ah, ah, ah, ah, the only cross baron drives up cobit 19 casey is in south africa. the health minister says the search can be managed without a strict to locked up. ah, welcome, i'm peter w, watching al jazeera life or my headquarters here. and there are also coming up aaron's chief negotiator says, wealth powers can't reject the proposals it put forward during talks to revive the nuclear deal. lebanon's information minister resigns in attempt to resolve

a diplomatic dispute with saudi arabia. and ukraine warns russia could long shade military offensive by the end of next month. moscow says that's nonsense let's get going. we begin with the race to further understand the new corona virus variant causing renewed restrictions around the world. it was 1st identified as we know in south africa, the country's health minister says a 4th wave can be managed without tougher restrictions. more than 11 and a half 1000 cases have been confirmed in one day. that is 5 times the number reported a week ago. but hospitalizations and intensive care capacity remain stable. in india, the government's working to increase genome sequencing to assess the prevalence of on the chrome. india was previously overwhelmed by the delta vary the cause,

record deaths and infections in april and may in germany. the government plans to ban unvaccinated people from most public places. it's parliament will also debate plans to make vaccines mandatory by the month of february next year. the u. s. is imposing tighter restrictions on international travelers that's after ami kron was detected in 5 states. we'll get some updates on the situation in the us with. kimberly, how could in washington shortly. first let's go live to berlin and a correspondent, the dominant cane. so tom, how far down the road is the german federal government prepared to go when it comes to essentially forcing people to accept. you've got to have a vaccine what we know for certain is that angular merkel who will be handing over the reins of power in the next few days, is very keen for such a vaccine. mandatory vaccine requirements to be brought into place. we know that

the man who is going to succeed her all our shots from the social democrats, he to believes that that is the answer that by february of next year that there should be provided parliament votes for it, a mandatory vaccine requirement. he said he's gonna give members of the newly elected parliament, abundance tag, the chance to vote with their consciences on whether there should be a mandatory vaccine requirement in this country. the interesting thing is the political faults line as it were, that has emerged between those and the mainstream parties who either vehemently say it's a very good idea or at least are prepared to say it's something that should happen . and those who really don't believe that it should be mandatory. and that includes the extreme right wing party, the alternative for germany party, which has always and it's still saying that there should be no mandatory requirement that having the vaccine should be a matter of personal choice. course the thing to say is all those people or 90

percent of all the people who are in the course of the last month or so, and that adds up to more than a 1000000 people who have become infected are unvaccinated. is there a sense that dom, that the government perhaps is getting a little bit a little bit ahead of itself because the picture of army kron around the world hasn't quite yet settled down into what the government advisors around the world are telling us it might become the key word there, of course being might yes, a great deal of conditionality isn't there about how this government's approach omicron relative to the delta variant because let's be clear about it. vast. the overwhelming majority of cases, the reported every day here in germany are the delta variance. and so bad is the current situation with delta. and so many other people who still haven't had even

one vaccination. that the requirement for a vaccine was being suggested by many people before the omicron variance was identified 1st in south africa, as you were saying. so to a certain extent, whether this is a reaction to ami kron or whether this is actually more a reaction to the reality of this wave of delta that has crashed across germany in recent months. so these is an interesting question in itself, but certainly there's no doubt that's the thought of a potentially more dangerous variant omicron circulating in a country that's already being ravaged by delta is really exercising the minds of many ministers and medics. dominic, thank you so much. dominant came there. i corresponded in berlin, live now to the white house. let's get the picture there with our correspondent, kimberly hallett. so kimberly hi again in our last hour. kimberly, you're explaining to me how the, by the administration essentially we get this,

of course they're playing catch up a get a u. s. president again, playing catch up. but does mister biden have to do something else? does he have to kind of straddle the political divide here? because it seems to me that it's a political debate in washington, but also at a grassroots local level because it's such a big, divisive issue. there is no question that the issue of mass wearing of vaccine mandates has been politicized in the united states with largely liberal saying this is necessary in order to beat the pandemic and conservative saying, i hear you. but this is a violation of our civil liberties and the president just now wrapping up in the east room of the white house. his discussion about not just jobs reports, but also how he's handling the pandemic. and getting those very questions from reporters, in fact, being pressed about why in fact, there is no way, in fact, there is no travel restriction when it comes to domestic travel and whether or not

