argentina's congress is debating a bill seeking to raise billions of dollars for the super rich poor families hit by counting on al-jazeera. al-jazeera. hello i'm sam is a than this is the news hour live from doha coming up in the next 60 minutes traffic between britain and europe appears to be flowing smoothly as the u.k. formally completes its exit from the block health system under pressure emergency field hospitals are prepared in the u.k. or infectious strain of corona virus one of the world's largest free trade agreements officially begins across dozens of african countries and reforming

cuba's finances the country ends its decades old jewel currency system there are fears it could make things worse for people. and sport liverpool manager you're going to believe the english premier league should be suspended and wants games to continue despite a rising number of positive tests for 19 with and only. after nearly how 1st century the united kingdom has formally left the european union are showing in a new era in the new year so far britain's departure from the e.u. single market and customs union has been fairly smooth there's been no major delays in cross channel movements of trunks and ferries to and from france but that's largely because of the coronavirus pandemic and the long weekend holiday which means. traffic was lighter than usual officials say many british businesses of

stockpiled goods in case of the new border requirements caused delays and disruptions but those new measures came into force at 11 pm local time on new year's eve 4 years after the 2016 referendum but the barber joins us now live from london it's a historic day they deem what's the message from the country's leaders. not surprisingly prime minister boris johnson is heading it is an important moment in his new year's eve address which didn't really go to great lengths talk about bricks it but what he did say was that the u.k. has freedom in our hands in his words and can do things differently better his chief negotiator in those talks with brussels david frost has put out a tweet saying britain has just become a fully independent country again deciding on our own affairs for ourselves well

this question of sovereignty is a moot point exactly how much freedom to act independently without repercussions britain has had but it won't surprise you to know that the 1st minister of scotland . scottish national party says nicholas sturgeon has tweeted scotland will be back soon europe keep the light on that's because she knows that a large majority of voters in scotland wanted to remain in the european union in a 2014 referendum on independence from the u.k. they voted no but they had been promised by some politicians that their future in the e.u. was assured if they stayed in the u.k. obviously that's not the case now so her hand could be strengthened. we've heard from president mccall of france. the u.k. in his words remains our neighbor and our friend and ally but he also warned this he said this brics it was the child of the year of european malaise and of many

lies and false promises he obviously admits that there were matters within the e.u. that pushed people to be euro skeptic here in britain but also that there were untruths told and some of those might actually be revealed in the coming months none the less the message from the u.k. is we are going to try and be more outward looking we are in control of our affairs let's see whether that does reveal itself to be the case why that's the message from the leaders what about the people how prepared are they particularly businesses with trade on the line with the e.u. . well you are just talking about the transport situation at the ports in france and in england will over in northern ireland there is now an effective border between mainland u.k. and northern ireland still part of the u.k.

. because northern ireland shares that land border with ireland a member of the european union and the priority has been to keep people and goods moving freely on the island of ireland so the foreign minister of ireland has warned that in the near future he says we're going to see the 80000000000 euros worth of trade across the irish sea that's between britain and ireland disrupted by what he calls an awful lot more checks saying that there will be cost in delay with a 3 month grace period at the moment for for parcel goods going from britain to northern ireland that's because of the restrictions meaning that a lot of shops are shut so that would be a dramatic thing if people couldn't actually order online for example goods like that but there will be customs declarations for goods coming from mainland britain to northern ireland very soon so that could see

a lot of disruption and that could lead to people changing their mind politically as well as to the future of northern ireland it remains to be seen but people here as well are being warned that it won't be business as usual when they travel and go and live in the e.u. they might need feeders if it's for over 90 days in the 180 day period for example so lots of questions still to be answered in the break that is not over after all thanks so much that in barber there let's get the view from the other side of the channel from france is in the border crossing of cali. first trucks arrived after midnight local time here in the port of callan our gateway to the european union for the u.k. and since then we've seen other trucks arriving on ferries and as you say passenger services also into paris on your star train of course the u.k. has now left to the single market and customs union and what that means is the

