politics and power the air and empires and al-jazeera. it's a new year it is a new era in the united kingdom as it formally separates from the european union. this is an amazing moment for this country we have of freedom you know. hello again i'm come on santa maria here in doha this is the world news from al-jazeera africa is embarking on a new economic path as a landmark free trade agreement between countries on the continent comes into effect. no place you say you feel safe anymore

a record number of people in hong kong seek u.k. residency to escape tough security laws imposed by beijing. and yes the record of ours restrictions but people around the world are still found ways to celebrate the new. so it is 2021 and the u.k. has entered a new era outside of the european union britain's 11 month transition period is now over the 2 sides relationship is going forward defined by the recently negotiated trade deal the u.k. officially departed from the blocks rules of 11 pm local time on new year's eve that's london time coronavirus distractions meant brags that supporters couldn't celebrate in public since then trucks have been hauling goods across the border to france sunda new customs rules since midnight it means facing more bureaucracy and

potential delays prime minister barak's johnson delivered a message of national unity though at the end of this lengthy divorce which is exposed rifts between the u.k.'s 4 nations. this is an amazing moment for this country we have our freedom in our hands and he is up to us to make the most of it and i think it will be the overwhelming instinct of the people of this country to come together as one united kingdom england scotland wales and northern ireland working together to express our values around the world leading both the g 7 and the cop $26.00 climate change summit in glasgow so let's start with the less she is kelly in france and natasha i guess today was the big day but it's also we've heard in the u.k. a public holiday so maybe not the big volume of traffic coming across.

now it is pretty quiet there isn't any chaos no tailbacks but according to post facials that was to be expected because as you point out it is a new holiday and also the pandemic means there are more strictures on travel between the u.k. and france nevertheless we have seen the 1st trucks arrive from the u.k. to the european union via from southern cal a here this gateway now to the e.u. they arrive 1st by the channel tunnel which links the u.k. to france and behind me in fact that was the 1st ferry the pulled in shore while ago carrying cargo trucks and not for customs officials here it really has been an opportunity to put into place what they have been practicing now for several years not to put into place there a so-called small its border a border where most of the paperwork that has to be uploaded by companies or importing exporting goods now is all being done digitally some 40 nearly

$50000000.00 i should say has been spent on upgrading this port and facilities some $700.00 new customs offices have been employed and what customs officials say they did was check papers make sure all the new border formalities are in place and that is what they will have to do now over the coming days and weeks years decades because that is the new reality they will have to check goods and products that are being imported and exported between these 2 countries from now on ok thank you. in cali in france for us today thank you know we're going to go to join a whole who's in brixton this is in the southwest of england not from line i guess your generous far as the border goes but i can see from behind you the fishing industry so important what have people been telling you.

fishing is a long running story in terms of relations between the united kingdom and its european neighbors in a story that hasn't been resolved by the latest trade deal you've got to go back 350 years to 1666 when the seeds of contention were 1st sown by charles the 2nd who gave belgian fishing boats access to these waters in perpetuity well much more recently than that in the late seventy's when the u.k. joined the e.u. that access along with a system of quotas was cemented in the common fisheries policy a small sacrifice in terms of the size of fishing to the u.k. economy in return for a much larger gains in terms of the single market but the british fishing industry has been in decline ever since that access was not evenly and equally shared in fact u.k. boats are only allowed to catch 38 percent of the fish in their own waters most of that exported on to the european union making fishing absolutely central to any future trade deal indeed vitally dependent on one the problem is the deal they got

is not the deal that they had hoped for nor indeed the deal that they've been promised is my report. and all british catch landed at brick some in devon these waters have been fished by british and european boats for centuries making fish 8 to 10 making issue in the bronx it battle for sovereignty but while british fishes were at the forefront of the march to brics it the promise of winning back control of their waters has been broken a small increase in quota after a 5 year transition period some e.u. access retained many here feel they were the price to be paid for a u.k. e.u. trade deal it's not what we wanted. it's not what we asked for. i think we all knew deep down that we'd get. shafted. uses a lever. but the way we all thought it would be this bad. fishing accounts for

