it's the in this was hard on the classical music industry. just seeing a. mystery surrounds a huge explosion in central nashville which police believe was an intentional act. hello i'm maryam namazie in london you're watching al-jazeera also coming up on the program millions of americans ignored place to stay at home for the holiday to stand soaring covert numbers. from iran to back them christmas celebrations in a scaled back around the world because of the coronavirus. ceasefire of fighting

flares again in central african republic like campaigning is running up ahead of sunday's election. and molly's main opposition is money she say dies of closing 2 months after he was released from the 6 month kidnapped. welcome to the program we begin in the united states where a motorhome has exploded in downtown nashville and what police believe was an intentional act the blast was felt several blocks away it has left buildings and roads closed 3 people have been taken to hospital none of them though are in a critical condition the explosion happened at 6 30 am local time when the streets were largely empty but he swore at the scene and they had called the bomb squad it was only then that the explosion happened. that i should reach body count it in art

be it had a recording send it to japan with did note that within 15 minutes of says the bride here decided to evacuate the buildings nearby so they did knocking on doors beginning now to be serving the emergency communications communicate with everyone to keep people safe. surely out today that we are the exploding. jabatan he is following developments from washington we had some information from police in that statement they made but not a great deal of not much detail. we do have that timeline. around 5 30 am local 730 g.m.t. they got a call on the 911 line saying gunshots have been reported in the area that's why police were in the area investigating this report we don't know whether gunshots

were actually fired or not but that's when they encountered this vehicle apparently that was broadcasting these warnings for residents to evacuated them subsequently as the bubble squad was on its way as you mentioned the vehicle did detonate but actually many people have managed to be evacuated from route from the surrounding buildings it's an area of shops and restaurants and is adjacent to an a.t.m. t. switching center and actually we just got a report from 18 t.v. that a large section of their cell service in the region is now down as a result of explosion there is damage to the building the houses that they're switching center so the explosion did occur but there were early apparently at least as far as we can tell right now in the mine the casualties 3 casualties with minor injuries however we just heard from the authorities saying that combing through the buildings now to make sure that no other there are no other injuries amidst the rubble but it is all very mysterious it was a major explosion the feel of the losses felt come almost as

a way we have lots of social media evidence of that but it but still completely straight as to who may be behind this and we saw the f.b.i. the local police pleading with citizens local citizens to give them any leads we know that they're looking at the c.c.t.v. footage as to when this this vehicle was was was parked in the area right as you say a significant explosion the police intentionally f.b.i. are involved any political reaction shout from from the governor or from the president. we know that the attorney general has says he's going to give the full resources of the department of justice to to this investigation the f.b.i. is now taking the lead and we know the president trump was briefed on the explosion he's currently at mar a lago in florida we understand he was briefed but with the deer jerry it was taken a lead in the in the investigation they were they had their representative they're speaking of the press conference just an hour ago we're expecting another press

conference there in the next hour thanks very much you have a tanzim washington. millions of americans have boarded flights for the christmas holidays despite warnings to avoid travel as virus deaths and infections continue to soar across the country more than a 1000000 people pass through u.s. airports on wednesday the busiest travel day since march holiday rush echoes a similar rise around the thanksgiving holiday which has been blamed for the current spike in infections and deaths more than 193000 new cases were detected on thursday and nearly $3000.00 deaths well it is a quiet christmas across many parts of europe as countries struggle to contain a wind to infections and deaths lockdowns and restrictions have been reimposed across the continent this affects hundreds of millions of people dominic a reports now from berlin. christmas in rome during code where goodwill to

others means socially distance events providing presence of a port and homeless as welcome as these gifts may seem what many people want this winter is the coded vaccine and now the 1st consignment of it have arrived in rome ready for distribution on sunday to people who the pope says should be 1st on the list. i pray for all those in charge of nations companies international organizations to promote cooperation and not competition and look for a solution for everybody vaccines for everybody especially for the most vulnerable and needy ones in every region of the planet as in many other e.u. countries the vaccine will also start being distributed in germany on sunday it's a development many hope will transform the situation. in the long. end of this tunnel we see the long awaited light at the end of the tunnel become brighter we

will come closer to the exit from this crisis step by step how long the road will be depends on us if we remain reasonable and patient then we will gradually be able to do many things again that we had to do without for a long time. the strategy many european governments are adopting is to file a return to hard lock downs and the start of mass vaccination so their hope is to reduce the numbers of new infections and eventually lower mortality rates that has been claiming the lives of thousands of people every day for some time dominic cain al-jazeera well in. another 100 british military personnel have been deployed to help care the thousands of truck drivers waiting to cross into france more than 1000 troops are now involved in the operation of the port of testing drivers for coronavirus and distributing water and food travel restrictions imposed by france last sunday caused massive disruption but drivers are now allowed to cross if they

