men and women compete separately, but under the same plan, you know, i can't do a story about parachuting and not jump out of a plane as we climb up. the teams mentally prepare for their job. i try to do the same. then minutes later, once the earth is just a blurb below it's time to free fall. this is al jazeera ah hello, i'm emily anglin. this is denise al, alive from doha, coming up in the next 60 minutes. and you study suggests the all me con variant is milder than delta, but concerns remain over. rising infections. person on a show rush is president,

says he wants to avoid conflicts with ukraine and the west in his annual interview place conference. a hong kong university removes the pillar of shame, a famous statue mocking the tenement square massacre. we'll hear from the sculptor plus. these all are changing lives. i'm with home of adobe, the northern buxton. and i'll tell you about the efforts to cultivate moral them. and pete estimate to premier league matches have been postponed as covered, 19 continues to disrupt global sport. what in the india, food consecutive game is postponed for brooklyn? nips because of corona virus. ah, we begin this news hour in south africa where it's taught, the public health agency says the home icon variant is far less severe than others strains. if the corona virus,

the new study by africa's santa for disease control suggest omicron is up to 80 percent less likely to cause hospitalization than the delta variance. but research is still urging caution, saying their findings might not applied to other countries. to recent studies from the u. k, have also suggested all me, con, holds a reduced risk of severe disease health, but experts at cautiously optimistic, but still concerned over how fast on me crohn is spreading. that says, astrazeneca claims a 3rd dose of their vaccine protects against omicron. similar to that of pfizer and medina, south africa's also approved johnson johnson's vaccine to be used for boost to jabs . let's bringing it for me to mila now. who's alive for us in johannesburg? hello there for me to. thanks for being with us on this news. our tell us more about this study in south africa. can we be cautiously optimistic?

well, that's according to the experts. and i think are they that well, cautiously, cautiously optimistic, but i think also quite confident in terms of some of their findings thus far. they have said, look, these are early indications. but what they have observed is that people are becoming sick, but not severely. so and also there are lower hospitalization rates, especially compared to the 2nd and 3rd, waves of covert 19 in south africa. at this point, just 8 percent of hospital beds are fold by people who have coven 19. and even then, many of those hospitalizations have been incidental people going in for other reasons. and when screens they found to have coven 19, they have said that yes, there continues to be a concern around just how contagious it is, how easily it spreads. the numbers in south africa, specifically have fluctuated. there was a point last week where they were 26000 infections. the peak, i suppose, in the how tank province at one particular point that's gone down to 11000 and then

back up again to 21000 infections a day. and when we look at what the africa cdc has said, they have said there's been an 80 percent average increase in infections in southern africa, specifically. and experts are also saying this is likely due to the on the con variant. but then again, the is that comparison to the delta variant, and they're saying we're seeing low hospitalizations, we seen less, so we seen less severe illness. and this could be good news, potentially good news when it comes to corona virus, i think is a positive step forward. for anyone getting this particularly difficult time, what else is happening across the rest of the continent, from it up or one of the greatest concerns and continues to be concerned throughout the pandemic, especially this year, throughout the roll out of vaccines globally, is just how far back africa is in terms of that roll out the number of people

across the continent more than a 1000000000 people just close to 11 percent now have been vaccinated. countries like morocco, algeria, south africa leading the pack, but also places like a retreat where there's very little data available around a vaccination. then if there is a rollout program at all. now south africa's work is being observed globally, as we've spoken about in terms of just how dangerous on the crime might be. but what's other africa is also saying, and even for the neighbors in southern africa is, this is what we've observed. but this is a particular context, and they're also putting down some of their findings to the issues around protection people have had a coven 19 before. and so perhaps have antibodies that protect them. and also the vaccination rate. it's sitting at just 44 percent in south africa, but that may be making a difference. and if that does indeed make a difference, that is the problem for other african countries where the vaccination uptake is

