yet to be determined he said that is still continues to pose a grave risk to national security he said that it was the staling of the trump ministration and that it would land on his doorstep once he takes office and that he intends to respond to this very differently than we've seen from president trump but he intends to prioritize the distance against u.s.

cyber security and and acknowledging and approaching these sorts of attacks with the same level of seriousness biden said as any other unconventional weapon lawrence thank you very much indeed what is your cost or this. still to come this half hour. china spends billions on its mission to end extreme poverty but is it really a rags to riches story. and a pandemic is now actually global as the last continent to be touched records its 1st cases. it is still abnormally wet to parts of australia historically that is the line from the northwest down to the southeast pretty wet day in new south wales but that

change in the forecast the sun is out now are sydney's up to $26.00 melbourne just creeps up to 20 in the rather cold breeze in the south west but again we could see a bit of flash flooding in northern territory anywhere really from our springs northwards and that reynolds for the cross into queensland however well the alice springs got a couple of days of showers with temps as well below the average american is $8.00 to $20.00 that's but 12 degrees below where it should be person on the other hand is up to 13 are this is your hot bet of a bit of australia particularly the western processes trivia too there are person represented in the sunshine at the same time we still got a disappointing weather in victoria a change of temperature briefly i think there's the equator and the other season we've seen some really low temps is and stay well briefly we've got the southwest the wind rain showers into home shoes so that makes the snow on the higher ground on stable that the cold starts to return during service during the cold way still

exists in northern india for a couple of days and then things out he stooped. and new perspectives can change a wild. the one chin is in what began as a hot. he has grown into a passion own way of life. teaching the next generation to strive for a higher level. and in so installing in his country a sense of freedom and strength. new heights my chin is here on al-jazeera.

are none of the top stories here 0 israel's heading for its 4th general election in 2 years after the knesset failed to pass a budget it tops off a period of rifts between prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his rival and coalition partner benny gantz. as the number of trucks stuck near the british border 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 who have a negative test. u.s. infectious diseases expert dr anthony found she has received the coronavirus vaccination he and other health officials were given the madonna vaccine which only received emergency approval from regulators last week. to afghanistan now where at least 5 prison doctors and health workers have died when a bomb attached to their car exploded they've 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 has spiked recently with a series of targeted killings of prominent figures of the government and taliban hold talks in qatar. this would be. my car was in front of their car there was about 10 meters distance suddenly the explosion occurred a small bridge collapsed i cannot hear properly now and i'm hearing noises 3 victims who are on the back seats one of them was thrown on the road as we took them out of the car as well as the driver. woman lying on the ground and 3 others as well sidecar another person a split to pieces and his body was thrown by the blast into the nearby house. talks between the european union and u.k. on a post bricks it trade deal could carry on even after their trading relationship ends next week europe's chief negotiator told member states that the parties remain

deeply divided over fishing rights we should ban you said the offer was final while the u.k.'s proposal was unacceptable several deadlines have already passed with a deal yet to be reached. even if the final push. to day you feel relieved to see the market. would continue to work in total transparency remember states by hundreds of parliament thank you thank you very much i said bags following the story and says several concerns are behind the issue of fishing rights. 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 use to change the quota that the e.u. countries get now the debate is whether about the number of the quarter we have 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 are 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 the u.n. says it's pushed back armed rebels in central african republic it was looking to march on the capitol 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 for servers easy 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 is in

the capital she has more on efforts to calm tensions before 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 2 we are the country's main groups and they started seeing onto the copy told calling for among other things a government without president. 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 in some 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 other run troops we have

a rush to pass in their lives while also carrying out operations against this grouping 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 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 russian president vladimir putin has signed legislation that gives him lifetime immunity once he leaves office former presidents already had immunity from prosecution for crimes committed while in office the new bill gives them immunity for all crimes committed during their lifetime another station as part of constitutional amendments approved this summer which also allow putin to remain president until 2036. returning to the corona virus pandemic in brazil has recorded

another 55000 infections and 968 deaths in just 24 hours the country's been struggling to contain its outbreak with little social distancing or use of masks president joy abbas narrow has worn brazilians against taking vaccines and recently suggested the pandemic was coming to an end with 188000 brazilians have now died of code 19 the 2nd worst death toll after the us. south korea is banning gatherings of more than 4 people starting from thursday the restrictions will be in place for at least 10 days as the country tries to contain a surgeon infections but a 1000 new cases are being reported daily ski resorts and other major tourist spots will also be shot thailand's prime minister blames illegal migration for a sudden rise in corona virus infections there will in a 1000 have now been identified centered on a seafood market near the capital it's a major blow for a nation which had been hailed for its success in combating the virus to chang

reports from bangkok. i m o ball 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 mcafee came here for screening i pull up and found out that our sudden i people who were invading a close one type made an infected person a phone that might get today be with 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 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 these people are not alone the thai government says of the test 10000 people in the attempt to contain the outbreak on

tuesday some of those tests revealed 427 new infections drys in a country that had seen 0 to transmission from one. 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 in china local fishmonger says many customers are choosing to stay at home now he's worried about his health and keeping his business afloat. so they could make on the economy was picking up but 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 that concern about the outbreak has caused business that drop by 70 or 80 percent but overall thailand has made huge economic sacrifices to rid itself of the coronavirus that this outbreak continues

to grow all of that would 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 now to 0. the krona virus has now spread to every continent after $36.00 cases were discovered at a chilean research station on the antarctic peninsula the army confirmed infections at the military research station all affected personnel and maintenance workers have been taken back to chile to isolate just days ago the navy confirmed 3 cases on a ship that had taken supplies to the station. p.c.r. test show that 36 men tested positive for covert 1926 were army personnel and 10 work civilians from a contractor company who were doing scheduled maintenance work at the top to compare east 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 as sustainability and as katrina you reports from your chung county millions of people risk falling back into hardship. 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 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 has deadline of eradicating extreme poverty nationwide by the end of 2020 communist party officials say they've succeeded so. people used to how few options. it was hard to find jobs outside 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 an 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 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 our body is a chronic experience a policy implement the policy response to those different states needs to be different. his life is better but not easier when you told that a nearby factory involves working 12 hours a day with only 2 days off to month. 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 europe's largest active volcano has put on another dramatic display the eruption of mt etna and its recent

larva and rocks flying and draped nearby villages in the film of ash the volcano which is more than 3000 meters high burst into action several times a year so people in sicily a used to it its last major eruption was nearly 30 years ago. armont of the top stories are now jazeera we start with the breaking news as israel heads for a 4th general election in 2 years the knesset was dissolved in the past hour when it failed to pass a budget it tops of a period of rifts between prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his rival and governing partner benny gantz the poll will be held in march you to know who has faced 6 months of protests because of alleged corruption and his handling of the pandemic are in need.