french customs officials here have been able to put into action what they have been practicing for so many years and that is the reimposition of border formalities and what we have french customs officials say is a so-called small its border most of the extra paperwork that will be needed by companies or importing and exporting can be done or law in that way port authorities and customs officials hope that that will minimize any delays or disruption here at the border so far they say things have gone smoothly customs officials have said that they expected these days to be quiet it is the new year holiday of course here also the covert pandemic means more restrictions on travel between the u.k. and france and some companies of simply decided not to import and export goods at this time crossing the border because they knew that they could be some disruption

all this of course gives port authorities and customs officials here a bit more time to make sure that they can iron out any tweaks that will be needed to do so over the next a few days because this will now will be the new reality here the border in cali. and then i call buckhorn is a professor of international relations at dublin city university joins us from county in ireland good to have you with us so how do you think most people are reflecting whether they're in the republic of ireland or northern ireland on the brags that situation are they breathing a sigh of relief that at least there is no border. they are but i mean begs that isn't a reason for celebration i mean this is a lose lose situation in bragg's it was always going to be about minimizing the damage that was done to our limbs nobody talked about art and when they were voting on breaks at an art it was always going to be collateral damage what the irish government and the european union have done over the last few years in the

negotiations has tried to minimize stuff and i think it came to as a surprise to many in britain is how forthright the european union negotiators were defending irish interests because of course you couldn't give a better deal to a departing member than to an existing member ireland so that's the reason why is your previous reporter said we now we continue to have no border on the island of ireland the new border the trade border will be between 2 parts of the united kingdom northern ireland and the great britain and that i think will create a new momentum over the coming years there's been a surge of passport applications from people in northern ireland for irish passports because they're entitled to them and with that they retain the privileges and rights of e.u. citizens and i think that economically and politically you're going to see an increased momentum towards a united ireland in the coming years as a result of bragg's and i think there's a supreme irony and because of course those who are advocating for brags that britain and northern ireland saw it as perhaps triggering the breakup of the european union but i think far more likely is that it may lead ultimately to the

dissolution of the united kingdom not only with norton and of orders but also with scotland both parts of course voted against briggs's and that brings us to the next point i was going to raise is how soon do you think we might see more of a serious challenge now to the status of northern ireland because it is kind of already in a different situation from the rest of the u.k. visibly the e.u. at least right. it is very much so and i think what's important is to consider bragg's not as an event i mean that's obviously what we're talking about today because it's the 1st of january this is day one but drags it is a process and it will take many years for us to fully digest the consequences and i think there will be a lot of pain involved for for all sides i mean this is ultimately a divorce and and divorces are painful but ultimately britain still lives in the same neighborhood from its former spouses it still interacts on a daily basis and it won't be able to separate i think in the way that it's all to

believe visitors but in terms of the irish dynamics i think that people in northern ireland will feel most acutely the loss of the e.u. membership of the irish government has been doing what it can to mitigate against the worst consequences so for example it is that it has extended the erasmus student exchange program to citizens of new order and says they will pay for citizens of northern ireland to continue without somebody with help and if it's in other parts of the european union but ultimately i think as i said so it's about how do you think that'll and translate into the next political development in northern ireland do you think we're looking at demands for a referendum scotland or want i think so i think so this is the centenary of norden arns establishment i mean it was established it must be remembered against the wishes of the vast majority of people living on the island of ireland and in of the good friday agreement of 1908 was a conflict settlement that most people could live with but break that has upset

that and has reemphasize sovereignty and constitutional issues in a way that has made the choice more stark for people now to remain in the united kingdom or not because now it means living in the european union are not so i think that yes i think you will see like scotland a movement towards a border pool in northern ireland in the near future and as i said never has there been a greater momentum i think towards united are and then than now. it's one of the greatest ironies for braggs it is so much darker for your thoughts on that you're welcome plenty more ahead on the news hour including a long wait for justice families of those killed and kidnapped by forces loyal to libya's warlord after spending new year without their loved ones. india gears up for the world's largest covert 19 vaccination program. and it's brought one of the hottest teams in the n.b.a. continue their fast start to the season for us here with that story would like

bridge. doctors in the u.k. are warning of a difficult few weeks after a new more in fact sure strain of corona virus is leading to a record number of cases in deaths emergency hospitals are on standby more people are now in hospital than jury in the peak of the pandemic in april in some parts of england as the number of new infections more than doubles the government's vaccination strategy is coming under scrutiny the u.k.'s doctors' union has criticized a change in policy which would see the delay in the 2nd jab of the pfizer biotech vaccine the vaccine is most effective when the 2 full doses are administered within $21.00 days but the chief medical officers of england scotland wales and northern ireland are standing by the government's decision to go live now to laurie chalons in london so rory why is the vaccination program coming under so much fire.