very low, where there isn't the availability. and also in situations like nigeria who this week destroyed more than a 1000000 doses of astrazeneca vaccine because of its shelf life. so that continues to be issues around a rollout of vaccines in africa, across the continent. but south africa is donating about $2000000.00 vaccines in the new year over a course of a year to other african countries. thank you very much for that update for minimal life for us in johannesburg. ok, let's get some more analysis. now. some doctor by rat pang carney i who is a senior clinical lecturer at the university of exeter medical school. he joins us from bath by sky. thanks for being on the news. our doctor. its almost been a month since we have been living with the army con, it's gone so quickly. what we've learned in that time about this new variant. we've learned quite a bit and there's a lot more to learn the bits that we've learned all the asleep,

give us some cause for concern, which is it is significantly more infectious. also, we learned that it bypasses the antibodies made by the vaccines cause for the current bill that we are not 100 percent sure about is, is it less disease causing universally in south africa? we noticed that it is less disease causing, but there are lots of things that would explain it, which is younger population, several oh bouts of infractions gone through the population, etc. so what we really want to know is in the older population, in other parts of the world, is it more disease causing? and if so, what are the additional precautions that we should be taking? i guess there's still a favorite to learn about this new variant. yes, seems to be real patchwork of measures and restrictions of costs across the globe

which depend on which very rather depending on which country you're in, how much of this is a problem? it's a big problem because members of the public globally, and we are a global, a population now, always start to compare the usa with europe with other parts of the world. so for example, the strategy, the united states has taken is test test, test and test the europeans are taking the strategy of test and isolate and in other parts of the world. it is, for example, in the far east, it is serious, assiduous, compact, tracing, and isolation of cases as well as the contact. so there is a difference across the globe, different strategies, and we will find out we will find out in the process of time, which one works best and keeps the economy as well as health saying, no one strategy is the perfect one. but this natural experiment would enable us to

move forward and adopt the best practice. and one of those strategies, dr. is these boosters shots? astrazeneca is the lightest come out and suggest a booster against on the con. but surely, these pharmaceuticals have a vested interest in the need for extra shot. so how is we had to wait customers navigate that conflict? absolutely, and this is why we need, ah, international adjudicators to look at the data and then make the decisions. so with respect to the need for boosters, which is the strategy adopted by the europeans. and israel is the evidence, is that with the vaccines that were given 6 months ago, the level of antibodies is dropping. and the other bit that i mentioned earlier is that only crone is bypassing a significant number of the antibodies, so created. therefore,

what the booster does is it increases the level of antibodies and the, and those antibodies that are increased will then be able to neutralize the virus with the selected numbers that are still effective against omicron. so that's the scientific basis behind boosters, but i hear you. and the same issue is also with regards to promoting the chiropractic drugs that are on line from muck and from pfizer. and as you would say, if the pharmaceutical companies have an interest in promoting them and my view is that we need to assess it by independent scientists before we start using them globally in dade, and just quickly dr. before we may vaughn, i spoke to clinical viral aj its she suggested in 5 diesel side. the corner virus will be treated like a common cold is at the timeline 5 years. nobody knows, nobody knows. and corona viruses are not necessarily the ones that mutate and

become innocuous. so i would counter argue and say, we don't know because look at the measles varnish, it's been there for thousands of years. it is still here. and maybe the coroner wireless itself may be here, but we are fully immunized and we've got pat appeared, bigs, and therefore we can move on away from it. let's hope so. thank you very much. dr. barr at to paint carney are a senior clinical lecturer. thanks for joining us on the news hour to china now where more than 13000000 people have been ordered to stay home in the eastern city of sheehan. that's after more than $200.00 clover 19 infections were recorded since the beginning of the month. the country is on high alert as the keys up to host the winter olympics in february, our correspondent, katrina you reports from china's capital beijing. chinese authorities have imposed them most severe, locked down in almost

a year. 13000000 people living in the northern city of she. anne have been ordered to stay home from midnight on thursday. only one member of each household is allowed out to get food every 2 days. and only certified, essential workers can head out for work. here should have the measures prompted crowd to rush to grocery stores and markets earlier this week. more than $200.00 cases have been reported in the city since the beginning of the month. the outbreak of the delta variant began with just 9 people and quickly spread or leukemia. the trajectories of deny cases were complex involving transportation services and public places, including hospitals, commercial complexes, restaurants as goes. hundreds of thousands of tourists flocked to she, anne of former capital and historic hub to see the terror caught a warriors every year. now, almost all transport in and out of the area has been cancelled. residence must apply for a special permission to leave. the city authorities are currently conducting that

