between these 2 crises and asks why it took a pandemic to bring on changes that should have been made long ago all these things we were told were completely impossible something may become possible connected the wake up call for can't be ignored on a just. this is al-jazeera. hello and welcome i'm peter w. watching the news hour live from doha coming up in the next 60 minutes. glad tidings of great joy because this is a deal. prime minister boris johnson shows off what he calls his present to the

people a brics it's agreement on trade with the european union. but the work isn't quite over yet e.u. diplomats will get a christmas day briefing before those who sell to ratify the deal next week. tighter restrictions to control coronavirus governments around the world react to the rapid spread of covert 19th. and coronavirus means a slightly more somber celebration of christmas across the globe this 2020. i'm sorry hearts and have all the sports we hear from the bron james of the n.h.l. that progression the stage show you down to get it done right. now after years of uncertainty the european union and the u.k. have agreed a trade deal that will define their relationship for decades and a christmas address to the country in the u.k. prime minister boris johnson called the brics it agreement a tightening of great joy e.u.

leaders are calling it a fair and balanced arrangement for a challenge begins our coverage from london. this means that the u.k. has voted to leave the european union the who finally breaks it is 4 and a half years after the referendum almost at the end of the 11 month transition period . the u.k. and the e.u. argued negotiated compromised and cajoled but they've done what many feared they couldn't and agreed to their future trading relationship. it's a moment of reflection for the european commission president. at the end of a successful negotiations journey i normally feel joy. but today i only feel quite satisfaction and frankly speaking relief for the u.k.'s prime minister it's a political success that caps a year which gave him very few of them. there will be no palisade of

terrorists on january the 1st and they'll be no non-tariff barriers to trade and instead there will be a giant free trade zone of which we will once be a member and at the same time be able to do our own free trade deals one area of disputes that seen compromises fishing rights outside the e.u. britain has control of its exclusive economic zone but it's had to budge on how much access he has have there's also been movement on state aid to allay e.u. fears european companies could suffer from unfair competition and now both have an imperative to gether to make this deal look as good and run as smoothly as possible and that will many my shorts and disruption the government's independent spending watchdog says not reaching a deal would have nots 2 percent off u.k. growth in 2021 alone partly because of temporary disruptions to cross border trade

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 in the member for now both sides will be happy to have something to show for the torturous negotiations boris johnson insists the relationship is still closed this country will remain culturally emotionally historically strategically geologically. attached to europe but in the year of covert the u.k. has finally done what the 2016 referendum result demanded it's distance itself from europe rory talents how does iraq. well with the trade deal finally reached and

britain decoupling from either rules remains a divisive subject in the u.k. as people across the country spend christmas under new coronavirus restrictions for many it has given a sense of joy and relief to others expressed a mix of fear and frustration as a 4 and a half year wait comes to an end. but it feels really good to live in an independent country again i would have it out for sure hopefully didn't give to march from fishing rights but there's got to be a compromise somewhere it should be you know it's christmas present for the country just to get it all finished and to i don't know if you give a nice christmas present for the country in the long term in the long run you know i think it's got to go on for too long now i don't think it's going to be good i don't think it's a good idea in the 1st place a student is a good idea but that's where we are and. we're just in to c i hate breaks and i think it's completely retrograde step one of the i can remember life before we

joined europe and i remember things getting better. in every way ok we have live reports from dominic cain in berlin bring us comments out of germany let's start though back in london he barker is our correspondent there the fisherman up and the british coastline they're not wholly chuffed about this. no they're not and let's not forget how important and symbolic fishing rights has been throughout the entire brics it process it was very much positive by the prober not as being central an indicator of how sovereign the united kingdom would be but judging by the lines of coming out of france of the netherlands it looks as if the u.k. may have conceded significantly in the kind of access that e.u. fisherman may be able to continue having in british waters the british government

it looks like have reduced the kind of numbers of 'd fishing vessels that have to be british operating in british waters to let's not forget this is a 2000 page document more details are to come but the indication is that in order to allow negotiations to move forward there have been. some move anyway to give something away to the european union we know that the the e.u. hope for a 15 year 14 year rather transitional period when it comes to fishing the u.k. wanted a 3 year one and they've agreed on a 5 year war that pretty much is the only thing the e.u. is giving away to the u.k. when it comes to fishing but when all of their savings at the end of this year let's not forget that the wrangling is still going to continue behind the scenes behind closed doors they will have to be continued negotiations to work out who has

