forcing some to abandon tradition to the. want to an east investigates on al-jazeera. al-jazeera. hello i'm rob matheson this is the news hour live from doha coming over the next 60 minutes gulf cooperation council leaders signed a declaration to strengthen ties at a summit to resolve a 3 year and boggle against qatar. england scotland go into another lockdown to contain covert 19 us hospitals struggle to cope with the surgeon infection. all eyes on the u.s. state of georgia as voters cast their ballots and a runoff that's going to decide which political party will control the senate. and

the change of plan the new york stock exchange decides not to remove the shares of 3 chinese telecommunications companies. i'm joining with the sports as catcher dr nasser alitalia makes it to wins in a row at the dakar rally to be 2nd in the general classification up to stage 3. leaders from across the gulf region have signed a declaration aimed at resolving the 3 year dispute with qatar and a major summit inside the arabia representatives from gulf countries including the emir of qatar gathered in the city of it follows a move by saudi to open its air sea and land borders to qatar with what's being seen as a big step forward towards resolving an illegal blockade on the country delegations from amman bahrain the united arab emirates kuwait and egypt are also attending.

some in been hollowed out tunney was greeted by saudi crown prince muhammad bin someone with an embrace it marks one of the most important moments in relations between the gulf countries in recent years. you. today we are in a dire need to stand united in the face of the challenges namely iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and other agendas adopted by its respected arms in the region which undermine the stability of the region this demands that we dovetail our efforts with the international community to cement the stability and security of the region. but we've got several correspondents on this story how did you cast was in washington d.c. she's going to have the latest out of the u.s. for a small hamlet vaal is that the qatari saudi border we're going to be speaking to them in just a few minutes 1st let's go to jamal jamal it's important to note isn't that this is just the beginning of a process this isn't isn't actually ending anything. of course i mean it's

a beginning of a process to try and heal what essentially the damage that's been caused over the past 3 and a half years to try and rebuild trust amongst the g.c.c. countries and to try and maybe find a new way in resolving differences between the member states of the gulf cooperation council it is ending the blockade in the sense of the physical prevention of things coming true and out of qatar of saudi arabia announced that its was opening its airspace its land border and maritime border with the understanding is that the declaration of a law which was signed by all leaders will pave the way for the other 3 members of that blockade in quartet to do the same so in that respect it will end but it is a process it's a long process you're talking about. legal cases that were filed by

a cutout against those quartets in different courts around the world when will those cases be maybe when that will rescind those legal cases you're talking about a large scale media war that took place in a war of misinformation we saw it through the hacking of the of qatar news agency as well as the false news that was constantly pushed out by many of the blockading countries medias about iranian revolutionary guards in qatar and other things that i like that you're talking about an economic war that was taking place essentially everything but a military confrontation which was also on the cards were not for the kuwaiti a mirror. so there is a long process to try and remedy all of those things but for now all those readers will focus on the declaration that was signed into law which reaffirms what they say is their commitment to the unity of the g.c.c. and the reaffirm ation of the importance of a united bloc in this region to try and establish more stability and. security for

the people of the gulf small thank you very much indeed jamal shiela covering that for us in doha i want to speak now to mohamed vall as i mentioned he's at the car to leave saudi border and really where you are is key to all of this this is where we might start to see the 1st evidence of the restrictions being lifted. a lot side trouble we've been here since the very morning and everyone both in qatar and in the other g.c.c. countries awaiting to see this border crossing open because it is the only land border link in qatar to the outside world and it is of course to saudi arabia 3 as this place has been empty to the nothing really has changed except that lots of policemen here and they seemingly are preparing the ground i have seen them these booths behind me trying to fix things you know dusting the cameras and of the cameras and and offices and paperwork and so on they told us they haven't yet

received any people coming from saudi arabia or leaving they are waiting for one instructions or more clarity to the situation particularly that under covert destructions and covert circumstances it's not easy to cross not as easy as before and there have to be more formalities doctors have to be here they have to have their equipment and arrangements have to be done before people coming in and that hasn't yet started as far as we can not is so probably the next few days but today at least it's not it's not that active this place still not active but as you said people are watching they are waiting this is very crucial because it is a lifeline for many people who have been trading or you know doing business here and there and on both sides of the border people also with families and that's a social and human side of the situation painful separations happened 3 years ago and some of those people haven't been able to really comfortably join their pet

