cloning and synthetic biology have scientists playing god. witness genesis 2.0 the hunt for the woolly mammoth. this is al jazeera. w watching the news live from doha coming up in the next 60 minutes a worsening crisis in central african republic violence escalating just a day out from elections. hopes for a turning point in the fight against 19 countries across the european union received the 1st vaccine ready to begin mass immunization.

questions remain over an explosion in the u.s. city of nashville the police say they may have found human remains at the blast site. also ahead holding on to their voice a new group of young iraqi writes is keeping the nation's rich heritage. and i'm. all time christmas day. the u.n. mission in central african republic has told al-jazeera conditions are stable enough to ensure a free and fair election as of sunday it follows the killing of the un peacekeepers and fighting in the north of the country on friday rebel forces are advancing towards the capital bangui after a ceasefire with the government broke the un secretary general and 20 has condemned

the killings and is demanding an investigation. denise brown is the deputy special representative of the secretary general of the un's peacekeeping mission she says the people are determined to go ahead with the vote despite the fear of violence. situation in bankia this morning where i'm talking to you from. distribution of the voter cards ongoing and people through this country who are registered are coming in large numbers to collect their cards the population is determined in this country to vote tomorrow and we are determined as you know i think they should this were an international community to ensure that the vote goes ahead. well the rebels accuse president for stun are changed of planning to rick sunday's elections the constitutional court is judy to hear an opposition request to perspire in the coming few hours catherine sawyer reports now from the capital

bangui. was president for stina darragh arrives for his final election rally in bongi in 4 force has been telling people to come out and forth on sunday without fear i recently formed a group called the patriot for change or c.p.c. has threatened to march to the city and launched attacks against government troops backed by un peacekeepers in some rural areas the c.p.c. which is a coalition of several armed groups has called off a ceasefire it had declared them wednesday. night they are trying to come to bangui new center africans must open your eyes help our armed forces un peacekeepers meaning those from rwanda and russia giving us a hand those under fighters come into the city. 16 presidential candidates have been cleared to run in the polls but johnson. son of the country's only sol to be

cleared emperor has withdrawn citing security concerns former president francois was disqualified by the constitutional court state officials and the u.n. accuse him of being behind the c.p.c. rebellion to disrupt the election and overthrew the government has backed and he said who's a marched as president would dare a strongest challenger. president is the founder of one of the strongest political parties with solid policies he himself is a very popular leader but he did not back my candidacy it's the party that endorsed me. most opposition candidates a while back. and one day election postponed presidential candidates are each promising to finally bring it back to the public revive the economy and provide may think that to be talking soon here in bone he was saying that the problem is

before. knows all about pain caused by conflict his leg was blown off by a hand grenade when the mostly muslim armed groups are over on bungie 2013 and over through. i think you. actually cannot understand what's happening to me and i'm scared of what's happening now they're only coming to kill i want to ask the government to help us to stop those who are coming. is now preparing to vote in an election clouded by fear and uncertainty he tells us who only go to the polling station if he feels absolutely safe a sentiment shared by many other. joins us live here on news from catherine when do we think we'll hear news one way or the other from the court

. well the 8 constitutional court judges will be well treated in the courthouse behind me in a short while during the people coming in for the ruling so they'll be thinking they'll sit in this courtroom in a little while to rule on that matter of 7 presidential opposition presidential candidate this petition saying that the election needs to be postponed because of the security situation and also saying that because one of the opposition candidates one of the presidential candidates. has withdrawn that in itself is grounds for a postponement so we'll be hearing for the judges in a couple of hours now but we are the judge is likely to rule in favor of the opposition we'll have to wait and see that but we have been hearing from government officials from the un all thing that the selection mass to go on we've

been talking to government u.n. officials who say that 70 percent of the country if they for people to go out and vote and the electoral process is going on smoothly but there is a lot of we're not just in areas where they active fighting here in body as well we've been talking to people who are saying that they will not go to the polling station until they're absolutely sure that they're going to be safe. catherine about these demands coming from the the pretty trees for change coalition. so when this quote lieschen was formed they were demanding among other things the formation of an all inclusive transitional government they have been talking about this peace deal these 2 peace accord a deal an agreement that was signed by food groups and the government back. in

