the money this year and it goes straight into the coffers of the. people in power investigation bureau 39 cash for. president joe biden plans to impose a travel ban on several countries as the total number of covered $1000.00 infections in the u.s. surpasses $25000000.00. who want you know the 0 life from a headquarters and. also coming up protests across several cities in the netherlands as anger spreads over a nationwide curfew. we meet the thousands of refugees forced from their homes in

the central african republic after post-election violence 11 miners trapped in a gold mine in china for 2 weeks are rescued but the fate of 10 others is still unknown. hello thanks for joining us the u.s. plans to keep travelers from several countries out in a bid to stop the spread of a nuke over 1000 strain president joe biden is expected to impose a travel ban on monday as the number of cases surpasses 25000000 the restriction will apply to countries where the highly contagious variant has been found but isn't expected to affect u.s. citizens more than 400000 americans have died from the virus making at the worst hit country earlier this week biden signed several executive orders to boost the response to the pandemic jordan is joining us from washington d.c. tell us more rosin about the travel ban and restrictions coming into effect. well

this travel ban was supposed to been lifted on tuesday day after tomorrow by the previous president donald trump and that was going to cover up people who were coming from the united kingdom from ireland and from the 26 countries in the shang and zone in europe as well as from brazil but starting on monday the new president joe biden is reimposing that ban because the government is trying to get its arms around the spread of the so-called u.k. variant of code that 19 we should note that that ban is going to expand on saturday and that's going to include people who are not u.s. citizens or residents coming from south africa and it doesn't matter whether you're a south african citizen or whether you're from another country if you're not a u.s. person you're not going to be able to come into the u.s. starting on saturday if your point of departure was south africa what about vaccine

distribution where do things stand is the biden administration starting from scratch when it comes to the distribution or are they picking up from where the trumpet ministration left off well if you listen to the new white house chief of staff ron klain the ministration essentially is having to invent this process out of whole cloth they are blaming the trumpet ministration this is what ron klain had to say on the sunday public affairs shows the process to distribute the vaccine particularly outside of nursing homes and hospitals out into the community as a whole did not really exist when we came into the white house as everyone american has seen the way in which people get vaccine is chaotic it's very limited we've seen this factor all over the country where millions of doses have been distributed but half of that has been given out so the process of getting that vaccine into arms that's the hard process that's where we're behind as

a country and that's where we're focused in the biden ministration on getting that ramped up. now the other part of dealing with this pandemic which joe biden says is his administration's top priority is trying to get more covert relief more economic spending in order to support the many millions of americans who either can't afford to miss work if they happen to get sick or if someone in their family gets sick as well as to help the many millions of businesses that have been directly affected by the number of closures and shutdowns and curfews that have been going on in this country for almost a year and so the president wants to spend another $1.00 trillion dollars in order to provide financial relief but let's not forget congress just approved a $900000000000.00 bill in december for that very purpose and there is some pushback already from congressional republicans on spending even more money and on

expanding expanding i should say the federal deficit however the president says if ever there were a time to run up the federal budget deficit this is the time because long term it's going to keep the u.s. economy from simply crashing into the deepest of depressions riots rawson jordan reporting from washington rosalyn thank you well dennis nasa is the professor of epidemiology at the city university of new york and he says the new code 1000 strain may slow down the vaccination campaign. we're seeing you know very much accelerating spread over the course of the entire endemic history in the u.s. but a new strain that is more infectious and more more or more transmissible substantially more transmissible that becomes the predominant strain in the u.s. could greatly accelerate the you know what we're seeing it and begin to outpace the vaccination efforts and undermine those vaccines for it so this is why it's really

important for us to to get vaccine coverage and roll out the vaccine as quickly as possible so that we can sort of you know win the race against this this strain and any other ones that may be coming our way at least in the u.s. it's going a long way that we now have a vaccine that is being rolled out be it you know slow slower than all of us would like and also goes a long way that we have a new administration who is actually putting together a national plan and ready to leverage our federal government to the fullest this is something we haven't seen in a long time and i think the lack of that leadership the lack of that vision and frankly caring about the well being of our country's population. really caused a lot of anxiety and stress and so so i know that there's a lot of optimism right now in our country despite the very real ongoing threat of this and demick we really are in a place where we can begin to turn the tide over the coming months israel is

suspending air travel for 2 weeks to prevent a more contains a strain a covered one seen from entering its borders on to the government proposal only international air passengers with special permits would be allowed to enter or leave the country as has started to see a drop in cases it's locked down is set to expire at the end of the month harry fossett is in west jerusalem with more on the flight restrictions that are coming into effect from monday. this is may just by the israeli government something that. has not been done. and then make. reportedly some concern on the part of the deputy attorney general as to whether would even be legal prevents israeli citizens from returning home during the course of a cabinet meeting on sunday we understand has now been approved that from monday midnight no. arrivals and no exits through israel's main

