didn't mancy daf file, too many companies that are doing bad things in the front, in part 2 of human rights activists. q. me 19 and environmental if we known and the keep the systems that are not working, but the longer that you fight them, the more that things change studio be an spectate on al jazeera. ah, i'm a chronic come on real fast, but it will be over soon. the u. s. m. europe report record cove at 19 infections, but more evidence suggest that the arm across buried is milder than other strains. ah, hello. so rahman you're watching out, is there a life my headquarters here in doha, coming up in the next 30 minutes? south korea's government parton's, former president park and hay who's been serving a 22 year sentence for corruption,

also guilty of manslaughter. a u. s. court convicts a former police officer of killing a black motorist and fiction, all future artificial intelligence is everywhere, but some predict terrifying outcomes the using the technology ah welcome to the program friday. marx, a month since south africa announced the 1st case of alma crohn and it continues to drive record searches of cove at 19 infections across the world. all recording has thrown holiday gatherings and travel plans into disarray in new york. the mayor has scaled back the city's famous new year's eve celebrations. gabriel alexander has more from new york on 42nd street in midtown manhattan. the lines in covey testing sites are long all day from morning until night demand for tess, far outstripping supply. new york city is the u. s. epicenter for the army. kron

variant case is exploding to nearly $20000.00 positive cases a day, more than 90 percent. being attributed to ami kron. it's driving everyone to get tested. when i was in line, we had people going abroad. we had people who had to be tested every week and a half. we had people like me who were exposed. we had people who didn't feel well . official so far have declined to impose any more locked downs, but are scrambling to ramp up new test sites. officials here are urging new yorkers not to panic, saying this isn't march 2020. when the city was put on lock down and morgues were filled with coven victims, the mayor on thursday said he would scale back the new year's eve celebration in times square from 60000 spectators 215000. but he's yet to cancel it altogether. i won't be really clear. will everyone give me a tough few weeks,

but it will only be a few weeks? i'm a cron is come on real fast, but it will be over soon. ah, i am adamant and have had this conversation with mayor like, adams, i know he feels the same way. we are not shutting down. we are not falling back. we're going to fight our way through this. but it's not just here in new york. less than a month after 1st arriving in the u. s. army kron has now been identified in all 50 states in neighboring new jersey. more than 15000 new covey cases were reported. on thursday, nearly double the states pandemic record. the mayors of new jerseys to largest cities, newark in jersey city both tested positive in washington, d. c. a surgeon new corona virus cases colliding with a rush and holiday travel at the city's main train terminal. travelers are nervous . a lot of people at my work have just tested positive. i have still testing i

negative so definitely the past few days in particular with the record highs and a lot more hesitant about travel america is right in the middle of another covert surge. this one called army kron with seemingly everyone rushing to find out. if they have it. gabriel is on do. i'll just eda new york in europe. italy has been public celebrations in years eve, as it counted a record number of infections. the government says masks must now be worn out doors under the new rules. people who have been vaccinated will be barred from entering museums, exhibitions and amusement parks. infections in spain, so to a new record on thursday with almost 73000 cases reported people living in the catalonia region will be banned from leaving their homes between the 1st and 6 of one. and 6, pardon me in the morning, that includes the city of barcelona nice bargain, has more on how europe is being impacted. health services across europe on

a war footing. taking the fight to omit crone by giving boost of vaccinations to hundreds of thousands of people a day. the variance fueling a new wave of infections across europe. in the french capital long queues formed outside pharmacies and coven testing centers in the run up to the christmas holidays. elsewhere, french police increase their checks on people's health passes, allowing for now at least the cities restaurant to remain open. president emanuel micron took to instagram to urge people to avoid spreading the virus and semi you want this year once again because of the virus. i asked you to have a lot of vigilance. this means continuing the protections against viruses. you know, mark regularly washing hands respecting this thing, thing ventilating rooms regularly with fresh air, isolating and testing ourselves as soon as we have the u. k.