access who can fish herring who can fish you know mackerel and how long the access should be so let's not forget there are more more details to be ironed out in the coming years do you get the sense where you are needs that as far as ordinary people are concerned it's such a tough christmas anyway because of fear for lock downs that kind of thing to do with coronavirus do you get the sense that the feeling is oh thankfully finally they've done it or people people thinking maybe the jury is still out on this because we need to see how it will function in reality because we've still got all those juggernauts queued up at the various cross-channel crossing points. pretty after 1646 days people all war now they are target the pandemic has pushed aside breaks it to dominate the national conversation before that breaks it is all that people could really talk about and now that the trade deal has finally arrived there's

a bit of quiet resignation that like the people are basically saying well look ok we've got this far let's just accept it let's not forget that when the referendum happened the country was pretty much split down the middle 48 against 48 percent against 50 percent for those divisions still largely remain but people are accepting that to move forward with this we have to go with this trade deal but there are as i mentioned very very close details that need to be ironed out that regardless of what boris johnson says there is going to be a significant amount of red tape more paperwork for businesses and that will inevitably lead to some delays whether or not boris johnson likes it or not regardless of what the government says very finally this has to be one of the few trade deals anywhere in the world that has put barriers up rather than taken them down ok needful talks later i'm sure in the meantime thank you so much mubarak our correspondent there with all the ins and outs of bricks it as far as london is

concerned ok let's get you the washing up would be your reaction to berlin our correspondent dominic cane is there for us here on news dom good afternoon good morning so is do you think angela merkel is by and large content with what they've signed up to. the german perspective on briggs it as being in lockstep with the position put forward by me should bow and yea the chief negotiator for the european union and by a sort of funded lion the president of the european commission for some considerable time they have always said here in berlin that it's a sorrow to see the united kingdom exit the e.u. but what is paramount of importance from their perspective is the pan-european dimension that the collective interest of the $27.00 member states must be uppermost in people's thinking and so it follows that for that anger the merkel's reaction to the deal that was announced closely mirrored the sorts of sentiments

that we saw expounded upon by ursula funday lion yesterday and indeed by michele bachmann the misha danya put it quite well from one perspective if you were looking for a way of encapsulating the german perspective he said the united kingdom had chosen to renounce the right the rights and benefits that it enjoyed as a member state of the european union it could not expect to enjoy all or many of those having left the e.u. that crystallizes as it were in one sentence the sort of view that i'm going to medical has discussed with her colleagues but also has expounded upon publicly many many times in those 4 and a half years that we heard neve referred to in his interview a minute or so ago dominic thanks very much john king our correspondent there reporting live for us out of berlin. plenty more still to come for you here on the news hour including. i'm dosage of ari in a village in south him around with these women who didn't have any income before

they can demi are now supporting their entire families by making announced. that they go on sunday and vote on the safety of course but it's christmas and who doesn't want a good cheer. also ahead festivities mixed with fear in bali as people look ahead to attend selection will have the latest on the ground in central african republic . and pressure is mounting on india's cricket team details coming up in sports. when half a 1000000 coronavirus cases are being recorded every day worldwide south korea has suffered its worse yet with a record rise in daily infections the country imposed its toughest ever restrictions this week with popular tourist venues closed until early next month the u.s. continues to record around 200000 cases per day starting on monday everyone traveling

there from the u.k. must have tested negative for the virus after a new strain was discovered in britain is just one of a number of new variants believed to be more infectious others have emerged as well in south africa and nigeria they're being blamed for the steady increase in cases there. despite the surge in cases vaccines are providing hope around the world 3 countries in latin america have now begun mass rollout in mexico an intensive care nurse received the 1st approved dose from mexico city here's john holmes. the 1st latin americans to be vaccinated against covidien nurses and doctors in mexico few would argue with their place at the front of the line more medical staff have died here than in any other country in the world in which a massive wooden i'm going to feel much safer now at work the truth is that we're really exposed to all types of body fluids so having the vaccine is really going to

help so far because only received $3000.00 doses the line to get them snaked around the block moves should arrive each week they can't come soon enough the mexican government is pretty triumphant about the arrival of the vaccine but it's not here in time to save the country from its current problems in the capital the hospitals are almost full and now there's very few ventilators available for the population of one of the biggest cities in the world. cities now on bread alert with essential businesses closed a group of nurses in the vaccination queue told us how things were in their hospital. that are out there without completely food and patients in serious conditions and ventilators but you can eat i mean we just might at this minute and a lot of deaths to about 7 a day at the moment and a lot of people coming in from the moment we started morning shift. they and others of their colleagues were nervous about any possible side effects from the vaccine