february they say that they'll go to the agreements that were made in that peace meeting have not yet been implemented these agreements include posh sharing and also integration into the military so they say they want that dealt with but now they have called the leaders of this patriots a coalition for change had called for had declared a cease fire on wednesday was supposed to expire today but then they called off that the fire on friday saying that. the president and the prime minister is not listening to them that government troops are talking their positions they think when you know just to tell you how serious the security situation is yes the day when the president was addressing his final rally he appealed to the residents of bungay he say to them this people meaning the paycheck that coming that thing that they're coming do not let them mean help the security forces block their access so

like i said just showing how precarious the situation is ahead of the election tomorrow catherine you keep us across a little elements i'm sure we'll come back to you if there is any movement there at the courthouse thank you so much we'll talk to you soon. lots more still to come for you here on the news hour including. campaigning in presidential elections where 30 candidates are competing for the top job. coronavirus warnings ignored millions in the u.s. border aircraft we refer families over christmas. and india fans find the voice again the latest from the 2nd test in melbourne coming up in sports in about 40 minutes. more than $25000000.00 coronavirus cases businesses hits with another round of shut

downs and the threat of a new more infectious strain of coke at 19 that's the challenge facing the european union but it is hoped monday will mark a turning point right now shipments of the fires a biotech vaccine are arriving in countries across the e.u. it was given the go ahead earlier this week with an occupation is due to begin as early as sunday the rollout is starting slowly 10000 doses for each country with the old vulnerable well they're at the head of the queue but 300000000 doses have been secured in the maternal vaccine is also being considered to boost existing stocks until they can be administered though many countries are reimposing their strictest lockdowns to stop the spread the u.k. germany france greece and italy are among countries telling people to stay at home . paul brennan is covering developments in the u.k. he joins us from london we'll begin though with dominic kane in berlin the numbers

there pretty grim just like the rest of the e.u. take us through the rollout process for the vaccine that. so on sunday the 1st doses of the vaccination will be made available to people who are considered to be in the most greatest need now different states of germany are applying different classifications but broadly in principle anyone over the age of 80 will be amongst the 1st to receive the vaccine anyone who is in living in a care home or more crucially working in a care home dealing with such patients will be given top priority as will doctors and nurses physicians who are working on coronavirus wards in hospitals and clinics right around the country as the 1st thing to say now and so far is the city of berlin is concerned it's ever so slightly different because they have built mass vaccination centers here 6 of them in this city to deal with

a population of more than 3700000 people what they're doing immediately from tomorrow that is is going to the care and will be injecting the residents of the care homes of the workers in the camps that's the 1st order of priority we know that will be taking place and remember also the government here is talking about having tens of thousands of doses available per week in berlin alone and that's not to say for the rest of the country which clearly all the other states will be implementing their own procedures which are relatively similar to those in berlin but the ambition certainly is to have a weekly target rate of tens of thousands of doses of the magazine being made available by the turn of the. dominant thanks very much dominic kane our correspondent there in berlin and from berlin to london and paul brennan so paul christmas is a dim and distant memory now and people are getting to grips with the reality i mean you can't basically leave the u.k.

go anyplace you can't go to work you're sitting in your home. yeah it's been a very bewildering and frankly upsetting period for many millions of people here in the u.k. as a result of many factors but predominantly the fast changing situation here and the government's changing advice in the past 7 to 10 days areas that had previously been in lower restriction tears have been moved up into the maximums here for restrictions and that means no household mixing at all indoors 'd you can only meet one other person outdoors the restrictions were due to be lifted temporarily for a 5 day christmas period that was stopped just a couple days before christmas and it was taken down to just christmas day and within very very tight paralysis indeed and the devolved administrations of wales and scotland and northern ireland are operating their own systems as well here in

england where i'm sitting and another 6000000 people have now been added today to the tear for restrictions that's around 43 percent of the population now under to 4 that's around $24000000.00 people in total and essentially it's makes for a very very difficult christmas indeed because businesses are closed hospitality venues are closed and people are just having to hunker down and get on with it in very very difficult circumstances paul thanks very much paul brown there reporting live from london. last month ethiopia's military launched an offensive against the to agree and people's liberation front in the northern region of the great the prime minister ahmed called it a law enforcement operation but it spiraled into an internet ethnic conflict possibly killing thousands as one of several areas of tension in the country al jazeera melcombe web takes a look now at recent events and where ethiopia stands today.