help security agencies the latest body to crunch real well. data on the severity of the disease. concluding that someone with alma chrome is as much as 70 percent less likely to be admitted to hospital. but because the transmits ability of all microns very high infections could rock it to the point, large numbers may still end up in hospital. we do know with only crime that it does a spread a lot more quickly, is a lot more infectious than delta. so any advantage gained from reduce risk of hospitalization needs to be set against that. and we know, for example, if her, if earth's much smaller percentage of people are at the risk of hospitalization, is that a smaller percentage of a much larger number? there could be still significant hospitalization. our best way to, to deal with this, the best way to protect ourselves is through vaccinations and in particular the booster program. it is now even more important to come forward and to get boosted. the analysis also concluded that 2 doses of

a covert vaccine are not enough to offer strong protection against omicron. a boosters vital and reducing symptomatic infection and serious illness. although data suggests protection starts to wayne after just 10 weeks. 3 jobs also don't stop people from contracting and spreading the disease at an alarming rate. despite no new official coping restrictions in england, london's christmas markets are quiet. footfall as down hawkish, british government ministers want clear cut evidence of a risk to the national health service before backing any new restrictions. evidence that may take days to become clear in the hospital data. what happens in the british capital, where alma cron cases are at their highest will sound the alarm for the rest of the country. and given the numbers here, the rest of europe to the fall couches era, london, australia shortened the wait time for booster shots and

a bit to increase protection against on the chrome people that can now get those 4 months after the 2nd shot. australia has seen record infection and buffalo hospitalisation remain. lo, prime minister scott morrison has ruled out returning to a lockdown. well, so far the data suggests it on record is milder than previous variance. the you case health security agency says people with the very interest mated to be up to 70 percent less likely to be admitted to hospital. imperial college found people infected with alma chrome, a 40 percent less likely to be in hospital for a night or more compared to the delta variant. very early data for the university of edinburgh indicates a 2 thirds reduction in the risk of ending up in hospital. on tuesday, a study from south africa showed that people infected are 70 to 80 percent less likely to have been admitted. catherine bennett is chair of epidemiology at the institute for health transformation at deacon university. she says,

alma cons rapid growth is a warning sign. the way this particular variant is spreading, makes is really important. good news. we had been hurtful from the early days. what the numbers come out of south africa, who had the 1st, i guess real experience of this and good days reporting. but we're now saying it repeated in other settings as well. so with the rapid rising cases in places like a stray area we've, we've never had even up to 30000 active cases at a time now where over 50000. so it's really taken off quickly. so the severity is really critical. we need to understand that what a rapid rising cases case numbers this we haven't seen before in many countries where we've read really strives to keep the virus on in check. what that now could mean for hospital. so you haven't yet seen the numbers you now. hospitals either just gives us a way of looking ahead to look at that planning to try and understand the

relationship, the near relationship between case numbers and hospitalization. we also have to be aware that the degree of infectious and fair and main 1st. well, the things that we've done in the past, we're keeping people apart, keeping that physical distance. we know this vaccination also helps reduce the to be illness. and so the high rates in some countries really will help, even if people haven't yet rolled out the boosters, but we know the business can make a difference to that transmission potential as well. south chris government has pardoned former president park going hey, he's been serving a 22 year prison sentence. the corruption justice ministry says the decision to release her after almost 5 years behind bars is aimed at overcoming national divisions. the park was convicted in 2017 for colluding with a friend to receive billions of dollars from major companies. she was the country's 1st democratically elected leader to be thrown out of office. now robert kelly is

a professor of political science and diplomacy to national university. he explains some of the reasons behind parks amnesty she had both physical and mental health issues since impeachment. and she is pretty clearly not going to have any kind of meaningful political role and korean life if she's allowed to go home. it's a peer is going to happen. i think she's now in her seventy's and she's really struggle and she's been in prison. she just had surgery in her shoulder. and right now with cove it in the rest of it. right. because also because she's older, she's just not really going to play any kind of meaningful role. she won't be a disruptive force or going to challenge her peach or something like that. so i think this is something of a sort of humanitarian gesture. she still is broadly seen as sort of this corrupt figure is probably never really belonged in the office. didn't really understand the gravity didn't really understand very well. the gravity of the, of the office that she held. and i'm really disappointed that she's gone. there are some diehards and pulled out, i don't know,

