>> he does not want to be doing anything now to deepen the wounds. he said an hour or so ago, his big priority would be reconciliation and an you challenge that will be as we hit now the stroke of 11 p.m. >> thank you. [bell tolling]

anchor: you are watching al jazeera. just after 23:00 gmt. the u.k. has officially exited the european union. the time there was projected on front of 10 downing street, home of prime minister boris johnson. he has called this moment one of national renewal. parliaments where. brexit supporters have gathered to celebrate. among them, nigel farage, a key figure in the brexit campaign. in parliament square, there is the crowd -- theink we will hear national anthem there. ♪

anchor: rory, quite an interesting set oup with this gathering that has come somewhat unofficial at parliament square. rory: this is the party that has been organized by nigel farage, if you can hear me over this rendition of the national anthem. nigel farage is, of course, the hero of the brexit movement. the arch brexiteer. he's a man more than anyone else who made this all happened. he put so much pressure on david cameron with his u.k. independence party. sorry for any bad language in the background. ollid cameron was forced to p the 2016 referendum. now they have it.

all those people that voted for britain to leave the european union back in 2016. they have it now. they have the brexit. it has taken a long time for them. they think it should have happened a year or so ago. it is their moment. this is their night. as the months on the stage put it, whether you agree with it or remainders, it does not matter anymore. everyone in the u.k. is a leaver. anchor: now that it happened, how difficult will it be to achieve the cohesion the prime minister alluded to earlier? rory: it will be the greatest challenge that faces the u.k. in the coming years. it is not just a cultural issue, it is a constitutional issue as well because the divisions that veryt have unleashed are deep in society, but also, they have rekindled the argument for

independence in scotland. recent polls have shown that for the first time in a few years, there is now a majority for another referendum on scottish independence in scotland because scotland voted primarily to stay inside the european union. it was a national vote, national referendum, but there are many people in this country who feel this is not their movement. it is not their decision and they don't want it to happen. yes, the task of healing this country, moving forward and uniting people is a great one indeed. anchor: rory, thank you very much. earlier, as we heard international address, prime minister boris johnson said this was a moment of hope and opportunity for britain, and urged citizens to come together to move the country forward after brexit. prime minister johnson: tonight,

we are leaving the european union. for many people, this is a moment of hope. a moment they thought would never come. there are many that feel anxiety and loss. there is a third group who had started to wonder the whole political wrangle would never come to an end. i understand all those feelings. our job as the government, my job is to bring this country together now and take us forward. the most important thing to say tonight is this is not an end, but a beginning. this is the moment when the dawn breaks and the curtain goes up on a new act in our great national drama. anchor: let's go live to jona in central london. i suppose what is hoping for is the drama is not difficult as there are a lot of obstacles in the way of the trade deal with the eu and trade deals beyond. reporter: you may be hoping that without any way of knowing that. he's got 11 months in this

transition period to do these trade negotiations with the eu and come away with some sort of deal. that would be record timing if you ask economists and analysts. they will tell you the sorts of deals take years. the best he will end up with is some kind of trade deal light with lots of work to come with years after that. the prime minister no doubt hoping for a happy outcome. clearly,'s got a divided country. he's got a lot of work on his hands to achieve reconciliation. he's got to do that pretty quickly because he wants to be able to pull the country behind him in these talks with the european union to come. let me bring in my guest, ricky price, who has these sorts of knowledge. economist and former head of the government economic service. thank you for joining us. normous ambition and what borchard to this trying to achieve. not just his assistance that they stay to this timetable only