airport will be allowed unless there is special permission granted in exceptional cases this is an attempt to stop new strains coming into the country to a time when the vaccine rollout program is going at a much faster pace than anywhere else in the world already we're approaching 8030 percent of the population as a whole being vaccinated so there is evidence of the vaccine starting to work what they don't want in israel is for new strains which might escape the vaccine to militate against some of those effects and also there's been some political pressure on benjamin netanyahu as well when it emerged that it's even been a tends to prevent people coming in without a negative coronavirus test in the proceedings have 2 hours that's something that was eventually put in place just yesterday on saturday and is now being superseded by these much more stringent regulations ultra-orthodox protesters battled with police and 2 major israeli cities after regulators tried to shut down religious

schools police moved in to try to close the schools for violating coronavirus lockdown restrictions several police officers were injured and if these 4 people were arrested it's. protests against the newly imposed curfew in the netherlands have spread to several cities the nighttime restriction went into effect on saturday and is the 1st of its kind since world war 2 police used a water cannon to disperse crowds in central amsterdam the city's mayor declared the area a high risk zone giving police the power to search people for weapons of course this is a measure that is really minimizing our freedoms it's something that we are not used to in this country but again i think we have to do everything that's necessary now. giving up a bit of freedom. well it's a thing we just have to do and in a separate protest in a village northeast of the city demonstrators set fire to a covert testing facility right police were

a sense of it's after reports of the fires and damage to police cars nationwide more than 3000 fines have been issued for violating the curfew the u.n. refugee agency says more than 100000 people have fled recent violence in the central african republic foreign forces supporting the government of the c.a.r. have been battling a coalition of armed groups trying to overturn last month's presidential election that saw the incumbent hold on to power most of the refugees have been forced to find shelter in remote border regions of the democratic republic of congo. got exclusive access to one area where people say there is hardly any food to eat or clean water to drink. killing looting and rape by fighters from armed groups in the central african republic to send tens of thousands of villages on the run many of them of crossed this river. in dugout canoes on the

other side is relative safety in remote villages in the democratic republic of congo only accessible by boat we went to look for them with the un refugee agency. and we found them in their thousands sheltering in villages along the riverbank. our arrival drew a crowd people here say they've been waiting for help since they arrived here last week they lined up hoping we brought it. and more keep coming. others go back to retrieve possessions from their homes or crops from their farms. that's what it leads back home or tried. and she came back with nothing to see. the rebels attacked our village last week we had a lot of gunfire they destroyed everything they raped girls and they kidnapped some of them we didn't see exactly what happened because we have to run. violence escalated since elections last month which political opposition says were rigged

the armed groups say the government must go. about 2 thirds of the country including most of its gold and diamond mines the armed groups now control the villages that we can see just over there on the other side of the river people who live on this side say they can hear gunfire when they're fighting this is one of the homes of one of the usual residents of the village it's basic in the villages being completely overrun its population has fallen by about 20 times of the new arrivals those lucky enough to have a mosquito net sleeping on the way out in the open many others have just built basic structures made of branches. leaves are exposed to. malaria and everybody here says there's hardly any food to eat or clean water to drink. people told us everything whatever edible plants they can find in the bush the

local office of the u.n. refugee agency says it doesn't have funds for the new arrivals are supposed to treat them with dignity and so let that. absence and i'm coming up on the wall well i mean. i want to see their promises but. it's not safe to go home but without help they can't be locate and settle here in congo they're wondering how long they'll be stuck here. after a few hours we had to leave people here desperately hope somebody will soon come back and help malcolm webb al-jazeera. democratic republic of congo. still heads on al-jazeera coronavirus cases are on the rise in china and that could change millions there celebrate the upcoming lunar new year holiday. historic indonesian are the sites finally gone display at home years after they were taken

by dutch colonizers. the u.s. pacific seaboard is interesting and i'm in san francisco's forecast because from sunny to rain and then rain again doesn't happen that often for all the way down the coast it looks as though you get to see rain or snow in the rockies in the cascades right down to before california the same time more normal weather seems likely in most places in the u.s. this is the extent of real cold wind with snow falling from the morning eastwards and then just set up the rain because you get a few devolves and when these 2 come together you've got to get some pretty sundries scar is the whole lot's moving slowly eastwards and you see that change from windy and wet on mondays in missouri down to possible snow 2 degrees on