maybe 2025 percent of the population that thinks that she was removed inappropriately. that missed some kind of like north korean coo or something like that, or whatever that, that the current president sort of pushed out to take the presidency. well, that's out. pretty small. minority opinion again, there some divers, i think most of the country just think that she's just or you know, sort of corrupt figure who is, who's best to just be sort of pushed out of the way and, and, and kind of forgotten. she's nearly as polarizing some curious previous presidents will stay in jail who are much more contested figures by di, my senses shall be forgotten as she, yes, she goes into harm. will still have hill on al jazeera, thousands of civilians, li asterix long me, most board with thailand as a long running conflict. escalades that have gone to sounds, ruling taliban government urged to respect the rights of women to work in the fields of choice, including the media. ah,

it's friday, here's your forecast. hello, everyone. good to see you. first of all talk temperature. so i put the colors on the dark of the purple, the lower that temperature, quite the divide between east and west. moscow minus 9 london, 10 degrees to get that south facing when pumping up your temperature terms of precipitation. it is cutting across the republic of ireland and the united kingdom could see some freezing rain for are there in sections of scotland, a shield of snow across the baltics, mostly eastern sections, spilling into western russia. and bellow roost. mince has a high of minus for soggy weather pattern for iberia rounds of rain to calm. so here we go on friday, impacting both portugal and spain. probably see that mess behind me press play on saturday. that slams into portugal, cuts straight across into western spain. and northern areas of morocco now for italy could see some pretty intense downpours toward the north west, also some heavy showers. coastal crecia just showers forth hirata with

a hive. 10 degrees, rain and snow has made a clean sweep across turkey temperatures on the rise in istanbul, but breezy conditions across the boss 1st. and now for the top end of africa, it's unsettled both in the west, from morocco and in the east, but mostly just cloud cover for cairo with a high of 18 degrees on friday. that sure weather up. they will see again soon. ah. in the country with an abundance of resolve. wanda lisa is this furnace forming. we move full to grow and fraud. we balance for green economy, blue economy, and the digital economy. with the new job creation law, indonesia is progressively ensuring the policy reform to create quality jobs investment. let me park when denise is growth and progress in indonesia now.

ah ah, watching over there with me. so robin a reminder of all the top stories, new york is scaling back it same as new year's celebrations, the cities at the center of the aba con outbreak in the us. the president joe biden has pledged to send 500000000 k with tests across america to ease a shortage. the u. k. france in italy, c. record number of infections as cases continue to search in europe and asia. on the case health security agency says people with amazon are up to 70 percent. less likely to be admitted to hospital and south. chris government has pardoned former president park and hey, has been serving a 22 year prison sentence for corruption,

the justice ministry since the decision to release her after almost 5 years behind bars, named but overcoming national divisions in the usa form a police officer has been found guilty of manslaughter for killing a black man during a routine traffic stop. kimberly porter short 20 roll. dante right. last april. she's not facing up to 15 years in prison. john hadron reports now from minneapolis . sign that a santa guilty find the defendant guilty again in minnesota, a white police officer is convicted of killing a black man. kim potter lowered her head as she was found guilty of 1st and 2nd degree manslaughter for fatally shooting 20 year old dante wright. as she was taken into custody with no chance of bail, her husband shouted his support as police ought to arrest right on a warrant. after an april traffic stop, potter says he resisted arrest and she fired, which he thought was

a taser. on the weapon she drew with her gun powder, expressed remorse and tear filled testimony. i remember yelling taser taser taser and nothing happens. blue. the shooting came as protestors, some of them violent filled the streets of minneapolis. during the trial of derek shaven, a white police officer ultimately convicted of killing another black man, george flora. protesters rushed to the scene of the right, shooting. as the verdict came inside, the court house rights family celebrated outside the moment that we heard guilty of manslaughter. one emotion with every single emotion that you can imagine just running through your body at that moment. am i kind of let out a yelp,

