world. everyone. a holiday travel frenzy over 1000000 americans take flights despite warnings of a christmas linked surgeon coronavirus cases. hello again pete over here in the how you are watching al-jazeera also coming up. a short lived ceasefire violence flares again in central african republic as rebels attack a gold mine in the north. glad tidings of great joy because this is a deal. prime minister boris johnson shows off what he calls his president to the

people of bricks that agreement on trade with the european union. uncovered 19 means a more somber celebration of christmas around the world this you. begin with the coronavirus pandemic where despite widespread vaccine rollouts the world continues to see a dangerous rise in infections more than half a 1000000 cases are being recorded every day u.s. health experts of issued several warnings to americans to stay home for the holidays but they appear to have been ignored more than a 1000000 people boarded flight some christmas eve the country's busiest travel days since march but access to the united states will soon be more difficult with travelers from the u.k. required to show a negative covert test 1st now that's in response to. if we knew more infectious

strain that's been discovered there parts of the u.k. are reentering the highest level of restrictions in response to the rapid rise in cases that's largely blamed on that new strain and across the rest of europe things are also looking grim 25000000 cases of the virus have now been recorded across the european union we have correspondents in the united states and in europe monitoring the situation dominic kane's in berlin 1st to washington and our reporter there she had pretenses so she had just talking about christmas travel this is an astonishing number of people who feel the need to get home. right we should be clear the overall numbers are around 60 percent from this time last year so a lot of people are heeding the warnings but it does seem at the moment a very very similar situation to that we saw during the thanksgiving holiday at the end of november where there were warnings not to travel millions did travel and

then in the ensuing weeks we saw the peaks of curvier that we are currently experiencing in the united states as you say a 1000000 travelers a day on average are traveling through the nation's airports 84000084 and a half 1000000 passengers and travelers are expected during the christmas and new year holidays the bulk of which will be traveling by car it's thought or it's estimated which at least means that the risk of transmission and contracting covert is reduced in airports and on airplanes however the main fear is where are all these travelers going. the fear is that they are traveling to visit their families extended families multiple households will celebrate the holidays together indoors multigenerational gatherings and we know this these other main vectors for curva transmission in you know and then the as a great deal of fear now that as joe biden said just as just this week actually the

darkest days may still be ahead even as vaccines are rolling out for transmission and hospitalization. thank you very much she has in washington live now my colleague dominic ain't so dumb the numbers going beyond the 25000000 mark across all the european union countries despite stringent measures being in place for 68 weeks now. stringent measures in place right across the continent but being applied differently in different countries are christmas breaks as it were from hard lock down in different parts of this continent so for example in germany there has been as it were a window of opportunity for people to travel but can only then as it were mengal with members of one other household and only for a few days so for example by the end of the 26 tomorrow then everybody has to as it

will be back in place for the hard lockdown which will once again as it were metaphorically have teeth we know also that the austrian government will be bringing austria back into heart lock down again on the 26th with the aim to take that lock down far into january and then in other parts of europe to the same sort of principle applies about lockdown which was loose and then being ratcheted back up into a very hard lockdown the reason for that as you were saying 25000000 cases infections have been reported now cumulatively since the start of the pandemic but a careful analysis analysis of when those numbers have happened shows that the end is nowhere near in sight as regards this pandemic we know for example that in the course of the past 48 hours of reported figures around a quarter of a 1000000 baps a little bit less than a quarter of a 1000000 have been reported each day well that gives you a sense of perspective and then the number of deaths that have been happening on a daily rate over the course of the past few days around 5000 each day and one real

worry certainly here in berlin and that can also then one can conjecture from that that is a worry for the rest of germany is the number of beds intensive care unit beds which are being occupied by covert patients here in berlin right now it's over 30 percent and that means that the number of spare intensive care unit beds not just for covert patients but for all patients no matter what. the emergency is now much lower than at any other stage during the pandemic and that explains the concern here in berlin and that at a wider level across germany and the hope that the vaccination program which is due to start on the 27th can then really ratchet up and starting clued in big chunks of society to try to get closer to some of the herd immunity which had been referred to earlier in the pandemic in other parts of the europe of the european continent dominick thank you very much dominic in there in berlin. well served korea has