where the hero paean government troops took control of the to grain regional capital of mackay last month prime minister abi ahmed said the law enforcement operation against the to grain people's liberation front. was over others said the conflict had only just begun. he said no civilians are being killed by government troops both sides have been accused of rights abuses we've seen targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure with heavy artillery fire we have seen widespread looting of private property in many towns in western g.k. we've seen extrajudicial executions of individuals and much to be linked to the t.p.s. but also prominent is nice people we've obviously also seen a context of massive restrictions on humanitarian access the conflict has

impacted the region there are numerous reports of eritrean soldiers operating into great eritrea's in ethiopia's government deny it. more than 50000 people have fled to refugee camps in neighboring sudan that's reignited an all border dispute between the 2 countries. last week sudan accused ethiopian forces of attacking its soldiers inside its border and within ethiopia there are an increasing number of reports of into ethnic violence in other parts of the country last week more than 100 villages were killed by an armed group in parish angle region. it's a. very very frequent. those incidents have claimed. hundreds of thousands so really it. has been a recurring the last 6 months or

a month that's the sad reality of. it was mass protests part of the country that brought prime minister are being made to power really 3 years ago. before that decades of authours tarion rule had frozen generations old conflict many of them on ethnic lines. abby was credited with bringing in some democratic reforms that led some of those conflicts to start boiling over his drive to unify ethiopia has conflicted with growing demand of various ethnic groups who are seeking more autonomy when you are. in a country you have to find ways of making. right so i mean you know. you know unity is likely to cause more problems is just what the t.p.m. left dominated the government for nearly 30 years before i'd be took over one of

the triggers of the conflict into gray with the postponement of elections that would you 4 months ago because of covert. now they're expected to be held and meet growing tension and in 2021 malcolm webb his era let's talk now to martin ploughed sees a fellow university of london and horn of africa analyst he joins us on skype from london multiplied welcome back to the news hour why did if he did why did the prime minister ahmed misjudged the situation so parentally. 2 reasons for this the 1st is that he thought that he had the force of the ethiopian federal 'd army behind him an air force 'd that the ground's couldn't possibly respond to and that he had with him also militia so he had a very powerful force and then from the north he had allies in eritrea who have

also become involved in this conflict so he was essentially attacking from 3 directions from the north from the east and from the south and he thought he could crush that to graham's the 2nd one is that he is a pentecostalist and very much believe that positive thought is enough it will get you by so in a sense there were 2 reasons for this do you think the 2 greens will carry on pushing back and if they try to can they sustain that. i think that's a very difficult question to answer the indications at the moment are that there is still fighting going on. how long that will continue for is impossible to tell but they did have more than 100 maybe 150000 men under arms and that the tradition integrate is to go into the hills and fight from the hills not to try to hold the

cities so if they do that they have a long history of doing it and there's no reason why they could not continue the big question is what will sit down do because all their supplies of essential slike fuel and food and ammunition will need to come in from sudan can that be sustain will sit down allow that to be sustained that we don't know so clearly this maybe never started out as a law enforcement operation that was what it was labeled as it sounds as if you're painting a picture describing this descending into almost a civil war. well it's you know it's not a civil war this is an international war 'd you already have the eritreans involved the united states has made it clear they believe eritrean forces are involved. britain so are off the record 'd except that this is the case so did the european union so there's little kay little in little indication that's not true eritrean

forces are involved so you already know if this is not a full scale war on 3 fronts involving more than one country that's terribly dangerous for all of the tour ends but also for ethiopia because they also withdrew troops from somalia that the stabilizer somalia they pulled people out of other areas which were tense but been a shining goal which is now seen more than a 100 people dead with ethnic violence not how much can that be laid on the door of the well i think quite a lot not employed in london thanks very much at least 35 people have been kidnapped in the north east of nigeria armed men dressed in military uniforms set up a road block and abducted the travelers heading to my goody it's believed the incident could be linked to buckle her arm 30 candidates have made their final