relatives and that's what probably will trigger a lot of movement. at this border crossing during the next few days and that's going to be the sign as you said of the real implementation on the ground of the agreement today thanks very much indeed mohamad bald talking to us from the qatar saudi border or speak now to hide it will cost you she's in washington d.c. for us a lot has been made of the influence that kuwait is facing the negotiations but we can't forget that the u.s. has played a significant role in this as well. that's right and particularly jared cushion or the senior white house advisor and of course son in law to president donald trump cushier was leading the team that really got the breakthrough in resolving this dispute we're told by the white house that this breakthrough happened about a month ago and cushion or end 2 other senior aides were in the region helping to mediate the negotiations that there was yesterday leading up to this signing

miscommunication that threatened to derail the entire deal that cushion had to be on the phone himself to iron that out and once it was done he was on the plane going to saudi arabia and we just saw him present during that signing now of course cushion or in his team in the trauma ministration are going to spin this as a victory particularly the last few days of the trouble ministration and to to to cap off a string of diplomatic victories that was helped by u.s. mediation in israel normalizing its relations diplomatic relations with several arab states however there's also a good share of criticism that the trauma ministration bears some other responsibility in fanning these tensions and generating in a sense this conflict in the 1st place donald trump's close relationship to saudi arabia giving its crown prince cover even after this as a nation of journalist. and not condemning saudi arabia's role in the civil war

in yemen all of those things possibly contributing to the tensions here finally in the last 15 days of his administration however having this deal signed certainly what add to trump's legacy not only being in office at the beginning of this blockade but also apparently nearing its end how does it it's very much indeed that's hard to bring yourself to do from washington d.c. . let's talk to mushrooms where he's director of the gulf studies center carter university here in doha he's joining us now on skype thanks as always for being with us on al jazeera how much of a tough sell is this going to be for saudi arabia to the other members of the g.c.c. who are not as enthusiastic about the potential for this as saudi arabia might be well i think. appears to represent the

other 3 look at countries and basically leads and saying you know. there are states. assuming that you know there was a deal behind closed door 'd that you know that this is how things should be done. i think what we are watching the last 24 hours it's very interesting up but the. but i think what is important is what will be what would be happening in a few months and how to build on this you know. quick success succeed in list and well bauer's they do have a long way to go though don't they because there was this 13 point list of demands that the blockading countries wanted from qatar qatar for its part had its own entrenched position that it refused to move from. obviously we don't know the details of whatever may have been discussed behind closed doors is there anything

that you can see that might have allowed this to take place this movement to to to edge forward. that's a that's an excellent question you know my assessment is the following the holy crisis started and different politics and international political situation where trump came to the white house. or trump wasn't favorably and would not be there was a plan that things will be changed you know republicans more or close to riyadh things were changing and the favor of riyadh and then the old army and now on for the same circumstances we see the change trump is leaving the white house a new president coming to washington washington and one of the main reason i think which which to me is helping me to understand what's happening is the fact that without the change in the white house without this political change globally

without what's happening even related to coronavirus i don't think so we will reach to that point so there was a collective elements pushed to this to happen today and the 5th of january 2021 so we have to look how much the circumstances will push to mordor i would say unity to more collaboration between the e.c. countries there is no doubt that the united see is in favor of its own countries it's a bit of the world in favor of washington but but i think this also needs a contribution of some the world to to keep this unity and also to push to reduce the level of tension rather than pushing the tension which we witness and trumpet the 1st year of his presidency in the white house and creating unity and reducing the tension requires trust one would imagine that trust in this case can just

happen overnight there's going to be a significant amount of underlying suspicion on both sides isn't a and that's going to take a long time really to overcome. that is absolutely right i mean 3 years of you know the world of media you know just imagine that all of media social media how much hatred is being created how much you know media media content was you know . poisoned media content was broadcast everywhere so i think there was a lot of to be done to heal all of these you know stories and bring people to help people to forget because you know all of these ones all of these you know stories all of this you know misinformation through social media there is a lot of thought and trust need to be created and one of the most and the 1st step is actually reducing this level of misinformation and the role of social media

pushing more positive messages to how to move on beyond misty years and help people to forget this we need a lot of work this is need this really the lot of collective efforts and this really need also good well from all sides so they can help to diffuse this kind of tension and to bring more stability to the region which will be benefited for all parties really good to get your thoughts on this matter very we appreciate it as always thank you very much indeed. 3 more ahead on the news hour including the presidential election it may be over in central african republic but some feel the violence will continue. once a success story now thailand is ramping up coronavirus restrictions to contain a new outbreak. and scottish football champion celtic are criticised for travelling to dubai for training as the country goes into lockdown joe is going to have all the details and sports.