recorded its biggest daily increase in corona virus infections since the beginning of the pandemic it reported 1241 new cases including a larger break at a prison in seoul the country rolled out its toughest ever restrictions this week with popular tourist venues closed until early next month testing and contact tracing are also being ramped up. churches in south korea have been holding their christmas celebrations virtually earlier this year a congregation in the city of daegu was identified as the source of most of the country's original infections its members were accused of undermining efforts to contain the virus brite has more now from so. many people this christmas morning woke up to the depressing news that once again the country has set this record of well over 1200 new rig cases being recorded in a single day the news actually was broken by the country's prime minister at a meeting of the coronavirus task force here

a lot of the this jump is being attributed to an outbreak at a prison here in seoul some 288 cases recorded mostly inmates but also some stuff there that's in addition to a couple of 100 other cases that had already been recorded there so around 500 cases at this one facility which is cause some alarm here we're seeing some of the prisoners inmates being moved to other facilities tightening up the testing regime et cetera but this comes as restrictions have been ramped up across south korea to try to contain this 3rd wave we're seeing more than a 1000 around a 1000 cases per day for the past week or so just before this jump we're seeing ski resorts closed tourism destinations are being shut all as ways of trying to prevent people gathering the numbers of people who are allowed to gather publicly being limited to just 4 people at the government has said that it wants to avoid

a complete shutdown of the economy it knows the socio economic impact that that would cause and the highest level where that might take place is what they call level 3 where we're currently at 2.5 just one level below that so far the government has managed to keep the economy going to at the beginning of this pandemic but it is said that if it has to raise it to that highest level then so be it would have to do that. every fighting is taking place in the central african republic following the collapse of a cease fire between a coalition of rebels and government forces it's happening in the town of baquba northeast of the capital fighters from the coalition of patriots for change or exchanging fire with the army as well as a united nations peacekeeping mission the fighting broke out before presidential candidates were shantel to hold the final election rallies the vote is due to be held on sunday 6 opposition candidates are demanding it be for spode and the u.n. says it is gravely concerned us and has approved the deployment of more

peacekeepers. for me used 27 member states a meeting in brussels to discuss the new u.k. trade agreement chief negotiator michel barnier and the blocks leaders are asking member states to abide by the deals terms provisionally as britain leaves the trading rules on december 31st the temporary measures aimed to avoid border disruption until the e.u. parliament can formally ratify the deal britain's parliament the house of commons will vote on the agreement one day before the deadline while the trading deal has ended years of uncertainty and will define the u.k.'s relationship with the e.u. for decades to come here's rory chalons this means that the u.k. has voted to leave the european union. finally rex it is 4 and a half years after the referendum almost at the end of the 11 month period. the

u.k. and the e.u. argued compromised and cajoled but they've done what many feared they couldn't and agreed to a 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 the u.k. has finally done what the 2016 referendum result demanded if distance itself from europe glory talents how does iraq. still to come here on al-jazeera disturbing research shows the pandemic has increased levels of depression and anxiety in children worldwide. and a christmas far from loved ones pandemic restrictions make life even harder for foreign domestic workers in hong kong.

however the weather sloshy set fire across china across the korean peninsula we have still got some more snow with the full cost for japan that when that snow will travel its way across northern parts of honshu pushing into her qaida as we go i wanted to send stay this what's the weather that we have into the east aside china that slip out into the east china sea south korea seeing some wet weather and it will turn increasingly wet across accuses the southern parts of japan seeing some rather weather as we move on through the weekend clear skies to come back and behind so last you dry and fine here dry too across a good parts of south asia certainly a good part of in the ever got some wetter weather some wintry weather into the fall north of pakistan and will eventually push its way across the fall north of india much of india that was

a set is dry and find some showers they're making their way towards flanker and as sas take i mean on into sunday with us shower ready to gather and they will pack pop some big downpours we are likely to see some flooding coming in across lanka as we go on through sunday we push on monday still a few showers coming in here but no quite as intense and notice by that stage some of that wetter weather pushing into the fossil feast of india so touching rather wet foot tumble not that. frank assessments on the ground in the canaries what is the situation there's only one doctor and one nurse for $2200.00 people and in-depth analysis of the day's global headlines. inside story on al jazeera teaching you can watch al-jazeera english streaming live on the channel. plus thousands of our programs

