heads to the polls for presidential and parliamentary elections in a country plagued by violence and political instability could this bring the resolution that is desperately needed central african republic elections on al-jazeera. months of negotiations and with only a week to go the u.k. and the e.u. agree opposed to trade deal one that's welcomed on both sides of the channel. hello i'm maryam namazie in london you're watching al-jazeera also coming up on the program south african health officials say their own mom died by the surgeon infections from a variant strain of the corona virus. in the u.s. a pandemic relief package awaits presidential sign off and democrats offer another

setback trying to boost payments to struggling americans. and a life saver for bangkok's polluted waterways and the people who live by them as new electric ferries take to the water. or after 8 months of tense talks and just 7 days before the deadline the european union and the u.k. of clinched a trade deal the agreement for a 00 quota relationship covers everything from energy to what became the crucial issue of fish the e.u. one protection for 11 playing field on regulation while the u.k. of voided a future role for the european court of justice britain's prime minister boris johnson claimed he delivered the promises of the 2016 vote to leave with his country no longer bound by e.u. rules up the european commission president lyon said e.u. rules will be respected by a balanced deal which protects member state interests as at the end of the story

not quite ambassadors from the 27 members will be meeting on friday christmas day to discuss it while british m.p.'s will be recalled for a vote next wednesday both must agree by midnight on the 31st for the deal to become official at the end of a successful negotiations journey i normally feel joy. but today i only feel quite satisfaction and frankly speaking relief. i know this is a difficult day for some and to our friends in the united kingdom i want to say a park team is such sweet sorrow. but to use a line from t.s. eliot what we call the beginning is all from the end and to make an end is to make

a beginning. so to all europeans i say it is time to leave rex is behind our future is made and europe. i think this deal means a new stability and a new certainty in what has sometimes been a fractious and difficult relationship we will be your friend your ally your supporter and indeed never let it be forgotten your number one market because although we have left the e.u. this country will remain culturally emotionally historically strategically geologically attached to europe. let's get more on this now from royale and joins me in the studio now so been a long time coming here we finally are

a number 10 saying that the country succeeded in taking back control we had the european commission president saying that the rules will be respected by both sides claiming victory i suppose the army has the spin isn't it that was inevitable it's a huge achievement you can't deny that many people feared that it couldn't be done before the end of the year this is the kind of trade deal the usually takes perhaps a decade and they've done in less than a year so. you can applaud that but. cliche's obviously devil in the detail it really is with this over the next few weeks i think this will be poured over of course the m.p.'s have to do that before they vote on it. before the end of the year or think on when wednesday. they'll be looking at all of the ramifications of it and i think they'll realise how thin this deal actually is because of the short time frame that they have to negotiate this there is so much

that it doesn't actually cover the u.k. mainly has a service based economy and this is a trade deal that by and large covers their products and not services so there's large parts of the of the u.k. economy that is left out of this at the moment they'll have to be cover that at some point. you know we had the spin from 1 july and saying you know this is a sad moment from boris johnson optimism but it's only over the next few days weeks that we're really going to know what this deal actually means and i suppose regardless of whether or not there was going to be a trade deal because there was so much focus on soft breck sets and all the variations that you could have in terms of future relationship between the u.k. the e.u. there will be changes for british businesses that will be extra paperwork and you know that there will be an adjustment. yeah i mean most trade deals are there to reduce the barriers between 2 countries and or 2 entities and how they trade with

each other this is doing the opposite this is putting barriers r.b.s. they were trying to keep those barriers is as minimal as possible but. you cannot say that the u.k. is going into 2021 with the same relationship that it had with the european union before and there may not be tariffs and there may not be quotas but there are going to be barriers to trade and that's a strange position that's a strange thing for a different trade agreement to to do what businesses i think now will be very very thankful for is that they can start getting some certainty because the government of the u.k. has been saying for a long time you better prepare get ready get ready and they've been saying but for what we just don't know long lost they now have some kind of certainty and they can stop running properly and clarity for them very important thank you very much henri . algeria's but it's meant as been following the story from the french capital paris and he says the e.u. has made it clear that the u.k.