3rd round of mass testing. so far, no cases of the on the con, variance have been locally transmitted in china. but officials here on my alert the beijing winter olympics opens in february and chinese leaders, her plumbers, a safe and secure games where spectators will be able to attend or receive spectators, however weren't be attending. china has maintained it 0 tolerance approach to the virus and borders has been closed since march last year. the was that during the winter olympics there will be a large number of olympic affiliated in the reduce from different countries and a regions coming to trina. there is a high possibility that a certain number of covey, 90 and positive cases will arise. more than 80 percent of the country's population have received 2 doses of current of ours vaccines. officials are now encouraging people to get a 3rd shot. but some studies are found that chinese vaccines have lower efficacy

and protection rates against the on the chrome strain. beating has not approved the use of some other vaccines, such as pfizer or astrazeneca, katrina, you out a 0. they ging, president vladimir putin says he hopes russia will achieve collective coven 19 heard immunity next year. his urge citizens to get inoculated during his annual end of year press conference. who didn't, went on to reaffirm that the nato expansion into eastern europe was unacceptable in his eyes. mercedes doable disease it yet would it be to go? one of our actions will depend not on the negotiation process, but on the unconditional security of russia. that's for today and towards the historical perspective. in this regard, we've made it clear and explicitly so that further nato movement eastward is unacceptable. what's unclear is it we who placed the missiles near the usa borders? no, it was the usa who came with it's miss aust, i'm our house there on the doorstep of our house. let's bring in paul brennan,

who's been covering this story from london. hello there, paul. after weeks of hearing from the us and nato on the threat to ukraine from russian forces. what's it like hearing persons take? it's fascinating actually. i mean, obviously we hear from 2nd law for all the russian foreign minister. you hear from mr. show go to the defense minister as well, but to hear from the actual president on such an extended basis. i'm in this news conference last 94 hours. it did range across a whole wide range of topics i have to say. but to have 3 questions, specifically about nato expansion, about the ukraine, about the dumbass region in eastern ukraine, and about russia's intentions in that region. really, dr. present boots and speaking about that at length was really quite fascinating. and i have to say that those 2 or 3 questions where we're, where the areas where the president put really got most animated, the most forceful throughout the rest of it. he was largely relaxed. but on these,

on this issue, it is clearly something that agitates in a paraphrase from the original russian. he said this is about security. it's not the negotiations with the west that matter. it's the outcome. the results, the native guarantee in 1990 was not to the east and they fooled us. we've seen 5 ways of nato expansion since then. we're not threatening anyone. we didn't come to their board as they have come to us, and it's you the west to should give us the guarantees. not the other way around. we're not threatening anybody. the certainly not missing words. there. not only was this press conference, lengthy, as you mentioned, pull, but it involved around 500 journalists. just how wide ranging with the topics were very wide range. i mean, it's the wrong time of the year where journalists both domestic and international get to sit in a room and they did this time despite cobit restrictions with the president and pretty much asking whatever they want. so when you get a whole range of topics from dilapidated hospitals in lot of all stock to housing

price prices in vulgar grad, for example, the traditional will president putin support traditional hand crafts and the renovation of war memorials, for example, all of which he feels ounces for my favorite actually was a question to do with father christmas. i mean with us father frosts. he was told that if a lawyer has been decided to launch a laur action against father frost, not having granted him any wishes over the past 23 years and what the president putin think of this and president boot and several, i'm a lawyer too. and i would act for the father frost. i would remind that lawyer who's sitting in the for the prostate grants wishes to good boys and girls. so maybe should look at his actions over the past 23 years and question whether that's the real reason why he had his wishes. granted some very sage advice from the president. thank you for that. update for rent and live for us in london. plenty more ahead on this news hour, including

