on line catch up here with me sound a got man on al jazeera, unprompted, and uninterrupted discussions. from a london broadcast center. on angie's e ah more countries close borders as concerns grow about the only ami kron krona virus variant, but the u. n. is urging nations to reconsider their southern africa. travel bands. ah. hello barbara, sarah, this is al jazeera life from london, also coming up british socialite, gillian maxwell goes on trial in a new york court. she's accused of helping convicted peter fall. jeffrey epstein abuse underage girls on the front line in eastern ukraine,

where the russian forces have been gathering at the border. and george's former president faces court after years in exile as hundreds of protest her as a show their support. ah, more countries are shutting down their borders to keep a new corona, virus variant out even more cases emerge. and scientists raised to figure out just how dangerous it actually is. anger is growing in southern africa where the only crone variance was 1st detected. now several countries have banned the travelers from that specific region, although there have been no deaths linked to on the crown so far, the world health organization has warned that it poses a very high risk of infection searches. meanwhile, experts in south africa are predicting cases could rocket the 10000 the day by the end of the week. that's up from 300 just 2 weeks ago. but they also believe that

existing vaccines are probably effective at preventing severe illness. however, despite calls for to make sure that i have already know that as the infections arise, people will get sick. some will good severe, especially those who have not been bugs in it, but know that they will also be instances where even those robertson major major in the district already. but despite calls from south africa, the world health organization and the un at to lift travel restrictions, japan has joined the israel and morocco in banning all new foreign travelers. more than a dozen countries have now confirmed cases of the new variant including australia, which is delaying the reopening to foreign students and workers for 2 weeks. meanwhile, here in the u. k, the government is rolling out its faxing booster program to all adults. nadine barber reports britain was the 1st country to restrict travel from southern africa,

off to the emergence of the new covey 19 variance. now the government here has admitted only kron could pose a greater threat than the dominant delta variance, and it's tightening restrictions to limit community infection. close contacts of anyone who test positive with a suspected case of only con, must self isolate for 10 days, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or not. face coverings will also be made compulsory in shops and on public transport in england, unless an individual has a medical exemption. this is not all doom and gloom at this stage, and i do not want people to panic. this stage. if vaccine effectiveness is reduced, as seems pretty likely to some extent, the biggest effects are likely to be in preventing infections, and hopefully there will be smaller effects on preventing severe disease questions

. at the same time, the government scientific advisors are recommending people are offered booster jobs just 3 months after their 2nd vaccinations. and the programs being extended to any one age 12 or over. over in portugal, they've identified 13 cases of omicron among team members of the lisbon based professional soccer club balances. only one had recently traveled to south africa as more and more countries place restrictions on people traveling from south africa and the region. the united nations is urged the world not to penalize countries for identifying and sharing crucial science and health information. that's a theme taken up by the world health organization. if that is wanting, we have learned it's that norwegian, nor country, no community and no individual is safe until we are all safe. the emergence of the highly mutated army chron variant under lions. just how

perilous and precarious our situation is. south africa and both swan, i should be tangled for detecting sequencing and reporting this van and not penalize many countries in europe are already worried about the winter. here in milan, people have to wear face coverings outdoors, as well as in doors between 10 in the morning and tenant nights. but as nations consider how to protect their own populations, the calls get louder to ensure developing countries can access vaccines. the dean baba al jazeera professor, like man dawson, is head of the division of infectious diseases at the hope you are hospital, university of cape town in south africa. he is extremely unhappy with the world's reaction to their discovery of the valiant well disappointed and frustrated by the international response to what was very speedy and tie me. us announcement of the new variant now known as

a micron up by south african scientists. but it's international response that we are disappointed in. we do not feel that the travel bands are correct. we don't feel that they are evidence based, particularly in so much as there is clearly now transmission and entry of the virus into multiple different countries. we now know that there was cases, there's been a case in belgium, in a, in a tri young traveler who had been to egypt and back by turkey with no association exposures in southern africa. there are now cases being reported, i believe in scotland also in north america. and so clearly the horses bolted. this virus is variant of concern. a micron is now spread internationally and therefore closing borders at this stage is not going to help. it is not evidence base. ah,

the trial of british socialite, glean maxwell has begun in new york. the 59 year old is accused of enabling the crimes of convicted peter fall. jeffrey epstein, who died 2 years ago while awaiting trial. maxwell insists she is innocent and denies any wrong doing well. let's go live now to gabriel. alexander who's been following the trial i gave the court has wrapped up for the day. first of all, what did the prosecution have to say? they wasted no time in court talking to the 12 jurors and 6 alternate laying out. the prosecution's case that case essentially is that elaine maxwell recruited groomed. and then in some cases, according to prosecutors took part in the sexual abuse. under age girls, prosecutors gave one example of a girl bate if they called jane as suited him,

