ah, algae 0 when ever you ah, all results are expected soon in the gambia presidential election, where voters use marbles to cast their ballots. ah, hello, i'm darn jordan. this is obviously are alive and also coming up winter is coming. but russia is accused with putting a choke hold on ukraine's energy supplies. we follow kimberly's on ugandan troops who are joining forces against a rebel group that threatening both countries on christmas cheer likes up the

occupied westbank city of bethlehem, revered as the birthplace of jesus. ah, early election results are expected on sunday in the gambia folks has used a unique system for casting that ballots in an election that seen as a test for their countries transition to democracy turned out was high as they decided whether the president adama barrow deserves another term, huffman address reports mc capital bundle president, item a bottle arrives to cast his vote. aware that in this tightly contested election, there could be surprises. but the president, in his support is accounting only divided opposition to achieve victory or i how i am the unfortunate of supporting this one. everybody knows not even your digital is you ever want to be the rena? i believe you bottle is challenged by the leading architects of the coalition,

but ended in the victory of ice per desa yaya, jamie 5 years ago. they also voted and i confident of women when i want to say that i have got my love and hum, didn't there, does to god it is it to him? this election is significant in many aspects from the record number of candidates to the nearly a 1000000 people who registered to vote. slaymen boss as the difference between the 2016 election and this one is clear. the ceiling of shia was there. but this one has no feeling of fear. for my own honest that from my own of this and doesn't mean anything for you as a voter. yeah, it means something. yes. because when someone, if he had a guy lu settings, which is not in line with his own design for 1st time voter howard, demi, it's

a dream come true. it's been nice. wooden pretty since then. because since i was a dad, i wanted to vote because he didn't, we will feel like i said, 141 put it as in all previous elections since 1947, a unique system is used traditional models along with a drum and bell inside the printer. this could be the last time the marble system of voting is used in the gambia with the list of candidates growing. it's becoming increasingly expensive to produce ballard boxes for each candidate. and in all of the countries, 1500 poland boats, city. the election commission wants to adopt paper ballots in the next vote, because the system that a sockless country for more than half a century is no longer sustainable. turned out across the country was impressive, and the process largely peaceful. people are enjoying greater freedom. they, you know, they have seen the value of elections as a means to piece because gamers,

our so, you know, very canopies love in, but also love music. the result of the election is expected within 24 hours of poles closing on saturday night, ahmed edris al jazeera by jewel, the gambia security forces have been deployed to central molly after 31 people were killed in an ambush. a truck was sprayed with bullets and set on fire. in the town of maci, women and children among the victims central marley's become one of the most violent errors in a fight against arm groups linked to iso and al qaeda. ethiopians. prime minister has called on young people fighting for the to gripe people's liberation front to surrender, and not take part in what he called a war without a goal. fighting is now said to be limited to errors between the towns of betty and dessie. the government says it's making progress. sanders captured more towns in the rebels which been fighting for more than a year. but their leader denies his troops are withdrawing and says, the government's engaged in war propaganda of ally ivy. in war

there is progress and regression. this is the nature of war. there are sites that we have seized, and others that we've evacuated. and within the framework of the strategy that we set, we withdrew from some positions and we deployed. this is not because of military pressures. changing these positions was our decision. the leaders of france and saudi arabia held a joint phone call with lebanon's prime minister and what seen as a significant gesture resolving a diplomatic crisis. the call was made as french president emanuel macro visited saudi arabia. after trips to the u. a and cut off the kingdom and other gold states withdrew their ambassadors from beirut last month, angered by a government minister who criticized the satellite war in yemen. the minister resigned on friday, but saudi arabian franz also issued a joint statement, calling on lebanon's leaders to work on comprehensive reforms. they want action on corruption, finance, energy and border control. manual macro mom had been selma and also agreed to work