test negative thousands of holy as are spending christmas day in their vehicles this despite efforts to clear the backlog. now at least 15 people have died in recent weeks in one of the main border crossings between south africa and zimbabwe because of the long queues there again because of coronavirus screenings this is according to local media the bridge crossing is busy of the usual because of the festive season the united nations estimates that south africa has one and a half 1000000 zimbabwean migrants officials say they have suspended testing for drivers sleeping in south africa to clear the backlog even though the country is experiencing a surge in patience. well in south korea officials are considering even stricter measures to control the virus as the day infection count hits another high countries disease control and prevention age agency recorded more than 1200 new cases on friday daily numbers have been hovering a record levels for the past few weeks the government says it will impose

a special quarantine period until january 3rd citizens have been ordered to cancel all meetings and travel plans meanwhile churches in south korea have been holding that christmas celebrations virtually earlier this year a church congregation in the city of die girl was identified as the source of most of the country's infections its members were accused of undermining efforts to contain the virus. well with coronavirus cases on the rise christmas celebrations have been scaled back in the occupied west bank town of bethlehem small number of wash opposed were allowed to attend the annual midnight mass at the church of the nativity though as it ever reports. it didn't look a lot like christmas this year in bethlehem celebrations were restricted to the bare 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 with the with its burden of suffering and then. asks us to imagine a different more. made up of new so he dug a team and for 3100 nations sheeps were persisting the sort of place by giving. and they were in full for a few becomes a benefit for everyone. palestinian president and many foreign diplomats did enjoying the christmas service. the day started with a low key reception of the latin patriarch of jerusalem a procession to welcome him usually attracts thousands this year he gave his blessings from a distance. yanni you can feel the town sadness this is not what christmas looks like it's also the 1st time we didn't attend the christmas tree lighting ceremony. bells stein's 1st cases of covered 1000 we have reported in

bethlehem in march. dried up in a country that heavily depends on it. the tourism ministry says the losses this year are estimated at one and a half $1000000000.00. but 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. almost all christmas related festivities were called off instead treated corded christmas carols were broadcast on line 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 in. the occupied west bank. a ceasefire between rebels and the government in the central african republic as. collapsed just a day after it was announced as fighting in the town of baquba which is home to one of the country's largest gold mines a rebel force called the coalition of patriots for change says the government rejected the peace deal its fight is a battling the army and u.n. peacekeepers and opposition politicians are trying to get sunday's national election dispose president fast in our change today is running for a 2nd term his opponents of the constitutional court to delay the poll saying the violence has cattell campaigning and scared many votes says. there is katherine

sawyer spoke to us earlier about the president's final campaign rally in the capital bangui. there's a lot of. people. who are saying that they are ready to point a lot of the out that they cannot change rubble i think that the reason why they don't have the fire because the president and the prime minister has not been listening are that that that government should have been at mocking b.p. he put this on and already here in the white house about 500. every hour where the fighting is going on at all one of the. mining areas in the people are very. many parts of the country. here in bonn here while i have the wait for that election on monday. it was al jazeera live from london still ahead i have a small present anyway maybe looking for something to read. that is boris johnson's

breck's a deal with the e.u. going to satisfy his neighbors or his own party. and electric dreams become a reality for china's plug in car makers who are keeping them cheap. hello there and season's greetings has officially been a white christmas for parts of england with a little dusting of snow into these writing if your in a northern england just about here winds coming in from all of them all the direction so we have seen one or 2 wintry florist nothing much to speak of the heavier snow at the further south down around the else and further east it was that

western side of russia let's look back up towards the northwest where we have these tightly packed tight. we have storm balla gathering and that's going to bring some very wet sand windy weather much milder weather in across the u.k. as we go on 3 saturday bright blustery conditions winds in excess of 150 kilometers per hour on the gusts so some nasty conditions the possibility of flooding here as well the wintry mix that we have around the outs with slightest way down towards the developer it helps joining up about wetter weather over towards the black sea and snow into that western side of russia more blustery conditions wet weather into the southeast of europe as you go on through sunday we'll look up towards the northwest all for weather very heavy rain with the possibility of some flooding coming down across central parts of france at that stage snow on the leading edge of that to the south of that it is dry for much of spy but pretty cold in madrid.