a timely boost for afghanistan as the un security council, paved away for aid into the country dozens killed in malaysia after some of the worst flooding of recent times. we followed the clean up operation. and in for more frustration for p s g is this data vendor received a red card in just his 2nd league game for the club? ah, how come university has removed his statue commemorating the victims of the 1989 tenements square massacre, which is centered in china? the so called pillar of shame was made by a danish sculptor to symbolize the lives lost during the military correct down. i said, bake reports, taken down under the cover of darkness, boards were erected around the monument,

which was then covered up 8 meters tall. the pillar of shame depict 50 torn and twisted bodies piled on top of each other. it symbolized lives lost during the military crackdown on pro democracy profit this beijing gentlemen square on june 4th 1989. but since october it had become an issue of dispute the university demanding it be taken down in a state trans. they said the decision on the age statue was based on external legal advice and risk assessment for the best interest of the university. they added. the university is also very concerned about the potential safety issues resulting from the fragile statue and just like that, it was taken away and put in storage unit. when we got down the hall and we moved to, hong kong airlines has gone to hong kong university students. union is also gone. and today, given the pillar of shame has gone. maybe they just want to raise our memories in 198910. i'm incorrect down,

so we must preserve men inside against forgetting nikolai. in previous years, students gathered on june 4th to remember the event. the chinaman square. authorities have now banned them. like concerns about the coven, 1900 pandemic city would become his party, wants to impose here is a kind of name. yeah. what happened in china? more than 30 years ago. the move follows a controversial national security low in hong kong last year. that that was the session version, terrorism and foreign confusion to intervene in the fifty's affairs. it spoke, protest and criticism of beijing containing freedoms that were from it to hong kong when it was handed back to china by britain in 1997. for now, there is an empty space with the monument once stood. but for many, even though the pillar of shame has been removed, the memory of what took place cannot be raised. i said, bake there. okay,

let's bring in yen that go shirt. who is the sculptor of the pillar of shame and joins us from denmark. thanks for being on the news. allianz, before we get to your reaction on the destruction of the statue, i'd really like you to talk us through the significance of this work for you and what you were trying to convey when you were creating it. it's it's rated for about 2 to 5 years ago to make a memory about something the government don't want to memory. and then i put it in hong good to democracy movement. and then of just before janet, janet 60. and this was only going to be 6 to get a moment about this, you know, i mean, cracked down and now inside china. so, so china and say come into the country and look into a scene. so the sins and hong kong mainland china has been really angry. i'm the one i'm trying to get rid of this. so this is of

a moment about the best i might have been in. i mean it's, you know, it's, this culture belongs to you personally. and it was lying to the university say what you make of it, some nasal and potential destruction. this is a really strange case and i think is the kind of a good fan is because i offer them for 2 months, 3 months, i have offered them to move and i and all that in another players. and i don't trust and we'll say we will go down to take it down and keep it away and put it back to europe. but without a problem. and then we're in the middle of nowhere today for christmas in the darkness they make a lot of us, gosh, around it, a lot of construction workers. and i think this is not really not fair to do this

kind of thing. this is kind of sort, this is bruce arranged to that. i stand about the damage to the sculpture as wow, yes, i have to take a look only with you. i have seen, i can see a big part of this culture is still intact in some way. i can see that this is a single part of this kind of show that i'm quite sure this is not able to do. it should take it down this way that do that without damage. so of course there is another area of the sculpture and this is robin to go to my products. you are trying to see about that. so i see a crime which take it down to the privacy policy of so far. and so. so i think that have a problem with that. when the university says the decision was based on external

legal advice and risk assessment to not say those is valid reasons for, for mental see, they haven't, they have a, this is not secure to have this gotcha. but it's not right. we have a, a people who have a, but it is a good repair, so there's no problem at all. and then we have a permission to do that. and now they come in to say ok, you have permission to say that, but we have been for 25 years. they have a trade in all this kind of thing. and now the say you have got a permission to stay there. of course, we have permission to this this case, and this will do that will make a movement against freedom of interest. and you know, this is what it is about. they were say,