but they said the benefits power outweigh their concerns we didn't know what was the most games that are not sometimes we have to isolate and we want to be with our family i want to hug my grandmother and even more christmas you got out of. latin america a virus epicenter needed some light at the end of the tunnel and i know this looks like it. but vast segments of the population won't be vaccinated for months yet at least it's a start john home how does it or mexico city. staying in that part of the world to argentina russian made vaccines will be given out starting on monday but there are many the just to cool challenges are reports now from buenos iris. the arrival in argentina of the 1st batch of 300000 doses of the sputnik vaccine from moscow a symbol of hope for the country's 45000000 inhabitants well health experts warn there are still difficult days ahead. in the near the start of the vaccination

program does not mean the end of the pandemic is just the start of a road that will lead to 70 percent of the population being vaccinated 6 days important but it's only the beginning. after approving the vaccine on wednesday the argentina authorities are working with their russian colleagues to convince a skeptical population that is safe that she was. on the go shave him with other producers for alternative vaccines. you know not to morning as of today we've not heard anything against the vaccines it's all positive who will choose to refuse to be vaccinated it is complicated but by law looks a nation in argentina is obligatory. now begins the huge logistical operation of distributing the vaccine to the distant corners of this enormous country the 8th largest in the world the future of trucks is taking supplies to argentina's $23.00 provinces where 1800 vaccination points are being set up there's still

a long road ahead but in a country that suffered more than 42000 deaths and over one and a half 1000000 infections argentina hopes that the arrival of this version from russia marks the beginning of the end of the covered 19 pandemic. from my medical staff will be the 1st. to be vaccinated but health experts are keen to stress that the battle against the corona virus is far from won. and our concern is that the infections are rising but we've been very focused on the vaccination plan to prevent more hospitalizations and more deaths especially in intensive care so we're targeting the 1st of all those who are at the most risk in the most vulnerable. time north or at his or imposing fresh quarantine restrictions over the holiday periods trying to keep rising infections under control in the hopes and expectations that the recently arrived vaccine in check. on the road to 01

osiris. it is the last day of campaigning in central african republic election but with a violent run up to the vote campaigns have been limited to opposition leaders according to election to be perspire and the focus is on the recent fighting between government soldiers and a coalition of rebel groups in the west of the country there are talks of a possible cease fire with the election day set for next sunday catherine sawyer joins us live now from that's the capital of central african republic catherine welcome back to the how would you describe the feeling on the streets there what's the atmosphere like. while it's very. just 2 days ago we were on the street and what came out that. there was rubble that was coming in this goes a lot of panic in and out it was just a small incident that involved shooting by national and me

in the air to contain the crowd but then it caused so much heinecke in the city almost the stud down so you can imagine the house and. being pulled well. in the country side where especially in the west where this new. was formed from now. how are you talking about the postponement of the election that had the don't talk and it helped move the money they filed a petition asking for postponement because of this that you did you waste and we expect the huling tomorrow back and they say that it is true and they people will not be able to come out to go one of those presidential candidates. that has already withdrawn his hand with a fee and like you mentioned this all comes about because of this new qualis on it had been threatening to march to belong they have now why i want to negotiate the

government but government official speaking to a thing that reason for not got us and end up in talking like i mentioned lot of central africa in bondi one thing really they have no appetite for another conflict . the mood in this market in bondi is just right for christmas kristi's central african stake their celebrations seriously and traders are making a killing it's also an election season they go to the polls on sunday and their main worry is security on sunday vote on a safety course but it's christmas and who doesn't want a good cheer. but everyone is in a festive mood still many residents want to get their voices hard some through religious processions praying for peace. others like this women condemn the newly formed peach roots for change a correlation of several armed groups that has threatened to march to the city and

is already causing havoc in the countryside and in 1006 to 6 our country has gone through coups rebellions mutineers and each time it sets us back the 2013 concept protons a lot of sorrow women have been raped many people have died and others displaced. their. hoping that the 12000 u.n. peacekeepers in the country alongside government troops and other international forces will keep the pages for change. that's saying they just want a peaceful election this is a country that had been in conflict for so long and the humanitarian needs are huge one hot the population need some form of aid and hundreds of thousands of central african the refugees in neighboring counties. syria are has survived 5 years of need constant to stability since gaining independence from france in 1960. the latest conflict started about 7 years ago when the then president francois was

overthrown by a mostly muslim group called reprisals by the mainly christian i. only made things was a peace deal signed between 14 rebel groups and the government in 2019 brought about some calm but now violence is again on the rise. we have the poorest people now hiding in rural areas who they are scared and wish as a father a man of the change ask those who have picked up weapons to have peter or not. all the presidential candidates are promising peace many central african say they're tired of broken promises but here are the markets they tell us they want to take the weight of their country's politics off this shoulders for just a little while to have a merry christmas. that patriotic list imports