i think it was always inevitable that after the the high on wednesday i suppose of of the approval of the 2nd vaccine to be used in the u.k. which is the astra zeneca oxford one they were going to be i suppose the cracks appearing at some point or other. it's an immensely complicated process vaccinating so many people in such a short space of time. the argument that there is going on at the moment is to do with the government's reply or its izing of of how administers the vaccine previously had to be thinking that ok we're going to spit this out over the 2 doses of both of these vaccines and will do them equally it shifted in that perspective and i think it shifted because of the significant the worsening situation with infections and hospitalized hospitalizations and deaths so now what is doing is

prioritizing the 1st dose and this is a sensory saying get as many injections into as many people as possible as quickly as possible and we'll worry about the 2nd doses of these vaccines. at some point down the line is basically be perspiring the 2nd doses of the pfizer vaccine for up to 3 months now as you just said in your introduction that pfizer said well we don't have the data for whether that's actually going to work our data says these have the secondaries after 21 days or not any longer than that but the chief medical offices of the u.k. have said well let's essentially take that gamble let's. prioritize 1st doses get immunity out amongst the population at large and then we'll think about 2nd doses down the line but as you said the british medical medical association the doctors union is not keen on this idea and we'll have to see how it

pans out in practice all right thanks so much for a challenge. in india health experts are reviewing the safety of the oxford astra zeneca vaccine for emergency use the world's 2nd worst affected country has yet to approve any vaccine for roll out its record of more than 10000000 cases so far with nearly 149000 deaths and there are signs of final approval could be imminent as elizabeth purana reports from new delhi. india's health ministry is saying that the expert committee of india's drug's regulatory body continuing to meet to consider emergency use all 3 vaccines and that the final decision will be taken by the director of the body they have been meeting for the 2nd day this week considering emergency use approval for the oxford astra zeneca but also for files a biotech and an andean company called bot of biotech but we have local media and

voices use agency reporting that the expert committee has recommended emergency use approval for the oxford astra zeneca and once that happens that will go to the director for his approval but that is just thought to be a formality preparations have been in full swing for the vaccination drive here there's going to be a trial run with mock drills and vaccination centers around the country on saturday to test everything from the transport arrangements for the vaccines to the cold storage systems the deployment of workers the app that's used to register and monitor everyone that's going to receive the vaccine the indian government is planning to inoculate 300000000 people just in the 1st half of this year and the already has the biggest vaccination program in the world where it inoculates around 56000000 babies and pregnant women every year bought health experts say that the system in many places isn't a bad state that vaccines aren't always stored or monitored properly power could

last for hours leaving vaccines unfit for use and that is why the government has been doing trial runs to identify and fix problems for the vaccine drive begins here. saying in india tens of thousands of farmers are protesting against the government's controversial new agriculture laws there have been camping out on highways around the capital new delhi many without shirts city's coldest nights of the season the farmers say the new laws will destroy their incomes and livelihoods unions will meet government leaders for another round of talks next week to try and break the impasse. a landmark free trade agreement between african nations has come into effect after months of delays due to the pandemic $54.00 nations signed up for now it's being implemented in the $33.00 countries that have ratified it under the deal tariffs on 90 percent of goods will be eliminated the world bank says it will

