trying to come after us we follow journalists on the frontline this is fish tank on the free press committed to reporting the facts police officers the pointing guns at journalists to say stop can make up hong kong fact and fiction the truth is it anyway. and attack killed at least 20 people that aden airport where members of yemen's new government just arrived from saudi arabia. and on a cloud this is al jazeera life from to also coming up u.k. regulators greenlight the oxford astra zeneca vaccine in a move the health minister says could provide

a path out of the pandemic. but as long feared war effort to distribute administer the vaccine is not progressing this should us president elect joe biden criticizes the slowed rollout of coronavirus vaccines and warns the darkest days of the pandemic lie ahead. with barely a day to go until the u.k. leaves the europe single market the break that agreement moves forward in parliament. so there are reports of a blast near the government palace in the yemeni city of aden that comes just a few hours after at least $22.00 people were killed in an attack south of the city . this one blast happened as members of yemen's new unity government arrived at the airport it was followed by gunfire and more

explosions and ministers have been transferred to his palace yemen's ministry of information is blaming the attack on the iran back to the rebels but they say they had nothing to do with it the prime minister has called for calm. you know. this it gives the government the responsibility to put an end to the could and to restore the country and the state again the government an ardent will go on continue its job supported by the people of yemen we will never let our people down the terrorists never defeat our people we will be victorious we will accept nothing but victory. our let's take a closer look at yemen's government it was sworn in just days ago by the president to reprimand so heidi as part of a power sharing deal brokered by saudi arabia in 2019 headed by prime minister abdul malik saeed the new government represents yemen's northern and southern areas with equal numbers of members from each region its formation is a result of a compromise between the u.a.e. backed separatists in the southern transitional council and saudi backed loyalists

of president hadi it's meant to end military clashes between those parties so they can fight as allies against the rebel me. with the institute and he says the authority of yemen's unity government has been seriously undermined. this explosion sends a very strong message in fact of the unity government that has been recent that long after out of one me at almost one eat almost all along all the pot is in order to come up with this. government unity government that's the present over all of. this political parties in yemen in order to bring it in the growth of the divisions from within the south. and also. noted on pot there's a lot against the whole that is but then with that i've got this happens i and i think this is a bit of the resident that the challenge is that it's c.d.'s the challenges are

enormous and that unity government will have to deal with those challenges on the ground. and no matter what know what the who stands behind this explosion i think that is a huge security breach has happened. now the battle against corona virus has taken another leap forward off the health regulators in the u.k. approve the vaccine developed by oxford university scientists and the pharmaceutical company astra zeneca it is the 3rd vaccine to be approved in the west and joins as manufactured by pfizer biotech and medina russia and china are also distributing shots but they haven't completed mass testing now the oxford astra zeneca vaccine has some advantages over the other 2 it's much cheaper to buy and it can be kept in a regular fridge and light the fires a shot which requires cold storage and even as approval was being announced in the u.k. orders for tens of millions of doses were confirmed by both taiwan and indonesia as many as $3000000000.00 doses are expected to be produced well wide by the end of

next year despite that approval 3 quarters of england will be under the top level of covert 1000 restrictions from thursday the british health secretary but hancock said a shot rise in cases has made that necessary. this new variant is now spreading across most of england and cases of doubling fast it is therefore necessary to apply to full measures to a wide area including the remaining parts of the southeast as well as large parts of the midlands the northwest the northeast and the southwest even in the most areas not moving into tear for cases of rising 2 and it's therefore necessary to apply to 3 measures more broadly too including in liverpool and north yorkshire these changes will take effect from well minute past midnight tomorrow morning let's hear now from roy challenge in london he explains why there's so much hope riding on the vaccine from astra zeneca over the pfizer biotech jet. and you can