on a humanitarian plan. lebanon's people describing economic crisis as left 3 quarters of the population in poverty. with more than 15 european countries of confirmed cases of the army cron variance, but there's persistent opposition to the re introduction of measures to slow rising infections. thousands, march peacefully. as to the dutch city of utrecht, the government imposed a partial lockdown 3 weeks ago due to a case number's being at their highest since the pandemic again. neighboring germany has just reported another 42000 infections. the outgoing chancellor angler merkel made this appeal to those resisting vaccinations as she prepared to leave office. and the number of new daily cove at 19 cases in south africa as nearly quadrupled in just 4 days more than 16000 infections were recorded on saturday compared with 4300 on tuesday. it's underscoring concerns about the rapid spread of

the new army chrome variant from johannesburg. for me to mill explains how the government's responding by encouraging more vaccinations. this is one of a few 100 vaccination centers in the housing province in south africa. and how ting has been hardest hit by the rise in coven, 19 infections, between 70 and 80 percent of new infections across of africa in this province alone . and that is why authorities are saying that people need to get out and get vaccinated. there has been some level of vaccine hesitancy, about 42 percent of people who are eligible for a vaccine have actually taken that up. but that number dropped to about 36 percent for people who have taken up 2 doses, who are fully vaccinated. the government has set up a number of drives, door to door awareness campaigns, trying to create awareness around why the vaccine is important, especially because so little is known around the army kron variance. and the

greatest concern that is just how easily it spreads. and that is being reflected in the spike in numbers that south africa is experiencing. one area of concern, while hospitalizations of people has remained relatively low, a number of young children under the age of 5 are having to be admitted to hospital . now becoming ill after contracting cove at 19 this recruiting a number of students $12.00 to $17.00, since it was open to to that age group a month or so ago that has come in now for, for the vaccinations coming in with parents coming in as families. so there has been that we have seen an optical, a number of infected her kids at the surrounding school over years where i think parents are exercising portia a week ago this vaccination center had about 50 or 60 people coming through every day. and now that number has doubled, so that is encouraging for people trying to make sure that sub africans are getting vaccinated. but we've also been to several vaccination centers in this province.

some entirely empty, some with people trickling through and others more busy. so there's still an issue around vaccine hesitancy, but certainly a significant proportion of the sub african population has been swooped by this new ami con variant. and more people are coming out to get a job. the mayor of rio de janeiro has cancelled new year's eve celebrations after brazil confirmed its 1st cases of the micron variant. thousands of residents and tourists usually flocked the cities famous cup up on a beach to watch the fireworks on december 31st. more than 615000 people have died in brazil from cove at 19 us defense secretary lloyd austin says his country's committed to making sure ukraine has what it needs to protect itself. the u. s. ukraine and european allies all accuse russia building up forces on its western border to threaten its neighbour. the kremlin denies this. i think there's a lot up space here for her, for diplomacy and leadership to work. i and,

and again, we're gonna remain engage with our allies and region and our partners and region and, and we're gonna continue to do everything we can to help rob provide ukraine capability to protect the solomon dirt. or meanwhile, russia has stopped exporting cold the ukraine, saying it needs to cover high demand at home. ukraine depends on russian coal to keep its lights on. and as long as he was moscow of using energy as a weapon, char stratford reports from tourette's home line close to the front line in easton, ukraine. wind, such as this one, had helped fuel industry in the dawn bus region and across what was the soviet union for over a century. but ukraine remains dependent on russia to meet its energy needs, especially coal, which is vital for fueling ukrainian pow stations. in 2014 pro russia, separatists seized control of the majority of the mines. further depleting,

ukraine's access to call decades of neglect means much of the mines infrastructure is close to collapse. about all the new enough is your thought. the equipment we have is from 958, lack of investment and government negligence is one of the reasons why we face a shortage. things could be difficult this winter. another problem is that russia caught ukraine's coal supply. last month. russia has recently stopped exporting coal to ukraine, saying that there's just too much domestic internal demand for the natural resource . some analysts describing this is nothing short of blackmail and an effort by russia to weapon allies. it's vast natural resources as a means of putting pressure on ukraine. and it's not just cold that russia is using to try and control your grain. these