a tiny fraction of the u.k. economy yet its importance in the trade talks has been far greater than that one of the last major issues to be resolved remember the breaks in vision was about taking back control of britain's laws of its borders and of its waters it's turned out that at least part of that vision was an illusion of probably one of the only remaining voting fisherman you'll find there is another couple but now i'm. happily walking around the case saying i told you so but i am walking manically saying i told you so here we are so postboys abraxas. and it was all about plate we train our watches and get our territory back it's just nonsense all things not just the lawsuits against you and if you are sent to work. attempt no actually eventually this but i will spend probably. 30 or 40 percent of my year in french war. i will spend kind of land in holland we sent our boat

to holland for refit never got the infrastructure to refit the boat here. so we are very closely geographically and politically tied with you this whole thing was just point that's spread to the fishermen we met earlier as a sideline in you tube videos demonstrating how to cook britain's abundance of fish species may be more fish on the menu now but the smell in the air is of betrayal jonah al-jazeera bricks of. we'll stay in the u.k. which as well as facing that reality of bragg's that is also dealing with the escalation in the coronavirus pandemic surging infections of full civil authorities to reactivate emergency hospitals you might remember these the so-called nightingale hospitals which have been largely unused but are now being prepared for patients this new variant of the disease is putting even more pressure on the

n.h.s. the national health service rory chalons following this one in london it is hard to believe rory that hospital admission rates now 1st day of 2021 are exceeding the peak back in april this new strain is just it's changing the game completely. yeah hard to believe but it is true and the situation is pretty grave across the country across the hospital sector we understand that there are. 23 at least hospital trusts in the u.k. where occupancies across all of their beds is running more than a. dedicated to covert patients and we understand that in london and the se some i see you units intensive care units operating out more than 100 percent capacity so yes there is clearly a need for something to give we're being told by the government that the

nightingale emergency field hospitals are being readied for use abseiled i went down to the london one yesterday there was no sign of that whatsoever going on i spoke to a very bored man on the reception desk who said that the nightingale there had been temporarily closed and most of the equipments have been moved out so a bit of a discrepancy that there's also an argument is going on at the moment between the british medical association which is the doctors union and the governments and the chief medical offices the b.m.a. is saying that what the government is doing with his prioritization of the 1st doses of the 2 vaccines that are currently plague the use in the u.k. is wrong essentially what the government is doing is saying we're going to perspire in the 2nd jab of these vaccines and get as much of the 1st jab into people as possible so people are being informed to have their 1st jabs already of the pfizer

vaccine that they shouldn't bother showing up for their show jeweled 2nd injection that's being perspire and indefinite dropped to 3 months. and the b.m.a. says this is a mistake but the government's perspective is look if you prioritize the 1st job then that at least gives coverage to as many people as you possibly can get that injection into as much of the population as possible and they will have some coverage it may be 70 percent maybe more but that's better than having sections of the population left on immunize to and that's the thinking behind it but it's causing a bit of around at the moment thank you were a challenge for that updates from london. in the news ahead facing a devalued currency in tough sanctions cubans find a way to help their families back home. was.

with an australian passes into a new year with a new national anthem look at what's behind that change. it's time for the perfect gentleman the winter sponsored point qatar airways. out of the coldest around most temperatures subzero did you expect this is taiwan do you expect to see frost in taiwan and middle east americans aren't and here you're seeing a very pretty picture no taipei is rather warmer 70 degrees we were just inland and higher up and also temperatures are slowly on the rise is still got plenty of showers generated in eastern taiwan and the sunshine doing its work albeit slowly giving hong kong 60 degrees still for below normal more or less in seoul and still plenty of snow to be found in honshu and hokkaido for the next 2 days despite the

fact the wind is generally weakening and temperatures are trying trying but not succeeding to come up that we have had a change in the fortunes in northern india punjab's a bit warmer than it was for is pretty cold still in the north which for many places means persistently fog and disappointing as well those are the fog just tend to lift for very long as to few hours each day this destruction in the pattern taking place now and in the forecast could be good news so you got proper rain further south this is just occasional shouting around and you know what that has a tends to stir up air improves the air quality tests get rid of fog the forecast for delhi though where it is a little different to now. qatar airways to scarcity 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 it's life doesn't mean it's going to be priced what about the guy that can afford it guys tell me it's water. now to syria examines the social financial and environmental impact of want to privatizing asian loads of water on al-jazeera. the top stories this hour on al-jazeera the u.k. has completed its split from the european union leaving the single market and the customs union at 11 pm london time on new year's eve as johnson hailed it as an amazing. having to deal with cope with 19 though emergency hospitals being prepared