every year 50000000 tons of electronic waste is thrown away the majority is a leak in the downed in developing countries right now electronic waste is the most traded hazardous way of retracing the tax through the criminal organizations making big profits and asking why the west is turning a blind. man made on the waste trail on al-jazeera. the or her. welcome back to watching algis there i'm mary on the mozzie a quick look at the main stories

a motorhome has exploded in downtown nashville shaking the u.s. city in what police say was an intentional act 3 people have been taken to hospital none of them though in a critical condition. of ours pandemic has led to music christmas celebrations around the world pope francis urged access to vaccines for all only a small number of washable as were allowed to attend midnight mass in bethlehem. and a cease fire between rebels and the government in central african republic is collapse the day after it was announced and a day before the country's election coalition of patriots for change says the government rejected the truce. and now aid workers are saying the death toll from an attack in western ethiopia is more than doubled wednesday's pre-dawn attack by unidentified gunman took place in the. region where several ethnic groups live side by side red cross now says more than 222 people were killed 40000 people have

fled the area ethiopia's prime minister has called the attack a massacre and sent soldiers to the area on thursday troops reportedly killed 42 armed men suspected of being behind the attack now tamale the main opposition leader somalia sissay has died 2 months after he was released from a long kidnapping ordeal 71 year old veteran politician died while receiving treatment for code 19 in france mourners gathered outside his home in mali's capital bamako and leading politicians have been paying tribute he was a former finance minister and 3 time runner up for the presidency in a 3 decade political career it was kidnapped in march fine group in the north and only released in october. simulated division. had become the torch that molly and wanted to hold in their hands so that it illuminates the path to follow to regain peace unity mali sovereignty and national how many.

are some demand interest us. a feeling of sadness a great. for us it means taking our guide our leader the founder of our party he was the one in whom everyone in the you are the recognized himself he has just left us orphans. of the most unusual i don't have enough words i don't even know where to start all i can say may his soul rest in peace other than that i can say nothing may his soul rest in peace. but it was a. ambassadors from the your opinions 27 member states have met in brussels to discuss the trade deal struck with the u.k. on thursday if they agree with the terms it will end years of uncertainty just days

before the u.k. leaves european trade rules on the 31st of december there is need of back reports on this now from london i have a small present for anyone who may be looking for something to read in that sleepy post christmas lunch moment and here it is 2000 pages of detail the british government's christmas gift to the nation because this is a deal a deal to give certainty to business travelers and all investors in our country from the 1st of january a deal with our friends and partners in the. in brussels e.u. ambassadors met for a christmas day briefing with the blocks bricks at negotiator michel barnier the $27.00 european union states are expected to formally back the trade deal within days the european parliament which normally votes on a tax before it becomes law will vote on the deal retrospectively in january the choreography is different for british m.p.'s who will cast their vote on the deal

in parliament on the 30th of december where it's expected to pass with the the government controls a sizable majority of the opposition labor party says it will reluctantly back it a day later midnight december 31st the u.k. will unplug its economy from the world's largest trading bloc in a deal that will either drive or diminish the country for generations to come it's been a year of painful uncertainty for everyone the british economy is shuttered thousands of businesses a teetering on the edge of ruin a while the country has been grappling with the impact of covert 19 it's also been living under long shadow cast by brick sit and worries that the british economy might never be the same again but now that there is a deal here in london the voted almost exclusively to remain in the european union there's a sense of quiet and reluctant acceptance. this time of great upheaval

a familiar face with the traditional christmas message even on the darkest nights a queen elizabeth is the hope of a new dawn. but even with this deal uncertainty remains there are fears unemployment will rise to firms relocate to the e.u. few transport companies have access to britain's new border crossing software and unanswered questions on how to avoid physical border checks between northern ireland part of the u.k. and ireland and e.u. member. as more details emerge it's clear the british governments also go further than expected in granting the e.u. access to british fishing grounds the e.u. and u.k. are now decipher ing the trade deal for general consumption both eager to show they've gained the most ground at the 11th hour the barca al-jazeera london. russian police are questioning an activist and supporter of the kremlin critic alexina valley following

a raid on her home in the capital moscow newbie of some bowl was 1st detained on monday she was picked up outside the house of an alleged security agent in a valley says took part in a bush plot to boys in him in august the anticorruption lawyer says she wanted to speak to the agent often avali tricked him into admitting the poisoning attempt in a phone call now thousands of migrants are spending christmas in shelters at mexico's northern border they've been waiting for months now for their asylum cases to be processed away that stim on that even more patients because of the coronavirus pandemic and the disruption and changes it's caused but there is hope though that a new president and you administration could bring some sort of change in the new year and perhaps some relief to the situation there is john heilemann reports now from mexico. here's the line separating the u.s. from mexico it's been a slow train coming for those who want to cross it legally and the pandemic has