will no longer enjoy the advantages it did as a member. yes no triumphalism from europe remember that the 27 other member states of the e.u. never wanted bragg's it to happen nevertheless irish premier michel martin here said that while we'll miss the u.k. we can focus on how we manage our future relationship angela merkel says this she's confident the deal is a good one and emanuel macron the presence of france he says the unity and strength of the you has paid off the last the e.u. commission points out in its statement that it said that the agreement will by no means match the significant advantages that the u.k. enjoyed as a member state of the un it says that the free movement of persons goods services and capital between the u.k. and the e.u. will and a reminder that this relationship is going to be very different and what happens in the next couple of days after the quick christmas break is that this agreement will

go to the european capitals for approval by member states there is not enough time for the european parliament to ratify this deal so what the commission is suggesting is that it's going to be provisional implementation until the 28th of february and by that time it's hoped that the e.u. parliament can officially approved debate and approve this deal with the u.k. one of the most important principles of the e.u. wanted to maintain was a level playing field after the u.k. leaves the orbit the the and so that the u.k. can maintain tariff free access for its goods the e.u. says there is a mechanism in this agreement to make sure that the level playing field is maintained and that britain doesn't have some competitive advantage over the e.u. in future. so the deal's been done but what's in it and has either side fared better well principly it secures

a 0 tariff and 0 quota market for goods sidestepping the possibility that prices on both sides could have soared forcing businesses to fold will suffer on the key british issue of access to fish in u.k. waters boats will keep access for 5 and a half years but the size of their catch will shrink the u.k. fishing industry says it's disappointed there isn't more of a break from the e.u. for europe a key demand was protecting the level playing field common rules to stop one side gaining a competitive advantage it says there will be built in safeguards with incentives to stick to it be on the list there are deals covering transport data sharing and health plus agreements on law enforcement for example smoothing the process of extradition but it won't be as swift as before and crucially the u.k. has opted out of the erasmus student program so britain's and britain's also will no longer avoid mobile phone roaming charges and they'll be more paperwork if they want to travel with their pets and in barbara ports now from london. it's taken

endless rounds of stop start talks between the u.k. and the european union now at the 11th hour a trade deals emerged the one area of dispute that seen compromise is fishing rights outside the e.u. britain has control of its exclusive economic zone but it's hard to budge on how much access you troll is have there's also been movement on stage tell you to allay the e.u. fears that european companies could suffer from unfair competition after all the uncertainty recriminations and u. turns the u.k. finally has a trade deal with its biggest commercial partner in reality it's very far from the deep and special relationship promised by the previous prime minister but it's a start and it means the worst damage under no deal scenario can be avoided. the government's independent spending watchdog says that would have knocked 2 percent of you. ok growth in 2021 alone partly because of temporary disruptions to cross border trade and for one keen bricks and watcher the deal sends

a political message to diplomatically the fact that both sides are shaken hands on a deal puts them on the same side and they now both have an imperative to work together to make this deal look as good and run as smoothly as possible and that will minimize short term disruption but it will also mean that the u.k. in the log ahead as i think they would have been in the event of a no deal outcome but even with this deal u.k. businesses still have plenty to worry about only a small number of transport companies have had access to britain's new border crossing software expected to be rolled out just a week before the transition period ends there are concerns about britain's current jobs crisis deepening if firms relocate to the e.u. and there are still unanswered questions about how to avoid physical border checks between northern ireland part of the u.k. and ireland an e.u. member. the deal still has to be ratified by the european parliament for now both sides will be happy to have something to show for the torturous negotiations but

they know their future relationship is still being sculpted nadine barber al-jazeera london. obviously country has been divided on this issue that been mixed views expressed on all sides here's a flavor of what people in the capital london have been saying if the compromise had to happen it would have been totally ridiculous if it hadn't so i hope they've done something sensible i'm really pleased with her look at it. and really i think there is light at the end of the tunnel i think it's how we year and we get sand through ticket means policy and i was afraid of that it is. better than no deal but. still of the disadvantages of leaving the european union. and making the best of about europe well jonathan