wednesday is that cold starts to edge down behind the right and then she probably get down as far south as atlanta has not particularly violent weather from the most part and even quieter the 1st science you go this is rather boring if you're on the east coast of nicaragua has been overcast drizzly now for an os or couple days and the same is true in the forecast i think that's possibly true in costa rica as well very few showers elsewhere were to the lesser antilles in the southern part of the americas cities around southeast brazil and paraguay it is thundery. but. it could be the biggest land grab in history. as powerful nations lay claim to territories under the ocean $21.00 geologists are secretly plotting new borders. as the struggle for resources intensifies some of the world's most powerful scientists

speak out. ocean as minako on a 0. the on the on. the again the top stories on al-jazeera the u.s. is reimposing a travel ban on all non american travelers who have been in countries with a nuke over 1000 variant the restriction will go into effect from monday as the number of infections surpasses 25000000. the un says more than 100000 people have fled central african republic to escape the violence triggered by december's the speed election most have crossed into the democratic republic of congo. israel is

suspending air travel for 2 weeks to prevent the more contagious strain of covert 19 from entering only international air passengers with special permits would be allowed to enter or leave the country. a damning report by the reuters news agency has found multiple cases of soldiers raping female refugees in ethiopia as to gray region many of the attacks happened weeks after the if you open government announced it had secured the capital mackellar and ended its conflict with rebels last november ethiopia's military entered in the north to dislodge the governing party and rebel groups triggering a humanitarian crisis the u.n. estimates some 4000000 people urgently need food samuel get to chose a journalist with a reporter he says the situation integrate is dire. i've been speaking to half a dozen people in the past week they're echoing what's being reported by reuters

there are many many people that are suffering in terms of not just station harassment but literally running out of food and all kinds of stuff that still a conflict area. and again people are desperate and get many people are still going to the super many are coming to the other side of ethiopia including in the region and also coming to i decided there are many many people that are attempting to just leave the region because again it's an area that's in conflict that's been depressed that's been neglected and there are no jobs many companies have been looted many factories have been destroyed again it's a very dark. you know era of this conflict the government is insisting they're sending donations donating products to the region but there are many many people are still starving northwood no medication this has been a conflict there for the almost for the last underland 100 days and i don't know

how much is enough to help these people but i guess it's a very desperate situation that's being echoed by all sites a temporary lot down in part of hong kong has been eased after residents underwent mandatory testing for coverage 19 of already said people who tested negative would be allowed to leave and enter the area starting on sunday evening the city is struggling to contain a surge in cases over recent weeks mainland china is worried to it seeing its biggest wave and saxon since march sarah clarke reports from hong kong. health authorities have sealed off hong kong densely packed district of jordan after a surge in infection those living in around $150.00 buildings have been fitted. to leave their homes in a 48 hour mandatory lockdown the sewage systems in several blocks have also been contaminated with high concentrations of the virus found in movie samples this part

of callan is home to many elderly and poor residents living in small and subdivided flats the district accounts for hof of the new transmissions recorded i've the last week are actually. we should have a complete. pro. for a fortnight what of all this today mandatory lockdown in hong kong is the 1st but is not expected to be the last but the chinese new year holiday just weeks away the government is tightening restrictions to avoid another spike in tysons as families gather for the biggest annual celebration chinese new year is the most important family holiday celebrations have been impacted by surge in cases on the mainland mad recovered tests are ongoing in chanche and city in the north of china residents in who by province surrounding beijing as well as those living in julian and

province have been forced into another lockdown temporary quarantine facilities are being built to cope with the highest number of infections since march last year. millions of people in mainland china would normally travel across the country to see their families over this holiday break for a 2nd year in a row chinese new year plans are under threat but the government advising its citizens to stay home and sarah clarke al-jazeera hong kong 11 chinese miners trapped underground for 2 weeks i've been rescued they were among 20 caught in a blast at a gold mine in chandon province at least one miner died but the others are unaccounted for or bernoulli reports. blindfolded to protect his eyes after 2 weeks in the dark but grateful to be alive this is the moment a gold mine was pulled to safety after being trapped hundreds of metres below ground he's part of

a 5th group of miners rescued in east china's shandong province 7 miners were able to walk to the ambulance others were too exhausted from their ordeal rescue teams say they pulled up those most in need 1st. critical case comes before the light one which is the principle of mine accident rescue so the severe ones have been pulled up 1st and the following are in better physical and psychological conditions. but more a still trapped. and animation shows what happened a blast deposited large amounts of rubble in the shaft rescue teams then began trying to rescue those stranded a handwritten note from the miners was hoisted above ground using a metal cable it read don't stop trying to reach us rescuers load food and medical supplies to the kind of the rescuers checked the miners to see if they had any injuries and covered their eyes for protection generally speaking the