u.k. prime minister bars johnson's counselled a trip to india to deal with the covert 19 crisis in the u.k. johnson has ordered people in england to stay at home for at least 7 weeks as part of a new nationwide lockdown simmons is joining us now from london and this is the 3rd national lockdown in the u.k. it's going to stretch over weeks if not months what's the mood like in england this morning. well the world is surprised to hear it's it's pretty gloomy weather is a southern acceptance of what the prime minister had to say but not without questions from why sections of the public and indeed throughout business as well there is a whole host of issues that are being questioned primarily the prime minister's

decision being taken after the joint bio security center said that the whole risk strategy is now standing at level 5 this isn't the tear system this is a security risk system and that is really putting the red light on because the n.h.s. the all the medical health care workers would be facing an overwhelming situation in a very short space of time therefore the button had to be pressed said the prime minister of an all out lockdown now that there was only 36 hours before this a speech by the prime minister in which he said schools are safe most of them can reopen he knew the new variant was very infectious he knew there would have been a big increase in cases but the general feeling was that maybe there'd be more restrictions but not this complete lockdown the other aspect is the length of it

because he was saying that around mid february would be the time the strategy being the vaccines being rolled out being aimed at the the the people who are most prone to illness and also to the elderly and so frontline n.h.s. staff and carers that would be around about a total of at least $14000000.00 people and that would be around mid february he hoped so that's a strategy that really the vaccine is behind the curve of infection and deaths and the vaccine had to catch up. so everything rests with that that's what he said but people are really worried this is how it all played out on the day. boris johnson had started monday at the rollout of the oxford university astra zeneca vaccine a world 1st easy to store and distribute but any fanfare was lost replaced by a realisation that the spread of covert in the u.k.

is out of control by the end of the day came this announcement the government is once again instructing you to stay at home. you may only leave home for limited reasons permitted in law such as to shop for essentials to work if you absolutely cannot work from home to exercise to seek medical assistance johnson had said he hoped the roll out of vaccines could protect the most vulnerable people care homes carers medical staff and people over 70 by mid february he said all schools and colleges would have to close the weeks ahead will be the hardest yet but i really do believe that we're entering the last phase of the struggle because with every job the goes into our arms we are tilting the odds against coded and in favor of the british people and thanks to the miracle of science not

only is the end in sight. but we know exactly how we will get there early as scotland's 1st minister was on her feet at a record session of her devolved parliament with a similar announcement we have to say to introduce midnight tonight for the generation of january a legal requirement to stay at home for essential part of the season this is similar to the lockdown of march last year and there's another worrying development a u.k. government side to pick advisor is reported as saying that he's concerned the vaccines won't be as effective against a south african variant of covert furthermore matter the u.k. health secretary says he's concerned because the south african variant seems to be more infectious than the u.k. strain the u.k.'s plan straight into this lockdown with no delay on the country's coded alert level has switched to 5 meaning hospitals are now

a material risk of being overwhelmed the u.k. finds itself at its most critical state the 1st one aspect that is a standout here is the amount of suffering this causes for the underprivileged those poor people who are unable to really get by without going to work and indeed with the children or away from school they're at home and often in cramped conditions maybe the internet doesn't work for them to do remote learning this is all a major issue for them. the finance minister in the u.k. has announced a $6.00 a $1000000000.00 grant system for businesses in which he hopes that will protect some jobs but the reality is that many jobs are going there is mass unemployment as a result of this in terms of the political picture here the labor opposition leader . had on sunday called for a national lockdown so there is a political curve here which the government seems to be behind as well but the

prime minister is. to be holding a news conference later on tuesday he will be spelling out further measures which will be put before parliament on wednesday they are likely to sail through the labor opposition is in agreement with these for measures being taken so therefore we will see this a whole lot down remain in place for at least until mid february warm government ministers suggesting that could go well into march and even longer with some of the restrictions in the plan would be to to relax restrictions gradually but this is going towards the spring under thanks very much under simmons talking to us from london. germany is expected to extend its lockdown measures until the end of january regional leaders signaled they would agree to prolong the restrictions after seeing record numbers of cases and deaths last week they meeting chancellor angela merkel later on tuesday the shutdown includes schools and non-essential stores the country began vaccinating people last month the new highly contagious

strain of corona virus has been found in france the health minister says there are runs 10 cases and has promised to speed up vaccination francis had one of the slowest roll outs in europe but aims to have 300 vaccination centers in operation next week it's seen a sharp rise in people being treated in hospital polls have opened in the us state of georgia where people are voting into runoffs that will decide the balance of power in congress as of friday more than 3000000 people to cast their ballots and early voting the final days of campaigning so runs from both outgoing president donald trump and president elect joe biden and a last minute push for victory. well let's look at the numbers at the moment republicans have 50 of the 100 senate seats and democrats have 48 so this is what makes these 2 undecided seats in georgia so important republicans david perdue and kelly loeffler running against democratic candidates john also and raphael warnock