some residents to expressed relief? i'm really excited. it's a good day. it's a good christmas gift florida bill. no, move me if what a family does say right now that he got his us is i feel no more any eddies. like definitely when ever have been, i was scared to even get in the car. minnesota attorney general seemed to feel vindicated. we have a degree of accountability for dante's dep. accountability is not justice. duster justice is restoration. justice would be restoring donte to life and making the right family whole again. justice is beyond the reach that we have in this life for dante but accountability is an important step, a critical necessary step on the road to justice for a song that road he says is a long one. potter faces a maximum of 15 years sentence on the 1st degree charge and 10 on the 2nd. but

guidelines call for substantially less than any case potter is likely to spend years in prison. as potter awaits sentencing on february 18th, outside the court house were looting an arson followed george floyd's death. in the summer of 2020, the streets were mostly quiet. john hendern al jazeera minneapolis now thousands of civilians are thing attacks along me miles border with thailand artillery and air strikes of hit areas near the town of may sot mammals military is targeting rebels from that karen ethnic minority. they one of several ethnic groups wanting great autonomy. the conflict is escalated since the military coup in february. michael vittacore dis, is the asia director at the center for humanitarian dialogue. joyce, we now live from single good, have you with us or on the program? how much of a change in policy for the me and my regime is this to start this fighting right

now because the qur'an fighters have been battling the government and yang gone for decades. i think it's 2 things. i think 1st of all, it's the dry season and this is traditionally the fighting season in yama. so it's possible for the mom, our army to, to, to launch these attacks, clear skies and not wet weather. and the 2nd reason of course, is that the korean in particular have been harboring formerly or, or informally, some of the resistance groups that have been set up to counter the coo. and i think the nam, our army is going after them with something bigger. i think you described the fact as to why the attacks are happening now. but what do you think the thinking is politically, for the regime in young gong to attack now? so close to what is the 1st anniversary of the military coup? well, the, it's clear that they have not, the army has not been able to stabilize the country, has all been able to damp and down the ferocious resistance, the tenacious rav

a resistance that has sprung up. and even when they arrest the leaders of these so called people's defense forces, new leaders emerged. and so while in public, the army is saying that we're winning, we're arresting lots of people. it clearly they've not been able to gain control, not just of these areas to the east and ethnic areas, but also in areas in the lowlands, in the drives and in the north west of the country where traditionally there wasn't very much fighting at all. but now it's very serious and it's clear, but then they're having difficulty gaining control. these are ethnic groups across the country have been targeted by the military, not just this year, but for decades now. and many of its residents in its people, it saw this of fled to neighboring borders to get away from the fighting. what sort of message is this now sending to then as they flee their country? and for those that might want to even return that if you do come back,

we're going to target you well, i think it's very clear and we've been anticipating for some time that they will be great and numbers of internally displaced, people moving closer to the borders of india and thailand and bung with that will thailand in particular and, and i'm what we're seeing and just in the last few days is for more than 4000 people came across or wanted to cross the border into thailand, from the korean areas where the latest fighting is, we must anticipate that this problem is going to get worse. that thailand will try to send these people back. but increasingly, thailand's coming under pressure to provide cross order humanitarian aid flicker from the united states, which wants to see these areas looked after in terms of humanitarian aid. and mr. vehicle is very briefly, is there any scope for dialogue between these ethnic groups and young gone? there is a framework for dialogue of the ethnic struggles. but right now it's clear that live of the army know the, the, the shadow sort of exile, government,

and you g already for dial, michael, that got this from the center for humanitarian dialogue in singapore. thanks so much for your time. so at least 30 people have been killed are very, very caught by in bangladesh. dozens of people suffered injuries rescued, teens managed to save a number of passengers, but local sources save the death toll is likely to rise. the ferry was packed with as many as 500 people. a liberal arts university in hong kong has taken down a sculpture commemorating the victims of what's known as the 1989 tenements square massacre, which is centered in china. when it comes down to a civil artwork was removed from another academic institution in the territory as far concerned amongst activists. so keep trying, trying to suppress civil society and basic freedoms. the intentional community is maintaining pressure on the taliban government in afghanistan to honor its promise