a gas pipelines similar to those that transport russian gas across ukraine to europe. europe relies on russia for around 35 percent of its energy needs. and ukraine gets paid transit fees, which were around 2000000000 dollars last year with those days on nearly over the non stream to pipeline, which is expect you to be opperation next year, bypasses ukraine, instead transporting gas from russia to germany under the baltic sea, russia, right to we divide euro for rush rate energy relations was different states separately rather than with then go the year from graham perspective. this means that russia will. ready have has free to destabilize issue in. ready creating more actively germany has warned russia not to use its gas exports as a weapon,

but has been criticized by other european states and ukraine for exposing key to more economic pressure for moscow. so analysts say, russia's aim of trying to keep ukraine in expire of influence is impossible. it is simply not possible to have that sort of control away our neighbors. we've all with investing huge resources, military as well as economy. because in the end, as i seized on gracie, i think it moscow and age to modify its aids because very simply, natalie winter is just beginning. yes is so worried about the potential electricity blackouts that it's been forced to start importing coal from as far away as the us and colombia. so analysts say economic, an energy pressure from russia will continue because the whole ukraine talks about future nato and e u membership. the board, moscow sees red,

jaw stratford al jazeera tal risk, easton ukraine, lot more. so to come here and al jazeera, including anger and venezuela, to results from a local election unknown. plus i'm robot bride in west, in afghanistan, where they just finished harvesting the world's most expensive spies in the country . the right now is among the world's most economically and ah, ah, look forward to skies with sponsored play cutoff at ways. hello there. let start in the middle east and we're seeing more unsettled weather plague, the levant. you can see the cloud from that low pressure moving across the mediterranean, ringing, wet and windy weather tis turkey to cyprus, and further afield to lebanon. now those showers are going to edge across syria. by the time we get into monday, iraq,

we'll see some of the rain as well. and by the time it gets into noon areas of iran, it will be a little bit of a wintery mix. we're going to see the temperature in tehran, dip down, and we're going to see some temp just come down for the south across some of those gulf states. and could tar, for example, and the you a, the temperature in doha and into by slightly below average for this time of year. and he's going to feel a little bit cooler now. it's rather dry across much of saudi arabia. but across the red sea, we are seeing no showers, pick up around coastal areas of sudan. and as we had to north africa, it's going to get very wet and windy indeed for coastal areas of r. jerry to new zia as well as libya. some of that wind kicking up some dust as it edges into egypt. it is rather cool up here. temperature is slightly below average . now for the weather weather across central africa, we have to head to tanzania. we've got storms blowing into coastal areas and further south of this we've got very wet weather plaguing south africa, with storms in johannesburg all week. oh,

the weather sponsored by casara ways. ah, the stage is said and it's time for a different approach. one that is going to challenge the way you think we're ditching the sound bites and we're digging into the issues from international politics to the global pandemic. and everything in between. join me as i take on the lars dismantled misconceptions and debate the contradictions upfront with me morkel mot hill on out 0. ah ah, welcome back. a quick reminder about top stories here. this our only results are

expected on sunday of the guardians voted in an election seen as a test for its transition to democracy. turn out was high, it's people decided if president adama barrow deserves another term leaders of france and saudi arabia held a joint son cole, with lebanon by minister in an attempt to resolve a diplomatic crisis. gulf states withdrew ambassador of some bare route last month, often minister, criticized for saudi. that war could be in on the south african governments working to scale up cobit 19 vaccinations. the new on the con baron was driving another way to infections. the number of new danny cases nearly quadrupling. just 4 days. sedans, military chief, says the army will leave politics off their elections that are scheduled for 2023, general abdel fata albert han offered the assurance during one of several interviews he gave with international news agencies on saturday. what harm led the military takeover in october, before a deal was struck last month to reinstate the prime minister? nearly 2000 ugandan soldiers have now crossed into democratic republic of congo to

fight alongside troops. that it's all part of a joint operation against an arm group which is bringing violence to both countries . conchella has had a yacht ripples soldiers from 2 countries on the hunt for one common enemy. troops from uganda have joined their counterpart and democratic republic of congo, hoping that together they'll defeat rebels from the allied democratic forces or 80 f. their targets include the d. r c's, renzo re mountains where the armed group establish itself more than 25 years ago. okay, so far uganda allies carried out an air strike across our border earlier this week . now, together with our dear c, troops were on the move on a mission to push out the rebels in the region. it's an unusual collaboration between uganda and the d r c. but both governments say the adf poses a threat. they can't afford to ignore. the armed group is accused of having links