now if the democrats take both seats the senate's going to be split $5050.00 the vice president's comment on how this will be the deciding vote giving democrats controlled while republicans only need to win one of the seats to hold their majority when it's actually going to ends in the city of columbus in georgia how's the race looking there at the moment on the last day of campaigning. well remember there was already a record breaking number of georgians who cast votes during the early voting period more than 3000000 today though alexion day is actually supposed to favor the republicans that's the thinking is that turnout would be much higher among republicans because in the early voting period much of that voting was concentrated in areas with a high number of democrats and african-americans this was an intense and at times caustic campaign and unheard amount of money about 800000000 at last count poured

into the state of georgia there has been an unprecedented number of threats to election officials one election official in fulton county that is where atlanta is said that he had received death threats and this race was overshadowed by president trump and his grievances grievances over losing the state and the presidency he created a lot of disinformation and on the eve of the election on monday georgia election official held a news conference to continue to try to debug the disinformation that had been spread this a drawer to election official is a republican and he there was a concern among republicans that voter turnout would be depressed because of trump's baseless comments that the election integrity had been compromised so this election official said don't self suppress don't take away your important voice

from this election now as i said early voting record seem to favor the democrats so republicans are looking at what happens at the polls we've been to a couple of polls this morning they opened at 7 o'clock local and there weren't actually any lines per say maybe 1015 people gathered and that might be again a result of the fact of the robust robust turnout during early voting i spoke to a professor at emory unit. versity about just what we might be able to expect and she says because of the shifting demographics and years of robust voter mobilization efforts she expects this race like others in the future to be tight and that she thinks that going forward races will vacillate between the democrat and the republican parties so we may be looking at the margins are tight between the candidates who may even be looking at a recount one thing is certain no matter the outcome of the senate runoff both parties might be looking to sort of reassess their identities in

a post trump presidency universe where the messaging isn't focused solely on this by an airy choice of support for trump or opposition to trump natascha going to bring us up to date in the senate race voting in the city of columbus in georgia let's talk to charles book the 3rd he's a professor of political science at the university of georgia he's joining us now from bishop in the state of georgia good to have you with us sir thank you very much indeed how much do you think has both sides simply been trying to get people to the ballot box as opposed to trying to sway the ripping ins. most of us every has been one director turned out rather than conversion but any run off you see a drop of participation from what took place in the regular scheduled election and while your previous presenter said that yes it's been extraordinary amount of turnout so far it would be less than the $5000000.00 people who voted back in november might top out here for me and so both sides have presented messages urging

people who voted for them before to turn out again now having said that about 11520000 people have voted early who did not vote in november and the interesting thing about that is that that new group of voters very much favors that that undergrads only about 43 percent of these new voters are white and white bourgeois ones who are the ones most likely to vote for the republican party so some new blood is being brought in and it looks like democratic blood given your long experience of following elections like this both the senate and obviously for presidential level do you think in your estimation the donald trump has either helped or hindered republicans in georgia. as a bit of each yes on the republican side his presence in doughton last night will have you thanked the pumping up republican party participation. but i think the result of that long telephone call he had on saturday trying to get georgia

secretary of state to change the results in your view but then i do is to bring him to the polls from individuals who were planning to vote at all but who find his behavior pretty good at that specific behavior so outrageous that while they can't vote against him they may go to the polls to vote against 3 kerry he supports. putting to one side for a 2nd that the natural inclination of voters to vote for a particular party do you think that people in georgia are aware of just how significant their state has been in both the presidential race but also in the senate race. or you could not a boy recognizing that we do it it has not been a state which is thought to be a toss up in years and years and years and so beginning back in the fall and continuing nonstop on until today we have seen this deluge of advertising on television so when you come to an ad break you want to see one political as you may

see 456 ads for the different candidates your mailbox has been filled up with mailings you get multiple mailings every day many of which trade the same thing but you get paid multiple mailings there's a good chance owners cannot turn your door so if you're a registered voter in georgia you had far more important to participate and vote so you and most georgians are any good who's likely to vote is well aware of what's at stake today chargeable of the 3rd is professor of political science at university of georgia we appreciate your time sir thank you very much indeed thank you. that's time for the weather is evident. hello there the weather squatting down nicely now across the eastern side of the u.s. but we have got more lively weather in the forecast will see wetter weather making its way through the plains some heavy downpours for the deep south snow on the northern flank of that then more wet and wintry weather coming in across the pacific northwest northern parts of california see the mix of rain sleet the snow

could see maybe as much as 30 centimeters of snow across the cascades over the next couple of days and that will continue to make its way across the mountain states war wet and windy windy weather making its way into the pacific northwest western parts of canada for the latter part of this week by thursday showers longer spurts of rain down towards the southeast showers also lingering across parts of the caribbean pushing up across cuba western areas seeing wanted to show that the main islands this is really not looking too bad few showers coming into the wind was from time to time but nothing too much to speak of and nothing like the kind of wet weather that we have seen in bolivia recently to rancho downpours huge thunder burst here and he lasted about 30 minutes but you can see the kind of damage that it's left in central parts of bolivia that wet weather will continue as we go on through the next couple of days showers and longer spells afraid all the way down to southeast brazil. still ahead on al-jazeera.