pitches to voters ahead of elections in the share the polls are historic can set the course for the 1st peaceful transition of power when a dress reports now from the capital niamey on how africa's 2nd coronavirus wave is having an impact. it's been a busy 3 reeks of company for his u.s. presidential candidate. new wave of coronavirus infections forced the government to impose a limit on our members on the last day. of the leading candidates i confront but the right message is something prost to the protests. former fording and interior minister mohammad. is the governing party's candidate in our candidate has visited all parts of the country even before the start of the campaign selling practical ideas to the people and to see how people live to understand their problems that helped us design a program to better people's lives were confident of winning in the 1st round one of the main rivals 3 time presidential candidate and former prime minister senor

morrow says that one tavern. in my political experience it's impossible for anyone to win an election outright in the 1st round each of us would want to but it's impractical no one will it's very very difficult. a total of 30 candidates a running for president while some have complained hard most have been on the sidelines seeking to form alliances with stronger parties. although much of the campaign focused on who becomes president voters will also choose 171 representatives to fuel the seats in this parliament some will later from the country's next cabinet as in previous elections analysts say end up with a coalition of one of the being wanted to go to parties and other smaller ones. the decision on who gets to form the coalition depends on what 7500000 voters decide on

sunday. a presidential candidate request 50 percent plus one of valid votes cast to win outright that has never happened in an election here if no candidate gets that voters will be called once again to choose among the 2 candidates with the highest number of votes in the trees to see that you have me. the us city of nashville is under curfew after a motorhome exploded in a neighborhood on friday and blew up early on christmas morning after a recorded bomb warning was played several buildings were damaged and 3 people suffered injuries the police haven't been able to establish a motive we have found 2 issue that we believe could be remains that were just. you know examined and they will be able to let you know from the point of the was detonated so if it was someone inside we have no idea it was such a large explosion but the investigation continuing there's matter all over this

area down there and so we'll continue to examine it to see if it is human remains. 0 as john hendren has this update from nashville. it's common nashville now but hours ago an early morning christmas explosion shattered the calm injuring 3 people and destroying 41 buildings according to authorities here they're not exactly sure what the intended target was but the explosion occurred outside of an a.t.m. t.v. transmission building and there were warnings the recreational vehicle was broadcasting apparently recorded messages telling people to evacuate the area and at one point saying that within 15 minutes there would be a possible bomb explosion meanwhile authorities say that they have found what appears to be human remains they don't know if that was someone inside the vehicle or someone who was nearby and have not confirmed that it is indeed human remains but they are operating on that theory now and authorities are investigating this as

a potential terror attack and they are looking into what the motive was who was involved in this attack but meanwhile they have declared a curfew in downtown nashville from friday through sunday the christmas morning explosion has destroyed a large swath of the tourist area here in what is the country music capital of the united states. ok time she will weather hit that button. hello there we've got some snowy weather the forecast for a couple of parts of here up in particular particularly down towards the balkans big massive cloud little area of low pressure brings a very stormy weather across the southern parts of italy but the other side of the age we are at stake we will see significant snow fall coming into the balkans over the next couple days 20 to 30 centimeters certainly possible over the next 24 to 48 hours we will eventually see some snow to coming in across the british isles at the

moment it's all about storm balla tightly packed ice about damaging winds rattling through gales or even severe gales over the next couple of days and across parts of the u.k. think across southern areas of england and wales eventually that windy weather will sweep across northern france into the low countries rattling a shower is coming back in behind but notice the temperatures starting to fall away london at about 8 celsius on sunday could be about 4 degrees on monday and by this stage said to be culled enough for some snow showers just coming in across and across many parts of england well scotland as well we will see some wet weather and more snowy weather coming in across the balkans some heavy rain there for a time so it's a little bit of snow too into western parts of turkey by the end of the weekend. still to come here on the news hour and you coronavirus trial is underway to see if antibody is can help people already infected but would not benefit from

a vaccine plus. we know for so many in our nation this is been a very difficult year. in coming u.s. president shows sympathy for the thousands who lost loved ones in 2020. and in the sport a special win for miami so i will explain why a bit later on here on the news in about 025 minutes. it is gay city has become. a major global issue the demand is going straight up and the supply is going straight down turning an essential natural resource into a commodity traded for profit just because lawyers mean good commode be broached what about the guy that can afford it guys tell these water. al-jazeera examines the social financial and environmental impact of war to privatization loads of