there needs to be testing. as there is announced in the united states for travelers, inbound to the united states when it comes to testing. initially, it was 72 hours. you had to have a negative test. as of yesterday, that is now 24 hours, but that's not a requirement and domestic travel. and what we've seen, in fact, is that there is a lot of domestic travels taking place. this was a lot for the i'm, i'm a crime very a to in fact, i'm traveling the united states is the beginning of the week. there were no cases now. there are 5 states that are experiencing that, but the u. s. president saying that he believes the measures he's put in place as of now are sufficient. he believes that what he's done will combat the rising cases that we're seeing up 4 percent the last 2 weeks. so yeah, this is a real debate in the united states. in fact, we've seen the biden administration already suffering some setbacks in the court. some of the efforts to mandate vaccines for federal workers and also in the private

work place at the courts have said at this point are unconstitutional or being challenged by the department of justice. so this is the challenge, the by the ministration is facing. it says what is going to do is not only continue the public education in order to try and get people boosted. they say that's the best protection right now to this new variant. but a, well, there is a lot of resistance, many american say, we all trust the information, given the fact you said that our 1st jo vaccines would protect us and we're seeing somebody break your cases. but kimberly, for mister bowden does this, i guess make it more of a hard sell for him. does he have to sell a toughened case for perhaps 3 or 4 vaccines for every one within say, a time frame of a year and also off the back of what the boss of pfizer was saying 36 hours ago. now he was saying, look, we got to get vaccines into not just schools, but primary schools, we got stop vaccinating 5 to 11 year olds and vaccinating children in america.

that's been such a hot topic for what the best part of a year now and that's why part of the, by the administration's new winter strategy is to create vaccine clinics, were families can come and get their entire family vaccinated. now right now that doesn't include children at the age of 5, that is sort of the last frontier in terms of trying to get people in the united states, vaccinated babies and toddlers, but 5 and up now is eligible for these vaccines. and so the, the bike administration has made it a new goal. they're trying to get a 100000000 americans to get their booster shots. but we have to remember that there are tens of millions americans that haven't got any shot at all. and this is the big challenge as we're going to see this continue to play out, not only in the courts, but also in congress where we've seen just this week efforts by conservatives to push back on these mandates. kimberly, thank you so much as of a kimberly help the summing up for us. what's going on in the political arena in

the united states will answer. we've mentioned today south africa dealing with its 4th wave of corona virus caused by omicron. the government says it has the resources to deal with the search and casey spot confections are growing, and officials are concerned about the number of children under the age of 5 who are being admitted to a hospital. it's for me to miller reporting from joe book. experts in south africa, say the surgeon coven. 19 infections. is the highest have seen since the start of the pandemic. and they blame the latest and possibly most contagious variant. ami kron. they want us that the variance would generally be in want transmissible, but most of the time they would be less debate as we enter the 4th wave with a new environment. we can see confirmation of this one. while people from this and other countries in southern africa, a facing international travel bands, lockdown restrictions in south africa at the lowest,

the government is instead urging people to get vaccinated. so for 42 percent of adults have received a job with hospital admissions, mainly dominated by those who are not vaccinated. and young people below the age of 40, most of whom are not vaccinated. at this stage, we can say that even in how do we japanese for 72 to 80 percent of the new daily infections, we have not yet reached attending stages in terms of our hospital capacity and the new hospital admissions. the government says it has enough resources to deal with the outbreak, even in one of the worst hit provinces, how ting? the latest statistics show, there are more than 50000 active infections. and daily infections are growing. and health workers are also concerned about the high number of children. and to 5 years