the winning documentaries and dead news reports. subscribe you choose. al-jazeera english. welcome back you're watching else's ear i'm peter top we go top stories nations around the world are marking christmas on the coronavirus long u.s. health experts are warning people to stay home for the holiday period some traction surge fans of the u.k. are reentering the highest level of restrictions. korea has recorded its biggest daily increase in virus infections since the start of the pandemic reported more than 1200 new cases as it rolled out his toughest ever restrictions. heavy fighting

is taking place in central african republic following the collapse of a cease fire which the rebels and government forces broke out before presidential candidates which was polled final rallies ahead of the shuttle vote on sunday. ok let's take a closer look now at the fragile political landscape in ca a now the president forced in aashayein to adela came to power in 2016 and to pursue peace and unity but he struggled to contain the armrest his rival francois was easy was forced from power more than 6 years ago by the mostly muslim rebels known as the celica prompting reprisals from christian groups new investigators say quote large scale killings of civilians were carried out on both sides subsequent violence worsen the ongoing civil war leading to thousands of un peacekeepers being deployed there 2014 a peace accord signed in february 29th between the government and 14 armed groups has reduced the violence but armed factions formed

a coalition against the government and its fear the country could see a return to a wider conflict that's already forced 4 and a half 1000000 people to leave their homes. while candidates wrap up campaigning and others demand a perspire ordinary people across in their fingers for peace al-jazeera has met one man whose life has been marked by election violence. my name is my nickname is homeric preval. i am a trader and every year we sell christmas decorations don't move. here we want a peaceful christmas among other things. going to today's in 2013 the situation here was really bad and i was a victim had to run to congo as a refugee when twitter was elected and there was peace then i came back home.

but i didn't want to do when it will be we don't want conflict to happen again because we've lost everything and we don't want to risk any more again we want a lasting peace in central african republic. in the beginning we central african citizens want to believe in peace we hope that this year brings lasting happiness we want the conflict to end we've had enough of this war it disturbs us and stops our children from going to school a little to be of a good if we want unconditional peace that we can finally develop ourselves we see everyone here buying gifts for christmas and that's good for all of us that we just need peace but she's a good person but if we got the message i have for central africans is that we just need peace peace is very important in life. if you have peace you can do all in life you can go anywhere in the world but if there is no peace you can move or

develop. we just need peace that's all conflict and troubles do not interest us and you know we've seen what can happen we are tired. i intend to do my civic duty if there is very thing then i will vote but if there is trouble i will stay home and protect my family but if the situation is calm here then i'll go vote. japan's prime minister. is releasing 2600000000 dollars in funding to help medical facilities treating people who've contracted coronavirus the country's been breaking infection records on a daily basis now more than 3000 cases were confirmed on weapons day the medical alert system interview has been raised to the highest level following the unprecedented spike in infections almost 3000 people have died and more than 210000 have been infected across the country. multiple studies around the world have revealed the 19 pandemic has increased depression and anxiety in children the

social isolation disruption of daily life has also triggered children suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder o.c.d. potential dam reports now from miami beach i want to find a way to make your nighttime routine calmer the call from the mental health hospital halfway across the country was greatly anticipated but now the anguish is long distance less than a week before this florida family admitted their 12 year old son we'll call jackson to inpatient treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder or o.c.d. and an eating disorder he is the most amazing so we outgoing athletic smart friendly kind through the course of this quarantine he became on edge anxious i'm anxious and today i would describe him as a rat in an electrified cage studies have shown that the fear and stressors of the

covert 1000 pandemic have been triggering for children with o.c.d. and anxiety jackson tortured himself by spending his waking hours only standing or exercising insisting that he needed to lose weight that eerie aeration happened in a matter of months honestly i would rather die of corona by now because to go through this to watch your kid suffer like this is worse i would rather take the pain from him and not have to see him suffering like this the international o.c.d. foundation says 2 to 4 percent of all children will develop o.c.d. an estimated $3000000.00 children in the united states alone there is a genetic component to o.c.d. and anxiety jackson's father also has o.c.d. his struggle to find affordable treatment has been replicated with his son. due to a lack of specialized pediatric facilities and the fact that many won't accept health insurance the family waited 6 weeks to find an empty bed states away it