see behind me here a good visual example of why there are certain limitations in the fires of vaccine that's what's being administered behind me in those tents you can hear the hum of the generators keeping people warm also vaccine has to be super chilled it's why the government at the moment is struggling to vaccinate more than $200000.00 people every week and it's why there is so much riding on the oxford astra zeneca vaccine because it is so much easier to get some people essentially don't have to bring people to the vaccine you can take the vaccine to the people out in communities it doesn't have to be done in big hospital environments like the one behind me any doctor any nurse any medical team with a fridge can set up somewhere good job off the job off the job so the how you piers well i mean essentially it's been recommended to the government that they have to get up to 2000000 vaccinations

a week to have any hope really of combating properly the spread of the new strain of corona virus the health system is groaning under the strain at the moment you have more people in hospital with covert than they were at the peak of the 1st wave of the of the virus you have record numbers it seems of new cases every day so this is badly needed it won't be soon enough to stave off the worst of the 2nd wave but hopefully it will prevent a 3rd jeff is head of the health systems research group at the institute for global health and he says development is positive and attention needs to be turned to how countries will store the vaccine. we need to ensure that as many people around the world get that 1st dose viruses mutate we've already seen that sars come to cover $1000.00 ease mutating we have the newbery incidentally find there's likely to be further mutations and we need to get as many people that's needed as quickly as

possible and at the same time i think this is going to be one of the major challenges as well is to continue the pandemic measures that we've been turning out now face masks and washing know large gatherings to avoid further transmission and we've seen year over the winter holiday that cases are rising in many countries for a long time into 2021 i expect there to continue to be travel restrictions the tween countries probably within some countries and as as you mentioned some countries will go quite quickly the u.k. parts of your canada the u.s. etc in other countries will go slower and it is a global mechanism led by god be the world health organization and others called kodak's which is trying to ensure that scene availability in low resource settings but we've also heard that countries that can have already been putting in their orders turkey has received for a shipment of coronavirus vaccines from china 3000000 doses of the sign about vaccine arrived and i encourage before being moved to storage facilities officials in turkey are planning to test the vaccines every 2 weeks before beginning public

you know as ations health workers and the elderly will be prioritized. the united states has reported its 1st case of a more contagious variant of the creative artist which was originally discovered in the u.k. a man in colorado was confirmed to have the strain though he has no recent travel history that adds further see to office to vaccinate americans and stomp out uncontrolled outbreaks across the country. are u.s. president elect criticize biden that has criticized the truck administration for its handling of the vaccine rollout which is operating behind schedule biden says of the 20000000 people meant to receive injections by the end of the year only $2000000.00 had got them. the trumpet ministrations plan is to be vaccines is falling behind far behind we're grateful to the companies the doctors the scientists the researchers the clinical trial participants in operation more speed for developing the vaccines quickly but as i long feared and warn the effort to

distribute a minister the vaccine is not progressing as it should without him fisher is in washington d.c. and explains why by the ministration may not spiritual to get as many people vaccinated as promised. you know what worries the biden team or it's the fact that what we're dealing with no is the spike from thanksgiving that the experts warned about and as they come into your office on the 20th of january they'll start to see the spikes from christmas and also a new year and we could be in and watch watch position on the 20th of january then we actually are know what we're hearing from joe biden is that he wants to issue 100000000 doses in the 1st 100 days is a heck of a benchmark to say it but he's saying that he could do it he's put on another couple of people into his covert vitus advisory team they believe that with improved logistics they might be able to get those vaccinations out around the country but remember this is just the far stores there's more than 3w3cw people in

the united states if he gets $100000000.00 in the 1st 100 days you're still talking about possibly the end of the year a reality he's aware of he says this is the greatest operational challenge that the country is ever faced and he may well use the defense production act to try and make sure that he has the proper logistics but also the companies are turning out the vaccine in sufficient numbers to get out and around the country as a say is a heck of a benchmark to set and people will remind them of that 100 days in if he hasn't reached 100000000 particularly given the trumpet ministration said they hope to have 20000000 people vaccinated by the end of the year here we are 2 days away from the end of the year and they've only managed to get as far as 2100000 people and those are just the 1st 2 was. there kate parliament has voted to approve a trade deal with the european union as it prepares for an orderly split from brussels the eyes of it the eyes of it a look there british politicians have been holding an extraordinary session to