change group 1. 1 the formation of a transitional government it's something that the souls are saying is not possible that the election is going to go on. and. they're right to expect that to all who come pay and rally later in the day we expect that security is going to be humane for that. point we're already seeing a lot of trouble in different parts of the country with a lot of fear and on sunday it will just take one incident to just take one incident because panic and then people will not be able to come out and vote and that is what the opposition is saying the why right about katherine thank you very much catherine sawyer reporting live for the news hour from. while millions of voters in new jersey will head to the polls on sunday to elect a new president and a parliament 30 candidates are running to succeed mohamed to do it has been in power for 10 years now but address takes

a look now at what's at stake. right near me central market business has been in decline traders here say this is a trend they've noticed for more than a year. a boy can a man who fixes or broken watches believes a country scribbles on the increasing attacks carried out by armed groups. i get up to the biggest problem the security without it we are just wasting time poverty can only get worse creating other social and economic problems. boko haram attacks in new just sullivan border region have killed thousands and displaced about 250000 people since train to 15. and then the west attacks by armed groups affiliated to al qaida and i still have disrupted economic and social life. is angered by how foreign powers have taken over control of machinery

sources he wants the new government to take charge. we have uranium but no nuclear plant this is be known going for more than 60 years with a nuclear plant a problem with electricity will be over that he says will support industries to produce and reduce unemployment. analysts however say for the government to tackle insecurity and poverty more emphasis must be placed on education even if many has been done but. in. primary education and even high level in this country. too. so far complaining us past and peacefully but all travel robberies have revived. civil society organizations say having 30 presidential candidates on the ballot paper could become fusing for many voters now also say

they want it by the number of races a tight and hate speech that characterized the presidential campaigns this year was the government media regulator is struggling to keep the negative messages off the airwaves was most of them and we have stopped them from overheating the polytonal while address their concerns will also offer counseling and advice for the 2020 elections hoping to make history if conducted successfully it will be the 1st time a democratically elected president will be handing over to another board to say more important than that the want to see improvement in their social conditions committee greece. and the i me. ok time whether his effort. well we've been looking at a way christmas for eastern parts of the u.s. is a long line of cloud and rain bring you some very stormy weather along the eastern

seaboard but mild weather with temperatures getting up into the mid teens that sit out to change because as we go into west saturday temperatures will struggle to get above freezing so the flooding rains remember we had that record snow last week that turned into something of a very active thaw with the with the flooding for many areas we're looking ice coming back in behind it at least it will be dry areas snow they're piling across central parts of canada spilling across the rockies them even further research as we go through sunday notice for the eastern side of the u.s. eastern parts of canada is going to be cold in chris blue skies sparkling sunshine coming in here i was told the west is a different story grayer skies here with some clouds and rain just tumbling in across the pacific coast for many a while into the caribbean we got that band of cloud clearing away from the eastern side of the u.s. making its way across cuba the tail end of that just running across cuba into hispaniola western side of the caribbean sea and some bits and pieces of cloud and

rain over the next couple of days clear skies come back in behind it does cool down about over the top temperature 21. still to come here on the news for you the trade deal brings new immigration regulations in the u.k. and the e.u. google assess about could affect millions of people. and a christmas far from loved ones pandemic restrictions make life even harder for foreign domestic workers in hong kong. also ahead look for james is in for a battles to steal the show on christmas details coming up in sports. if you look at the history of morphine if you look at the history of our own if you look at it you can these things do not enter the world as evil underworld drugs they enter the world as medicine. a new 3 part documentary series looks at

the history and geopolitics of drug trafficking and its impact on the world today drug trafficking politics and power coming soon on al-jazeera. it is scarcity has become a major global issue the demand is growing. and the supply is going straight down turning an essential natural resource into a commodity trained into the profit just because it is life doesn't mean it cannot be privatised what about the guy that can afford it tell me it's water. now to syria examines the social financial and environmental impact of to privatizing loads of water on al-jazeera.