11 months left. also the idea that he will get a trade deal with the eu at the same time as getting a trade deal with the united states. one almost necessarily undermines the other. is it doable? vicki: it is going to be difficult. it depends on what kind of deal we end up with. we get end up with a bare-bones deal. it leaves anything still to be decided later. if that is the case, of course, businesses will continue to have a very uncertain future because we all know what will be happening with individual sectors. whether we are talking about the financial sector or the car industry which has suffered already with lack of investment. we are talking about a short 11 months. negotiations do not start until early march. second, in order to get anything ratified by the end of the year by the european countries, what you need is some agreement possibly by june, maybe even extended by a few months. we are talking about a very, very short window of opportunity. the idea we will be able to

reach a deal with the u.s. when we don't actually know what the deal is likely to be on many sectors with the eu -- jonah: and an election year no less. vicky: president trouble want to show you can strike deals and maybe he will come to some sort of small agreement with the u.k. that he can say it is actually trade deal but it will leave sony things to be decided later on. it will be very unsatisfactory. jonah: that is only one tract that boris johnson is pledging tonight. labour a debt to the heartland to the north that delivered him this enormous victory in december. he says he will level out opportunities. it will not matter what part of the country you come from. big promises of and for structure and other spending. does the country have resources for this? vicky: the country will have to borrow a lot especially if it will not be growing fast. the latest forecast came back

from the bank of england yesterday. it's saying this year, we will see growth of just .8%, less than 1% growth. an orderly exit by the end of the year and a deep trade deal. then, we might end up with growth of possibly 1.1%, 1.5% if we are lucky in the following few years. where is the money going to come from? how will you distribute money to the rest of the country, especially over the last 10 years, austerity. this conservative party has decided over a long period of cutbacks. the regions themselves saw huge decline in the money they were getting. they abolished the region development which took ages to get money back to the region. it will be a massive deal to reform all of that. it will not happen in a hurry and nothing is going to be as big of threat as what will happen next with boris johnson

if he does not manage to get that leveling out, as he calls it, to happen quickly. jonah: in a sense, he has the luxury of an you norma's majority in parliament -- the enormous majority in parliament. let me ask you as a respected economist, former head of the government economic service, is it conceivable to you simply this that this country could find itself better off outside the eu then it has been for all of these years inside? vicky: who knows how things might develop? but most economists i know and most economists i speak to, there are a few who think differently, all say that leaving the eu and adding whereon to trade in areas we do most of our business with will definitely be negative for growth. we have already seen that happening in anticipation for the last three years. it's difficult to think of opportunities. maybe we can cut regulations in some places, but the fact is it

will not make much difference. therefore, i am afraid it is inconceivable we will do better or any better at all then before. jonah: many thanks for your thoughts. somewhat less optimistic outlook from a respected economist. boris johnson hailing the beginning of a new era, unleashing the great potential of this country and it starts now. anchor: thank you. natosha butler is in brussels for us. over the years, the relationship between the eu and u.k. was at times tumultuous. overall, what is the mood now as they leave after 47 years? listening to those crowds in london, watching those pictures, the contrast with where i am in brussels could not be greater because the mood here in the house of the eu is very muted. it has been very low all day

today. the only sign there is something so momentous that has happened is that earlier, we saw a european union, parliamentary officials start taking down, removing the british flag outside the european union parliament. replacing it with a european union flag. there has been no special ceremonies. no special events. that's a very deliberate move on the part of the european union to try and keep today low-key because this was a somber day for eu leaders. we've been hearing that message all week. eu leaders did not want the u.k. to leave. they didn't agree with brexit and many of them have regretted that. we heard from the french president macron who chose to address french people with a television statement this evening. he said it was an extremely tragic day for the european union. key managed to move a

member state. a big financial contributor. one that has been with the european union for nearly half a century. it is a very somber mood this evening. anchor: what are the biggest concerns for the eu in terms of flushing out any future trade relationships with the u.k.? i think once the fond farewells are over and once the reality has actually sunk in, the u.k. has left the eu, both sides have to put forward their priorities and negotiating policies. you will see that happen over the next few weeks. then, we are expected for march real negotiations to begin. we heard from eu leaders saying the priorities to maintain integrity of the sickle market and to maintain what they call a level playing field when they go to these trade negotiations with the u.k. the eu commissioner said it was