water on al-jazeera do we know what is happening in our region we know how to get the playfield that others cannot i want but only fear god by the putting people on earth the fires their fellow more normatively. good at being let up by. the way they tell death isn't what and make it to friends. stories of abuse in aged care homes in the west to show the world that there is no total one or one of these things those sending elderly loved ones to thailand to live out there on al-jazeera . welcome back you're watching me on syrian news hour and peter dhabi these are your top stories so far today increasing fears over the spread of violence in central

african republic ahead of election day on sunday international military support has arrived to help maintain peace after the killing of 3 un peacekeepers. countries across europe are receiving their 1st shipments of the coronavirus vaccines and occupations start in some places on sunday beginning with people in care homes specifically of course for the elderly. in the u.s. city of nashville is under curfew after an explosion ripped through a neighborhood on friday a motorhome blew up early on christmas morning after playing a recorded bomb warning. researches in the u.k. are starting trials for an antibody treatment that could prevent illness in people infected with covert 19 it's hoped the antibodies developed by the drug manufacturer astra zeneca could prevent the viruses development in people who have already been exposed a new trial called storm chaser aims to recruit more than 1000 people to take part

worldwide key target groups in the trial will be health care workers people in long term care and factory workers to 10 people have now been injected with the antibody so far let's talk now to dr sanjay. he's an associate professor of infectious diseases at the australian national university he joins us on skype from mali mark in australia dr welcome back to the news hour if we've got multiple vaccines being rolled out why do we need to start doing antibody trials as well. hi peter well one issue with the vaccine is of course that the vaccine works by getting our own immune system to make antibodies so that's fine if we've got a strong immune system that's capable of making antibodies but what if certain groups don't and the most common group where this is an issue are elderly people because they get and aging immune system which isn't

a strong as when they were young and of course people who have a very low immune system because they've got a primary immunodeficiency or they're on medications to suppress their immune system so those people the vaccine may not do any harm but it may not necessarily work as well as a young healthy person so these monoclonal antibodies are an alternative where you just give them the antibodies the immune system doesn't have to make them and or ok those antibodies are talking about coming from wrong here those monoclonal antibodies is that the same cocktail that donald trump was injected with so he did he got from memory and he was regenerate and that company gave a cocktail of monoclonal antibodies but there are different types of monoclonal antibodies that are being developed by different companies but yes he certainly received one as part of a number of different there are a piece for covert 19 as a consequence of these trials is it possible to say or will it be possible to say

to somebody say an 82 year old who's got health simers in a care home for example will it be possible at some point to be able to say to that person's frappe family members ok your aging mother has got there in a care home there in a target hit zone for curve at 19 they've had the vaccine and they've had this antibody injection as well therefore they are covered to x. percent more than if they just had the vaccine. you look they might be able to do that yes they haven't done trials compare directly comparing the vaccine in one arm versus vaccine a monoclonal antibody in another they really have to do that to definitively say the sorts of things that you are saying but it is possible that it might have an additive effect we don't know but certainly in that 82 year old who gets the back seat and we were not confident that the vaccine would work the monoclonal antibody

if these trials work would be an alternative and expensive alternative but not ok we'll have to leave it there dr sanjay. thank you so much thank you peter. huge numbers of americans aboard flights to be with family for christmas despite warnings that travel will only worsen are already alarming coronavirus deaths and infection rates in the states more than 7000000 people pass through u.s. airports over the past 7 days bring families together from states with varying degrees of infections will likely lead to an increase in the numbers of cases the similar rush during november thanksgiving holiday which is blamed for fueling the current spike more than 193000 new cases were recorded on thursday along with nearly 3000 deaths australia's reimposing coronavirus prescriptions and parts of sydney after 9 new cases in the state of new south wales were traced to a cluster in the north of the city in other areas of sydney people were told not to

shop on boxing day sydney's northern areas will now revert back to stay at home orders for at least 3 days. again our strategy is to make sure we need this in the boat as soon as we can that we get on top of it as soon as we can and of course in the next few days we'll let the community now what do you say folks lots of people on the northern beaches but also great to see and also what january looks like in the no abates isn't for the rest of the rest of sydney so we want to thank everybody for your cooperation. beijing is reportedly considering a major overhaul of the election committee that decides hong kong's chief executive and legislative council local media has reported that china's top legislative body is examining whether to scrap all $117.00 seats likely to be controlled by opposition district councilors it's seen as yet another attempt to curb the opposition's influence in the territories 2022 leadership race. the u.s. president elect joe biden has expressed sympathy for the many families facing their

