palestinian government is working to keep christians and their land. while i had this festive mood is one way of maintaining the christian presence here. we're also working with the world's churches to help christians stay. it's rose doing everything to kick us out. but we count about how to keep christian palestinians in their lands. this most of us come lathrop milady hero from helen did. according to the un 1022 wasn't deadly in the occupied was banking with people years. they that bit these in a joy, them in their struggle. desperate as the result of 2 months of work. some of the carriages were brought from abroad, but others like this were made by artists from bethlehem. the parade has half to take a pause. the deed was supposed to make its way through the city over. i'm a law. a general strike was announced to mourn the death of a palestinian prisoner in his ready jailed across palestine. people remembered the

loved ones, they lost this year. more so around the holidays at i'll just eat us offices. this is the 1st christmas without better under ported, shedding, a barclay. she was killed by israeli forces while on a fine man in gene in may. palestinians take pride that jesus was one of them unlike to celebrate his birth. in the hope that one day been half peace. did that bring him? and jose eda jo occupied westbank. ah . hello there. this is out of there and these are the headlines. her rally is underway in paris following the shooting of 3 people in a mainly kurdish neighborhood on friday. police have arrested a 69 year old man. they are investigating whether the incident was racially

motivated. i saw a bunch of aid has more from that demonstration. they are looking for answers from the police. why did this take this long for them to arrive? why haven't declared this a terrorist attack? and why did they not provide security to the cultural center where they had us or earlier? and this is the sentiment that we've been escalating since last my dog to be attacked was killed refugees from the community. i've also been hearing from the police declaring that this was an attack, deliberately targeted against foreigners, by a person who was identified to have a background of carrying out a racist attack. millions of north americans are under severe weather warnings as an arctic blast. and let's large waves of the us and canada. flights have been canceled, roads booked by snow and power outages have been reported. thousands of supporters of india's main opposition party marching through the capital, new delhi. the congress party has been leading them across the country since

september, and an attempt to regain popularity. at least 5 people have been killed in a russian strike and southern ukraine. 20 others for wounded and not attack in the city was retaken by ukrainian trips last month. a major setback that russia suffered in its war against ukraine. well, those are the headlines that carry. we'll have more news for you here after inside story. they will. ah! coven, 19 infectious are wising again in china. and many health officials are concerned, new varies are on their way. so could the well be facing another major outbreak and

will confess before to re impose restrictions? this is inside story. ah hello, welcome to the program. i'm hashim, humbler cases of cobit 19, are rising significantly in china days after it relax, restrictions following widespread protests. now. busy fears are growing a resurgence of the virus may lead to new mutations and trigger another global health crisis. neighboring countries like india are stepping up surveillance and the world health organization is urging badging to provide more information to help . well, prepare better for a possible new wave of cov 19. katrina has him report these

people in china's capital are waiting to find out whether they have cove at 19. the government started reducing pandemic restrictions this month. but now infections are rising along with virus related deaths. are an increasing number of patients have tested positive for koby 19 and we have seen a shop increasing the number of patients at the fever clinic. we seem to be getting more and more patients every day. the government stopped mass testing after widespread protests against it's 0 cove at policy. official figures on case numbers aren't available, as by jing has changed it's testing and reporting criteria. and that's worrying the world health organization. doubly choice, very concerned over the evolving situation in china, was increasing reports of severe diseases in order to make a comprehensive risk assessment of the situation on the ground. w. john needs more

detailed information on disease severity, hospital admissions, and requirements for i see you support the as a growing that corona virus. mutations could lead to another global health emergency. there is always a risk that the new variant will emerge. it's really impossible to say how great that risk will be. it might be the all the chrome is cabinet teams, final tricks to play as it were. i but we could see a new very going forward. some countries are preparing for another major outbreak. in thailand, doctors urging people to get vaccine boosters after it recorded 700 new infections in december. the highest number this year. and in india, which is reported some of the highest numbers of cove at 19 related deaths in the world. the government has held an emergency meeting and stepped up surveillance bankruptcy however, but we have begun random r t p c r,

testing of 2 percent of passengers arriving from foreign countries at international airports. people around the world have been celebrating the holiday season free of pandemic restrictions for the 1st time in 2 years. but with infections increasing, those rules may be brought back to avoid another crisis. ah, let's bring in our gas. joining us from new york is dr. welfare so that she is professor of epidemiology and medicine at columbia university. andy mac is senior research fellow of the center for china and globalization had joined us by sky from bay. jing dr. krishna or their cobra is funding director of the duke global health innovations center. he joins us by sky from barley, north carolina, in the us. welcome to the program, dr. what far the, the case is now the spike,