increase the continent's income by $450000000000.00 by 2035 the agency also says africa's exports mostly in manufacturing will get a $560000000000.00 boost and the remit will raise wages especially for women who account for more than 70 percent of cross border traders and the free trade agreement is forecast to lift 30000000 africans out of extreme poverty some economists say the continent's poor countries will remain at a disadvantage that address reports from the army and air. workers of this garment factory rushed to deliver thousands of east mosques the owner says more than 2 and a half 1000000 were made here to control the spread of corporate 90. but as the africa free trade agreement comes into effect he foresees trouble ahead for the continent's poor countries. when the 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 cheap cost of labor in these countries will attract more industries and that it had to dip into african trade transport industrial development the level and peace of industrialization among african countries very some will have an advantage over others but african countries need to buy and sell roll and finished products among themselves. currently imports. it's needs from bottled water to food and machinery from big retail to local markets and here is flooded with imported products because of its weak infrastructure and indifferent believes the country will continue to depend on him making it difficult for local industries 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 century products from europe asia and africa's largest economies line the shelves at the emmys biggest retail monopoly consumers 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 maybe greece al-jazeera yemi. well let's get more now on this from him but i doubt he joins us from the kenyan capital nairobi so i have been given some of the concerns with the dresses report raise there how much can how much enthusiasm is there right across the continent for this deal.

well there are mixed reactions to the common market for although up to 33 countries have already right to fire agreement just coverage in the home market for africa there's still more than 20 african countries who are hesitant and have not yet ratified the agreement there are fears among small african nations small economists who say that they do not want to be a dumping ground for substandard goods and hesitant about establishing it so it will be a long time before we see a common market getting embraced by the entire african continent but the african union has been underlining the fact that they need to move from the new model of exporting rule materials from africa and that africa should be able to sell not

just within africa but also across the world more finished products and also move to a situation where some will look just a source of revenue. for industrialisation so there is a lot at stake here and many believe that it will have a huge impact and have a cause for major impact on the african continent once it comes into full. implementation all right we're going to have to watch and see if it does then thanks so much for that. cuba is rolling out major economic changes which will see one of its 2 domestic currencies scrapped after decades of peso will be kept devalued and the so-called convertible peso which is pegged to the dollar will be eliminated it will result in short term pain for cubans but the government hopes it will address the country's larger economic problems seen human reports. he

stole my tickets owns one of her banners most successful private restaurants a must even for the most high profile visitors until now his customers paid in cook's r.c. you see a state invented substitute for the u.s. dollar with $25.00 times more than the cuban besought but now that who is being scrapped with an unsustainable dual currency an exchange rate system. without it just means the elimination of a currency that was circulating for a long time and reactivate in our national currency. if only it were that simple one of the most common phrases in cuba is nice classy or it's not easy. and that's the perfect way to describe the risk elimination of cuba's 2nd currency while it's considered to be hard currency it's in fact worthless outside of cuba hindering exports and desperately needed investments one. then

when the creek was put into circulation it was pigs of the dollar but in time it was value its elimination in general terms is positive but there will be collateral damage. first and foremost a devaluation of the pisot against the us dollar and a steep increase in prices which means purchasing power will drop despite the much higher promised salaries. i don't see the point they raise your salary but they triple or quadruple the price of the dollar which we need to buy all the basics. and that's the other big problem if you want to buy anything from food to clothes or even hygiene products you need to go to one of the more than $120.00 stores and that's why all these people are lining up in front of the bank to exchange hard currency for an electronic debit card in m l c the cuban name for the u.s. greenback cash transactions aren't allowed. not that iran has family

who can send money if you don't work with tourists if you don't have access to hard currency this change has been very bad. it will be a difficult process for a country that is already suffering from a deep recession scarcity and harsh new u.s. economic sanctions but then as they say getting cuba's finances in order won't be easy. to see in human al-jazeera. also ahead i'll just share a city that no longer feels like home we look at why a growing number of hong kong as are planning to seek refuge elsewhere and. australia changes its national anthem to reflect its indigenous history but some say that it's not enough. getting ready for an olympics while in lockdown we'll

hear from this gold medal hopeful about the challenge of training during a pandemic. the fall spring in istanbul is slowly cooling down but proper frozen wintry weather is in most of turkey this is in the northeast this lake freezer year recreationally it's brilliant and they're enjoying it so showing things where they should be this time of year weather wise we are actually looking far instruments to turkey the middle east iran the sun is this bit of a breeze picking up down the gulf you mark cold schmall bit short lived 10 to depress the temperature down to about 22 by sun then into monday in doha still a chance of a shower on such tape is

