afforded that case teles water. al-jazeera examines the social financial and environmental impact of water privatization loads of water on al-jazeera. california and colorado are hit by a new variant of cope with 19 as president donald trump claims individual u.s. states are failing to meet vaccine goals and regulators in the u.k. approve the emergency use of the oxford astra zeneca vaccine boosting hopes that poor countries may soon get help in fighting over 90. watching al-jazeera life from a headquarters in doha i'm dating navigator also coming up.

an attack kills of these 26 people at aden airport where members of yemen's new government had just arrived from saudi arabia. and the centuries old town flattened in seconds the urgent search for a temporary shelter for kuwait shows earthquake victims. hello president donald trump is blaming u.s. states for the slow rollout of cope with 1000 vaccines criticism is mounting over his administration's lagging response to the pandemic so far around 20000000 shots have been administered that's a far cry from the promise 20000000 by year end and it comes as a new more infectious variant of the virus is now been identified in 2 u.s. states here's andy gallagher reporting from miami. patiently waiting for the code 19 vaccine many of florida's over 60 five's and health care workers camped overnight for their chance to receive a potentially life saving shot in the arm as the state's positivity rate hits

record highs delays conflicting information and crushing websites left facts a nation sites overwhelmed i wanted i want to see the good in people and i want to hope that people are doing their bathroom but at this point i don't know their best this is really going on right now meanwhile in the same state the president continues to go off in his mar-a lago estate telling governors to get moving his administration promised to have 20000000 people vaccinated by the end of this week doctors say without a national strategy it could take years it unfortunately without a master plan after distribution national is going to be a lot of. and a lot of this is going to state health departments and hospitals and doctors that were already in. more than 11000000 doses of madonna in pfizer's 2 dose vaccines have been distributed across the u.s. but according to the c.d.c. just over 2000000 of those most at risk have received it the government's health

and human services department say things will get better it's only 15 days since the 1st vaccine were given so things will evolve they were optimized over over the next week or so and you'll see you know millions and millions more vaccines the initial plan was to have 80 percent of the u.s. population vaccinated by june to reach that figure millions would have to be vaccinated every day so far that doesn't appear to be the case here in florida the positivity rate of new code 19 infection stands at more than 22 percent state health officials say that's because fewer people are being tested but with an apparent slow roll out across the nation the next few months could be worse than predicted or those most at risk can do is hope things get better and fast. gallacher all jazeera miami florida reynolds joining us from los angeles so sounds like it's a bit of a blame game rob is there any merit in the president putting the blame on the states for the slow vaccine rollout. well

daryn it's certainly no surprise that the president would try to evade responsibility he's done so since the beginning of the pandemic blaming china blaming democrats blaming governors and other state officials blaming agencies within the favor federal government blaming anyone except himself if things go wrong and of course things have gone badly wrong it's a it's a very unusual definition of leadership there the states say that without a master plan as as andy gallagher was just referring to it's going to be very difficult for them to coordinate all their efforts that they've been set back by poor planning lack of communication and above all a lack of money lack of funding from the federal government to support states and localities as they try to roll out the vaccine as much as they possibly can there

have been hundreds of thousands of doses for example a here in california and they've been going to override the front line workers and elderly people but much more is certainly needed and as we saw earlier this week president elect joe biden has promised a national strategy once he takes office after january 20th and california of course one of the worst hit states in the virus rob what if the governor of california have to say a short while ago. on fortunately daryn more bad news the governor gave a nuisance that a single case of the variant the mutation that was discovered initially in the u.k. and his say. spread to many other countries a variant that is believed to make the virus more transmissible has been found in a patient here in southern california governor newsome didn't say

a great deal more about it in a conversation online with dr anthony didn't say who the person was or what condition he or she is in but dr fauci responded by saying that this was to be expected that they're. certain that there is a transmission going under way of this strain in the united states as there has been in other countries including canada so it's not unusual to find it here in southern california which is which is in the middle of a terrible spike in code cases the. los angeles county health authority where i am right now says that about 600 people on average test positive every hour for covert 19 the state broke a terrible record on tuesday 442 deaths from covert 90 about half of those here in southern california were hospitals are under siege and patients are

sometimes being treated in corridors or gift shops in hospital lobbies conference rooms places like that when patients are transported by ambulance to the hospital there's so little room in the emergency room that the patients are sometimes forced to wait for up to 8 hours in the ambulance before they can be treated in the hospital so all of this is obviously creating a great deal of difficulty here and with the new holiday approaching new year's when people you know traditionally in years past at least did gather and have festive times this could get worse and public health officials are begging people not to hold those kinds of celebrations for new years this year. thank you for that update. now the u.s. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has rejected a bill to increase pandemic relief checks from $600.00 to $2000.00 earlier this week the house of representatives voted to increase the aid payments and demand

