the listening post your guide to the media on a jesse era, we understand the differences and similarities of cultures across the world. so no matter how you take it will bring you the news and current affairs that matter to you. ah . as the omicron variance spreads around the world, the european commission chief says it's time to consider compulsory cobra vaccinations. this needs discussion. this needs a common approach, but it is a discussion that i think has to be let. ah, lauren taylor. this is al jazeera live from london. was it coming up? the women's tennis association suspends all tournaments in china because of safety fears concerning champion player punch way. the debate that's divided the u. s. for

years supreme court, his arguments on access to abortion masquerades and ben roost with 800 people ready behind bars for political reasons, rights group say, alexander lucas shanker, is continuing his craft down on descent. ah hello. the current of ours case load in south africa has doubled in a day. what an 8500 positive tests were recorded on wednesday, up from about 4300 on tuesday. about 3 quarters of those cases a thought to be the omicron variant. the discovery of that variant has led to many countries closing their borders to travelers from southern africa. you inspector general antonio terrace has condemned travel bans. describe describing the must travel apartheid. what is even acceptable is to have when part of the world's debt

is one of the most vulnerable parts of the world economy condemned to a lockout when they were the ones that revealed the existence of a new variant. that by the way, already existed in other parts of the world, including in europe, as we know. so this is a very strong good peel that i large appeal to common sense. we have the instruments to have safe travel. let's use those instruments to avoid this kind. over allow me to say travel appetite. the head of the european commission says it's time for a new member states to consider making co vaccinations. mandatory information on the news train is still limited by the world health organization expects to know more about how easily it spreads within days or a challenge reports from london or mac,

or on his spooking europe. with the delta variants, the continent is already the global epicenter of the cove. it pandemic. again, leaders are worried. what extra was the new variance may bring despite hastily enforce travel restrictions. so sama considering new policies like legally mandating citizens to get vaccinated. i think it is understandable and appropriate to lead this discussion now and how we can encourage and potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the european union. this needs discussion. a 3rd of e, you citizens, a 150000000 people remained on vaccinated to many police funded land in order. what science tells us already is that full vaccination and boosters provide the strongest protection against have it that is available now. others are heading that way to austria is bringing in. mandatory vaccinations for teens in

february. and this is the man replacing anglo merkel is germany's chancellor. bear up because what we need is a legislative procedure where every member of parliament puts according to his or her conscience on a general mandatory vaccination, germans, it's horn about it. if they finish on as i'm against mandatory vaccination, i think everyone should be able to decide for themselves. i'm from sorry, scepter. in the beginning i was skeptical because i believe everyone should be able to decide for their own body. but now, unfortunately, it appears there's no other way out of this pandemic, one country that is very unlikely to go down the route to mandatory vaccinations in the united kingdom. yes, the booster program is now being extended to anyone over the age of 18. but the government rejected the idea of vaccination passports and even just making face masks mandatory again on public transport and in shops or the past 3 parliament

with much grumbling and abstaining from conservative m. p. 's without crohn. there are 3 big questions without answers yet. how transmissible is it, how severe is it? and how well will the current vaccines work? there is still a lot of uncertainty around on the crown, and this data will come in and there are scientists around the world that are studying this. but there is no indication to suggest that the vaccines won't work, even if there is a reduction in efficacy. it's still better to have the vaccine because it will save your life. the w h. i says everything that is being done to combat delta, the dominant strain worldwide, should be applied and strengthened for omicron. and in the days to come, we should know better. what we're dealing with, rory collins, how does era london us is reported 1st case of the electron variant unofficial joins us live from washington, d. c. and what, what do we know? while we know that the passenger arrived from south africa on the 22nd of november,