a very small chance to be honest generally speaking it's quiet even this massive cloud he would use no more than light showers in saudi or maybe southern iraq or jordan you can still see the remains of the tropical cyclone that came across bear there's no sitting here more or less on the borders of botswana and maybe. i'm sure you don't think in the maybe you're aware country are certainly don't he's got skulls and coast power friends i guess but this rain is going to come quite widespread this weekend still central circulation so it starts raining when talk generally fabry much of the wet months to namibia but this is looking particularly wet at the moment. but. from fossil fuels to modern day renewable as societies develop the energy demands increase requiring innovative solutions to meet such demands as a global power developed into the investment company nebraska power is uniquely

positioned to deliver against least amount we provide business growth promote social economic benefits and provide innovative safe and viral mentally sound energy solutions for future generation the brush fire nearing future energy take the worst possible material you radio grounded into dust comparable to flower and make a deal out of it and put it into a place where people live it is a cause colossal event. is gone for many people after this or the filing suit. but doesn't make you feel nice you feel like a murderer we have created an enormous an on a mental disaster. and investigation south africa toxic city on al jazeera. rule. for all or. oh.

they're watching al-jazeera time to recap our headlines now britain's departure from the e.u. single market and customs union has been fairly smooth so far there have been no major delays in cross-channel movements of trucks and ferries to and from france doctors in the u.k. are warning of a difficult few weeks after a new more infectious strain of corona virus that a record number of cases and deaths more people are now in hospital been during the peak of the pandemic in april in some parts of england. $33.00 african nations are now trading as one of the world's largest single markets a free trade deal that has just come into effect will see tariffs eliminated on 90 percent of goods within the block the world bank says it will lift millions of people out of poverty. now the ethiopian human rights commission says security

forces killed more than 75 people during ethnic can rest in june and july this year last year all the group has released a report detailing the violence which happened after the killing of a popular singer her child and he was a prominent voice in anti-government protests the rights commission calls the killings a widespread and systematic attack against civilians that points to crimes against humanity. is a spokesman and a senior advisor at ethiopian the ethiopian human rights commission he joins us on skype from addison good to have you with us so i read your report and it talks a ground evidence of of these crimes and atrocities but i guess there's a key question here did security forces simply fail to intervene or did you find evidence that points to actual complicity in attacks.

thank you for having me it's a mixed bag so the ethiopian human rights commission launched an investigation right after. the onset of violence in our own mia ramirez ethiopia's largest region the violence was triggered by the killing. by the assassination of how john of an essay who was a very prominent singer and and an activist see was killed on the 29th and then immediately afterwards we had violence unrest breaking out throughout the region in 3 days of carnage if you could call it. altogether over 100 in 123 people died 35 of which were killed by by armed attackers 76 as well died at the hands of security forces

today we launched the their report a full investigation report on this violence and we've deemed these attacks by by the by armed groups as amounting to crimes against humanity what has happened so far has there been any credible investigation into any of these crimes and alleged perpetrators. well yes we are investigating. but only mariani earlier be alone now. the authority yes so the report has recommendations. put forward by the ethiopian human rights commission to government officials at both regional level in order mia and also at the same time at the federal level one of which a very important recommendation that we made was to actually recognize that atrocity crimes can occur in or only elsewhere and that it is vitally important

that it's imperative to design and set up a comprehensive atrocity crime prevention mechanics and that's one of our big recommendations in addition to calling for the perpetrators to be held to account and what sort of response have you received from authorities those are your recommendations. we sent to you so there are several of them we've sent recommendations that are full of porter a variety of government offices government officials i think it's best probably if you could ask me this question in a few time then if you know a few days time once we get all the responses but it's a it's a matter of urgency because you know it's not the 1st time this into 20 in 2020 it's not the only incidence of widespread attacks against civilians that took place in ethiopia now in