you was not allowed to say nothing like that. germany is policy in china is going to say nothing about the jeremy. don't say nothing about young, don't say nothing about the muslims of china. so this is the reason to do that. i think, well, it will be interesting to see how the story unfolds in the coming weeks and months . thank you for taking the time to speak to us on the news ally yann's, go she at the sculpture of the pillar of shame. thank you. parts of the philippines continue to suffer from the immediate aftermath of typhoon roy. at least 375 people have been killed and millions are now homeless without food and clean drinking water. but is barnaby lo reports. the government is declared a state of calamity and move expected to get aid to victims. so one week since typhoon rice smashed into the central in southern philippines,

some the worst devastation is still being uncovered. far flung towns almost completely flattened. local said, a storm was reminiscent of typhoon haines in 2013. what are the most powerful in recorded history? but last weeks covered a wider area. hundreds of thousands of families across several provinces are now in evacuation centers, while some of opted to rebuild their homes out of scrap materials, president of riga tirty has declared what he calls a state of calamity in order to release of $200000000.00 in government funds the declaration on the state of calamity relation to this school and relieved under habilitation edwards of the government that private sector. this will also be unaffected. mccadney seemed to have gone through the process of woods and commodities and areas. foreign governments have also pledged support with canada, the european union,

and south korea each donating between $2.00 and $3000000.00. they nodded. states is providing $200000.00 in immediate assistance. more help is on the way to victims of typhoon right? but all indications are that recovery will take time. power and communication lives are slowly being restored, but there is an urgent need for food and clean drinking water. below al jazeera manila, the death toll from major flooding in malaysia has risen to at least $237.00 flood waters have swamped cds and cut off major roads. the floods triggered by days of heavy rain have also displaced nearly 70000 people. florence louis has more from the flood heed area of correct east of quantum pal looking which is in this residential area in current town in central asia. cotton state only began to receive today's and that's when clean up. again. you can see this to so much, much, every track doesn't have to be granted. you say that nothing on the ground floor

once can be salvaged. they've had to throw everything, furniture, electrical appliances. the water levels will so quickly and so unexpectedly that nobody at home to escape. one man said he swam to safety and had to cling on to his neighbor's balcony. a few doors away. people here haven't been able to return home because of also there's no electricity or water supply. taking shelton, i believe centers that are already over crowded. many a questioning where government to help load those who questions about why the government wasn't better than disaster life. how hung is the worst affected state in malaysia, and are still many areas that are still it's time now for the way he's evident. hello, they welcome selected, international forecasts could catch some raining cutter this weekend, the up. that's the 1st time for around 7 or 8 months,

so it will be notable. but hang your hat on that though, this is a line of cloud here that is thinking further southward, some wet weather, possibly on that as it moves further, southward was the temperature syn re are dropping from around 25 celsius to around 17 degrees. we hang on to that to 25 here in doha. you can just make out the still area of rain just started to push in on too much, but a chance to some wet weather coming in as we go on through the next couple of days though. the north sprinkling of showers for some, but nothing too much to speak of. plenty a shout. meanwhile, across the tropical belts of africa could even see some showers still wear into southern parts of kenya. southern areas of uganda, much of the democratic republic of congo. cor, seeing those showers northern angola still very wet, wet weather. they're coming backed out across much of zambia, zimbabwe, and the shower, starting to pear park now for central and southern parts of mozambique. still a few showers there into the east side of south africa, but the wet weather will tend to push a little further northward as we go one through sas day rain. really setting ines

into central parts of mozambique and also added jessica still ahead on al jazeera, why the un released and works agencies head says his organization can't meet the needs of palestinian refugees in lebanon plus ship wreck treasures in the ancient depiction of jesus christ. as the good ship it has been found in waters off the coast of israel and coming up in sport, there's major concern among premier league manages over issues relating to cov, 19, and to player welfare. ah frank assessments this crisis is continued to weaken. luca sion club, even though they're cap, see, believe them the beginning, they're able to put an informed opinions. i think politicians will now be under incredible pressure from the young people. that is one of the most hopeful things

to come out of this critical debate. do you think that a should be facilitated? not sure. okay, it's a great, it's a really.