ensure the agreement is in place before the deadline they'll still has to be debated in the house of lords in the coming hours the vote comes just a day before the u.k. automatically leaves the single market. meanwhile e.u. chiefs have signed off on the future relationship agreements in brussels european council and commission president shelby shell and us live on the line formalize the books approval of brussels papers have been flown out to the u.k. for citing that all 27 member states will abide by the agreement provisionally until it can be ratified by the parliament paul brennan has this update from westminster. it was an a billionth performance by prime minister boris johnson swatting away criticisms of the deal from the labor opposition who said that it was a rather thin deal and the traders would be. overcome with an avalanche of red tape and bureaucracy and checks but the opposition parties know and knew that it was a done deal the battle was over and you can tell just from the surroundings i mean

i know we're in the middle of a pandemic and an almost total lockdown tear for us the restrictive measures around the parliament building but given the flags and the whistles and the horns on the shouting that we've seen in previous big parliamentary set pieces here the contrast is marked when you look around me now it was clear that the prime minister was cutting it fine but he knew that there was not really going to be any think that competes that could stop him and so as i say let's have a listen to a very a bully and prime minister boris johnson just to be rewarded trade barriers so we've also ensured the u.k. has full control of our laws and our regulations and there is a vital symmetry between these 2 achievements because the central purpose of this bill is to accomplish something that the british people always knew in their hearts could be done and yet which we were continually told was impossible we're told we could not have our cake and eat it you remember how we were told that i missed the

speaker namely that we could trade incorporate as we will with our european neighbors on the closest terms of friendship and goodwill while retaining sovereign control of our laws and our national desk in this deal leaves open the possibility that future governments can re interpret the way that the relationship is going with the european union so there are bound to be tweaks and nuances to the ongoing trading relationship labor has said that it will continue to pull up the government given the fact that there are going to be long. so different checks that are put in place as a result of this trade deals going to be rule of origin checks is going to be customs declarations it is going to be safety checks that have to be put into place as well so there's plenty of areas that the opposition can continue to snipe at the government over. to lead here and i'll deserve an american who spent decades in prison officer spying for israel sees it here as well tel aviv. chinese court

sentences pro-democracy activists up to 3 years in jail for trying to flee the crackdown in hong kong. over the weekend it got really cold in northern china throughout to be honest it was briefly data mas 40 in the morning it's not quite as cold now but winter is clearly setting with daytime temperatures in your avatar hobbit about minus 80 that color has been spreading out across the open water as it will keep doing that on thursday and friday which means a pile up of snow in places like a cry the supplier has got 3 days of it in fact it gets heavier sun disappears and temperatures slowly rise on saturday which is fairly typical of increasing snow that we've seen since though in south korea but i think the easing in the wind the

change the wind direction will get rid of that by friday the temp should hold calms come up to 14 from 12 but the still the cold feet over the warm waters for the sassy go big showers for me again to maybe catch the far south of viet nam and the central part of the philippines there is still some rain to come in the far south of india and sri lanka little is changing immediately in the skies fog filled skies of northern india northern pakistan but there's a hint of some cloud growing body end of the week and the forecast need a new telly suggests maybe a few showers this weekend which would cheer in the air up and improve the quality . an invitation to bear witness to all that life office. the highways the learners the trials and tribulations. and soon movements and

everyday miracles the injustices the defiance the test of character and the curse not the trees the witness documentaries with a delicate touch on al-jazeera. again you're watching out through the mind of our top stories this hour at least $22.00 people have been killed and dozens injured in yemen after an explosion struck the airport in the city of 8 happened as members of yemen's new unity government arrive to make ministers blaming the heathy rebels who tonight. millions more people in the u.k. will join the toughest here of coded 1000 restrictions from thursday u.k.