from president donald trump the bill needs a 2 thirds majority to pass in the senate mcconnell has attacked proposed increases outlined in that legislation as town see with more from washington. it's all rather nuanced mitch mcconnell right now has 3 main priorities in the final days of this session of congress which runs on sunday the 1st is to override president trauma's veto of the national defense authorization act the 2nd is not to jeopardize the chances of 2 incumbent republican senators who are facing a very tight runoff race next week in georgia and the 3rd priority is not to pass any bills that will give 2000 dollars checks to low and middle income americans so we're seeing the 1st part of that go into. into action right now as we speak votes are beginning to take place on overriding the veto of the n.d.a. however it's a much more cumbersome process that mitch mcconnell and hope for because the

independent senator bernie sanders stood in the way of a very easy override the veto and said look unless you bring that bill which was passed in the house on $2000.00 tracks you know i'm not going to i'm going to stand in the way of the override of the vote of the n.d.a. now he can do that forever mcconnell has a way around that and that means that he has to do well to have a vote today and then eventually a vote perhaps on saturday which will finally override the vote in the meantime though this idea of a $2000.00 stimulus check is very popular particularly in georgia where those 2 republican senators are facing a very close race so it seems that mitch mcconnell is now come up with a plan and that is not to bring up the vote directly on that house a bill giving $2000.00 stimulus checks to people but combining the $2000.00 stimulus checks with 2 other. shoes that are very close to president trump's heart forming a commission to look in to alleged electoral fraud in the presidential election and ending legal protections for social media companies he's going to combine those

into one bill and have a vote that seems to be the plan that's what he was talking about earlier today health regulators in the u.k. have approved a vaccine develop a oxford university in astra zeneca the pharmaceutical giant has pledged to make $1300000000.00 doses available at cost to low and middle income countries or a challenge reports from london. if ever good news was needed in the u.k. it's now the numbers of new infections and hospitalizations are breaking records the deaths are almost as numerous as the peak in april and medics are sounding alarms that the health service is struggling to cope with cope with 2nd wave q a much anticipated announcement from the u.k.'s medicines regulator this vaccine kovac 19 facts astra zeneca has been approved for use in people and aged 18 years and older least 2 standard doses $4.00 to $12.00 weeks apart

rollout begins on january the 4th with the oxford astra zeneca vaccine joining that of pfizer biotech and use in the u.k. since early december both are effective but the new vaccine has numerous advantages . here in this london vaccination center you can see some of the infrastructure that is needed to administer the pfizer biotech vaccine you can hear the generators running people need to be kept warm in the vaccine needs to be kept secret chilled the oxford astra zeneca one day you can be given out by any doctor or nurse with a bridge it's much easier and that means many more people can be vaccinated faster the government is prioritizing getting the 1st dose to his many people as possible it's 70 percent effective the 2nd dose one to 3 months later makes that immunity last longer 100000000 doses on the order add that to the 30000000 doses of pfizer and that's enough for 2 doses for the entire population if the government can achieve this it believes the country can return to normal life in the spring but

before that announcement millions more britons are moving into higher regional tears of coronavirus restrictions and there's a delay to the new school term for many people's or pupils in exams to return during the week beginning the 11th of january with secondary school and college students returning full time on the 18th of january. during the 1st week of term on it were after the 4th of january secondary schools and colleges were prepared to test as many staff and students as possible. the oxford astra zeneca vaccine is welcome news for the u.k. but things are almost certain to get worse before they get better rory chalons al-jazeera london let's turn to yemen who are getting a look at local media reports of saudi led airstrikes on the capital sanaa they are said to be targeting houthi positions in the city this comes just hours after at

least $26.00 people were killed in a blast at the airport in aden that attack happened shortly after members of yemen's newly inaugurated unity government returned from saudi arabia barbara and go our reports. waving at supporters as they climbed off their flight attained an airport members of yemen's new unity government returned days after being sworn into office at a ceremony in saudi arabia. but the hopes of rebuilding the country after more than 6 years of civil war turned into chaos a devastating attack on agency international airport and the work of more than a year of saudi breakup talks and a deal signed in 2019 now in question the government members were led to safety but analysts say the authority of the new administration has been undermined this is of additional residence that the challenges are very c.b.s. the challenges are enormous. unity government will have to deal with serious

challenges on the ground. no matter what no matter who stands behind this explosion i think that is a huge security breach has happened yemen's new prime minister moved quickly to try and restore confidence you're both with the people of this attack gives the government the responsibility to put an end to the quick to 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. sides government was formed as a compromise between you a backed separatist in the southern transitional council of aden and saudi backed loyalists of president admirably mansoor hardy in riyadh the 2 camps for to each other after separatists declared a state of emergency and self government in aden and surrounding southern provinces