1st christmas after losing loved ones to cope at 19 is released a holiday message alongside his wife jill by promising to do better to combat the pandemic in 2021 we know for so many of you in our nation this is been a very difficult year and we're reminded in this season of hope our common humanity and what we're called to do for one another many are from americans are struggling to find work not only put food on the table pay their rent or mortgage reminded we're on this earth to care for $1.00 another to give what we can and to be a source of help and hope to friend in stranger like many families are facing their 1st christmas having lost a loved one in jail and i know that. and we know how in times of grief a kind word can mean so much as well mr biden does often talk about his working class roots in pennsylvania but his political career was made representing the tiny

state of delaware as election to the highest office makes him the 1st president from delaware the 1st state to ratify the u.s. constitution al-jazeera is kristen salumi takes a closer look at the place the next president calls home. delaware traces its european roots back to the 1600s the city of new castle boasts many historic sites including the courthouse where the state 1st declared independence from great britain not to mention its more powerful neighbor pennsylvania this landmarked example of federal period architecture belong to the son of george reid one of the signatories of the us constitution like many in the state tour guide and murphy hopes the 1st state's 1st president will finally put delaware on the map i can remember traveling to california one time they asked me where i'm from and i said delaware and where's that even those who aren't huge fans of joe biden can see his

election has benefits to bring more more tourists i think that she would be king from it was here in new castle that joe biden won his 1st election 50 years ago taking a seat on the county council he hasn't lost an election since and many here see a win for biden as a win for delaware the shipping industry has long since left the shores of this former british colony these days wilmington home to the biden transition team is better known as a tax haven for corporations those in the struggling hospitality business are happy the hotels are now full of news media and more than that george taylor is looking forward to the new administration he gives that message of hope and for most black people out of a such as myself i believe he's going to do such a great job you know making sure that we are all integrated we are all united in one america it was in fact delaware founding father george reid who pushed to

create the u.s. senate and guarantee equal representation for smaller states turns out politics in delaware has always been personal when you have such a small place everyone has to get along in some way and i think that. it's the tradition that joe biden is certainly coming coming out of where your senator or your representative or in this case your president is a next door neighbor he's just show it to a lot of people here the hope is joe biden will now speak for the entire nation particularly the under represented in keeping with local tradition kristen salumi al jazeera new castle delaware. to be meeting in brussels to look over the post breaks a trade deal that's finally was agreed with the u.k. parliament on both sides need to ratify the accord explains 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 dense detail the british government's christmas gift to the nation because this is a deal a deal to give certainty to business travelers and 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 negotiating 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 retrospective early 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 sizeable 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 the shadow cast by breaks it 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 acceptance. this time of great upheaval a familiar face with a 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 if firms relocate to the e.u. a 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 is clear the british government's also gone 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. london. dozens of people have been evacuated from their homes on the portuguese island of madeira after severe flooding roads were completely submerged rockslides damaged property and at least one house was destroyed no injuries have been reported. sciences of refugees and migrants are spending christmas in shelters along mexico's

northern border with the united states many have been waiting for months for their asylum cases to be processed delayed further by the pandemic here's john holmes. he'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 while there are silent process plays out even though they're from other countries. get out all fled brazil he says because of the threat of violence erupt in buda city what is 10 months ago this still waiting for his 1st court date. made a thematic it was for march 14th of this year but that was changed because of the been demick to the symbol 15 now it's put that into

a may of next year. your get 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 as a school mall or knesset bus here 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 if you. will to host 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 that means

for them and then 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. afghanistan's capital has been hit by a series of explosions at least 5 separate attacks were reported across kabul 2 police officers were killed in the worst incident no group has claimed responsibility and it comes as the taliban and afghan government prepared to resume talks here in doha 2 palestinians including a 6 year old child her minor injuries after israeli airstrikes in the gaza strip a number of empty sites belonging to us and islamic jihad were targeted a hospital was damaged earlier the israeli army accused of firing 2 rockets towards southern israel. iran has produced some of the most celebrated and respected rights