welcome back you're watching the news our live from doha your top stories so far today 2 as amusing to discuss the new trade deal with ok they are expected to endorse it ahead of ratification the 2 sides have finally agreed a 0 tariff deal after months of tense negotiations. south korea has recorded its biggest daily increase in corona virus infections since the start of the pandemic and it reported more than 1200 new cases as it rolled out its toughest ever restrictions. on the central african republic and has an spinal day of campaigning with violence preventing most candidates from taking part in the process meanwhile the opposition is demanding the entire election be postponed. ok let's go back to our top story breaks it is the deal well the deal also means

that as of january the 1st emigrating to the u.k. will be much harder for e.u. citizens gone is their automatic right to work and live in britain instead they'll have to meet the same requirements as everyone else it is a point space. system similar to the way australian immigration operates basically applicants need to reach a certain total to be allowed into the country full time those points are awarded for things like how old you are what job you do and whether you can speak english but special points bonuses are being given to key workers in crucial jobs for example in health care of course the n.h.s. having such a tough time fighting back against 19 joining us now from london is dalton porter's he's senior fellow of the economic and social research councils u.k. in a changing europe initiative he's based at king's college london jonathan good to talk to you again we're kind of short handing this saying it's a bit like australia now how like australia is it. i'm not very is the short answer australia has quite a different labor market and

a different history of immigration of course australia is an immigration country almost by definition the key 3 lead points or in some ways not the most important thing about is it there are 2 big things about the system but 1st is that you said unlike the previous system where we have freed movement if you're europeans and the differences there are no one here is this is that is the same for everybody who wants to come to the u.k. to work or study it the 2nd point is that the main the thing that really gets you were to come to the u.k. is that your have a job offer for a job that is paying more than about $25000.00 pounds a year and is above a certain skill level there are some points around that that change that at the edges that's really the key. thing that gets you air it's a job offer in had you all that that has a certain skill level in the paid more than $25000.00 pounds

a year and then as you said there are also some special essentially exemptions for health care workers it means they don't have to meet quite the same threshold there everybody else everyone we're talking to in the off to moscow of boris johnson's christmas present deal that he's he's going on about now is saying the same thing whether it's fishing quotas whether it's guessing lorries moving across an underneath the english channel there will be delays is that part of the thing because all those civil servants they're going to have to stop processing all the paperwork they're having to get to grips with it as well. that's right in that sense you can argue that the. pandemic is something of a let off for both the bureaucrats who have to process the applications and for employers because if we were in the middle of a pandemic you would expect considerable he'd go that way. confusion as

we move from the current system to the news if it is as you say a huge change for british everybody all of it but of course if that is are the anybody is immigrating the u.k. could go just at the moment because the economy is still very much but only it's back because because a pandemic so in that sense we have at least i think a few months until we start over operate from that we have a few months to get this improperly up and running ok we'll have to wait and see jonathan good to talk to you thank you very much don supporters there joining us from london thank you millions of americans will have to wait until after christmas for any government relief as the political deadlock there continues over a $900000000000.19 stimulus package president trump surprised both democrats and republicans when he sent the bill back to congress for amendments this week he said the $600.00 direct payments were too small and he calls for $2000.00 per person

democrats support the increase but republicans are blocking it. iran stands among the worst affected countries in the middle east by the coronavirus pandemic with more than 1000000 recorded cases and over 54000 deaths iranian health officials say international sanctions prevent essential medical aid from reaching those in need also jabari reports now from tehran. a makeshift factory making masks insall help a village in south to her on a group of dentists made unemployed by the pandemic decided to use their own money and buy these machines they got a permit from the health ministry and the local council provided the space free of charge they now employ 20 women from this area who make about 120 dollars each month. for manaus new can as a single mother it's a job that would not have existed without the pandemic or u.s.

led international sanctions yet they got a fairly good job of it you have to start i'm very satisfied with my work even if corona ends i'd like to continue my job the work environment to sprain lee and i like to work with this charity group these women now produce 10000 masks daily working 6 days a week their soul to medical facilities and hospitals across the city in the heart of the modern would we have experience in every crisis when ordinary people assist the government would be result sooner faster and in a better way either in a war than earthquakes floods and now in corona said the guy citee is an afghan national and a single mother of 5 this job is her only source of income more than most and. on the way i think working here for 8 months and i'm very satisfied with my work my husband lives with his other wife and afghanistan and i support

a family of 6 the doctors and the women here all say their work will continue even after the pandemic is over the main message from officials here during the pandemic has been one of self-reliance since iran can no longer rely on the international community to meet its medical needs and this small factories is one example of how necessity has morsi the message ingenuity to meet demands and for women. it's been a life saving source of income. the president says iran is in an economic war since the united states withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018 and imposed a series of crippling sanctions on the country's oil and banking sector. during the early days of the pandemic iranian officials try to buy protective equipment including masks from other countries but due to international sanctions on iran's banking sector. paying for them has been difficult while iran has had the highest