old who's been hospitalized. the phenomenon of young children, younger age groups, as well as pregnant women having increased infection in the gated. we are hoping that in the coming weeks will be able to think of the reason why. busy this particular cohort of patient is having increased infection, but officials hope that while the new variant appears highly transmissible, it can be managed. the government says it will continue door to door campaigns and community awareness programs to try to convince people to get the job. how the experts say, the number of people dying from covert 19 has remained low because of vaccinations . and right now, wanting for people, tested for coven, 1900 in south africa, a recording positive for me to mila al jazeera johanna. the book. india is detected 2 cases of a micron, including an a person with no recent travel history. a toll the government has our

states to increase the genome. sequencing india previously suffered record deaths and infections driven by the delta barian. so elizabeth parent was given rare access to one lab in new delhi. ah, this is one of 37 labs in india where scientists are using a process called genome sequencing, to decode the genetic information and code 19 to learn more about the virus, the samples of every positive case and north and central delhi, a kept in this freezer at needy minus 80 degrees celsius. all we're doing through the scientists show as a device called the flow cell, which collects the samples. it's then inserted into a machine. it reveals the genetic code, the director of india's biggest cause at 19 hospital says they have their best minds analyze and the results to see how the virus changes and you variance,

and understand how these changes affect its characteristics. be how the b as the scholars we have their researchers, we have the professors, doctors who are full time working rather better working more than we're allowed. barney allen, j. p. hospitals, corona virus. what is receiving international passengers who tested positive for the virus upon their arrival? the government has imposed tighter restrictions at international airports, including mandatory causes, 19 tests full arrivals. it's also delayed the resumption of international commercial flights. as other governments go further and ban flights from countries which have cases of alma crohn, economists say the new variant is already having a global impact. uncertainty leads to exclude on an investment. investment is what leads to growth under employment under she like no any kind of uncertainty that increases affects the financial markets. as you saw,

the stock market immediately declined, demand recovered a little. but as long as the uncertainty remains, the financial markets really good affected an investment good effect. sociologists say, while many of anxious about another possible wave, governments must keep the poor in mind as they decide next steps that are different kind of people in this country and in this world. and i think the impact of good has been felt and experienced very differently across different social categories of people. and i think that something which we need to underline not because for some kind of sociological reasons, but also for policy reasons. the 1st year of the pandemic pushed 230000000 indians into poverty. in the as recording is the lowest number of daily carbon 19 case in 18 months, as scientist race against time to find out on the phone for the more severe symptom . and just how much protection vaccines offer against serious illness,

the government is urging the 100000000 and in miss getting this 2nd dose. to do so immediately, elizabeth, for on al jazeera new delhi still come here on this program, the gambia sticks to its unique system of booting, as people had to propose to choose their next president. ah, ah, look forward to burritos guys. with sponsored by cut on airways. hello, good to be with you. i want to bring your rate up to speed with this iconic storm flying in to the east coast of india. we have red weather warnings in play for the indian states of interpretation o disha on saturday, the darker the color, the more intense, the rain is falling. we press play, see where it goes on sunday, sliding up that east coast of india that still becomes a story for westbank all as well. so all 3 states have the potential to see

flooding when you consider could see about a 10200, maybe even more millimeters of rain, southeast asia, the northeast spawn soon steering some heavy rain into borneo, blanket it in rain across tomorrow. and java, and it's drying out across into china. we have seen flooding in southern areas of thailand, central, southern vietnam. so this reprieve is very much needed. high pressure is carving out sunny conditions across a huge swath of china. these temperatures looking pretty good to great lin at 22 degrees. beauty of a day in hong kong on saturday. we've got your penciled in for 21. next stop, i'll take you to japan. a few things i want to put on your radar here were seen some c effects, snow kick in to the western side of han shoe and hoko, still cool air here toward the top and bottom end of japan support to degrees bottom men's cargo shima. we've got you in for a high of 6 on saturday. that's it. oh, the weather sponsored by casara, always african stories of resilience and courage. i get younger viola

aware of is one of us is one of the problem. i got your little boy damn card tradition and dedication to live without a little girl, but with clinical jewel, you another short documentary by african filmmakers on the white 9 and the bookmaker africa direct on al jazeera lou . wow, the me welcome back. let's get you right up to speed with all the top story, south africa's health ministers as the countries entering a 4th wave of corona virus infections. fueled by the new army,