in the u.k. now it's more infectious as the more infectious strain of corona virus puts pressure on existing facilities are now more patients in hospital than during the peak of the outbreak and probably. on to other news and a landmark free trade agreement between african nations comes into effect from today january 1st delayed by several months because of the pandemic $54.00 nations have signed up for now it's being implemented in the $33.00 countries that have officially ratified it under the steel tariffs on 90 percent of goods will be eliminated the world bank says it will increase the continent's income by $450000000000.00 by the year 2035 the agency also says africa's exports mostly in manufacturing will get a $560000000000.00 boost this agreement will raise wages especially for women who account for more than 70 percent of cross border traders and the free trade agreement promises to lift 30000000 africans out of extreme poverty we'll start

with this report when interests in. workers at this factory rushed to deliver a 1000 selfies masks the owner says more than 2 and a half 1000000. to control the spread of ninety's. but as the africa free trade agreement comes into effect he foresees trouble ahead for the continent's poor countries. small and poor economies will always be at a disadvantage hopefully as time goes on we can get special considerations otherwise it will be difficult to compete. businesses in poor countries may have their concerns but overall experts say the agreement will eventually benefit them they believe the cost of labor in these countries will attract more industries. into african trade. development the level of industrialisation. very some will have an advantage over others but african countries need to.

unfinished among themselves. currently imports most of its needs from water to food and machinery from big retail to local markets flooded with imported products because. the country will continue to depend on him making it difficult. to grow. experts say it's hard to see european and asian multinational companies giving up the trade advantage they've held in africa for centuries. africa's largest economies lined the shelves at the emmys biggest retail monopoly. prefer these brands traders say they won't be many local goods on store shelves and less government steps in. we should be given support the government should facilitate easy acquisition of land and loans from banks. but

it's hard to see how governments on the continent can do. that without breaching the protectionism rules of africa trade agreement and the world trade organization committee agrees al-jazeera yemi. more with mohammed joe who's reporting from the kenyan capital nairobi just interested mohamed and in some of the background here where this came from who's made the drive in and when the rest of the countries will sign up to it. well come on it's long been the dream of offical countries to have more trade between themselves and this has been one of the bream supports the organization of african union which was published in the sixty's. african union which took over from the. top that it's just one of the main objectives but suspicion and you know small african countries who do not have the poor customs not only infrastructure but also

legislations. was seeing it more and more difficult to get into a single a market for africa but in the past a few years we have seen china pushing this with the china export import bank not only have been rolling at the conferences formulated this trade agreement between african countries but also offering a countries that need. things like about to set up industries leading to suspicion among some people here in africa that this could be probably a ploy by china to have to dump goods on the african countries which some say is the cause of the slow response from some of these countries yet to run to fight the agreement yes this is going to be transformative african countries of the

compression of $2.00 trillion dollars output and more trade with between them will benefit them but again suspicious still. that's monitor reporting from nairobi thank you mohamed. an exodus of hong kong residents is expected later this month as people seek refuge from the tough new security laws imposed by beijing and the end of january residents from the former british colony can now move to the u.k. for up to 5 years and then apply for residency and brown as more from uncle. many people in today's hong kong tend to choose their words carefully but fred z. is not afraid to speak his mind about the reasons for leaving a territory he says he no longer recognizes no place he would say you feel safe anymore everywhere when you see police actually get tense that's why especially as a parent with kids it worries me

a lot fred hopes to soon join his family in the nearby democratic island of taiwan he owns a market research company another skilled worker who doesn't want to go but says he has to that decision motivated by concerns over the new national security law especially its impact on academic freedom when the true don't come to home you need to know. what lessons that they had in school would make you very tired always worried about your kids being brainwashed. was he took part in protests demanding political reform demonstrations that often turn violent amid the subsequent campaign against ascent other families are also opting to leave this one else not to be identified because the father's worried about the repercussions of speaking out they've taken up the british

government's resettlement offer and will soon leave their home for the last time. there is nothing to make me stay and it is torture to stay and if you're on the opposition side what the government is doing is not for the benefit of the people they have sacrificed hong kong's future for their own interests. kim watchung is an outspoken political commentator also mulling a move to britain in the last film on a lot of people just as wise to me they call a syllable me they they they they say maybe you have to be less if we choose to stay because it is tilted our know what the government would do for you this kind of outspoken people it's not the 1st exodus from hong kong in the decade before the territory was returned from british to chinese rule in 1997 around half a 1000000 left but after securing a 2nd nationality many returned the mood among some of those leaving this time