a few weeks back actually last week we had another matter we had a massacre in. one of the western most regions of ethiopia in which dozens of people were killed civilians all of them so this is a very very important measure that the government has to take as a matter of priority all right thanks so much for the quarter speaking to you then maybe in a few days when the of have those responses back thank you so much thanks thank you . when libyan wall of the forces controlled the city of tal horn hundreds of civilians were forcibly detained killed and tortured there are families that still don't know what happened to their loved ones under serious malik trainer went to town hall or he met those still searching for the truth. many families in libya will be spending the next few days together celebrating the new year but the family in 2 who know will not be. says all the men in her family who were either

killed or kidnapped by members of the armed group can yet backed by the warlord have to or who made the town his command center before a failed military campaign on the capital tripoli i don't know why there sure enough 21 men from my family are gone 14 were killed for no reason and 7 of them were kidnapped and until now we have no idea of their whereabouts they didn't bring us their bodies and the government hasn't been able to identify the bodies through tests if there are amongst the dead we want to know. when the un recognized government of prime minister faisal so raj retook western libya in june work began to find out what atrocities had been committed when to whom was hafter stronghold so far 125 bodies have been recovered from mass graves in the city. can yet militia is accused of carrying out the killings but the tripoli government has been slow to identify the bodies or begin work on other reported sites the united states

blacklisted the kenya militia and its leader in november over the human rights abuses in. ramadan says he notified authorities of where he believes his brother and 35 other men are buried but nothing's been done so far to establish the truth. according to some witnesses they killed them and took them to the waste dump they buried them under the trash 36 men were there that's a lot of men i don't know why the government refuses to take the lack of a proper investigation by the government has caused a great deal of anger here. our team is currently working in town who know they are combing a large area and they. digging is all done by hand unfortunately we don't have the materials yet to identify the bodies or high tech equipment to speed up the excavation process for the family and many like them into who know it could take

years to discover what really happened to their loved ones so the closure of the discretely seek will have to a military. to whom. israel says it's vaccinated 1000000 people against 19 drawled out one of the world's earliest and most rapid inoculation campaigns less than 2 weeks ago but it excludes 2 and a half 1000000 palestinians living in the occupied west bank in gaza medics across brazil have held a minute of silence to mark the new year staff at the intensive care unit in sao paolo are among those paying tribute to colleagues and patients affected by cope with 19 cases are surging and the country has recorded more than a 1000 deaths for the 3rd day in a row and the number of coronavirus deaths in the u.s. state of california has passed 25000 in los angeles one person is dying every 10

minutes medical workers are struggling to cope and the housing patients in hallways conference rooms and gift shops fewer than 3000000 people across the u.s. have been vaccinated against covert 19 that's far short of the government's target of inoculating 20000000 by now reports out of the u.s. say at least 140 republicans will oppose counting electoral college votes next week when president elect joe biden's victory is expected to be certified although it could trigger a lengthy debate president donald trump supporters have no chance of overturning the results congress meets to count the votes and confirm the 2020 alexion result on january the 6th. an exodus of hong kong residents is expected later this month as they seek refuge from tough new security laws posed by beijing from the end of this month residents from the former british colony could move to the u.k.

for up to 5 years and then apply for residency adrian brown reports from hong kong . many people in today's hong kong tend to choose their words carefully but fred c. 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 children come to home you need to know. what lessons that they had in school

would make you very tired to worry 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 taught to 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 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. nathan law is a hong kong pro-democracy activist who now lives in exile in london he says hundreds of thousands of people will be forced to leave the city in order to avoid persecution by beijing. a lot of local people welcome that policy because it offers

a safe exit for the people in need or facing political persecution so i think there will be a few without the feel 100000 people coming because for now the u.k. is in political instability and for local phone company for they have kind of like wait and see mentality for now but idea of the day they're facing political persecution and lots of what terror in hong kong so i guess that will be quite a large amount of numbers of people flowing into the country that different degree of political persecution that people are facing some are being charged some are being some of being arrested and some would just like living in their daily lives and they are afraid of speaking out or they're afraid of the police brutality so i think that the different degrees of people that in the current political climate so volatile people if they feel like their freedom of being restrained that they're not able to speak freely these kind of people they were probably thinking about