the pillar of the lebanese music scene dies at 83 when the book is life. and sumos grand champion grapples with coronavirus just going to have all the results and support. one of the last remaining ancient forests in southeast asia is a lifeline to hundreds of lumberjacks and drive as. we follow their treacherous journey as they walk through extreme conditions. to gather and transport this dangerous but precious cargo risking it all. on al-jazeera. they join one of the world's most notorious sound groups. but found

a way out rebuild their lives and now help our vets. a tale of course for crew and child soldiers and they have refit exploitation of women door to is a palace a back part of the radicalized scene and it's funneled to 0. 0 . 00 ga ga 0 remind of our top stories this hour leaders from across the gulf region have signed a declaration aimed at resolving the 3 year dispute with qatar but a major summit in saudi arabia follows

a move by saudi to open its air sea and land borders to qatar. u.k. prime minister about as johnson has counseled a trip to india to deal with the covert 19 crisis in britain johnson has ordered people in england to stay at home for at least 7 weeks as part of a new nationwide locked out polls have opened in the us state of georgia but the balance of power in congress will be decided in 2 special elections for the senate as of friday more than $3000000.00 people had cast their ballots in early voting. the new york stock exchange says it no longer plans to delist 3 major chinese telecommunications companies it would turn comes less than a week after it said it would remove the listings to comply with executive order signed by president donald trump in november betray you has this report from beijing. an unexpected backflip by the new york stock exchange reversing a decision to delist chinese telecommunications companies china mobile china telecom and china unicom just days after it was announced the new century as the 3

companies surging on the hong kong stock exchange on choose day but analysts say any celebrations a likely to be short lived and the longer term i thing the tendency or the situation will not change at all because most of the chinese companies are now this thing in the us there was sick for seek for a 2nd or a listing opportunity maybe in hong kong or maybe in shanghai starboard because those chinese company will face more and more pressure from the record later the decision to delist followed the side of an executive order by u.s. president trump in november banning americans from investing in companies linked to china's military the new york stock exchange says it made that decision after consulting u.s. regulators beijing has accused the trumpet ministration of politicizing trade in arbitrarily suppressing chinese companies with a certain to surely some political forces in the united states have continuously

suppressed florrie listed companies for no reason reflecting the also today of their system but its impact on chinese companies is limited we hope they can respect the rule of law and the markets the chinese telecommunications companies say any u.s. trade that would have little impact on daily operations it's instead seen here as symbolic donald trump has targeted a number of chinese technology companies and grounds of national security then are waiting to see if the incoming biden administration will take a less hostile to do business with china but many believe trade disputes between beijing and washington are set to continue it's based upon you know saying as an as an enemy to us of the u.s. and as a threat to the u.s. now clearly there. as a competitor without a question of a doubt you know it's it's going to be soon the world's largest economy it's growing very fast it's recovered from the coded 19 outbreak very well and there are

also human rights issues that not just america but the whole world is going to be concerned about and rightly so but this may not be the best way of putting pressure on china and while the u. turn seems to be a lull in tensions between the 2 countries it's certainly not the end of it between al-jazeera beijing. the president of central african republic has been reelected for a 2nd term electoral commission says fossett on homes toward one with more than 53 percent of the vote but critics have called the election a farce saying many people on unable to cast their ballots because of attacks by rebel groups and many fear the violence will continue to develop as other young reports. reelected to a 2nd term president foster our conch to tara says he can unite a divided central african republic it's an ambitious goal at a fragile time because barack was working on the results monitored by the electoral

commission show he received an absolute majority in an election marked by violence and for the challenges are many central african republic is still recovering from a civil war. the president's supporters are hopeful he can bring peace and stability. people don't need weapons to take power we have suffered so much the president has done his best to bring the country forward in 5 years that's why central african voted for him. and rest has persisted before and after the election attacks by armed fighters aligned with the rival politicians kept thousands of voters from going to the polls they seized the city of benghazi you and threatened to take over more and attempt to take control of the capital was stopped by soldiers u.n. peacekeepers in reinforcements from russia and rwanda. i support another party i'm with the l.p.c.