who they say was a 14 year old girl, that epstein and maxwell approach to she was sitting on a park bench, started to converse with her. and that led to a, initially, a friendship that led to years of a sexual abuse of this young girl in various different homes that epstein owned in new mexico, florida. and here in new york, prosecutors were very clear. they say that maxwell, in their words, was a sexual predator, just like epstein according to prosecutors and they say they're going to call for people to the witness stand for women that all say they were victimized by epstein. and they could have only happened with the help and assistance of maxwell. one of those 4 will be that 14 year old girl at the time who is 14 year old girl jane issues being called, who is now an adult. and prosecutor say she is going to tell the jury everything

that she claims happened to her. so that's the prosecution. what about the defense sort of, they have to say well, the defense says that they are going to argue this case vigorously. they say that maxwell is being used as a scapegoat for epstein who could not be on trial because as we all know, he's now dead after committing suicide. they claim this trial will be about memory manipulation and money memory that they're saying these have this incident to actually happened over a decade ago. and at the memory of the victims cannot be trusted. manipulation, the defense lawyers say that the 4 girls who will testify, women that will testify, have been manipulated by scrupulous lawyers and money defense lawyers saying that the that the 4 alleged victims of the pastor have received millions of dollars in the victims compensation fund. so therefore,

their testimony is not credible in terms of what happened in court. her going, maxwell was in court, but it was hard to get a sense of her expressions because she was wearing a mask throughout most of the proceedings. because of covered her concerns with the bottom line as this is certainly going to be a trial for the next 6 weeks. filled with a lot of drama. absolutely. gabriel is on the with the latest from your current, gave thinking french president manuel micron has called his iranian counterpart, abraham res. see, after the 1st day of talks designed to save the 2015 nuclear deal across that iran had to respect its commitments and obligations to the international atomic energy agency without delay representatives from russia, china, germany, france, and the u. k. have been negotiating with iranian officials in vienna that the u. s . is also there, but only holding talks in directly. iran is demanding all us and european sanctions be dropped before they agree to any deal. with the raining economy has steadily

been shrinking since 2017. that's when the trump administration started making moves to pull out of the deal, compounded by the crone of iris pandemic. the countries g. d p contracted nearly 5 percent in 2020. the measure is also triggered a massive currency, the valuation that seen a steady rise in inflation from single digits to nearly 40 percent in 2021. though in retaliation to those sanctions. iran now in riches small amounts of uranium up to 60 percent purity. now that's just a short step from weapons grade levels of 90 percent purity in the u. n. says it's nuclear inspectors are not able to fully monitor the nuclear program after tehran limited their access. well, iran says it's optimistic after talks resumed in vienna. that amount, shit, i think it's a great achievement that all of them in the countries of the people plus one have

accepted the islamic republic for rightful demand and agreed that the issue concerning the legal sanction of the united states against people must be 1st be put in focus and clarified only then will there be discussion assessment and decision making held for the remaining matches to such a barry has more now from vienna. this is seen as a very beginning of what could be really the newly appointed team from iran and from the new government of every racy is headed by the reigning deputy for minister alibaba murray. and his team of 38 men who are very well versed in the countries economy. they're all specialties at their specialists in iran's economy, from various different divisions of the government. they are here to find out what the other side will likely do in terms of moving forward. they're trying to gauge the mood from the europeans as well as the americans. i've spoken to sources into

iran who are looking at the other parties involved who say that they are seeing some members in the negotiating teams from all sides. that are very well versed in terms of the security of the countries. meaning that they are expecting iran and other programs, not just a nuclear program will also be brought up. that is of course, something the renew of said they will not do. and they said they were only here to discuss how the americans will lift their sanctions. that they've imposed on or on the deputy foreign minister has said they are on nuclear program and other programs as well as iran regional involvement is not for negotiations. but of course, the parties involved, including europeans, have said that these talks are not going to go on forever, that there needs to be some kind of resolution as soon as possible and still to come here and al jazeera. we are live in a life of humiliation. i would protest is block roads in lebanon with no and then

side for the countries financial meltdown. and after nearly 2 years of m. p. classrooms, uganda students will still be able to go back to school. but there are fears over how many will actually take up the off. ah, the hey there, thanks for joining in. here's your weather report for asia solid band of rain moving across the korean peninsula, fleming into southern japan. this is impacting q shoes, southern haunch right into chicago, and then behind it cool air will filter in. so goes from 10 to 2 degrees and just a high of 2 degrees for cargo shima on wednesday. still getting hammered with some heavy rain for central southern portions of vietnam rate through the malay peninsula. and we've seen a lot of rain for east java as of late the other side of java jakarta,