the deputy director of the prey european think tank british influence shared his perspective with us and he says that you want more concessions from the k. and the other way round as far as i can see the only major e.u. compromise was in fishing. that they agreed on 5 and a half years and transition period which seems to think closer to the u.k.'s tomorrow and the e.u. slum but if you listen to boris johnson what he was actually saying is barrie abundantly clear that the u.k. is the party which has made the most newsman's in pretty much anything and we can see in johnson's last and he's very detail long statement but he really had nothing to boast about all than the usual kind of cliches about taking back control of trade lose money or sachin which simply already had control of the coast and so on the key issues such as a level playing field and the e.u. has made it clear they got what it fundamentally wanted it which is alignment and

if the u.k. diverges the e.u. has a right to respond with tariffs that was that he used fundamental asked how he also has in that press conference from johnson he is not denying that we've been locked out of security databases which is a vital element of u.k. policing and he simply responded to the journalist by saying everything will be fine with security that is not the kind of assurance which french people meet the british people did not go into self-immolation and this is not the economic collapse and we have come to harness the case by the. well as the latest practice elements but we'll be covering stories from around the wild focusing on south korea off to break it was held for controlling the 1st wave and now the country is shutting the slopes to dampen a knob that coronaviruses out right. however

wintry scene is unfolding slowly across the european plain to give a traditional christmas day look this is what it will look like temperatures are dropping down low single figures will be plenty of snow particularly on the alps and then it squashes down against what is still going to be rain in the balkans so that does take a case in point vienna that a 5 degrees in the cold wind on friday but it will change to a sunny skies think but look at the temperatures minus 5 minus 2 overnight lows it'll be frosty on the ground the reason snow to look at in the mountains snow proper will start to fall i think on saturday throughout the balkans that's a slow moving bottom end of this frontal it's been pushing dance for europe and of course being fed by moisture from below so that's a potential lot of snow how from a to likely in sarajevo still snowing on sunday until the afternoon and then the

sunday when temperatures start to rise so sudden europe won't necessarily join in however the course changing further north look at this huge circulation for sunday center just east of scotland of this stormy weather that comes in initially on saturday spread danton oldness by western france was rain on that sudden of like and snow. to scarcity has become a major global issue the demand is going straight up and the supply is going straight down turning an essential natural resource into a commodity traded for profit just because. it's cannot be priced what about the guy that can afford it tele's water. now to syria examines the social financial and environmental impact of water privatizing loads of water on al-jazeera.

the a. comeback our main story this hour after 8 months of tense talks in just 7 days before the deadline the european union and the u.k. have clinched a trade deal the agreement for a 0 tariff 0 quotes a relationship covers everything from energy to what became the crucial issue of fish the e.u. want protection for a level playing field on regulation. while the u.k. of voided a future role for the european court of justice. now 2 new strains of the corona virus have emerged in africa with separate mutations recorded in nigeria and south

africa the new variant in south africa is believed to be more infectious contributing to what experts of called an alarming rate of spread countries total number of cases is rapidly approaching a 1000000 several nations of restrict to travel from south africa as a precaution. there is harm the task is in johannesburg. this new variant inside africa was identified in concern at our province eastern cape in the garden it that's along the cape town area the health minister says the numbers are alarming more than 14000 new infections in the last 24 hours it is recommending more restrictive measures be put in place the measures already in place include a nighttime curfew are going to be sold on certain days and at certain times and some beaches have been closed but health officials say some south africans seem not to be listening to the warnings they're saying some of them are posting pictures on social media photos and videos of them at big parties called super speed events