he didn't feel terribly well. so did a test. and on the 29th, it was confirmed that he was positive. that test was then sent to public health researchers. they got it at 3 p. m, yesterday, that's tuesday here in the united states. and by 8 p. m, they had confirmed that it was on the con, the amend managed to build a genuine sequence which will help scientists with farther examination of this. all of those around this man have been tested at those directly in contact with them have been negative, but the whole tracking trace issue is no underway in the united states. you remember that before the 29th of november, the united states put in place a travel band for 8 countries from southern africa. anthony photo, who is the presidential advisor on the virus, said that was really to buy them time rather than to stop it because he realised there was no way of stopping this 1000000000 hitting the united states. we knew

that it was just a matter of time before the 1st case of arm, a crown would be detected in the united states. and as you know, we know i've been saying it and my colleagues on the medical team and other 7 saying we know what we need to do to protect people get vaccinated if you're not already vaccinated, get boosted if you've been vaccinated for more than 6 months. with a name or an 8 or 2 months with j and j. in all the other things we've been talking about, we're getting your children vaccinated masking in indoor congregate settings. what we know about the passenger is that he was fully vaccinated, but he hadn't yet had the booster. and so public health officials are going to be pushing the message that we've heard for more than 18 months. and you remember that the very 1st case in the united states when covered was announced actually happened on the west coast as well. if there is any good news in this for the public health, the experts, it is that the symptoms have been mild. the of course,

still think ill take 2 to 4 weeks to study on the corn in its entirety before the able to decide how severe this period is. and whether or not the current vaccinations are good enough to make sure that people are protected from it. and vicious, thank you very much. ah, women's tennis association is suspended tournaments in china. and hong kong is ever concerns about the safety of former doubles. well, number one punch way. and she accused a politician of caressing her into sex and was not seen in public afterwards. china has since attempted to show that she safe by releasing video clips and an e mail in a statement that only jay had sent the body can't ask athletes to compete when punch way is not allowed to communicate freely. it says that she's seeming been

pressured to contradict her allegation of sexual assault and that all w t. a pleasant staff could face risks in china. archer wang as a senior research at human rights watch. she applauded the decision. so much respect because this is what standing up for human rights in china. looks like this is what integrity looks like. this is what leadership looks like. i mean, we saw the video clips and her picture from her mining, but we have not heard from her directly. she has not talked to her fans, not ok. press conference. she has not spoken directly. so i would say, you know, she's alive. she lives in beijing, but whether she's safe, whether she's, you know, free, we can't tell. i absolutely hope that a more international sports organizations, international businesses will follow suit follow w t leaders than ever for him. like in china and not be complicit in human rights

violations. in china, especially iowa, say the international olympic committee who participated in this public and the video was shy. it's really shame for 40 year from engagement with china. what had come out of it is crime, spoke to hong kong in serious crackdowns, in credit against humanity. she peers correct out in hong kong. now i've been disappear, she's a huge star and she can be disappeared so that it's definitely not working. so we do something differently. women in the u. s. have had a constitutional right to abortions since 973. that's when the supreme court ruled in the landmark case, roe vs wade. legalizing abortions, so long as the fetus is not viable outside the womb at about 24 weeks of pregnancy . but a new case before the supreme court has asked the court to reconsider and may lead to abortions in the u. s. becoming illegal once again, there was 100. you're castro reports. for nearly 5 decades,

women have been able to get abortions in the united states. thanks to a decision made within these marveled halls. now a new panel of supreme court justices is revisiting that decision and could take it all back. it's heartbreaking to think that ro could get overturns, and ro has always been the floor and never the feeling. but i want to live in a country where every single person can have access to health care. and that would mean saving the life of so many profession on board. children who are voiceless are unable to defend themselves, and they're relying on us with the abortion case. before the court comes from mississippi, where the conservative state legislature wants to ban nearly all abortions after 15 weeks, well before viability. lower courts have ruled the ban unconstitutional. but now the supreme court with its new 63 conservative majority will have the final word. president trump appointed 3 justices, that he, that he promised would overrule roe vs wade. but there is no reason there is no