leaving home by immigration but for some others like me we are facing real political persecution where then we have to flee and seek other ways of leaving the city. 143 years after it was 1st composed and performed australia has updated its national anthem to reflect what the prime minister says is a spirit of unity. day. to. day . that was the old line the words have been changed to for we are one and free no longer we are young men go free it's an attempt to better recognize the country's indigenous history. professor masia langton holds the foundation chair in indigenous studies at the university of melbourne she says simply changing the words of the anthem won't make australia a fairer

a country for its indigenous population there at. night it demands more on. us may well not a reverend are there in the numbers are like. that one is threatening our national day. shines from its night of january 2006 which is a long reign of celebration of the landing of the post wait i'm going to marry. the man that i thought they were and why that didn't sound right. it will really are a sort of russian genocide and so. 7 the other rotation. is your right to the late. because we were have been excluded from the constitution since not 101 and states 2 minor amendments in 969 we

exist as an absence from the constitution so we've never being quoted and one word giant in the national anthem is not right and i could get wants to. a celebration of genocide are. arabs. well still ahead on al-jazeera in spall a college football game that really got galle off the reaction was meant to have finished. the health of humanity is at stake a global pandemic requires a global response. w.h.o. is the guardian of global health delivering lifesaving tools supplies and training to help the world's most found people uniting across borders to speed up the

development of test treatments and effects working with scientists and health workers to learn all we can about the virus keeping you up to date with what's happening on the ground in the ward and in the land advocating for everyone to have access to essential health services now more than ever the world needs w.h.o. making a healthy a world. for everyone. roof . of the old. world.

not a back out is in the gaza strip are using graffiti and rurals to encourage people to take precautions against coronavirus it's hope there are 4 raise awareness about the need to wear masks and maintain social distance the gaza strip is experiencing a rise in infections however with no news on when vaccinations will start people are trying to stay positive for the new year. last year destroyed us and destroyed the whole world we hope god willing in 2021 safety for everyone and lord that the coronavirus is gone. the pen demick the surface economically and we are in for the worst we ask god to live to spend demick from us for the palestinian people to be in the best condition the economic situation term proof and for us to be happy and to have national unity. with the pandemic impacting different aspects of life in stamp and new year's celebrations around the world but some countries were able to

ring in 2021 in traditional style laura bird manoli reports. new zealand was one of the 1st countries in the world to ring in the new year. it has community cases of copied 19th and people celebrated in the students. but it different stories the clock struck midnight 2 hours later in sydney the family had a bang in this little fireworks to present the not the usual crowd to watch the plans to allow spectators were cancelled after a new cast. a call to 900 cases emerged. a few hours later this was the scene in china's hu han the city where covered 901st 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. to the south after everyone thinks that the 1st haul 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 woks but its president vladimir putin had a sobering message don't you mark but it's staying 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 asleep many of them are on duty this festive not. elsewhere empty streets in assemble many stayed at home. and embarrass his shows elisei police checks vehicles to ensure people stuck to a nighttime curfew. i. under cross the atlantic in europe celebrations but on a much smaller scale. as the iconic who in times square dropped at midnight it was

too much smaller crowns. us the glue props up new year's celebrations many would ask would things be patterned in 2021. of the al-jazeera. it's a tradition dating back decades but it's not for the faint of heart on new year's day italians dive off a bridge into the icy waters of the tiber river it was started by an unemployed lifeguard who was showing off his diving skills in the hopes of getting work as a stunt man since then italians have been braving the freezing temperatures to keep the tradition going all right it's time for us to keep the sports tradition going to here's for our thanks so much sammy liverpool manager you're in hog believes the english premier league shouldn't be suspended klopp wants games to continue despite a rising number of coronavirus cases

a record number of 18 positives were recorded in the last round of league testing 3 matches have been called off this season due to coronavirus and sheffield united game at crystal palace on saturday is also in doubt. i think the competition go on but i'm not. because i have to get important as well because people want to watch it and we are in this case not our offices right if you want to usually lift isolated go to training ground and stuff like this so i think really we can carry on but i'm a specialist and i respect all decisions. the decisions made in the next few weeks but just as city say 5 of their players will miss sunday's game at chelsea due to positive tests walker gabriel he is zeus and 3 other on name players are currently in isolation city's game at everton last monday was called off. that has united have a chance to move level on points with liverpool at the top of the table you know