in cases in infections in china. could it possibly become the biggest coven outbreak the world has seen since 2019? well, 1st of all, thank you for the opportunity today. i think there is concern that surge in china can in a population that, that has largely been naive, has not experienced covered 1000 service before. could really probably be one of the largest we have seen thus far. i think there are lots of things that remain unclear in terms of the, of course, the protective effect of the vaccines that have been largely delivered and used in china. and then to, to also as well take into account the, the population and what, how they will deal with the surge itself, whether the people will adopt some of the protective measures, like for example, staying home, avoiding large buildings and so on. so i think there are lots of unknowns,

but certainly there is concern that the potential is there for a very large church in numbers of cases in china, and potentially accompanied by a lot of potentially also hospitalizations. ok, andy, i mean, we'd like to understand what happened exactly in china, and i'm is to sit out for the last 3 years as a model for it 0 cobit regime with a lockdown them and so on and so forth into abandoning that strategies. just a few days ago and southerly. have the says in cases what went wrong? well, i would question has shamed this description of china's current policies, abandoning its coven hall. so we all know that the 1st, very to covey was infectious, but also fairly lethal. and what china recognised early on was that prevention was vital to minimize deaths. now i think it's commonly agreed that the virus has

mutated quite a lot, the reproduction number i've seen. so the original delta very had a we production of about to this car. these current variance are at 20, so they are much, much more infectious about is infectious as the measles, smallpox. but the good news is that it is much, much less lethal. and i'll tell you on the ground here in beijing. in the last week, i've seen surveys that 70 percent of people and aging have already been infected with cold it's, i agree with the doctor that this will be the largest number of infections probably anywhere in the world. but the good news is that everyone around me, including me, has was infected last week. people have described getting this variant of cove it as they've had worse hang overs. so i think it is fairly mild. now again,

we should not discount and the government is very active. so i would not say it's abandoned halsy, but it's shifted its policy from prevention to identifying and making sure that those that do become severely ill have the medical resources. now one very important point in china is that when a per capita big, it has much fewer. i see you beds. so this is a challenge and it's not very visible, but the government is working very, very hard at every level to ensure the more i see you beds available. the other piece of good news i would say is that i think that the chinese population might be less vulnerable to severe outcomes. we see in places like the united states, perhaps some parts of europe that these co morbidities like obesity or other existing health conditions, really contribute to terrible outcomes including death. and fortunately,

at least for now, i think china might be in a better position with regard to quality. let me go to the questioner. now, when you look at the figures, the government of china does not really seem to be forthcoming. we comes to the, the, the death tool, but when you look at the projections that 60 percent of the population is likely to be infected. and then within that segment of society, you have people with preexisting, you have the elderly and those with pre existing health conditions. that could be an indication that we are unlikely to see a growing number of casualties. and people are affected by the my coven. 19. absolutely. i'm much less optimistic unfortunately than are speaker we just heard from. i do think this is going to be not just a massive wave of infections with some estimates the already more than 200000000 people in china have been infected over the last 3 weeks. but i do think we are already starting to see many depths occur,

of course not reported in the data. we won't ever know what actually is happening from the official data. but if you look at the news that's coming out of crematorium being overwhelmed and what we saw in other similar populations like in hong kong, the latest projections i've seen are deaths in china of a 1000000 or more, which would just be her renders. so unfortunately, i do think we're going to see a massive shift here, where we will start to see more depth, hospitalization, over the coming days and weeks. and our hope is that the health system can cope. but i'm not sure that's actually going to be the case with this type of spikes. we're now seeing what far there is a squabble over semantics here, when it comes to the way the words interpret, interpret the, the, the, the death toll. and the way china does to just, for example, that they have different criteria here. the chinese authorities thing that will look basically looking into the deaths related to respiratory problems that gives us an indication of a this is directly linked to a covey 19 in the west. now,

so you know, we have to look into the overall number of death, including those who died of underlying conditions. heart attack could be an indication that this is something that could be linked to a coven 19. and i think this could explain why the chinese said that just 8 people died this month of go with 19 i think, you know, it's and i think looking at the death from respiratory severe respiratory disease can give you a good sense of what's happening. particularly in the context of code 900 surge. i think it could be a good target marker in terms of that, of the numbers of death due to coven. i think on the other hand, we always think of 2 things. one is dying due to cold weather, dest, you took of it, and death with that is an incidental kind of diagnosis of call it, when somebody sick from another condition. i think nonetheless, i think what, what the, who's the authorities in china and what others have done elsewhere is to be as

inclusive as possible in terms of trying to get a sense of the severity of the, in this magnitude of the, of the effect of virus like covered 19 on the population overall. it seems to me that it's highly unlikely with the large numbers of cases that have been reported in infections reported in china. that there will be only less than a less than 2 handfuls of death that have been reported. clearly there are the elderly population, more vulnerable in they're certainly able, who's gone is and those exist in china like anywhere else are particularly vulnerable. in addition, we know that many people received vaccination way back maybe here and a half or 2 years ago. and protection has williams over time. and i do think that in a lot of ways, probably it behooves country, like china at this point in time to focus on how can you protect the most