made things worse with u.s. immigration courts closed for months. there are thousands of migrants stuck in mexico to meet them open to process their asylum requests the u.s. has put them in a plan called m.p.p. which means they have to weigh in mexico where there are silent process plays out even though they're from other countries. shit i'll go flip brazil he says because of the threat of violence erupt in border city what is 10 months ago this still waiting for his 1st court date. a major thematic it was for march 14th of this year but that was changed because of the been demick to the center 15 now is for the 10th i'm a of next year. you're just out though his son and his wife is spending christmas in a shelter many of the 10s of thousands of people that been ordered to wait in mexico in the n.p.p. program will be doing the same. some migration lawyers are worried that they could

miss the one the deadline to start the asylum process all together news stories hopes that's not the case but she's concerned about the well being of those she's trying to help those of us go mall or knesset bus you know it's a complicated situation for the hay from basic needs it's really unsaid saying what's going to happen to them and that generics and sightsee just being here waiting not knowing how to follow up with the proceeds. of the. church is one of many along the border which have been turned into shelters he seem hope among those now under his care that a new u.s. administration could help them. but i don't know who is happier about biden's victory the americans or those stuck here in the asylum process because it means for them an end to their stay in mexico so that they can follow their dreams. president elect joe biden had promised to end the m.p.p. program on his 1st day in office now his incoming administration has signaled it will take more time and there are questions about what will then happen to those

spending this christmas in shelters john home and how does it or. assamese from japan the former prime minister shinzo arbaaz apologized for possible illegal expenses linked to dinner parties hosted by his office when he was leader scandal surrounds several annual events for supporters during tokyo's famed cherry blossom season dinner as an upscale tokio hotel was subsidies are subsidized by his political party but not properly reported japan has strict political funding laws meaning politicians can't provide constituents with anything construed as a gift one of our base secretaries has been fined over the scandal. for a year even though the accounting was done without my knowledge i'm keenly aware of my moral obligation that's what i would like to deeply and sincerely apologize to the people or whatever. it is just know you so i was

devoted to my duties as prime minister so regarding the operation and setting of the dinner party i was not involved at all for many years there were no mistakes in my office in the operation or in the elections so i left it to the person in charge to china's fast growing electric vehicle market is the largest in the world after a slump earlier this year sale of electric cars is picking up speed again nationwide and as katrina a year reports are unusual while foreign brands dominate the luxury market chinese comic as are outselling them with the more affordable models. for one shiling owning a car once seemed impossible she couldn't afford one but the release of this mini electric model changed that it cost around $5000.01 5th the price of the average car here the 25 year old graduate says she didn't hesitate to buy one. the cost is

really low and the whole country is being encouraged to protect the environment electric so i decided to buy it unlike most electric vehicles this car can be plugged into a normal $220.00 volt outlet it's made by local car make a ruling that has overtaken tesla as the top selling electric vehicle in china. the brand is a joint venture with general motors to target younger consumers and less affluent drivers. huge untapped market in china we are redefining the concept of new energy cars they're no longer just expensive and. in the southern city of your electric vehicles are common sight china's leaders say cities like this are leading the way beijing wants electric vehicles to make up 20 percent of all cars in china by 202550 percent by $23530000.00

of these many electric cars are produced every month now the manufacturer is focusing on chinese consumers what they've said in the markets of other developing countries in southeast asia. most of the world's electric vehicles are made in china preferential government policies have helped to stoke demand here but the overseas market holds huge potential for chinese comic as. it's very possible that chinese electric cars will become mainstream in a global market we have very strong supply chain and the cost is very low chinese electric cars are hard option for consumers as we entered electric era the high end luxury market however remains dominated by western brands audi and b.m.w. have expanded their new energy efficient offerings while tesla is ramping up production capacity it aims to produce more than half a 1000000 cars in shanghai next year thousands of which will be exported to europe

for now cheaper electric vehicles a leading the way in china. knows how many electric car isn't for everyone but with a short daily commute she says it's more than enough. al-jazeera china. top stories and plenty of analysis that takes you behind the headlines as well. our main story this hour police in the united in the u.s. city of nashville say an explosion was a an intentional act 3 people have been taken to hospital none of them though in a critical condition a blast in a park to motor home was felt several blocks away and several blocks in the tennessee's city now remain closed the explosion happened at 630 local time on christmas day meaning nearby streets were largely.