to isolate and killing hundreds of people, village rates, and northeastern democratic republic of congo, and uganda, blended for suicide bombings, last month. and it's capital kampala. oh, we're very happy. both governments are working together. we've suffered and cried because of all the security and killings we supported and encouraged both armies. villages like these often bear the brunt of the violence. entire communities have been displaced and regional leaders here, the fighting can spill over to other neighboring countries. we are either the killers under, we already did this, but he's been yes. ugandan troob say they're ready to stay in the d r. c, until the rebels are pushed out. but critics gear, the presence of foreign troops could lead to more on rest and perhaps to the rise of other armed groups. katya lu, this is diane. how does it security forces of shot and killed

a palestinian man who police say, stabbed, and his righty before attempting to attack officers? it happened just outside damascus gate in occupied east jerusalem. video appears to show his rainy police pointing their guns at paramedics, preventing them from treating the palestinian. these rainy stabbing victim was treated and is now in hospital. every force has more from the scene. well please say that this was a stabbing attack or they released cctv video of a palestinian man walking across the crossing behind his here and then being followed by an altar orthodox israeli man. the policy man turned and started striking the ultra orthodox man. it was impossible to see from those images whether or exactly what he had in his hand, but please say that this was a stabbing the man. then confronted is ready, security forces. he was shot and fell to the ground as what took place after that though, which is provoked such outraged, especially among palestinian social media. they continued to fire at him from

several meters away as he lay almost motionless on the ground. now these are the prime minister, natalie bennett, has praised the security forces, saying that they acted with speed and did what was expected of them. however, one of his own ministers, this is a broad coalition government, a left wing minister, a palestinian israeli himself has expressed concern coltrane investigation said that we should only fight to save life not to take life. and there are calls from the opposition saying that this was an extra judicial killing. the venezuelan opposition lead. one guy bo has joined protests in the state of body in us where an election was a nodes the supreme court council, the state governor's race, which was being won by an opposition candidate quite as says it shows free and fair elections are impossible. and venezuela judges of all that and new election beheld in general to report i make the state of but enough birthplace of the neat revolutionary president who will challenge you had to send to

a new dispute between very foolish government and the opposition. it is here where the chevy family has been ruling for over 20 years with the late president's brother at any charity charges governor. but as they both were being tallied after last month's contested governors raced before clinical, disqualified opposition candidate to play the super atlanta alleging pending investigations and said the election should be scrapped and held. again, let me look at the supreme court of justice. set a date for a new electoral contest for january the 9th. however, today that all that as well as were waiting for next year was the election to choose the president of the republic or recall referendum. the governorship of the state of marinas in november elections, venezuela socialist party, won in 19 provinces. the opposition in only 3, the opposition was divided in many states across the country. but enough,

the heart of the war chavez revolution is one state. the government cannot afford to lose the union of serve the elections for the 1st time in 15 years. and in a preliminary report said that even louis improvements had been made. the elections happened with no independent judicial oversight or election, law enforcement. jamie chavez and nancy were stepping down after the electoral scandal lawyer, but i sent that to me. remove, see, i present my resignation and from office effective as of today in order to facilitate this transition process until the elections proposed by the highest court of the republic take place. now all the eyes are on readiness and the positions capacity to unite to defeat the ruling party in the new vote set for january. the whole will be done. i merely say, it's a little fight that count in the struggle for democracy. one know, in,

don't know his bus you, the only way out is by week in the regime. and that is achieved where you can get strength out of them. the situation and bring us generates this more more a conflict within the regime in there. and to do that you have to participate in elections in force them to expose themselves. venezuela has been struggling through a political and economic crisis for years. the elections where for many a path to which dialogue, but the see to which anybody ness exposes the enormous challenges, steed ahead. betty, so i'll just either large numbers of people have joined the latest protests in serbia against new laws that environmentalists say will let foreign companies exploit local resources. they blocked bridges and motor ways in belgrade and cities across the country. the government's opponents accused of making it harder for people to protest against high polluting projects on making it easier for private land to be acquired. at least 13 people have been killed and many others injured