health regulator approved the oxford astra zeneca corona virus vaccine for emergency use government has already preordered 100000000 doses. the u.k. parliament has voted to approve a trade deal with the european union as it prepares to for an orderly break from brussels the vote comes just a day before the u.k. automatically leaves the e.u. so single. more now on our top story in that huge blast at aiden's international airport and its aftermath let's join mohammed al a top who is in the capital of sana what more authorities say mohammed about the circumstances around this explosion both these explosions. yes the authorities according to the tweet of it has been a sense of by the prime minister of the of the shared power sharing government that has been stricken in saudi arabia and according to the riyadh's agreements the mind

of the medics says that these this attack will not to fly in the only form the government under the will carry out of their responsibility and also uphold. the maybe this monstrosity to us that it is toward peace and stability to the coastal city of aden and also to restore the government legitimate government's control of all the yemen as according to his speech during a press following b. attack that has resulted into the death of at least 22 people on the injury of several others this also has been denied by the whole of these from their side who says that the nuts on volved and such. acts between what they described immersed in the reason of the qualification and the the situation in n n a in aden itself there is some kind of. horror are among the 7 years of following the attack on the b. the civil service. the city itself has been directed to stand still following the

attack and also there are reports that it couldn't be confirmed that some sound of 4 explosions have been heard near the presidential palace but the citizens there are said according to some reports that we have heard some sound sounds or we couldn't get a fire that the explosions but their power powerful sounds near the presidential palace which is where there were the woods which is there is a dense now of the 4 of the newly formed governments are no mashi which is a fortified region or mountainous regions that stretches deep into the sea so it's only it's only linked to the homeland with just narrow roads towards that's mountainous and 4 divide mountain or merit on the top and so on and thanks very much. there being several aftershocks in central croatia a day after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake killed at least 7 people it struck near the town of a 350 kilometers from the capital zagreb

a local man says half the town has been destroyed many people spend the night in tents afraid to return to their homes rain fell overnight and turned rebel and. meanwhile scientists have warns they could be more aftershocks the latest tremors were felt throughout the region including in bosnia and serbia and in slovenia hundreds of refugees and migrants in bosnia are still without proper shelter after being transported from a camp destroyed by fire last week they collected their belongings from what remained of the camp and lifted their croatia's border and stayed on buses overnights boats you know thora to say they hope to relocate them on wednesday the camp had been heavily criticized by 8 groups for providing inadequate shelter they say the fire left people stranded in freezing in squalid conditions with little food. people had to be called live this didn't. have too much cord and not have life here is a good life and not have food not want to not to me. but i don't know i also scared

i don't know if they're depicting. the government of central african republic is insisting sunday's general election was legitimate and credible but despite election officials saying hundreds of polling stations did not open to be attacked by groups some people say the competition for dominance between foreign countries further threaten see. political and security situation and so i reports from. this is president. at a reasoned political rally. his armed guards are russia randa central african and also members of a un peacekeeping force randa recently sent troops and russia says it has deployed hundreds of military structures to help fight control much of the country is also a big presence of private security contractors from the russian base. a supply of.

this makes begins to explain the country's complex geopolitics central african republic is the front drive can't. it have never been alone to. exploit. the resources. that we have. and that make. you know french. make us put us in the situation where we need to have partners some central africans are worried about the motive behind the increasing power play between russia and. france on one hand and round against other regional countries like chad on the other. russia is reconquering areas we lost at the end of the cold war rhonda is a small country but deploying troops not only as part of un but also in the context

of bilateral agreements gives it diplomatic weight france has been losing ground. the battle for dominance when france and russia and central african republic is now playing out online facebook was recently a force to sat down many automated bot accounts breading misinformation from both countries some local media platforms seem to have taken 5. r. is reaching go and die i am wondering on another natural resources yet it's one of the poorest and most unstable countries in the wild this president of iran do you want an end to violence they say they need the international help but also want to feel they're in charge of their country's political affairs and go off caffeine so on al-jazeera. ugandan presidential candidates above the wind has been detained once again during campaigning in the run up to elections in january the opposition