to respect the rights of women and girls. females in the media industry say it's getting harder to keep that jobs abroad reports now from the capital cobble many weeks after the taliban takeover zara and b has been dismantling the tv stations. she found it carefully packing away studio equipment in the hope of one day restarting. in the, in the future, we'll have some opportunity to re open it up for us to try to re open it started 4 years ago with a staff of 50 banu tv was run by women making programs for women. it was seen as evidence of the more progressive policies of the previous government. i was really happy, especially the day that i said, now our game comes through and now we have some, some station that is running by foreman by them. unfortunately, it's the end. can see the tower. a 3rd man was one of the stations,

journalists splitting her time between reporting and studying. got college. now she does neither. that's all i could come with understand. i feel we achieved something under the last government. but with the taliban rules, i think the percentage of female journalist is going down day by day. another recent directive means women will no longer be able to play leading roles in television dramas like this one that's still popular and streaming online. it appears that taliban is against women featuring to prominently in the media, but the government says across the board, many women have returned to their jobs and did stresses that its rules are still far less strict than those imposed by the 1st taliban administration. 25 years ago, this old women radio station, for example, is thriving, producing current affairs and educational programming. but it's growth in audience

could possibly be the result of the decline and on screen competition. and because many girls now have to study from ho, this ism of this government remains time out to get to know why they cannot basha right. but i am trying to create an environment where women feel suffocated. i don't believe the taliban would stand by any of their promises. keeping up the pressure, the international community says it will judge the taliban government on its actions. many women here it seems of already reached their own verdict. robert bride al jazeera couple amazon has reached a legal settlement that pays the way for workers to freely form a union without retaliation. now the agreement was finalized with the us national labor relations board, as the company faces growing pressure to improve workers' rights. that includes allowing employees to use break rooms and parking lots. so unionizing activities of

to $1000000.00 employees could be involved. well, with a week remaining in 2021, we're looking back at some of the biggest stories of the f and looking at to what might shape the news agenda next year. there are concerns about the growing adoption of facial recognition technology. government say it's for security, but others predict a terrifying future. rob rentals explains in this dramatize ation of a potential dystopian future technology watchdog group. the future of life institute portrayed killer autonomous weapons using facial recognition technology and artificial intelligence to commit crimes, attack military and civilian targets, and spread terror all without direct human involvement. if it's not science fiction technology experts say you can actually create a drown that you say, just go hunt this specific individual. and you know,

and i think it's an extremely dangerous situation to be visual recognition technology or f r t doesn't require billions of dollars or dozens of super computers. we're talking about being able to do something with commodity hardware with freely available tools. that stuff has been around for, you know, a few years now. and there's no reason why that couldn't be used by. i folks, even, you know, you don't have deep technical expertise. the prospect of non state actors employing the technology is troubling. but countries are already using mass surveillance, f r t. in the u. s. police used f r t to identify specific black lives matter. protesters then scrutinize their social media accounts and check for outstanding warrants. other countries have massive networks of interconnected cameras. london is a city that comes to mind, it's one of the most, you know, it has one of the widest networks for surveillance. and they have processes and to

manage some of that. china uses f r t to curtail human rights. in china, there are specific a ways in which they're trying to recognize the weaker minority so that they can again surveil and curtail their movements and harassed them and put them in concentration camps. and so, ah, there are also positive light saving applications of the technology. for example, in auto safety. most people may not realize, but many new automobiles now have a camera that's built into the car that actually is, is observing the driver. and those sorts of technologies can be used then to help you know, recognize that somebody's using drowsy or you know, is to repair, to driving those sorts of things. like many technologies that have burge and in recent decades, f r t is largely unregulated in september,

a united nations report singled out a i enabled f r t as posing special threats to human rights. the un human rights chief michelle bunch. a lead called on member states to issue an immediate moratorium on artificial systems until researchers fully assess what she called the catastrophic risks they pose rob reynolds al jazeera. ah, don't you go to 0, miss hill robinson, doha reminder of all top new stories. new york is scaling back it same as new year's eve celebrations. now the cities of the center of the amazon outbreak in the us and president joe biden as pledge to said 500000000 cove at 19 tests across america to ease a shortage. the u. k. france and italy have seen record numbers of affections increase across the europe or the data from the.