opposition group but if the president won it's because he deserves it he's a man who's fought for this. now prosecutors are launching an investigation into a former president francois posies he's accused of plotting a coup when the election may be over but many people in the country are bracing for the possibility of more violence. most of the young how does their. the un is expecting another wave of mass displacements in the job after a series of attacks more than 100 people were killed on saturday when gunmen attacked 2 villages near the border with mali has suffered violence from groups linked to al qaida and i saw images as more from the army. last year more than 57000 new displacements have been recorded here in here adding to the more than 400000 refugees and internally displaced persons already struggling with in adequate food and shelter the united nations described the situation as desperate

we need more phones we are putting our partner or up to 2 and a purse because of course to. your father complicate the situation of the movement of humanitarian workers is severely restricted not only because of the resurgence of coverage 19 but also they have become targets of these armed groups before there was like a kind of. respect for humanitarian people we don't. know everybody is is a target is your is a country that depends on international aid not only because of climate change but also because of conflict now experts here believe that the situation will get worse because of the continuing attacks in different parts of the. south korea's demanding the release of one of its tankers seized by iran to try and says the ship was causing all pollution in gulf waters south korea has deployed and naval destroyer to the strait of hormuz decision comes ahead of

a visit by the south korean vice foreign minister but one bright has more from seoul. south korea does have a naval vessel in that area as part of the international and t. piracy effort that vessel has now been deployed or redeployed to the waters where this tanker was seized but it's not likely or expected to be doing much but monitoring the situation and seeing how this develops the iranians have accused me of environmental pollution the operators of the vessel here in south korea deny that and say that this vessel was in international waters it is thought that this is part of an ongoing much wide. a dispute between iran and south korea over seas to funds here in south korea this is $7000000000.00 worth of funds which are owed for oil products imported from iran into south korea which since the imposition of

much tighter sanctions by the united states south korea has frozen has not given access to iran to these funds if it did do so then it would risk being sanctioned itself by the united states so these monies are the on the subject of ongoing negotiations and a dispute between tehran and seoul and there is a meeting coming up an anticipated meeting a visit by a vice foreign minister from south korea to tehran where obviously this will appear on the agenda a run is desperate for any funds it can get at the moment given its economic circumstances so it is an expected and it is thought the this happening right now the seizure of this vessel ahead of this anticipated meeting is more than mere coincidence iran has been showing off its drone technology amid tension with the united states said nato showed hundreds of drones ready to launch from some one province reportedly being deployed in 2 days drills. iran has confirmed it is

resuming enriching uranium to 20 percent and those are levels not seen since before the signing of the nuclear deal in 2015 the european commission says it's highly concerned but it has vowed to redouble its efforts to save the deal came reports from berlin. this is what the world's great powers have been trying for years to prevent or to minimize the enrichment of uranium in iranian centrifuges to tehran this is a peaceful civilian enterprise but some around the world fear it may lead to the development of a nuclear weapon under the existing vienna record of 2015 known as the j c p a iran should be enriching uranium only to 3.67 percent but now it says it aims to enrich to almost 6 times that number and has notified the international atomic energy agency the i.a.e.a. a day in a tweet iran's foreign ministers said we regimes 20 percent enrichment as

a legislated by our parliament the i.a.e.a. has been julie notified our remedial action conforms fully with paragraph 36 of the j c p a after years of noncompliance by several other participants are measures are fully reversible upon full compliance by all to european allies this act is beyond the terms of the vienna accord which when it was signed brought together britain france germany china russia and the us and then president obama's administration his successor president trump abandoned the deal in 2018 citing iranian noncompliance since then the europeans have been at the forefront of trying to ensure to abide by the terms of the deal helping to by trying to reduce the impact of u.s. sanctions its reaction to monday's announcement in brussels was clear if this announcement is going to be implemented and also meant to dorothy's it would constitute course it bearable bit by. from iran's nuclear commitments under the j c

p o a we are serious not on nuclear nonproliferation implications now let me recall also the importance of any steps that could undermine the preservation of the nuclear deal and here i would like to recall all the previous statements by all the participants of the j c p a way that they are interested in keeping this deal alive and that the ill will be kept alive as long as all the participants deliver on their obligations the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has condemned iran's move you have abuses. iran has announced that it will increase the level of uranium enrichment and will develop industrial capabilities to reach your rhenium underground. this is a blatant and absolute violation of its obligations there is no other explanation other than continuing iran's international to produce nuclear weapons the iranian government believes by announcing enhanced enrichment it might be able to compel