breaks my heart to see that you know that my son is struggling with this and that you know we just you know we're smart people educated resourceful and we just haven't up until this point been able to find him the right care that he needs today i'm going to talk to you about anxious there tashi daniels is a child therapist she says there has been an influx of desperate families across the globe seeking assistance through her online workshops and community forums although many countries don't have adequately trained clinicians who can treat o.c.d. she says there is a type of therapy parents can teach children that helps rewire their brains and stop the compulsive behavior it's never too late to give your child those skills to have it and approach your child's behavior in it and it can make a huge difference long term there's always hope jackson's family is clinging to

that hope the family's life has been turned upside down pretty much nothing has been the same the family doesn't know when they'll see jackson again cope with 1000 restrictions prevent visits they can only have faith that the treatment he's undergoing revives the son and brother they know that asha going to a. miami beach. now the vaccine made by and by own tech has also arrived at hospitals in chile now the doses just the 1st $10000.00 of $10000000.00 on order health workers in the capital santiago were 1st to be inoculated the government hopes to vaccinate 80 percent of chile's 19000000 people in the 1st half of 2021. millions of americans will have to wait until after christmas for any government relief as the political deadlock continues over a $900000000000.10 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 called for $2000.00 per person democrats support the increase but republicans are blocking it. mourners in the u.s. city of columbus in ohio holding a vigil for the killing of yet another unarmed african-american man at the hands of the police wanted. 47 year old andre motorists who shot several times on monday the police officer who shot him was called in for a minor incident the killings sponsor a fresh wave of anger and outrage against racial injustice and police brutality russian police to question activists and supporters of the kremlin critic following a raid on her home in moscow ubi off sobel was 1st detained on monday she was picked up outside the house of an alleged security agent who in of all nice as took part in a boxed plot to poison him in august anticorruption lawyer says she wanted to speak to the agent after novelli tricked him into admitting the poisoning attempt in

a phone call. mali's main opposition leader somalia sisi died on friday because of curve at 19 the 71 year old veteran politician was in france receiving treatment for the illness according to his family c c was kidnapped by a group and held for 6 months in northern mali in march while campaigning for elections a former finance minister and 3 time one or a presidential candidate sisi was a prominent figure in mali in politics for 30 years pope francis delivered his annual christmas mass at the vatican ahead of the roman catholic faith governments to work together to ensure the coronavirus vaccine is available to all nations he also made a plea for those most affected by the pandemic and iraqi if i think he questioned the before him help us to be generous supportive and helpful especially to those who are vulnerable sick or facing hardship due to the effects of the pandemic and women facing domestic violence during the months of lockdown in the face of

a challenge that knows no borders if we cannot direct walls all of us are in the same boat every other person is my brother or sister in everyone i see reflected the face of god christmas eve has been mogs in france is not for a damn coffee drill after it hosted its 1st choral concert since it was needed to strike by fire last year. the paris landmark is gradually being rebuilt as france battles coronavirus those involved in the service said it was an important moment full of emotion. inside since the blaze in april of 29000. thousands of foreign workers in hong kong are spending their christmas away from their families because of tough coburg 19 restriction says sarah clarke. christmas decorations may be up but large

celebrations in hong kong our hold public gatherings of more than 2 people have been banned and borders remain closed. people like nathan cowen 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 their 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 our shelter 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 so 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 from the foreign domestic workers have missed out that's the spot i think a minimum wage of a. and $600.00 a month free covert 19 tests are available for market workers who've lost their jobs but the government rejected a plea for a pay rise this year and the 3 months are staffed among the dumbest to walk out as

saw a problem that had many of the trying to stop them south that put out the squeeze that a small money so that answers that all this got offset of an employer as well as helping the family the pandemic has exposed the harsh realities of being a migrant worker in asia to travel restrictions it could be months before they can go home and be reunited with their families sarah clark out a 0 hong kong. recapping your top stories here on al-jazeera countries around the world are marking christmas and a coronavirus lockdowns u.s. health experts are warning people to stay at home for the christmas and new year holiday period as infections continue to surge she had pretends he has this update from washington d.c. . the main fear is where all these trouble is growing.