constitutional basis to overturn nearly 50 years in president during the hearing liberal justice to waste concern the court legitimacy with that state. will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the constitution and it's reading are just a political ass. but many conservative states are viewing this moment as the most opportune in a generation to attack abortion access were about to make it law live in after more than $100.00 state level restrictions this year alone, including a texas ban on abortions after just 6 weeks of pregnancy that way, but that's nothing compared to what may happen if the supreme court overturns row. if the court were to do that,

it would mean that states across the country that of that of enacted so called trigger bands that would ban abortion at the moment that row was overturned, whole show, the majority of america were asked 1st to abortion. these protesters organized by the women's minds, are in circling the supreme. i had the voice heard, while contractors on the anti inside telling their own rally little one and it looks like on 15 weeks old, the child is bully foreign. we know that they have a central nervous system. we know that the heart is beating, so we know that this is not in congress. our like we are lied to for so many years . the hearing lasted about 2 and a half hours. lawyers from mississippi argue the decision in roe vs wade was egregiously wrong and should be overturned. while the pro abortion side argued, a woman's liberty over her own body is at stake. the justices line of questioning offered few clues to how they will ultimately rule their decision is expected in

june. i to jo castro, al jazeera washington, still to come on al jazeera, uganda begins its military offensive to hunt down an armed group in democratic republic of congo. nato's hotline warning to russia. there'll be serious consequences if it uses force against ukraine. ah hello, thanks for joining an hears or weather forecast for asia pacific. the rain has made a clean sweep across japan, but still some see effects. so for the western side of ha, kado into on shoe as walls to porridge. it's a high of 2 degrees me wall high pressure is carving out sunny skies for central eastern and the southeast corner of china. beauty of a day in hong kong, up to 20 degrees. over the past few days, almost about a meter of rain has fallen in central vietnam,

but it's drying off right now. few scattered showers for that east coast indonesia . so the ways the island days of rain has led to flooding destroying almost a 1000 homes on the island. and meantime, a deadly lance. i reported in west java the rain still coming in jakarta. and speaking of the rain, most of it's pushed away in australia. safe for a few scattered showers along the coastal section of queensland, new south wales and victoria. we have seen some thunderstorms in melbourne and i think we've got a repeat performance on thursday. it's gonna cool the atmosphere. we go from 29 degrees down to 20. thanks in part as well to a switch and wind direction. record breaking month. sorry for auckland, your temperature. $18.00 degrees and as we head towards thursday is still above average with the high of $24.00. ah. the mass pro democracy movement, violent crackdowns assassinations, and you impose sanctions, old tactics,

and the struggle to consume of 2020 bella routine presidential elections that shows the country self proclaimed dictator seat of power. and now new tactics, migrants, people empower, investigates, the humanitarian disaster on rivaling on europe's borders and asks what's next. and the button for bella. bruce on a jazz eda lou ah, or more of the top stories your al jazeera, the year chief says it's time for the block to consider making a curb. 19 vaccinations mandatory. the u. s. has just announced its 1st case of the army thrown variant women's tennis association has suspended tournaments in china

and hong kong. it's over concerns about the safety of former doubles world. number one, i'm sure way. she accused a former senior partition of caressing her into sex and was not seen in public from 2 weeks. both pro and anti abortion rights activists have been protesting at the u . s. supreme court is deciding whether to uphold mississippi law banning most termination after 15 weeks. human rights group say authorities in belarus have rated the homes of dozens of journalists and activists in what appeared to be the biggest one day crackdown on descent in the past 3 months or an 800 people are reportedly already in prison for political reasons. since the government crackdown started last year, or bella, russian leader, alexander lucas shanker, has been accused of orchestrating a migrant crisis at the border. inside the country, people are being detained. nearly every day. a step fastened reports from belarus,

collides blogger and comedian party. mattie was arrested last august when he had a meeting with teenagers about the new skateboard track. he was sent in to $25.00 days for organizing a sports event. and now fe to serious charges, like insulting the president and promoting extremis activities that could keep him in prison for years when you are bullet, but he has 46000 subscribers, but he's not a politician. he's a person who loves and facts the truth. he's a lawyer by education and an honest kind person. i believe such people should be cherished. when i heard his sentence, i asked the investigator, if you are arresting these kinds of people, what kind of society are we going to live in? a question many and bella, who are asking as the country continues to face awake of arrests on wednesday homes of dozens of journalism after this. and at least 9 cities were rated. and what seems to be the biggest one day club down in month does all in response to mosque protests against the election for last year. lucas shanker recently admitted that many were arrested,