number of fatalities in the middle east during the pandemic this factory is one of the few positive things to emerge during hard times and for these women it's been a lifeline that could continue for years dosage of ari al-jazeera to her on. syrian state t.v. says the country's air defenses of shotgun several missiles launched by israeli warplanes in the northwest the santa news agency says the airstrikes were carried out in the mosque yaf area there were also reports of blasts in the coastal city of tal tourists. the wrongs top general has dismissed claims his country was behind a recent attack on the u.s. embassy in baghdad reports say force commander national conny visited iraq 3 days ago to clarify his country's position on the attacks the rocket attack on sunday injured an iraqi security officer and damaged because u.s. president crump blamed iran and for retaliation if any american was harmed in any future attack it. 2 places often associated with religious celebrations of

christmas time bethlehem in the occupied west bank and the vatican this year both of held muted services would begin with him in bethlehem with more on this year's with night mass at the church of the nativity. it didn't look a lot like christmas this year in bethlehem celebrations were restricted to the beer minimum as covered $1000.00 cases search. only if you were shippers were allowed to attend the midnight mass in the church of the nativity the pandemic we did with its burden of suffering and this. asks us to imagine a different world. made up of new so we don't retain and for 1100 haitian sheeps we're processing the sort of place by living. and they were in full for a few becomes

a benefit for everyone. the palestinian president and many foreign diplomats didn't join the christmas service. but the day started with a low key reception of the latin patriarch of jerusalem a procession to welcome him huge tracts trousers this year he gave his blessings from a distance. yanni bennett has seen and you can feel the town's sadness this is not how christmas looks it's also the 1st time that we didn't attend the christmas tree lighting ceremony. bells stein's 1st cases of covered $9000.00 which reported in bethlehem in march tourism dried up in a country that heavy depends on it the tourism ministry says the losses this year are estimated at one and a half $1000000000.00. and up a chill many makes a living out of tourism here in just community based tour guides and says 2019 was

a very good season now he expects his business to pick up in october of next year we had followed book maybe a year in advance it was the 1st time maybe we had the sons the birth of jesus you know. so it was a mess and we would expect an amazing year and things have changed but it's going to be back and we are. all christmas related festivities were called. instead treated corded christmas carols were broadcasted online the palestinian authority says it tried to limit gatherings as much as possible to combat the spread of the coronavirus this year there are fewer christmas lights and decorations than usual but some here tell us that the message of christmas is all about hope and they're praying that next year will be better. well. christmas eve mass casualty. as he explains.

there are no crowds in this socially distance christmas eve mass led by pope francis a celebration in st peter's basilica usually brings in more than 10000 faithful but with cold at night seen about 100 people stood in the pews of a smaller rear section of the church a reflection of christmas amid a pandemic would scale back or cancel celebrations across europe and the world. he got close to the start of the night here to come get. a challenge the pope said must be met with strength if the fact the king heard the vatican's mass was moved up to our 2nd plywood italy's tempi and curfew was the epicenter of the pandemic italy is once again struggling with code 19 it reported more than 500 coronavirus related deaths on thursday and another

550 the day before overall italy has recorded more than 2000000 cases. of it. it's strange it feels like a war scenario where something bad is about to happen but at the same time these a sense of hope that's what we all need to right now. this was st peter's square last year with people lined up to receive the pope's passing but now the world is different pope francis will not be making his usual public appearances in st peter's square throughout the holiday season but it's really strange to be here and to see that it's really nobody the run from the metropolitan and it was empty. the. vatican is taking measures to protect the 84 year old pope especially after more than a dozen infections were reported among the vatican swiss guards

a mass unlike any other in recent history marked by a pandemic with millions of faithful hoping next year will be different. than al-jazeera. france is not freedom cathedral has not christmas eve by hosting his 1st choral concert since it was nearly destroyed by fire. the paris landmark is gradually being rebuilt as far as battles coronavirus those involved in the service said it was an important moment full of emotion why hadn't been inside since the blaze. and in hong kong thousands of foreign workers a spending their christmas away from their families because of tough restrictions piercer o'clock. christmas decorations may be up but large celebrations in hong kong our whole public gatherings of more than 2 people have been banned and borders

remain closed. people like nathan cowan will spend the festive season on his or in his family in australia unable to fly in to join him because of strict travel restrictions were very top family and spend a lot of time together it's been really hard on myself on the family and on the boys as well foreign domestic workers in hong kong have been hit hard by the pen demick there almost 400000 here most are from the philippines and indonesia these women of the breadwinners for their families but they're unable to return home for a holiday this christmas very hard for a mother wanting to see your family your your child and. sorry. you know you want to you want to give her the best christmas but you know you can't really push her to understand everything this is all i think here is all. this