twice 7 degrees, and we will power up some thunderstorms here. flooding has been a big factor in new south wales. so these are some of the scenes that we've been dealing with as of late. and more rain is coming out in the forecast on tuesday for queensland, but it's moving more inland. same goes for new south wales looking good and perth. however, with a high of 24 degrees. ok, well, in this weather report rate now in new zealand, where the next round of rain will move in southern alp fucking to pick up about 70 millimeters of rain and it will continue to be unsettled. that's what that top end of the south island, but also the north island getting into those heavy bouts of what weather around the capitol region. wellington we've got you in for a hiv 19 degrees. that's it soon. ah . the step beyond the comfort zone were assumptions or challenge travel to the ends of the earth and further

experience the unimaginable of the people who live it is a probably the most extreme situation i've been involved in. how quickly things contract award winning documentary, the old for perception, witness on a just the euro. lou ah, a reminder now of the top stories on al jazeera, more countries closed their borders, concerned by the new corona virus variant. on the crunch, the world health organization says there is a high risk that it could lead to a sharp increase in the global number of cobra. 19 cases. the trial of british

socialite, delane maxwell has begun in new york 59 year old, is accused of enabling the crimes of convicted peter 5, jeffrey epstein. she denies any wrong doing and talks to resurrect the 2015 nuclear deal. have we started in vienna? iran's top negotiator said he was optimistic after the 1st meetings were held on monday. iran wants all us sanctions dropped before agreeing to any deal. george's former president may cassock ashley has appeared in court on charges of abuse of office sac. really has been in jail since returning from exile last month . now, if convicted, he faces 6 years in prison that says the charges are politically motivated. robin forest walker reports now from the capital tbilisi, where hundreds of his supporters came out to show solidarity. this was because such buildings 1st public appearance in georgia since his return from exile and

arrest. the former president is accused of violently dispersing anti government protesters and rating and opposition tv channel. while in office, weakened by a 50 day, hunger strike successfully addressed the international community in english about his prison treatment is was crap. okay, or for her, you and be great. behavior is listed on her and all my outside the court suck ashville. his supporters listened to the proceedings on social media. they believe it's a show true. this is a disgrace or the country for the invitation of the president asked him over and for our ability go forward as a society and pursue our year atlanta goals and prospects of georgia joining the

european union. look rather glad, graham. ah, when presidents are being prosecuted on political grounds, there was scuffles as police dispersed. protesters who had blocked traffic 15 people were arrested. the drama of the proceedings going on inside the court have been somewhat overshadowed by the chaos in suing outside. when police did their best to try to stop because really supporters from blocking both roads into and out of the city. because such villi came back to georgia from ukraine after 8 years in exile that was arrested on the 1st of october. he has returned to a divided country between those who believe georgia's now controlled by a pro russian all ago. and those who won't suck us billy to serve time for crimes. they say he's committed, the government insists suckers really will get

a fair trial, may feel globally, most of his rights will be fully protected by the legislation of georgia. as it happens today, he has had the opportunity to appear in court before the george and judiciary. his supporters don't expect justice and notice such really his best defense was this confession occur with your grandmother, but you know, it was a mistake that in government we failed to create an independent justice system. it affected many of my compatriots. and now it affects me the former president used this opportunity to address the georgia public directly. his hope is that somehow they and not the court will decide his fate. robin for astir walker al jazeera tbilisi activists in lebanon have been blocking roads in protest against deteriorating living conditions caused by the economic crisis. the local currency

is in free fall, and the government has failed to provide a social safety net for the poor. after scrapping subsidies on essential goods, santa hot reports now from bay to these young men say they've run out of options and that's why they've returned to the streets. lebanon's economy has all but collapsed. i know we are hungry and buying me for our children. is a dream. we are living a life of emily and i read in there is no end in sight for the financial meltdown. the country needs international financial assistance, but politicians are not reforming. a state riddled with corruption also never, you know, we don't have the politicians are destroying us. they made us for this young man's don't have the crisis is not new, but it's got worse because the government lifted its subsidies on essential goods

due to a lack of foreign reserve. the fall out of the economic collapse has left 3 fourths of the population. poor and the united nations is warning of even worse conditions if no solution are found. the local currency, the lira continues to lose its value against the dollar. it's affecting purchasing power. while a cash strapped state has so far failed to give the poor promised financial aid, although vile inflation is climbing, think of all the dollars exchange rates fluctuates every hour. that's why we don't put the prices on good side and since they are adjusted all the time, the crisis began in late 2019 authorities used force to end the nationwide protest movement and thought about cabinet seats for more than a year. they form the government in september, but it hasn't met for 6 weeks now because of new political divisions in lebanon. we're not like any other country where people are going to the stated things would