though is one of resignation a belief that they won't be coming back adrian brown al jazeera hong kong. well with the pandemic impacting different aspects of life it did dampen new year's celebrations around the world however some countries were still able to welcome in 2021 in traditional style and now it's from laura bird many. new zealand was one of the 1st countries in the world to ring in the new year. it has a new community cases of copied 19 and people celebrated in the streets. but a different story is a clock struck midnight 2 hours later in sydney for the family of bag and this little fireworks will present the not the usual crowd to watch their plans to allow spectators were cancelled after a new cluster a call to 900 cases

a much. a few hours later this was the scene in china's who had the city were covered 19 1st emerged more than a year ago and although new cases a scarce in the world's 4th largest country many still exercise caution by wearing masks. just as i am sure everyone thinks that the 1st hall of 2020 was terrible if you look at the measures people took the things people did to control the virus people's kindness was felt by everyone and. most who also celebrated with this annual tradition of pi works but it's present that to me putin had a sobering message but it stayed unfortunately the epidemic has not yet brain completely stopped the fight against it does not stop for a minute but doctors nurses and ambulance times continue to work right to sleep many of them are on duty he stressed of not elsewhere empty streets in assemble

many stayed at home. and in paris is shows elisei police checks vehicles to ensure people stuck to a nighttime curfew. i. under crossed the atlantic in. celebrations but on a much smaller scale. as the iconic in times square dropped at midnight it was too much smaller crowds. as the globe wraps up new year's celebrations many would ask would things be better in 2021. al-jazeera. the cuban pesos $1.00 to $1.00 exchange rate with the united states dollar is to be devalued for the 1st time in more than 50 years that's going to hurt the already struggling island country where the economy is mostly state owned tourists are reports now and some are getting creative in order to survive. a food

delivery service cuban style this family owned business is giving cubans living abroad and alternative way to help their relatives on the island economic sanctions imposed by u.s. president donald trump have complicated remittances to cuba and that's why sending food instead has become popular back at us and we have a weekly package that is what cubans need the most a few years ago we started to work with companies that promote our services relatives abroad can send a gift to their families here they can send sweets and basic items while the services offered in u.s. dollars and paid for through the united states the food is served in cuba right now i am an a.o.l. rice beans and pork or a traditional meal for the holidays that daniel doris wants to share with his family and have an on his birthday he paid for the service on line that they only mangle here lots of problems of food scarcity in the limitations of moving cash and the service allows us to send food and i pay for it from abroad. i'm very happy

with this economic restrictions imposed by the u.s. have banned wiring money to cuba more than 400 western union offices have closed in recent months down the road so this is a good service for us because the pandemic. of food and other items which is what people need us sanctions in cuba as economic troubles have worsened people's lives on the island shortages of food and basic items have again become a common problem people have to line for hours in order to get them cuban president . and else who will eliminate a complicated currency system that has prevailed for decades it will result in a steep devaluation people on the island are feeling the consequences because of a thought i says the months ahead will be difficult. first.

price is. not forcing. greece exports in the meantime people like the doris continue to help their relatives in cuba and as long as remittances are banned finding alternative ways to help them survive. now a 143 years after it was composed and 1st performed australia has updated its national anthem to reflect what it is a prime minister says is a spirit of unity. was. that the old line the words of been changed for we are one and for us' one of the being

that used to be. young and this is an attempt to better recognize the country's indigenous history professor massy langton holds the foundation chair in indigenous studies at the university of melbourne and says simply changing the words to the end won't make australia fair a country for its indigenous population there are new. nike demands. and yes they will not around the rim there are no numbers like that in arkansas but one is that we are national die. chimes from it's night january 26th which is a long way just operation of the landing of the 1st weight i'm going in tomorrow night on that philip and why that didn't sound broken. everything from the maple really are a sort of russian genocide and so are the other rotation.

used you're right it took them a constitutional reform because we were probably would it from the constitution since $901.00 and stick it to minor amendments in $969.00 wouldn't exist as an absence from the constitution so we've never been quoted. one word giant in the national anthem it's not like i could get once. a celebration of genocide our language nor our absence from the constitution. at half past the hour these are the top stories the united kingdom has completed its split from the european union they've in the single market and the customs union at 11 pm london time new year's eve prime minister barra's johnson is.