domestic worker who doesn't want to be identified gave birth last month she didn't plan her pregnancy and has struggled to pay the high living and medical costs she's been forced to rely on charities for help and their money and where it's been very sad and financially difficult for me and it's hard being alone without any support there has been full tilt bethink pretty much the whole year as has been the other shelters that we refer our mothers to in the community say health has been a big she began but has given a number of cash handouts to residents here in hong kong to help out during this pandemic in the foreign domestic workers have missed out that's the spot and in a minimum wage of around $600.00 a month for a covert 19 tests are available for market workers who've lost their jobs but the government project. to play for a pirate this year the 3 months out among the dumbest it was about as saw a problem that had many of the trying to stop them sad that i had to squeeze that

a small money so that answers that all this got off sort of in the employer as well as helping the family the pandemic has exposed the harsh realities of being a migrant worker in asia until travel restrictions it could be months before they can go home and be reunited with their families sarah clarke out a 0 hong kong. well as we've been reporting the pandemic has changed the way friends and families are gathering for the holidays this year it's bring a little lightness to a tough situation the u.s. aerospace defense unit known as nora has kept his tradition of following santa claus as he travels around the globe the so-called santa tracker has been updating children on the movements of father christmas for more than 60 years. still to come here on this program the sports news and sorry we look ahead to a boxing day cricket beast here with that and all the other international sports

news when we come back. to american people have finally spoken in america as i see it when america is off balance or because more dangerous the world is looking to live next year of sanderson. with the election behind us the republican party dump truck with your weekly take on u.s. politics and society now at the bottom of. this underwater treasure is it the risk of disappearing the coral bleaching caused by rising temperatures. the great. strain the eric eric egypt's. tourism industry. is we will instantly if we have another bleaching event of the. yes they just will not be the opportunity for the koreans to recover between those magic words side to supporting for stronger climate policy from the government to

reduce emissions without this the situation will only get worse. the. time for sports is our thanks a lot pizza while i'd like to start with basketball and it's all eyes on the n.b.a. on christmas day there are there are 5 fixtures on friday on what's a 70 thirtieth's games on december 25th now reigning champions l.a. lakers will take on the dallas mavericks a match up that will see the sport's biggest name the bron james face off against one of the leaks fastest rising stars 21 year old luca this will be just the 2nd game of the season for the lakers but the campaign having

a delayed start because of the pandemic. well we have a game i wanted to model and things around the change on the fly there are very good team an exceptional tali are great only arts that. so we look forward to the challenge of just going out there and being a point christmas is always the truth. the head of world athletics about cinco has told al jazeera that he's confident take care will stage the olympics next year in some form he also says he'll support any athlete who protests racism and believes the sport is in a healthier position today than in the past davis take has this report. i 2020 was supposed to see the world's best athletes perform on the biggest stage but as with so many things the coronavirus pandemic forced a change of plan and the tokyo olympics were delayed by a year. there's still no guarantee the games will go ahead with spiraling costs and

growing opposition in japan to holding the games amid a global health crisis but the president of world athletics about visited tokyo back in october and told out his era he was encouraged by what he saw i came away very very confident that they really have a cast on to their determination to deliver a great games and yes they may be slightly altered there may be in a different format. and who knows i mean we're still you know we're still dealing with the pandemic even with a vaccine on the horizon but i am pretty sure we will have a game. this year is seen sport become a platform for the fight against racial injustice on a scale never seen before athlete activists following the footsteps of tommie smith and john carlos he's black power salute scap should the world's attention 52 years ago at the 968 games in mexico city although olympic rules ban political demonstrations coach says he'll support any athlete who protest racism in tokyo and

i don't see. they say he many are or anti racism as being a political statement i think it should be the day for position of of any sport and it's certainly the default position in athletics. athletics inevitably struggle to fill the gap left by you same bolt when he retired back in 2017 but they may just have found another superstar in pole vaulter mando duplantis the 21 year old from sweden broke the world record tee times this year and also a cheap the highest outdoor vault of all time as well. we certainly do have a superstar in in london to plant his but what i'm really pleased about is i genuinely think alongside mondo we do have one of the most talented young generations of athletes coming through in all our disciplines and i think that's healthier for us or frankly than relying on just one athlete we're in much better