but together they aim to launch a knighthood front against iran backed rebels in yemen's capital sana'a who deny they were behind the attack but the bloodshed at the airport is likely to put any hopes of peace in yemen back a long way barbara and now to syria still ahead on al-jazeera why the u.n. chief is pushing to extend cease fire monitoring operations to eastern libya but the eyes of it the eyes of it along. with barely a day to go until the u.k. main eaves europe's single market the brookside agreement moves forward in parliament. right prepare for of a meter or 2 of snow in hong sure that's the reason why extremely cold to come across the over water again for harsher harder and to some degree south korea most

likely on the west coast or exerting that dying out during friday's the wind becomes lights and starts to turn around a bit it still remains really cold harbin as an example the flood of hostile the beijing is slightly warmer the sun take a bit of work i suppose and hong kong come up from 12 to 14 so cold but not as cold as it was and the coldish push will make bigger shows in the south china sea just catching vietnam so it is through the central philippines otherwise very widespread showers for the rainy season which you'd expect at this time of the year this is jump to south asia. and here it's a familiar combination of fall critically in the west the northwest of india or if you're out of the fog a bit higher up in kashmir the sun over the snow those 2 conditions remain the same there is rain further south of course or across to caroline in towards sri lanka but there might be an interruption from this rather dismal cloudy foggy weather a new day delhi for example once again come saturday or sunday the skies could turn

over are the shadows on the storms and the improved quality. and a territory that's been under constant sea church 12 years. and in a state of perpetual conflict with its neighbor. women are swimming against the tides and challenging stereotypes in their isolated society. ringback al-jazeera wild fun is 5 palestinians making a difference. the new women of gaza on al-jazeera. ringback or the or the winner oh oh.

now that we've got the top stories on al-jazeera u.s. president donald trump is defending his administration's rollout of covert $1000.00 back scenes blaming states for these slower than promised distribution it comes as a more infectious variant of the virus has now been identified in colorado and california health regulators in the u.k. have approved a vaccine developed by oxford university in astra zeneca more than 50000 and factions were recorded there for a 2nd day and millions more are moving into the toughest era for strict. local media and yemen are reporting saudi led strikes on the cops. it comes just hours after 26 people were killed in a blas of the airport and 8 in that attack happened shortly after members of yemen's newly inaugurated government returned from saudi arabia. now the united nations secretary general antonio terrace has asked for a new u.n. ceasefire monitoring team to be set up and based in sirte that's in eastern libya

this city has been devastated by recent fighting on efforts to oust eisel in 2060 crysis salumi has more from the united nations. the security council asked the secretary general all the way back in february to come up with some ways to help libya the international community being very concerned about the situation there to help them move forward with a peace plan and a way to implement a cease fire that was before they even had a cease fire in place back in october they did agree the warring sides there did agree to a tentative ceasefire and the secretary general was asked to advance these recommendations he's asked for more time to present them citing ongoing peace talks between the parties has also been looking for a new envoy to lead the u.n. mission in libya so all of this combining to bring it down to the end of the year and the last possible minute and we did get a copy today of

a letter that the sick secretary general sent to the security council with some of those recommendations and he's focused on the area of sirte and setting up a u.n. monitoring mission there the u.n. has never had a footprint in this city it's been at the front lines it's a very tense area and in a recent report to the security council the acting envoy in libya stephanie williams described the area as very tense with the warring factions yet to withdraw despite this shaky cease fire they are at least 25 people have been killed when their bus was attacked in syria it happened near a village on the outskirts of dead as a province they were reportedly on their way to join new york celebrations there but no claims of responsibility. the emir of qatar has been invited to next month's golf cooperation council summit by the king of saudi arabia the conference is being seen as a possible step towards ending

a crisis that began in 2017 when saudi arabia the u.a.e. egypt cut ties with the hop blockading countries accuse qatar of supporting terrorism and meddling in their internal affairs claims qatar has strongly denied the summit will be held in riyadh on tuesday a former u.s. military employee who was released after spending 30 years in jail for spying has arrived in israel jonathan pollard who was convicted of selling secrets to israel in the 1980 s. was greeted by the prime minister benjamin netanyahu at the airport he was caught passing on classified military information while working as a u.s. navy intelligence analyst at the pentagon last month pollard's 5 year parole term ended paving the way for him to leave the u.s. . it's early says egypt's decision to terminate a criminal investigation into the murder of an italian doctoral student is unacceptable earlier this month and prosecutors officially charged for egyptian