vulnerable the elderly people as co morbidities. how can that mean measures put in place to protect those who are most likely to get a severely ill and then hospitalized and, and eric risk of dying from 19 i think that needs to be the urgent priority at this point. and under the that the, the, the, the number of the death wish, which was see on social media in china is higher than the number presented by the authorities. why are they somehow downplaying the number of debts from coven 90 will? first, i would agree with what the doctor just said that i think prevention, especially amongst the elderly, is very, very important. and that certainly is going on. i think there is been another prioritization of vaccination of the elderly. so absolutely, i think that's correct. my understanding is the shift in the definition of cobra,

deaths actually reflects the underlying science in that the nature of the illness i has changed. i think that's one of the reasons i, you know, i would also say that this idea of these crematorium is being overwhelmed was kind of a medium mean. and that if you read the western news compared to what i think lived experience on the ground, it would seem to completely different worlds. i would caution that the whole coven pandemic, the western media has gotten it pretty wrong. you know, from saying 1st of all that it's impossible to lock down such a large number of people. ah, it wouldn't work, can't be done. and in fact, china did do that. or in the shall hide lockdown. ah, there were reports of people starving to death. i don't believe any one actually starved to death in shanghai. so i would again caution that this

humanitarian catastrophe. i believe the washington post are described. this extra, china's coded nightmare is really quite overblown. now clearly there are more people dying without a doubt. and i think um they are people that are most vulnerable, either the elderly with existing conditions. and clearly i think the government is doing what it can are to minimize that. but every policy has its costs are both but intended and unintended as well. so i don't dispute that there are more deaths. i do question that or is it as extreme i, as we're seeing in a lot of the western prasad i'm, i'm very, very scar. and as her daughter, krishna, irrespective of what is the debate, the different narrative as far as what is happening in china is concerned. but when you look at the statistics themselves, if you have 60 percent of the population,

a population of a 1400000000 people to contract coven 19, no matter what resources you have, your hospitals will definitely one day will be overwhelmed. drugs will be out of stock and you are really have to grapple with how to go forward. how do you see china navigating through this complex situation? yes, i think it will certainly be a difficult few weeks to months. ahead. and china can certainly mobilize resources incredibly quickly and at scale. and that is some of what we're starting to see now to increase. i see you best to deal with the surge that is happening and continue to be expected. we also need to really ramp up the vaccination amongst the high risk wonderful populations as we've already heard. we also have to make sure that there are access to therapies. we have better therapy now for mild moderate infection to prevent hospitalization. and we have seen news that as those drugs are

being made available in china. now, the types of vac scenes that are being used is something we should certainly look at to make sure that the most effective vaccines to prevent severed the illness, hospitalization and death are made available. so there are lots of mitigation measures that are possible. and when we talk about this idea of flattening the curve, if you could see the same number infections happen over 6 months versus 6 weeks, you would give a lot more capacity for the health system to be able to deal with those challenges . so that's the phase, we're really in. now the offer you have those who would tell you covey 19 as far as we are concerned, is a turn chapter gone. well, those days of massive concerns about all future. and then you have those who would tell you this could perhaps be similar to when we were in the midst of the dark tunnel with people are really,

really concerned about the future of humanity from your own perspective. where do we stand now? globally, when i, i think, and i, i believe that many other experts also would agree that we are not in a situation to where we were in the early 2020 i think when in a very different place. and part of the reason why we are in a different place today is that we know so much more about coping 90. we know how to diagnose this, we have the tools to diagnose it. we know how to manage it. we know how to treat it . we know how to prevented, so we have our knowledge in terms of what to do, how to prevent and manage. 1900 appropriately, is improved exponentially since those dark days of the early 2020 twenty's. i also think we have a very different population. we have a population in many parts of the world that has largely had already experience that people have experienced with some protection for prior infection. we have

availability of vaccines, some better than others. and booster doses and, and so on. we have treatments, effective treatments. so i think we're in very different place from where we were, but nonetheless, i think we need to, as much as we can try to minimize transmission. it is not good to get over 9. some people who get very sick. some people are maybe at risk of long coded wrong symptoms after an episode, of course. so why we have, we have a very different place. i think we should continue to do our best to minimize transmission. and also for another reason is that we want to avoid the emergence of new variance that may be more transmissible, maybe more fatal, maybe to outsmart our vaccines and, and treatment. so i do think we, we should appreciate that we're in a different place, but nonetheless, we should also appreciate the scope is not gone. it's going to be with us and we have to do whatever we can to protect the population as much as possible to protect