shape being many many more athletes at that level was was it didn't have the current generation of athletes have the potential to become a limb pick champions they just need an olympics to perform at hopefully 2021 will be that time with the organizers in tokyo determined to get them started in july david stokes al-jazeera. a feast of cricket is awaiting fans on boxing day 3 test matches get underway the pick of them arguably the 2nd test between australia and india at iconic melbourne cricket ground the indians go into the match trailing the series one nothing on crushed in the 1st test to make matters worse they'll be without the injured mohammed shami and captain valid colleagues on paternity leave $30000.00 fans of the mr to attend each day of the match and despite india's problems the aussies are not taking it lightly. india as it is a proud cricket country they're extremely talented test match so i would want to

dangerous pyro so the minute we take our foot off of the parents they were going or what we saw in england that i mean that if we do come unstuck pretty quickly so with huge focus there seems that few test you know susie's has been on winning after winning. also on boxing day in pakistan's test series begins against new zealand the tourists go into it in pretty bad shape captain but are as a batsman in moment have an all rounder shot up high on all out injured they face a strong black caps team looking to boost their chances of reaching the finals of the world test championship. and south africa getting ready to host the 1st of 2 test matches against sri lanka the proteas lost the last series they hosted against terrorists who go into the match on saturday having not played an international game since march. we're joining us now from sydney's andrew mental host of the cricket unfiltered podcast sandra we have 3 big games to look forward

to boxing day looks like it's shaping up quite nicely. you know would have faced of cricket for cricket fans that have been starved of action or ye 3 pretty exciting match ups south africa hosting sri lanka new zealand hosting pakistan but the big one is destroying the hosting in india coming off a huge defeat in the 1st game and i'm sure there came to turn it around and their fans right around the world will be watching the game with great interest and you know just a great occasion to have 3 test matches going on and you have to sort of take into account the sec or fox in the bank by being made by the administrators in the plays to get it under way so a significant achievement for cricket around the world and i assume you're straight and your match is what you're all nice and tested in being in sydney to this breeze that india team found a chance even but you can never write india off the chock full of stars they have a terrific line up but in the lats match they were bowled out for $36.00 which is

their record lowest score so they will be hurting and sometimes tames when they've put up such a bad performance can bounce back quite strongly but the strain tame must go it is every 5 minutes and and it's a really exciting match for the people of melbourne who suffered a very long lockdown over the winter have not had any sport to go to at all so this is the 1st event at the m.c.g. since march so really significant moment for the city in the spectators. now we understand that there's 30000 fans will be allowed to attend the m.c.g. how good has it been to see big crowds cheering india's to. it's been fantastic i was at the sydney cricket ground for a couple of games where they had almost full houses and it was it was quite surreal when you consider. how difficult it's been the siege to get anyone to any sporting events all of a sudden to have full houses has been quite special but this in particular to have

30000 people there although they normally get 80 or 90000 it's still great for the game and i think you know people around the world will be watching the story test matches with great interest and just very briefly can you tell me i mean new zealand can base their chances and of all test match test championship rather by beating pakistan but do fans really care about the championship. i don't think fans really care about it a lot yet but i think when we get that 1st final played in the middle of the i think there will all of a sudden take on great exceeding if you can see and fans will say you know what an achievement of these to win the championship so it's very early stages and i think we can certainly warm to it eventually. thanks a lot of for your contribution that always gets you hey thoughts are not fit for me from small spikes. thank you very much alice here on the other side of the break

i'll have another news for you a little late to last more news of course of you want to go on the website al jazeera dot com you can also talk to me on twitter i'm a pita and want to keep it here with al-jazeera the moment. one of africa's most troubled nations 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 to central african republic elections on al-jazeera. ok calm and make sure you're not hyping the

situation be part of the debate my main characters are women when no topic is off the table there was in the last allow child marriage to happen legally these are basically archaic walls their ads often legitimize and legalize pedophiles on air all online jumping to the quick section and meeting to be part of the discussion this stream on out is there. every year 50000000 tons of electronic waste is thrown away the majority is illegally dumped in developing countries right now electronic waste is the most traded as of this with retracing the tech through the criminal organizations making big profits and asking why the west is turning a blind eye. manmade on the waste trail on al-jazeera.

a lot of the stories that we cover all hardly complex so it's very important that we make it was on the stand that will as we care to as many people as possible no matter how much they know about a given crisis or issue all of the budgets of saudi arabia syria the smell of death is overpowering as al-jazeera correspondent stress will be strong to do. that is great joy because this is a deal. prime minister boris johnson shows off what he calls his presents to the people of bricks it agreements on trades with the european union. but the work isn't quite over yet see you diplomats will get a christmas day briefing before a vote is held to ratify the deal next week.