rescue operation proceeded faster than expected after lifting all the trapped miners discovered will go on with the search for the other missing miners. the safety of miners in china has improved in the past few years following a government campaign that's after hitting a peak of 5000 deaths in 2003 but what went wrong in this mine is yet to be determined the al-jazeera. thousands of buildings have been left damaged or destroyed in mozambique in the wake of tropical cyclone elouise 7000 people have been forced to flee their homes after strong winds and heavy rain lashed in the san sebastian peninsula on saturday it also calls cut power in the coastal city of barrow the region is still recovering from another devastating cyclone in 2019 which killed hundreds of people. sent to write president marcelo rebel odysseus saw a 2nd 5 year term the 72 year old captured more than 60 percent of the vote in

saturday's polls but turnout was low amid a surge in corona virus cases the president holds a largely ceremonial role but can veto some laws and declare states of emergency the scottish national party has revealed plans to hold what it calls its own legal referendum on leaving the united kingdom scotland's 1st minister nicolas sturgeon says it will push ahead with a vote after the pandemic if the pro independence party wins scottish parliamentary elections in may prime minister boris johnson has repeatedly opposed another referendum but a new sunday times poll shows 52 percent of scottish voters are in favor it also says the majority of u.k. voters expect scotland to become independent within the next 10 years now those same polls suggest the majority of voters in northern ireland also wants a referendum on irish unification the sunday times reports that 48 percent of

northern irish voters believe there will be a united ireland within 10 years. in mclean is professor of politics of the university of. oxford he explains what's behind the renewed support 1st independence. this is what you might call a game of chicken between prime minister barak's johnston and 1st minister nicolas sturgeon each is waiting to see if the other one will blink 1st and. first minister sturgeon actually is being very cautious about trying to ensure that the referendum that she wants to hold after the scottish election in may has a sound legal basis this is because she is looking over her shoulder at what happened in spain and catalonia a few years ago where the council and government held a referendum which the spanish government sent was illegal the reason she is shaking the globe now is that she is trying to prepare the ground by publishing

a bill before the scottish parliament election which is in may so that's the timetable that determines her as to the argument that being put forward by the u.k. government that there was a referendum in 2014 which voted no and that settled it she has quite a strong argument against that which is that in that referendum those who wanted scotland to stay in the u.k. said only by voting no can you stay in the european union well the scots voted no and now they're no longer in the european union and so she's entitled to say things have changed the dangers from prime minister johnston that he can go on saying no to a referendum. in fact i think from his point of view there is more danger in the situation in ireland than there is in the situation in scotland the idea of irish unification which was completely inconceivable until i would think the last 12 months is now

moving rapidly up the agenda there and the disruption to trade and every day life in northern ireland that has occurred since breaks it i think is pushing people there towards the idea of irish unification that one will be more difficult for him to stop. for more than 300 years the neverland's colonized what is now modern day indonesia and took thousands of cultural religious artifacts after years of negotiation the dutch government returned some items last year but it's just a washington reports from jakarta indonesia historians what more to be returns. this dagger was called the crease in indonesia it's made from gold and is covered in precious stones it's one of $1500.00 items returned last year for more than 300 years dutch colonizes occupied what is now indonesia. they stole thousands of

precious cultural and religious artifacts and took them to the netherlands. after years of negotiation the artifacts were finally handed back the 1st time such a large collection has been returned to indonesia it includes this shield used by the dayak people in cali month on hundreds of years ago decorated with the hair of their enemies. but given that i think that i own it shows that as a colonized country we had our historical culture and this is important for future generations to understand. getting these items back took 6 years of planning and putting them on display was delayed due to the outbreak of covert 19 the dutch government offered to return more than $12000.00 artifacts in total the indonesian authorities chose to select only a small percentage of them indonesian historians say some items should remain in the middle and so that indonesian culture can be experienced there too but there

are also financial reasons for it at the dock and when we did and which i mean we don't want to museum to become a warehouse by taking items which are not important it would just add to our maintenance costs because all artifacts need special care. this manuscript for example contains instructions for protecting against which craft it needs to be stored at 25 degrees so that it isn't damaged by humidity there are thousands of indonesian artifacts still in dutch museums and authorities hope to eventually bring more for them home but it's a long and complicated process and historians say they'll need to carefully curated items that are returned those of great interest are the ones that reveal more about the country's past but up with the end about it and as you know that many of our items are related to us an auger free to add to our understanding of the many ethnic groups in indonesia which we did not have before in october a dutch commission on colonial collections recommended its government return items

taken from former colonies that includes this diamond which once belonged to the sultan of punjab muhsin and used to be 70 carats it was violently seized by dutch troops who are bullish the sultanate and sent the rough diamonds back to the netherlands to be caught into this rectangular 36 karat jam. is something belongs to indonesia they should return it to indonesia but the repatriation of such a valuable item is complicated the descendants of the sultan say it should be given to them and not to the government jessica washington al-jazeera jakarta.