where they aren't wearing masks and they aren't practicing social distancing the government what is trying to do is to try to make sure enough hospital beds are available across the country in government and private facilities so in some provinces for example some doctors are discharging patients that they think are stable those people have been told to go home to make way for covert 19 patients additional staff have been put on standby this talk and in some areas military doctors and nurses may be called in if it does get to that stage the health officials are also warning that if these infections keep rising so therefore could reach its peak within the next 2 weeks is a similar scenario across the continent infection rates are rising and more countries are imposing more restrictive measures for example but one is the latest country to impose a nighttime curfew malawi as it is closing its borders for at least 14 days officials here are concerned that as more and more people keep traveling around the festive season they could be increased infections not just in this part of africa but the rest of the continent as well. now in all the stories of following relief

checks promise to millions of americans still on hold as politicians because of the changes to the package democrats and republicans aren't to attach struggle of the changes to the 2 trillion dollars plan comes off the president trump said the $600.00 individual payments were too small and called for $2000.00 per person democrats supported the rise but republicans are blocking it so he joins us live now from washington confusion of how much americans will get and what president trump is prepared to support. i'm things getting pretty critical now on saturday 14000000 americans will lose the emergency financial help that they were they've been given under the previous stimulus package we still don't know what donald trump is going to do what he has in mind yes he's not happy with the $600.00 checks he's calling for $2000.00 checks but he hasn't said specifically that he's going to veto the bill so he could sign this bill on saturday and then very soon the

relatively small amount of aid that has been passed for americans will then be going at least 2 to those those in need in the meantime by the democrats are trying to make some particular political capital gain some political capital out of all of this they have now scheduled a vote for monday. on giving $2000.00 to americans in need those who earn less than $75000.00 a year this is very likely to pass if it goes ahead if donald trump signs the bill on saturday then it won't happen actually that's already now nancy places he's got coming under a bit of a bit of criticism the democratic speaker of the house because they are a lot of progressives i should know this week to really make the republicans show where they stand on giving aid to americans in need this may not happen or may not happen on monday and it puts house republicans in a great deal of difficulty because they their own president donald trump the person that they have been supporting even when he makes baseless allegations of voter

fraud they're now going to have to decide whether they stand behind him and agree to $2000.00 drugs or not either way it is very likely to pass on monday if this vote goes ahead that will then put mitch mcconnell in the senate and a huge amount of difficulty the republican senate majority leader because. they do reason that he was interested in stimulus checks in the 1st place he grew to $600.00 is he's really worried about the georgia runoff elections for the senate 2 senate seats up for grabs this could give joe biden the but the balance of power could get mean that he would have both the house and the senate mitch mcconnell was keen to show that he. did care not just about tax cuts for the rich which added to the deficit but also was prepared to give $600.00 to poor people in the u.s. now if the spouse of the house he has to make a decision does this that he actually showed himself to be against $2000.00 checks washbowl trumper saying should be given to the poor well that's going to be very difficult and that will be used for george reductions so there is a certain sort of if if donald trump's goal here was to make things very difficult

specifically for mitch mcconnell in the future having had the congressional republicans accept victory he's doing a very good job at the very least but donald trump could sign this bill very moment and all of this could then disappeared. thanks very much you have a chance in washington. back here thousands of truck drivers that will remain stranded at the english port of dover for christmas day waiting on negative coronavirus test results so far only 3 drivers have received positive test results with more than 2300 getting the all clear ahead of their chance to cross the english channel fewer than 100 vehicles had left the ports on wednesday evening most likely to have spent a total of 5 nights in their vehicles now with limited food water and access to sanitation elsewhere in new restrictions have come into force across south korea as the country tries to control the pandemic during the end of the holiday period the

nation has been recording around a 1000 new cases every day just months after it seemed to have the operate under control rob mcbride reports now from seoul. having won international recognition for its handling of the pandemic and setting standards for testing and tracing south korea now struggles to contain this 3rd wave it seems earlier successes may have bred complacency compounded by pandemic fatigue on windy days and an overconfidence had growing in many people's minds and you lowered their guard when you were relatively successful in dealing with the 1st and 2nd operates and one international trade. in south korea's 3rd biggest city in chan jang hana ram is one of a team of traces who are working around the clock what makes this surge so hard to control is how widespread it is often to go out of control you cannot have what i saw all the new confirmed cases and daily p.t. a magickal survey i thought wow this is really getting out of control ski resorts