as in the arab world but conflict sectarianism and political oppression forced many to flee and right from abroad now a new generation is determined to keep iraq's literary heritage alive here's charles stratford mcauliffe has been writing about the momentous and often violent changes iraq has suffered for more than half a century the baghdad based author whose novels short stories and poems have been published across the arab world has had to navigate censorship political imprisonment and even death threats throughout his career he acknowledges his contribution to iraqi literature but he's saddened by what he says is the lack of impact his work has had. then millet who are not in the country has culturally regressed people who don't read or write might struggle to develop culture across the arab world is suffering terribly and there rises to without freedom to write

how can of this learn i feel have little effect on people's thoughts the bookshops along elements and up the street named after a 10th century poet have been immortalized in iraq in arab culture for centuries. the crumbling alterman buildings have witnessed how the pressures on iraqi writers and readers have changed over the years the challenge of avoiding jail worse under the rule of saddam hussein to bomb attacks and kidnapping by al qaida eisel and various armed groups that still have much power in iraq elements and up the street as almost a mythical status in the history of arabic literature a place where writers and intellectuals would meet to discuss politics and the alts but despite the political instability and violence in this country continues to suffer there is increasing evidence of young writers appearing who are determined not to self censor and to protect and build on iraq's literary past.

but i'll be arty is a young recently published iraqi poet she owns a bookshop and one of a number of recently opened publishing houses close by she says half the book seen her shot by new young iraqi writers we're trying to wake people up from the hibernation for too long iraqis have accepted what we were told so as young writers we try to simulate minds without religion or focus on ethnicity instead we look at our readers humanity we're not afraid because we have seen so much of course i sometimes worry about my family but we have to restrain relate ideas of civilized things at baghdad's annual international book fair young people who can afford to buy books including arabic literature history philosophy and translated foreign works i could see in them it is difficult for our generation to find the correct road to walk along so we depend on ourselves and through books and reading i hope we can change the next generation to plant

a flower is not thorns that we find on the path through travel along we have to read more widely to forge a new future young people here definitely seem keen to lead us home to a good that will. hope at least that iraq's literary heritage is being rekindled by a new generation who say their country's future stability and growth will be held by young iraqis reading and writing more chance traffic al-jazeera baghdad. still to come here on the news for you the new zealand captain leads from the front against pakistan on the latest cricket coming up in sport when we come back. we've never had a president who has literally for 4 or 5 years repeatedly attacked our democracy. you know blew through the interactive and financially i have

a narrative i have a question you're hitting there really where people can't get treated industrial story even further join me richelle carey and up front is my guest from around the world take the hot seat and we debate the week's top stories in pressing issues here on al-jazeera. the resolution classical music newfies extravagant productions and. the success hasn't come without controversy andre rieu discusses the in his one to stand on the classical music industry. g c and. if you want to help save the world. season to euro.

time for sports use our thanks a lot that's always start with ball skateboard and a bron james is moved out says seconds in the end days all time christmas day scoring lists around school $22.00 points for their late because it's the dallas mavericks that means he now has 303 points on christmas day and charles kobe bryant who's in 1st with. 395 bronze after helping him say 138 to 115 when what was an overall great day for the latest on. off. i woke up early this morning we have to. test the 1st test so. leave the house. oh so he 'd came back home. which was great when we was somebody who. he'd almost look at there

was almost always out with friends in a room so that he sighed when i woke up to think it would go. well despite jimmy by entering his own clean the fast toss the miami heat managed to beat the new warnings pelicans 111298 the result maintains a coach's perfect 8 and 0 record on christmas day. and they were being a lot more physical with us in the 2nd half. bumping us out of our normal flow in our actions they were good but they're good defensive team heard. much improved already you know on that and. it's always good to see us respond. and to golden state warriors had a christmas they'd probably have to get off to being hammered $138.00 to $99.00 but this whole bunch of it was the 2nd most love aside to see