united are in action against aston villa later on you know they're on beaten and 9 league matches the team hasn't won the title since alex ferguson was hired as manager back in 2013 the current boss is doing his best to downplay expectations there's no title race after 15 games. you can lose the chance of having to. be in a race in the 1st 10 games of course you can vote play another 15 get to 30 then maybe you can start about start talking about the title race when when you get to march april to the n.b.a. now when the phoenix suns ended 2020 with a win against the utah jazz for their best start with season in a decade 7 booker led the psalms with 25 points and 7 assists while mchale bridge's and jake crowder added 16 each phoenix went on to seal a $16095.00 victory they've now won 4 of their 1st 5 games this season.

like i said it's a really big move for us we play well we play balanced all game carter off the bench well campaign playing well. you know so that's a big win for us over. morrow you know it's our you know the big. and after a 2 year injury layoff john wall made in the immediate impact for the houston rockets a 5 time n.b.a. all star scored $22.00 points in his debut game for the team james harden added 33 points in this win over the sacramento kings. well a big athletes will be hoping there are no more false starts in the year ahead the tokyo games were pushed back by 12 months due to cope with 19 and are now due to get underway in july. mohammad won a silver medal in type on deal with the rio olympics we spoke to him about his year in lockdown it was unbelievable nothing like that has ever happened

in our lifetime it didn't really feel real but you have to focus only on what you can control as wild and as unexpected as the postponement was is completely outside of my control thankfully take window is the family business my dad has a martial arts school which i was able to go and train and still. stay sharp absolutely that wasn't the case for many of police across the country mentally it. was definitely hard to focus when you're not in your normal training the environment and feel that the whole world has taken a break but everybody was out home it was really it was such a bizarre and unusual situation those definitely times were it was a lot easier just to kind of their off focus but it was have to keep the faith and hopefully we can get through this and just gets rid of the beginnings. if they

hope that thing on the top of mount fuji. i'm not overly concerned about safety. only because i trust but the organizing committee is going to do everything and anything to make sure that there's no health incident at this olympic games there's only one chance to win a gold medal at this post pandemic games i think this games can be. a really special one because it can act as almost like a beacon of hope to the world so i've invited the time and. to make sure that i will. really really excites me covered 19 is threatening to upset cleveland's helps if reaching the n.f.l. playoffs for the 1st time in almost 2 decades to more browns players have returned

positive tasks and that's resulted in the team's training center being closed down these days can be pretty exhausting schedule changes and not exactly known when you're going to come and get you know the practice and the workouts and so you just kind of have to stay very phone as they tell us to do and be alert for i mean it's we can't do anything about it so there's no reason to complain just go with the punches and have to deal with. and finally a college football game descended into chaos after the action was meant to be over mississippi state had just secured a tight victory over tulsa when a huge fight broke out in a statement conference organizers said they were disappointed at the highest standards of sportsmanship adopted and that's. ok and that is all your sport for now is sammy backs you. all that said from me sam is a than for this news album back in the love with more of the day's news to stay with

us. it's 10 years since the arab spring shook countries across the middle east a decade on from the 1st uprising we'll look at the legacy of the revolution. join us as we assess the changes in the political landscape of the middle east and north africa. on al-jazeera. mass protests forcing the governments but are we seeing the. list just trying to

understand we follow journalists on the front line christina priem press committed to reporting the french police officers the pointing guns at journalists the same stuff the hong kong frankton friction the mistruth use it anyway on al-jazeera. across europe immigration is high on the agenda and in hungary it's presented as a pressing issue we didn't have immigrants' at all 0 immigration but this is the one political topic anybody and everybody is discussing the far right is preparing for battle and their opponents or anyone who is different. prejudice some pride in hungary on al-jazeera. we understand the differences and similarities have cultures across the world. so no matter what you

seek out is more or will bring you the news and current fast that matter to you. al-jazeera. traffic between britain and europe appears to be flowing smoothly as the u.k. formally completes its exit from the block. on sammy's a that this is al jazeera live from coming up india gears up for the world's largest covert 19 vaccination campaign health system under pressure emergency field hospitals are being prepared in the u.k. amid a more infectious strain of corona virus. reforming.