the other signatories to the vienna accord to comply i think there is a chance because iran has clearly said that if the other parties to the nuclear deal including the europeans and in case if the united states returns to the if they return into full compliance iran will do the same in a very short time the question remains as to what response the u.s. government will give both now under president trump and in just over 2 weeks time under joe biden he helped broker the original deal in 2015 as vice president soon he will have to react as president in his own right dominic kane al-jazeera berlin farmers in india continue to camp out on the outskirts of the capital new delhi and protest against agricultural reforms they've been campaigning for more than a month they say plans to remove price controls will harm their livelihoods the government says reforms are necessary to modernize farming. thailand's government

says it's restricting travel between provinces after counting a record amount of new coronavirus cases on monday and setting up field hospitals to deal with the surge the country was once seen as a success story in containing the outbreak scotland of reports from bangkok. it's not the way thailand wanted to start the new year the country has seen a steady increase in new locally transmitted covert cases of all going into a full fledged 2nd wave this after no new local cases for months but on monday a milestone was reached the highest number of daily cases since the start of the pandemic more than 740 as the last few weeks most of the cases are tied to an outbreak in some province it's believed to have been brought in by migrant workers in the large seafood industry in the province while thailand was the 1st country outside china to register a locally transmitted covert case it has been successful in preventing a major outbreak heavy restrictions on foreign arrivals and mandatory to eat corn teen help that the 2nd wave has the government concerned responding quickly with

restrictions and a system of color coding areas with rising cases. compared to other countries the measures in thailand are acceptable but we can't let our guard down the government has the authority and i support it we have to suffer for a while to bring down the new cases we have to work together $28.00 provinces designated as red zones are facing the most severe restrictions schools are closed and mass gatherings prohibited restaurants have to limit the number of dine in customers in hours bars and clubs are shut malls and supermarkets remain open but have to measure people's temperatures and set up track and tracing systems the government has stopped short of calling this a lockdown as the people here have been living in relative normality since july the 2nd wave is a bitter pill to swallow also officials are encouraging businesses and companies to explore remote working options. to now runs an open air hotpot restaurant on the outskirts of bangkok these new restrictions cut deep and she is still recovering

from the lockdown last year never let me try to calm as a citizen i understand the situation and will try to cooperate but as a mother how can i support my family my kid has to eat and go to. school what about my staff they have to pay bills and support their families everyone has their burdens. the thai government is planning to inoculate more than half of its $70000000.00 people over the next several months the 1st round of jabs could come as early as the end of february the vaccine from chinese scene of a biotech going to health care workers 1st and then it'll look to locally produced the oxford astra zeneca vaccine with the capacity of up to $200000000.00 doses a year it's got harder al-jazeera bangkok. lebanon is mourning the loss of legendary composer and cultural icon elias for money it was known for the unique zone of music blending styles from different parts of the world under subpoena it's back in his life.

when a song 1st lays eyes on the hood in the 1973 film my blood tears and smile the audience is introduced to a melody that manages to capture true love and utter heartbreak at the same time. decades later this and other songs composed by in the us right bonnie are timeless classics the soundtrack for so many other moments. born in 1938 he was the youngest boy in a family full of talent with older brothers months or an aussie who married singer famous in the 1950 s. . she and the ronnie brothers shaped an entire genre of music born in lebanon distinctly different from anything else blending western and middle eastern styles with lebanese folklore politics and audiences loved it. during lebanon's civil war

and the us wrote songs for her that helped to cross the factional divides and became a source of pride for all lebanese. songs that you just wrote for his children during the war continue to help others today. the un's children's agency unicef uses them and psychosocial support programs for syrian children using music to teach them about social harmony and reconstruction for him an immense source of pride. for mossad you've just been the little bit of how you hope to follow up on the good lord. has a few years also for you. he composed hundreds of songs and the soundtracks for dozens of films over his long career songs that continue to be played by people across generations lebanese music

as we know it and viewed with the romanticism of a golden age would not exist without. his 82 years old. still ahead with the sports would show the shocking pitch invader has now got a happy end to his tale. business leaders just want to buy no brass paul.

the in. business leaders just want to buy no brass paul. you're. on the side of the sport and here's joe rob thank you very much cattery drive an

ass alex here has won stage 3 of the dakar rally in saudi arabia that year to drive a clinched a 2nd stage in a row to go 2nd in the general classification he's also close the gap on overall leader stefan petter hansell to just over 5 minutes the frenchman had to stop and stay special stage to fix his car. as i've been hearing in london scotland a beginning new coded $1000.00 lockdowns but elite sport will be allowed to continue including the english premier league their leaders liverpool have suffered a setback to their title defense they were beaten one no by southampton on monday formal of will strike and danny ainge loped the liverpool keeper allison in the 2nd minutes of the game and that was that the who have now failed to win a 3rd game in a row we don't have to be bigger than this but it is rigged so we did win alaska again with one room lost war games is that right i don't know exactly so and that's all our work for will be my fault but the boys have had it as road to change.