security officials in connection with the kidnapping in the murdering of julia origine and 22016 egyptian officials say there 'd is no point in launching a criminal case because they don't know who is responsible for jenny was researching independent trade unions in egypt which is a controversial topic aftershocks continue to rattle central croatia where a powerful earthquake struck on tuesday killing at least 7 people at left several towns in ruins and an urgent search is underway to find shelter for a dozens left homeless the epicenter of the 6.4 magnitude quake was near the town of petrolia tanya nowak reports from nearby where an aid distribution center has been set up. buildings collapsed lives destroyed the extent of the damage in pennsylvania and surrounding villages is becoming more clear as emergency workers search for anyone who may still be buried under the

rubble the 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck on tuesday and was felt as far away as brianna and munich a serious of strong aftershocks and the potential collapse of more buildings have forced many to seek shelter outdoors. the president reported we live in a flat and katrina in a building is heavily damaged and it's not just a pretty more to be we have a camper an individual who spent the night in it it's a bit better now because we have electricity so we can study womb you know for him or say are. very frightened it's chaos in the house it's not destroyed that everything is part of our stocks fell out of the cupboards and was birthed and we spent the night in the car but we couldn't sleep at all we have 2 children and i don't know what are the towns of paid 309 c. sec where the hardest hit some have returned to their homes to find little more than debris forced now to create makeshift shelters from the bitter winter weather

the damage to infrastructure has made it difficult to get help to those who need it the center has been set up to collect and distribute food water and other aid to those affected by the earthquake. as the government urgently organizes temporary shelter for those left homeless the army clears rubble and helps look for survivors this was the 2nd earthquake in tracer in 2 days people here are fearful and. the monumental task to rebuild lies ahead. al-jazeera. the post trade deal has been officially signed in brussels and london big raymond between britain and the european union took 9 months to negotiate and will come into force on january the 1st paul brennan reports. it was nearly 50 years ago that the u.k. joined the european economic community but a new relationship has now been signed into reality european commission president

live on the land smiled broadly european council president sharma shelf appeared a little more rueful signed sealed and delivered from brussels via a british air force jet to london for prime minister boris johnson to put pen to paper ink was julie applied in downing street the prime minister flanked by his chief bracks it negotiated and the u.k.'s e.u. ambassador for parliament was recalled from christmas recess to ratify the deal in a rapid one day session boris johnson extolling the virtues of the new agreement. in less than 48 hours we will leave the e.u. single market and the customs union as we've promised and yet british exporters will not face a sudden thicket of trade barriers but rather for the 1st time in the history of e.u. agreements 0 tariffs and 0 quotas. britain officially left the european union back in january but the terms of

a trade deal needed to be agreed before the transition period ends at midnight on december 31st fishing rights were a crucial element of the final agreement but in the port of newlyn in cornwall the final signing was greeted with open hostility british troll operators wanted the u.k.'s 12 mile territorial limit to be brought back it wasn't when you read the small print we will never get it back on the 1st night we're worse off than before bricks it because it's all written in that we won't be able to get it back. it's just a travesty boris the betrayer has completely sold us down the river nonetheless the bracks it battle is now over time has run out and faced with the alternative of triggering a no deal bracks its parliament voted in favor. of the right 520 was the nose the lips 73 the eyes of it the eyes of it a look. it's all been done at breakneck speed the agreement when it came on

christmas eve left just enough time for british m.p.'s to be recalled to parliament behind me to ratify the deal in a one day sitting but for the europeans there is not that luxury of time the european parliament will not be able to examine the terms of the new trade deal and sign it off before midnight on december 31st that said the 27 e.u. ambassadors have already indicated that they unanimously approve it there will be a new relationship from january the 1st critics point to more paperwork computer ocracy customs declarations rules of origin checks and product safety inspections others see greater opportunity sovereignty and freedom the reality will only become apparent in the coming weeks and months paul brennan al-jazeera westminster uganda's main musician turned presidential candidate bobby wine says he's been allowed to return home after being arrested for the 1st time in 2 months wine was

detained along with his team are campaigning in the central region of callandar police dismissed reports of the arrests they accuse whine of holding rallies in violation of coronavirus roles the presidential election is due to be held next month. 10 hong kong activists who try to escape by speedboat to taiwan in august have been jailed by a court in china 2 others have been sent back to hong kong where they'll now face further charges adrian brown reports. a day of drama both inside and outside court the 2 youngest defendants age 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 young why need i mean nancy and because these 2 males are also subjected

to a 14 day compulsory quarantine we will file a request to the court for a 14 day delay in handling their cases 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 is 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. you may also try to obscure adrian brown al jazeera hong kong. hello again the headlines on al-jazeera this hour u.s. president donald trump is defending his administration's rollout of covert $1000.00 vaccines blaming states for the slower than promised distribution it comes as a more infectious variant of the virus has now been identified in colorado and california as in los angeles with more gov gavin newsome in a conversation online that was broadcast on line with dr anthony found out she said that officials here at confirmed the 1st case of this new variant in southern

california now he didn't give a lot more information about the patient.