a new christmas day game instead of the history. middleton. well moving on to cricket and indeed on native day one of the 2nd test against australia in melbourne 30000 fans were allowed in at m.c.g. is the terrorists dismissed the aussies for just 195 runs just print byrne ross starred with 4 scalps india lost one wickets in their response and closed on 36 for one baht overall it was a good day for them especially after getting thrashed by 8 wickets in the series opener so there was a constant discussion going on between the bullnose and the other gazed with the captain so you know the we could jane just after the 1st session as well it got better to back on the moisture into we saw adjusting according to their dart into the wicket i know the lines that we wanted to build so we were just trying to communicate what kind of lines we wanted to board so we could save the fuel so when there was less help so we tried to change

a little bit of the line and get the feel of you know but it's got very good ball in one ops and. there was a little bit more in it so i would say middle even. the occur where we know a little bit more which is something that you probably don't say you should be here at the m.c.g. on so i think once again just we've got to make sure we adapt and make sure that whatever they get we get a big or 2nd leg. cane williamson play to katz's not for new zealand on day one of the 1st test against pakistan he's only $94.00 not out with the black caps closing on to to save the 3 and mt maunganui now i wasn't just the world's best athlete sidelined this year because a coronavirus the cancellation of major events like the olympics will stop photographers to change their plans as well here's how one of them in your state of california was impacted. donal murali i am

a photographer. tony tony was i think for everybody on the planet it was quite a curveball you don't think any of us have have seen so much in you know a current one year mean to almost i had to say it almost like biblical old testament things going on with you know things of the environment things with civil unrest for the last 25 years i've been travelling and i've been traveling a lot for sports in adventure and other things and that all came to a screeching halt in march when i stop probably 100 days of work just you know fizzle and disappear within a week the top of that i was looking forward to covering was the tokyo 2020 olympics. which was going to start in july obviously that was postponed till 2021 but for me that would have been my 10th olympic games and i was very much looking

forward to out there covering it for sports illustrated i ended up you know shooting more things close to home. whether it be you know just local surfing or things for you know social change. you know local paddle outs local demonstrations for black lives matter. just different things that were happening in my neighborhood that i normally would not be here for so it was that was kind of a blessing in disguise you know that i think nothing's going to be the same after 2020 you know i don't think you know we're going to pop back into how we were before i think behaviorally we've changed as humans because of what happened i think in general. you know across the board i think there's just things that are front from this year on are going to be the new normal i really hope that we get back to a place where. and you know being able to to go to big sporting events with with

all these people and the energy field from that is this is normal again and i think it will be i think by the end of hopefully 2021 by the fall of 2021 you're going to see packed stadiums again and and you know i do you miss that side of it where you're at these events and there's so much energy at them whether it's a sporting event or even just going to a like a music concert with with people all cheering for the same thing 2020 in general as is is probably has been a learning lesson for a lot of people. well hey so both sets went to 2100 not so this was for me but i'll be back in a couple of hours lights a pizza sarah thanks very much and i want to come back on the other side of the break sammy will have the very latest things getting the developing aspects of what's going on in central african republic the constitutional court has ruled that

the planned election should go ahead on the shadow of a. in december 2019 the 1st coronavirus case was reported in china within months a local outbreak became a global pandemic one year on weak salmon the devastation caused by covert 19 with more than a 1000000 fatalities and economies crippled vaccines now offer hope of protection from the virus but how long will it take for the world to recover the corona virus and then the special coverage on

a. secret mass grave in arlon discovered at an institution run by catholic nun is. a nation shocked to its core. people in power investigates a scandal that destroyed families cost thousands of lives and still raises profound questions about the ties between the catholic church and the irish state. arlen's mother and baby scandal. on a. stories of abuse in aged care homes in the west to shock the world but there's no alternative when i want to speak to those sending elderly loved ones to thailand to live out the attacks on al jazeera. we understand the differences and similarities of cultures across the world. cinematic . al-jazeera bringing the news and current affairs that matter to.

al-jazeera. the arab world. the u.n. peacekeeping mission in central african republic tells al-jazeera sunday's election must go ahead despite the escalating threat of violence. low i'm sam is a than this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up hopes for a turning point in the fight against covert 19 countries across the european union receive their 1st vaccines get ready to begin mass immunizations police in the u.s. city of nashville.