then have been tortured for month protests with the goal for change with loud and clear here at this monument. it meant that if it's been silent and many have flat bellows on living in fear, this is a country controlled by one man, and many say give him the credit down after the election. and the recent micro crisis is clear that he will do anything to stay in power. some one who has not been silenced. if maria could less sneak over at the forefront of election protests, yes. and i'll be in jail for 11 years for aiming to overthrow the state. that freedom is the most important thing is something my generation did not understand. now i know what my daughters are doing. what young people are doing is what we should have done from prison. his daughter communicate through postcards. my maria knows in our family. we love to be those she sent me regards from harrison from mccartney last week over high spirits, despite or prison sentence has inspired many in bella, luce,

she famously ripped up her passport to avoid deportation. i really wish that europe and the rest of the world forgive all or for political prisoners, high priority. i'm sure most of the people are yes, friends, my whole family, we all alone in for change and it will come. but for now, the crackdown on bella, russian society continues. recently, this magazine for healthy living was banned one of 270 civil organizations that have been shut down. still 75 year old activists, nina buckets guy he had during last years demonstration refuses to concede to the protest movement as last to where you soon the regime has betrayed its people. 100 percent. i'm sad about what's happened, but i still believe at the end of the day, like all other empires. this one supported by moscow will collapse, as well, pretty much blogger, fatty mattie, and hundreds of other prisoners. this moment can come soon enough. steadfast and al

jazeera in minsk. nature is warning russia of serious consequences, including sanctions, if the country uses any force against ukraine, such a general yellowstone stockton book says moscow would face a high price for any aggression they to officials and foreign. mrs. held talks in latvia as capital rigorous, concerned about a russian military build up on the ukrainian border dominated discussion was russia backs separatists in eastern ukraine. the conflict has killed about 14000 people in the past 7 years. and if you would call me 5, bryce, i have serious political or economic consequences for russia at georgia . i'm praying on only funding and close natal partners to the things mission operations on the spying for membership ministers made

fair that we stand by our decisions, our support for the federal integrity we remain committed to enhance our support people. congress voted smith is following reaction from the russian capital. moscow rushes activity and build up along the border with ukraine continues with the 2nd time they've done that this year. and russia now says some $10000.00 troops are going to be involved in winter maneuvers coming soon. those maneuvers at 30 different locations in russia building that includes a long eastern part of ukraine. russia's border with ukraine and bella, russia's southern border with ukraine as well. so russia is keeping up the pressure on ukraine and on, nate. so as it goes, as particularly as a lot of goes for a meeting with antony,

blink and install come on thursday tanks and other heavy machinery have been seen crossing into democratic republic of congo. as uganda steps up attacks against an armed group. it launched a joint campaign against the allied democratic forces with the congolese on may on tuesday. welcome web report. ugandan troops, tanks and armored vehicles have crossed the border into democratic republic of congo. the 2 governments say they're going to hunt down an armed group called the allied democratic forces, or adf. he can the government blame the s a 3 suicide bombings, kansas capital can paula. 2 weeks ago, several people died. dozens were injured. it's not the 1st time you've gotten this army has been in congo. it invaded 25 years ago. along with rwanda, it's been accused of plundering minerals and meddling on and off ever since. we've seen in the past that you've gotten the has not always had the best interest of the