the most vulnerable as much as possible and to prevent, prevent transmission in order to avoid the evolution of new variance in the future . andy, was it a wise decision to lift the tough but stretches ahead of the f months lunar new holiday? yeah, i think that's a great question. jim. i think the big unknown at this point is exactly how severe these variance are. and again, if they really are no worse than a common cold, having a 1000000000 plus people infected might not be that big of a deal. and from as far as i can tell, beijing was the 1st major population center to be infected. we're seeing the same dynamic play out in shanghai now within. so last week there was no one at work. you could not order anything online because all the delivery drivers were out sick this

week, pretty much things are returning to normal and talking to people in shanghai, it sounds like a similar dynamic is putting out. so i think the answer is that if indeed this is as infectious as you know, with a reproduction number, 1820, ah, and not much worse than a common cold for most people. i think it does make sense to get it over as quickly as possible. okay. cuz we shouldn't ignore the extreme economic cost of this machine as well. the question of india has stepped up preventive measures because of the concerns and fears about the b 7. a straight on the kron variant of covey. 90, which is now hitting the continent, the subcontinent. should we be concerned about the mutations of this particular stage? i think what we're starting to see is continued evolution, and we don't see with any of the emerging variance, any overly concerning funds. even though as we've seen with the lineage of b, a 5,

which continues to be really the dominant force around the world. that the transmission rates are quite high. so we do need to continue to take appropriate measures. and i think especially with the wave that we're starting to see in china that is likely to lead to new variance. we need to make sure that our surveillance systems around the world are up to the task of identifying new variance, including potential variance of concern as they emerge. and ensuring that we are taking the mitigation approaches, whether those are appropriate changes to vaccines or treatments, or making sure we're protecting the most marvel populations. so surveillance and mitigation continue to be really central measures that all countries need to take ok very briefly, if you don't mind after what you said, that it needs to be a focus on those vulnerable. but then when you look at the way people are questioning the booster vaccine, their confidence has been eroded when it comes to the effectiveness of the vaccines . do you think that it's about time for us to rethink the way we should have to

deal with cove? it from now onwards. i think we have to adjust our messaging. definitely. i think that messaging is very different from the messaging that we have to use before. and we also were facing these headwinds of people who want to return to what they call normalcy. and also relations that are and the confidence in the vaccines have eroded over time. unfortunately. so i think in our communications have to focus differently. we have to find champions within the communities, the vulnerable communities that can advocate to others within their community about why it's important to get the booster, those. and we have to use different messaging that focus maybe more clearly, that the goal of these vaccines is to prevent severe in this and ok. and it is not the tech people against every single interaction. second. and if you don't mind, do you think that a concerns about the 2nd largest economy being battered,

constantly over the last few years, which made the the government the think it's about time to relax the restrictions? absolutely. i mean, this is a, not just a public health crisis, but it is an economic crisis, and it is a public opinion crisis as well. people were getting tired of the lock downs. fortunately, the viruses become less lethal. so i think we're able to move past this now and resume a trajectory, hopefully economic rebound, dc, the questioner, the world going back to restrictions loc downs. no, i think world, well past that stage, we are now transitioning in a messy way from the emergency response to something that needs to look like long term code control. so the pandemic is not over, but we have to think about how to manage it effectively with all the tools that we now have available without forgetting that we have lots of other health and other economic challenges ahead of us. and he has an i really appreciate your reassuring

answer. looking forward to talking to you in the near future. our pharmacy would continue to talk more and more about coven 19, and the spect own our health and the global economy of total of fast and democracy . but i call my thank you. thank you very much indeed and thank you to for watching . you can see the program again any time by visiting our website. i'll just, you know, dot com for further discussion. go to our facebook page. that's facebook dot com, forward slash ha inside story. you can also joining the conversations with our hands. it is at a j inside. so for me, hm. how about on the entire team here in doha, i for now, ah ah,

landmark case has been sent shock waves around the world. it's enormous it's phenomena and just article and paved the way for the potential to penalize climate in action is the will wake up call for the government. this is really something that can make a turning point or thrice, meets the citizen, using the law to hold governments and corporations to account if they don't want to do it by asking, then let's go to the court. the case for the client on a jesse ah, meet the minimum attempt is helpful and that daughter decide to quit the rock race hoping to live better with. let's just throw everything away out there will expose the simply living movement aimed at reducing personal consumption projects

and clots, and i hope to be happier as a result, a simple life on al jazeera once and my social workers pay michelle nie a visit at her. michel is a single mother struggling to get by on a meagre income in one of the world's most expensive cities. she can barely afford the basics for her and up to stick daughter. since the start of the coven 19 pandemic, there's been a big rise and people seeking relief for charity workers. it's been particularly demanding. 28 percent of social workers quit bad jobs the last year. many of them left the city altogether, strictly. demagogues and political uncertainty many rely on the help find it difficult to get the support they me ah.