chrome variant more than 11 and a half 1000 to infections have been confirmed in one day. that's 5 times the number reported a week ago. germany plans to ban unvaccinated people from most public places. the outgoing chancellor, anglo merkel announced the measures and said parliament will debates, making vaccines mandatory by february us president joe biden as an as types of restrictions for international travelers. the u. s. s. reported on chrome in 5 states now, including one person in hawaii with no history of traveling. iran chief negotiator has told this channel that world powers cannot reject draft proposals. it's submitted during nuclear talks in vienna, in an exclusive interview. and he began, connie says all nuclear related sanctions imposed by the us should be removed immediately. the talks are aimed at bringing iran and the us back into the deal. it is meant to limits iran's nuclear program and exchange for sanctions relief.

they're going to, the proposal table by iran cannot be rejected, i told because they are based on the provisions of the 2015 nuclear agreement. in principle, the countries which are still the participants of the j. c. p. o, a they do not want to ruins the nuclear document. all the sanctions which have been imposed or re imposed under the so called maximum pressure campaign of the united states. they should be removed immediately. asha has more now from vienna, with respect to our interview or exclusive interview as the ali bachardy gunny, iran's deputy foreign minister. well, he said clearly that they don't have the options. the wall powers the do not have the option to refuse iran's 1st 2 proposals. one on the sanctions lifting the sanctions and the 2nd on iran, rollinback, it's nuclear measures because us are located can he because they do not want

to ruin the nuclear dean. this is what he said. and then he added also that there are many destructors trying to destroy the nuclear, a negotiations, mainly external and foreign destructors and are trying to confront them. he also added that iran once all the sanctions to be lifted. and moreover, it's once this to be verified and it's once more guarantees that another sanctions, another set of sanctions would be imposed on iran, according to him. the 3rd proposal is going to be submitted after the war powers accept the 1st 2 proposals. and a 3rd proposal is going to be mainly on the verification process. and the guarantees that are going to be given or iran is requesting the wallflowers to give it in order to, to revive the nuclear. the lebanon's information minister has resign,

save some time to resolve a dispute with saudi arabia and other gulf states. george kodachi called the war in yemen, quotes a saudi aggression triggering a diplomatic crisis. rianne banned all lebanese imports, and recalled the ambassador in a hot reports. not from beirut. it's an announcement that's supposed to help open the door for negotiations with saudi arabia and other gulf arab states shall be done. one of them's was he lebanon's information minister george credit, his comments calling the war and yemen. a saudi aggression triggered the worst deterioration in relations in years for weeks credit he rejected calls to resign. he now explains why he changed his mind. right. if i don't see him, i do have a french president. manuel mcroy is heading to saudi arabia on an official visit. what i understood from the prime minister who i met 3 days ago, is it france wants to use my resignation to help open dialogue with saudi arabia. french president,

manuel macross has been urging gulf states not to isolate lebanon. it's believed he wants to use the resignation as a bargaining chip to convince saudi arabia and other states to restore economic and diplomatic ties with lebanon. the government invaded tract. now it's basically a corporation where the french and the iranians called the shots. and it seems that for the government in order to be able to, to succeed, to, in order to be able to ensure the implementation of the reforms that are being asked for by the international community. there must be some sort of an involvement of gulf money. there is no guarantee the resignation will be enough for saudi arabia, which has said, it won't engage with a government controlled by the iranian backed, has below. but it could help. and the political crisis in lebanon production is backed by, has been locked, which along with its allies, paralyzed the cabinet for weeks. they want the lead judge investigating the 2020

explosion. api reports taught the tar remove for what they allege is political bias efforts. to limit his jurisdiction in the case, are now under way prime minister, and as you may after, who took office in september promised to repair ties with arab gulf states. but it has been a difficult balancing act with political power in lebanon, in the hands of hezbollah. and there was a problem that made the on the system and lebanon, and the political system. second, what have taken place between lebanon and the gulf, and disputed, especially we need the best scenarios in order to be healing on or on the healing a saudi ban. on all imports from lebanon is adding pressure to an economy already in freefall. a gesture of goodwill may reverse such measures, but repairing a relationship with a traditional ally is part of a larger geopolitical struggle with iran than their elders either. beta ukraine's