leader was taken into custody on the lake victoria island of color you gotta along with his entire team why is aiming to defeat longtime president yoweri museveni he's been in power for more than 35 years police say he's been held for breaking code with 19 regulations which bans mass rallies. an american who spends 30 is in a u.s. prison for spying has arrived in israel jonathan pollard was greeted by the prime minister benjamin netanyahu at the airport the former u.s. navy intelligence analyst sold military secrets to israel while working the president of the 1980 s. last month pollitz 5 year parole term ended allowing him to leave the united states are enough has more from west to receive a. polaroid was greeted by prime minister netanyahu at the airport he was even handed an israeli id upon his arrival right there on the spot now going to yahoo has really tried to support and campaign for the release of whole art for decades during his 1st run as high minister even granted him israeli citizenship so

pollarded was accused by the u.s. of selling. u.s. intelligence information some of that included a nuclear weapons development by arab countries intelligence information on russia as well as satellite images of tunisia those satellite images were also used by israel in a raid in the 1980 s. against the palestinian liberation organization's headquarters in tunis and 60 people were killed in that raid so his case whole arts case has really been seen as a long bargaining chip between israel and the u.s. and some see today this moment of him arriving in israel as a parting gift by president trump ahead of him leaving office in january this is one of many that he has given israel in his 4 years in office including recognizing

drusilla as the capital of israel recognizing the occupation israel's occupation of the golan heights and brokering normalization ties between israel and for arab countries this is also coming ahead of elections that are supposed to take place here in march and it could bolster netanyahu ahead of those elections but that support will really come only from those who are already voting for him and supporting him the emir of qatar has been invited to next month's gulf cooperation council summit by the king of saudi arabia the conference is being seen as a possible step to end a crisis that began in 2017 when saudi the u.a.e. egypt and bahrain cut ties with the book hating countries accuse kosar of supporting terrorism meddling in the internal affairs claims carter has strongly denied the summit will be held in riyadh on choose day. indonesia has banned a conservative muslim group known for smashing up nightclubs and throwing stones at western embassies the government said it's now illegal to be

a member of the islamic defenders front which continued activities after it was dissolved as a mass organization last year the group has been gaining followers through its humanitarian and charity work once islamic law applied to all 230000000 muslims in indonesia. 10 hong kong activists who tried to flee the territory by speedboat have been handed jail terms by chinese court part of a group of 12 caught trying to escape to taiwan in august after beijing imposed its sweeping national security law on hong kong it's the youngest of them have been sent back to authorities in hong kong as a jim brown now reports. a day of drama both inside and outside court the 2 youngest defendants aged 16 and 17 when they absconded were driven across the border to hong kong shortly after being freed by mainland police both were hooded they've swapped one detention for another as they now face serious charges in hong

kong related to last year's protests as well as leaving hong kong illegally you know why i mean nancy and because these 2 males are also subjected to a 14 day compulsory quarantine we will file a request to the courts for a 14 day delay in handling their we will bring them to the courts for their hearing after they have finished according to. the 2 free teenagers leave behind 10 other activists now beginning jail terms that between 7 months to 3 years the campaign for their release continues the group fled hong kong by speedboat 4 months ago hoping to seek asylum in democratic taiwan before their vessel was intercepted by the chinese coast guard their detention drew international attention but diplomats as well as foreign journalists would deny. permission to attend the trial it's rare for a trial to be wrapped up so quickly in china especially as the 12 had initially been

branded as separatists by china's government and then there's the timing of it all coming on the very day that china is due to conclude a major trade deal with the european union that's been calling on china to free all the activists to both the hong kong and central governments though this case will serve as a warning to others facing charges over last year's unrest who may also try to obscure adrian brown al jazeera hong kong. so this is al-jazeera these are the top stories and there are reports of a blast near the government palace in the yemeni city of aden comes just a few hours after at least $22.00 people were killed in attacks south of the city. and this one blast happened as members of yemen's new unity government arrived at

the airport it was followed by gunfire and more explosions and ministers have been transferred to aiden's palace. believes more people in the u.k. will join the toughest.