meanwhile the scottish government has warned clubs there not to abuse their special privileges after the league champions celtic jetted off to dubai the team left on saturday for their warm weather training camp just before the country went to full lockdown the public asked not to travel internationally discussed the government is urging its football association to investigate the trip and could stop other teams from going abroad for matches if trouble exemptions are abused. the spanish super club barcelona have been hit with 2 positive coronavirus cases the club confirmed on monday that both are for members of the 1st team staff in line with the spanish league code 19 protocols the entire squad will now undergo tests on choose day passes next matches on wednesday against athletic bilbao. south africa's cricketers have completed a 2 nil series win over sri lanka after winning the 2nd test by 10 wickets should captain dim of made 103 but his team were all out for 211 before lunch on day 3

fastball and took 4 wickets south africa's open as the knocked off the 67 run targets to win the match and the series and in christchurch new zealand are in a dominant position in the 2nd test against pakistan the kiwis declaring 165926 thanks to 238 from captain kane williamson as well as tons from henry nichols and darrell mitchell pakistan with 8 for one at stumps on day 3. for the 1st time in its history the whole of the march madness us college basketball tournament will be held in one state had to be called off last year because the pandemic but in an effort to avoid that all 67 games were played in indiana with a majority in indianapolis where the and is based well the n.b.a. knows all about playing in a bubble having done so last season in florida that doesn't mean they've managed to escape coven 19 entirely brooklyn nets star kevin durant is out of tuesday's game against the utah jazz because the n.b.a.'s health and safety protocols reports

suggest your aunt is in quarantine after coming into contact with someone who tested positive. meanwhile durant's all team the golden state warriors improved to record a 4 wins and 3 defeats on monday spearheaded by steph curry the warriors beat the sacramento kings 137206 scoring 30 points just one night after scoring a career high 6232 year old missed most of last season's her injury but looks to be back to his best elsewhere the indiana pacers beat the new orleans pelicans in dramatic fashion on monday malcolm broke down school 21 points for indiana but he chose his moment to shine with just 1.7 seconds left on the clock in overtime the pacers winning one 118216 annual under magic completed 103 to 83 win over cleveland cavaliers aaron gordon the star man for land on getting 6 of 93 pointers on his way to a season high 24 points as magic snapped

a 2 game losing streak another sport that's grappling to control current virus a sumo the sport's governing body in japan says its grand champion has also tested positive. was tested after losing his sense of smell and his sumo stablemates will now also be checked the mongolian born wrestler has won a record $44.00 top division titles. that's and with a shaggy dog story you might remember this pup who invaded a bolivian football match on christmas eve cheering on a player's boot on the pitch she was taken to a shelter has now been abducted by the player who removed him from the game i think you'll agree every dog deserves a happy ending to that tale. all right that is all yours for for now more later rob thanks very much to you and you can find much more on the web site of course the address for that all dizzy right dot com and that's it for me robots and for this news could be back in a moment with more of the day's news including. signed by the leaders of the gulf

in saudi arabia. latest news as it breaks the measures introduced during this way in the 20 percent drop in the amount the people are traveling with details coverage both one on top and all the. poverty rate increase in the year from around the world the u.n. has identified $56.00 countries most need assistance what's worrying them is that many of those have a deteriorating situation the british iraqi journalist visualizing complex statistics and a simple. i think your office are some really exciting opportunities to break apart from those systems and to collect data in a way that represents different. challenging mainstream misconceptions and create

the by creating control ministrations it doesn't alienate people like people who are like i'm not smart enough to understand this truth is it any way on al-jazeera . as the sun goes down. russia is a very challenging place to work. even though the authorities here say you can't do it it's not allowed to build the only. problem this time from moscow is under love people are being taken from. here for the city that we are traveling the extra mile they oughta media don't go we go there and we give them a chance to tell their story. finland has committed to cutting its carbon emissions with the world's most ambitious reduction goal carbon neutrality in just 15 years now it's really time to actually get to and we can do it if we want to but 1st the nation must tackle the dirty legacy of

a profitable fossil fuel industry so it's being and that their emissions souls' people in power finland spline the warriors on a. gulf leaders sign a declaration affirming their solidarity at a summit to help resolve a 3 year embargo against qatar. that society agrees to open its air sea and land borders with. about this and this is all to see a live from doha also coming up all eyes on the u.s. state of georgia as voters cast their ballots in iran off that will decide which political party will control the senate. and women scoff and go into.