after eruptions from mount summarily the tallest volcano. on the indonesian island of java, huge clouds of smoke and are shooting into the atmosphere of also triggered heavy rainfall. it last erupted in january, but they were no casualties. farmers in the western janice dawn, i've just finished harvesting flowers, the produce from the world's most expensive spice. and this corner, the world makes some of the best offering hope in a country teetering on the brink of economic disaster. rub mcbride reports from her at the province in the fields of her at the end of the saffron harvesting, is often marked by children from nearby villages coming to pick what's left for pocket money. for there is real value in these small purple flowers of the crocus family that yield the world's most expensive spice. since its introduction from neighboring iran, saffron cultivation has boomed in this province in recent years,

and its value to afghanistan given its current economic plight, has never been more important. for saffron produces the term oil of the taliban takeover has caused disruption for the shipping and banking services. they need for exports. but they say at least there isn't the same corruption. they faced under the old government mexican economy. problems of the banking system are a big issue for businesses, but i think we face list bureaucratic is to feed us into the long term. i'm optimistic about the future. extracting the precious filaments from the flowers, processing the individual threads to remove impurities, then sorting them into different grades requires painstaking attention. it's a role traditionally carried out by women. while men do the work in the fields. despite concerns, the taliban might try to stop women from working produce as we spoke,

to say there's been no problem so far and that's good for the wider social significance of this spice or in the last couple of decades, it's been promoted as an alternative to growing poppies for the opium trade, a trend helped by saffron's rising international price. and of course, there would be some interest from the other problem anyway. they see that the price is really high. of course, there is a debt bring also the honda, the contribution of the flooring, the thought from as a lucrative alternative to puppy production. saffron cultivation was encouraged across afghan is done by the previous administration. it stands as one of its more successful legacies. but the vast majority of the country, saffron and the best quality spice still originates from the fields of had us. it's been recognized by international awards as among the best in the world,

the lawnmower, the staff kashodi, her daughter, and i export to more than 27 countries. and i know that suffolk can change the economic face of afghanistan. and i know the soil and other provinces will also produce a frog. placing such trust in the powers of one tiny flower may be hoping for too much. but this is a country in need of any little help right now. rob mcbride, al jazeera herat, afghanistan, a john christmas tree has been lit up in the occupied westbank city of bethlehem, where christians believe jesus was born. the faithful gathered outside the church of the nativity, hoping code 19 doesn't ruin another holiday season. bethlehem was will but close. last christmas. neither abraham was there, the lights went off. this is the busiest bed. i see them in 2019 i think i started in 2050 that head. that tourism bob. and weren't

even allowed to with the lighting ceremony law here. but the day that differ in the thousands and thousands of palestinians are here. that is battling and people are coming from different places from one day occupied blood. unless it is ready. this is one of the initiatives this year to revive the economy christmas market where people can sell their products as well as their crafts people. here in bethlehem have depended on tourism for decades. so naturally when tourism stopped, the economy took a hard hit. now, you know, christmas people looking at my presence and the things are turning around, at least for the holidays. people are willing to spend more to try and bring some bright brightness and hope into the house and have like a happy holiday. during this time, people will spend, even if he know it's a bit difficult for them, palestinians do not control that own borders. so they have to rely on what

restrictions israel has in place. in november, israel has allowed vaccinated tourists to come in. and so people here were hopeful that tourism is going to be back. but soon after news of the new barrier has emerged, israel has shut down its borders again. people here are saying that while they're glad that there is some sense of normalcy coming back to town, especially during the christmas season, it's the tourism that's going to revive the economy. ah. time for a quick check of the headlines here on al jazeera, only results are expected on sunday in the gumby as presidential election. people are deciding if the president of darma barrow deserves another ton ottoman address . as mona from a capital banjo, the turner goes really, really impressive, talk to, oh them been porter. he will tell you about this election is very important.