are now being closed and private gathering severely restricted in size the ice skating rink that would normally occupy the space in front of seoul city hall nonexistent this year seoul has its christmas tree as usual but not the normal ceremony for switching on its lights that was held online just one of the many seasonal traditions south korea is having to forgo this year families would normally visit beaches or national parks to see the 1st sunrise of the new year many of those have been closed by a government increasingly concerned by what that new year will bring from the pandemic it thought it had under control robin pride al-jazeera sold. now state affiliated media in ethiopia is reporting that soldiers have killed a group of armed men accused of an attack on a village the incident in the western region of bani shango gomers so more than

$100.00 villages killed media reports suggest 42 armed men were killed after prime minister ahmet sent in the troops marc webb has been monitoring the story for us from neighboring kenya. for more than a 100 people were killed in the attack that happened dawn on wednesday and survivors of said the attackers set people's homes on fire and then shot men women and children dead many of them as they were running away some of the survivors told rights group amnesty international says the attackers were on members of the good news community down the good news is the largest ethnic group in that area and they said that the victims belong to the mara the romo and the ethnic groups who are minorities in that area is the latest in a succession of waves of ethnically targeted violence that happened in that region since september prime minister ahmed as he said earlier today said he'd sent troops to try and quell the violence and state affiliated t.v.

had reported that federal troops were killed 42 of the men who were involved in the massacre we haven't been able to verify the local officials also said that those government troops had recovered weapons including pows and arrows from the armed men who were allegedly responsible for this attack. at least 20 people have died after a boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of tunisia those on board were thought to be trying to reach the italian island of lampedusa when the vessel capsized tunisian coast guard officials said 5 people were rescued and they're looking now for 20 others at least $45.00 migrants from board the boat. times capital is notorious for traffic and pollution including its waterways and that's why the government is looking to make one popular method of transport greener and also much quieter. explains from bangkok. fishing out his front door like he has for the last 40 years amarin it needs your mom lives in

a community of houses built on stilts lining the edge of bangkok's busiest can now while the fishing might be convenient the steady increase of commuter boats rushing by has become unbearable he says but there's some relief on the way a switch to electric boat. to the electric plants will generate less noise i want but the people so much that. bangkok was once described as the venice of the east and many of the 10000000 people here still use its waterways to get around. and the boats used to carry them are noisy big polluters putting toxins in the water and into the air. so the city government has launched a quieter and greener alternative a 3 month electric boat pilot program right in the center of the capital 8 boats to start and so far they're carrying a 1000 passengers a day so while it takes 4 hours at the pier to fully charge the batteries to run the twin engines for the boat these solar panels provide the power for the

instruments and the lights on the vessel because the biggest challenge is changing people's minds we have to encourage them to switch from private to public transportation boats are a good option because of the history traffic so the introduction of electric boats can help both congestion and reduce pollution the boats and most of the components are manufactured here in thailand only the motors in the batteries are imported there is hope that the indigenous industry will expand so one day the vessels will be 100 percent tied. i think evy is a kind of. in the shit the next step is to encourage people all even the government itself to seriously think about how the even electric vehicles because if that is the next generation the fall for the environmental friendly public transportation so while the government hopes that the program is successful and that the fossil fuel powered boats are on the way out could be

getting some good news his kid now is set to be the next phase for the electric boats that will allow him to fish in peace and relative quiet it's got harder al jazeera bank are. all the main story this hour after 8 months of talks just 7 days before the deadline the european union in the u.k. have clinched a trade deal the agreement for as 0 tariff 0 quota relationship covers everything from energy to fishing the e.u. want protection for a level playing field on regulation while the u.k. avoided a future role for the european court of justice britain's prime minister boris johnson says he's delivered the promises of the 2016 vote to leave this country no longer bound by the rules i think this deal means a new stability.