comalies population in mind, nor did it really want to stabilize the eastern d r c. but what we see now is, but apparently president katie has given the green lights to this operation, which gives it a bit of a different character than previous intervention by the governance in easton d r. c. the adf originated in uganda. in the 1990s for 3 decades is hayden, when the forest of eastern congos, profiting from timber and minerals wines 2 years ago, he pledged the legions to iso. well there, the extent of the connection isn't clear. in recent years, it's become notorious for massacring thousands of civilians, villages around the city, if any people of north keyvi province attired of the violence. congress army said it would stop the killings. it introduced martial law in the region 6 months ago. but i haven't worked. that's why some people are now welcoming the gun that armies arrival others, a skeptical. the 1st thing that the population is looking for is protection. they

want them to, to end. and that can be only possible if the protection of civilian is the 1st objective are not clear how easily the adf can be flushed out of its forest high downs, or how long you've got the nami plans to stay. malcolm web al jazeera libyans will head to the pose later this month for their 1st presidential election . the vote is key to a un backed peace plan between the countries rival administrations, the phil no constitutional framework in place for the election. many fer, it will only deepen the political divide conic trina reports from tripoli. this school and triply will soon become a pulling station. wednesday is a deadline for registered voters to pick up their voter cards ahead of the 1st round of presidential election scheduled for december 24th. it'll be the 1st

presidential election and libya's history. and more than 2000000 people have received their voter cards so far. but the vote has been marred by controversy. some say holding presidential elections without a constitution will only plunge the country into further violence. this crowd has gathered in front of the election commission headquarters, calling for the vote to be postponed until a constitutional referendum takes place. without a constitutional foundation and any nation of the one you cannot conduct a group on and you tell and this is abc. it is the very beginning, nessa and democracy. we have to have a constitution or 2 to relate respect identified as into the okay. so this and this election proposal nixon, it is very dangerous for democracy,

very dangerous for us over the state. and we think that is making this election felt like an obese when men of libya has been engulfed in violence and political divisions of the revolution that toppled wall market daffy in 2011 with warlord for lee. for after controlling the oil rich region of eastern libya and the internationally recognized government of unity in the wes, led by prime minister. i'm just how me debate. both men are among scores of candidates running in the elections across libya, people have mixed feelings. linda, covert to had it on, in my opinion, presidential elections right now should not take place like you shouldn't have presidential elections before the parliamentary elections and there should be constitution on the money. i'm in favor of these elections. at least the situation will get better. we want our country to move forward, in my opinion,

it's the only way to end the violence just 3 weeks ahead of the vote. libyans are still deeply divided. there's international pressure for the elections to move ahead of schedule. but without the constitution in place, many here feel presidential election will only prolong the conflict. now, latrina 0, tripoli. the european union is launched a multi $1000000000.00 scheme to rival china is vast and influential. belton road initiative. the venture will see investment in digital transport and energy projects, giving countries what european commission president also on the line describes as a true alternative. someone that kane has more from valid. the point of the e u is trying to make with this new initiative, is helping countries bring their level of infrastructural development up. and that, that's is going to be a major boost for the world's economy. we know that from the chinese government's

perspective, their hope is that the belton road initiative, which is the effectively the rival as it were to what is being proposed in brussels, is aiming to reach fruition by 2049. the 100 anniversary of the communist party taking control of mainland china. so that's from one perspective. we know also the chinese government already invested a very considerable amount of money. the last time that an announcement of money was made was in 2019. when she gin ping announced a $127000000000.00, no fresh announcements from bay ging since then. the question is how this will play out what countries will wish to align themselves with the chinese perspective, and which will want to align themselves with the use perspective. remembering that there are those in europe in the united states who have real concerns about china's investment in other countries around the world. that's house of view. this

announcement from brussels. a record number of earthquakes have been recorded on the spanish island of la palmer, where volcano has been interrupting for more than 2 months. drone fatigue radio released by spain's national police shows swears of land covered in ash. officials say about 2700 buildings have been damaged or destroyed. ah, another top stories on al jazeera, the you chief says it's time for the block to consider making co with 19 vaccinations. mandatory cases are on the rise across the continent, which is currently the epicenter of the pandemic. he comes as concerns rise about the omicron variant you in safety general antonio terrace condemned travel bands on southern africa. introduced a slow it spread as a partied. what.