change because we're not on the confronting a government. we going from the government, which is backed up with a very powerful militia, been laying around and age in which it has will last, but many worn growing poverty could change that mother, mom, we don't have money to buy bread and medicine for our sick family members. we can't cope with the situation. many have lost faith in a political class blamed for ruining the economy after decades of corruption. but for now, there is little hope for change. the road to recovery appears blocked, center could or else visitor they route left. when can did it? here might i, castro has claim victory in the honduras presidential election. castro says that voters have reversed the authoritarianism, but the governing national part. he also announced that its candidate had won my lord apollo reports now from the capital to goosey gal. i celebration hundrend

capital agency golf. ah, preliminary results from the national electoral council placed opposition candidates, humana castro in the lead. ah no, a final tally was far from completed. the news was enough to spark celebrations in the streets of the city. for the fall of it, i held up at a festival at a thought for the 100 people. this represents an awakening apiece. a hope. the people are overwhelmed by so much wrong doing and misery over the past 12 years, the people needed to breathe. the people have woken up daniels o. earlier in the day, eager voters queued for their turn at the ballot box. and pulling locations extended their closing hours to allow everyone a chance to cast a vote. many expressed a distrust of the electoral system signing

a disputed general election 4 years ago when the governing national party claimed victory despite evidence of fraud. good service. oh, on the 3rd, being going on to the right and always like with howard some accident just i am actually quite happy with going even though i'm coming later. my multiple is in the late hours on sunday, opposition leaders, humana castro spoke to supporters, claiming victory over national party candidate, nasty as food by most, we are going to form a government of reconciliation in our country, a government of peace and a government of justice. the 2021 on your in general. what did was under what a little boy, what a good bar image. reason memory with many people worried that violence had still

out in the streets the mood out. now we got a celebration under an election officials of also said voter turnout is the highs since the 1980s when the country returned to democratic rule. oh man, wind up an al jazeera, the goose he got bunk. wondrous schools in uganda are said to reopen in january nearly 2 years after they closed because of the pandemic. but the u. n is warning that many students and teachers may not want to return to class. catherine, so reports now from the capital compiler. ah, timothy deruka is a high school student, but he has not been in class for much of the last year and a half uganda closed it's learning institutions in march 2020 because of covet 19. some classes were reopened earlier this year, but only for 3 mans said go is now launching to fix computers. so he can start

a business. he says he'll go to school in january, but many of his friends may not. and some friends of mine. maybe they'll have a good some walk to some one that in your dean, somewhere in mechanical, very cause and some of my friends the tardy the in do things. and we are a little bit there. each year, government officials, talis, they're working with teachers and other partners to make sure that at least the base facilities are in place before january for these little time left and not enough money to prepare, inserting safety and the well being or did it as an dilemma as we need them to be alive, we're talking about the opening but to we have no t taken it into other fact fast from for the since we are looking at now. what is,

what is it that has been prepared at school level? the infrastructure level. in some neighborhoods, volunteers try to keep children busy. uganda has had one of the longest school closures in the world, and it's the only nation in africa. the students are still at home. this is a classroom of a privately own school in the city. other schools have been converted to business and leaving spaces for rent. many schools are in a bad state, and some teachers tell us that they may not be able to provide a safe environment for students to come back. some aid workers see you, kunda is facing a landing crisis that could take many years to fix. many children have been out of school for 2 years. they are lost interest. they are engaged in some other negative, it is like child labor. some of them have suffers her cycle, psychosocial effects, some of them having abuse, getting all that corrected to come to school,

getting the schools ready to accept the children and help them learn. getting that is us back and getting the system ready for all of it is a big challenge. some students have been starting online or with private tutors, but many like say rugle can't afford that one school starts. it may take a long time for them to catch up. catherine, sorry, alta 0 compiler. in less than 6 hours, barbados becomes the world's newest republic. the caribbean nation is cutting ties with the british monarchy. about 400 years after english ships arrived and turned the island into a sugar colony, built by african slaves, robeto's swan independence from britain in 1966, but retained the queen elizabeth as head of state. the monarch will be replaced bible gradient president elect. sandra mason made us will stay in the commonwealth group of nations. one of australia's best known indigenous actors,

david gully, has died of lung cancer. he made his name in the 1971 movie walk about before performing in films such as crocodile dundee, and basil norman's epic production, australia. we also received several honours for his acting ball in australia's remote to our num land. he did not see his 1st white australian until he was 8 years old. his exact birth date is uncertain, but he was believed to be 68. ah . another top stories on al jazeera, the world health organization says the army con variant of coven 19 poses a very high global risk of surges. more countries have closed their borders, concerned by the new variant. south african experts are predicting cases could rocket the pen 1000 the day by the end of the week up from 300.