defense minister says russia is planning, quote, a large scale escalation along their shed border. he said 94000 russian soldiers a mobilizing in moscow will probably make a move in january. the kremlin has repeatedly dismissed suggestions is preparing for an attack. russia denies supporting separatist and ukraine's east in a conflict. this kill thousands of people since 2014 russia is trying to put things upside down, insisting that it is a victim. and it requires some security guarantees like but for the last, at least 7 years. and if we take into con, georgia, the aggression against georgia, it's even more, it's russia who has been aggressive. it's russia who has been pushing boundaries, and it's russia who was violating international law. so i reject this idea that we have to guarantee anything to russia. i insist that it's russia who has to guarantee that it will not continue its aggression against any country. child stratford has the latest now from nova trotsky, ukraine, the defense minister,

citing intelligent sources, both ukraine animals described as ukraine's partners. with that information, it is being speculated that one of the reasons maybe because we haven't seen any snow any solid snow on the ground yet in this region. and of course, when there is snow and the temperature dropped, the ground is a lot harder, which makes it a lot easier to move heavy machinery and weaponry around. but as i say, that is speculation. some of the other things, the defense minister said, also very interesting. he said that there be no provocation on the ukrainian side, but we are ready for war. and he said that making a decision on ukraine's entry into nato will be a political, one of a political nature. there is no consensus in the alliance yet. so one could argue tentatively that this is the beginnings, possibly a little bit more of

a conciliatory tone by the ukrainians. considering the very kind of bella, cose and confrontational language that we've heard in recent weeks. the culminated realistically, yesterday, after that o. s. c meeting. when a statement was put out by the russian foreign ministry, following those meetings between laboratory blinkin, which said that moscow will be forced to take, it's highly a 3 measures to level the military and strategic balance. if it's legitimate concerns about nato falls, he's being deployed along its borders and ukraine's involvement in u. s. g o political gains are not taken into consideration. so as i say, the beginnings possibly of a more conciliatory tone by the defense minister, we wait and see what is said in the discussions that we're expecting in the coming days. that's what we've been told. and the discussions between the us presidents and the russian president vladimir putin. now,

this is in the gambia are heading to the poles on saturday to elect their next president. the electoral commission says is made all the preparations required for a free and fair election. i've made at rest reports now from the capital bengal election staff examined voting kit i had of saturday's presidential election more than 7000 of them will be used in more than 1500 boiling stations across the gambia. we could look isn't really very transmitted and comes into a 2nd is, is what only one year who it is or transparently indigo of all, but is to make sure that the loses lacy, nearly a 1000000 people have registered to vote in this election that also sees a record number 6 presidential candidates. the gambia has

a unique system of voting that predates it's independence over here. are ballot boxes called the ballot drums. they're made out in different colors for each candidate in this election. and in these boxes are election materials that include marble, given to each verified voter, the voter takes the marble and then drops through this all inside the ballard drum . the moment the marble gets in there, it hits a bell and makes a sound to the voter election. officials and party representatives present. and finally the ballots. i counted on this wooden plate. oh, the gambia police won't say how many officers they're deploying, but say they aren't leaving anything to charles. and nobody can tell what exactly my biddy classes situation that might come up. and so police officers ought to be in to be able to deal with this address. and even though we are anticipating that we are going to walk into a peaceful election, but you may not know what my bid is,

is thanks that all the challenges suffering from vote. enthusiasm is high, but many people don't trust the politicians would deliver what they promise. i believe every politician is there for their interest. will efficient, like, sorry to say, but in reality sense a self is there just after that interest i would because as i mentioned earlier and i am a consultant in and, and i have to what it is my right of way of vicious hope. this enthusiasm will translate into a high voter turnout which could be possible as gambia save out the freedom to vote and express themselves without fear of intimidation. ama degrees al jazeera by joel the gambia. ah exactly 1630 g m t. these are your top stories, south africa's health ministers as the countries entering its 4th wave of corona, virus infections fueled by the new omicron variant.