absolutely essential that the u.k. understands that europe will protect its businesses and will not put up with any unfair competition. i think we will see some very tough negotiations ahead. both sides fiercely protecting their interests. boris johnson, the prime minister, saying he is looking for some form of trade deal to be wrapped up by the end of the year. of course, we have been hearing eu officials again and again saying a fully comprehensive agreement highly unlikely by the end of 2020. perhaps the outlines of something less detailed. anchor: tell us a bit about the people caught up in all of this. people who perhaps live in a different country in the eu who were able to move around freely. now the u.k. has left, that changes. what kind of practical realities for the people in this? natacha: i think most people would know, for example, the u.k. people who live in the european union, they know from

tomorrow, february 1 -- from ife is i should say, l not going to change immediately because there's going to be this transition period. there's a lot of people that have been worried. this people who live and work in the european union who are british nationals concerned about their futures. what will it mean for them? people who have family there in the european union who are very attached to the european union. we are seeing a lot of the british based in brussels. just a couple of days ago, i spoke to some of them. she was absolutely devastated to have to go back to britain. she felt this is where her world was. there's a lot of shock. there's a lot of sadness amongst british nationals in the eu and a lot of uncertainty because nobody knows what will happen over the next few months. nobody knows what will happen after the end of 2020. and exactly what the status will be. there will be sadness, shock.

in lotta just still absorbing the fact if they didn't want to leave the european union, they are absorbing this is now their reality. anchor: thank you very much. so, what happens now the u.k. has formally left the eu? charlie and you to some of the key dates and targets. >> just because brexit has happened, does not mean the story is over. britain has left the institution and lost its vote in the you body, but the 11 month transition means everything else stays the same. it is not crucial for the u.k. that it sort of treaty with the eu. the u.k. assigned up with eu rules but can negotiate a new deal up until the 31st of december. can a deal be done by then? the european commission president was blunt. she said it would be impossible to complete in the timeframe. >> without an extension of the transition period beyond 2020,

you cannot expect to agree on every single aspect of our new partnership. we will have to prioritize. to speedone option things up his salami slicing. making smaller separate deals on aspects of trade, fisheries and transport for example. there is an interim deadline at the start of july, the final time britain can asked to extend the extension period. force johnson says he won't. this means u.k. could be left with the prospects -- the deadline expiry with no trade deal in place.doing business on wto terms with all the tariffs it entails. don't forget one final date. december 31, 2020. that is when the transition period could be extended if boris johnson changes his mind and asks for an extension. anchor: still to come, more

restrictions on travel to china as the number of coronavirus 2003 worldwide passes the sars epidemic. the trump administration expands the travel ban, adding six new country to the list, including nigeria. capital under fire. australia declares a state of emergency as bushfires threatens the southern suburbs. the u.s. senate has voted to block any witnesses or additional evidence in the impeachment trial of u.s. president donald trump. it pushes one step closer towards a vote to acquit trump. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell says the trial will conclude in the coming days. trump is accused of abuse of power and obstruction of congress for threatening to withhold military aid to ukraine in exchange for an investigation into his clinical rival, joe

biden. we tell the president effectively you can act corruptly, you can abuse the powers of your office to coerce a foreign government to help you cheat in an election by withholding military aid, and when you are caught, you can further abuse your powers by concealing the evidence of your wrongdoing, the president becomes unaccountable to anyone. if people of power and influence can insist to the judge that the house, that the prosecutors, that the government, that the people must prove their case without witnesses or documents, a right reserved only for the powerful -- because you know only donald trump, of any defendant in america, can insist on a trial with no witnesses. that should be true then courts throughout the land, as adams

wrote, the government becomes arbitrary. >> the senate is not here to do the investigatory work that the house that into. where there has been a process that denied all due process. that produced a record that cannot be relied upon. the reaction from this body should be to reject the articles of impeachment. way theondone on the proceedings were handled in the house. and not to prolong matters further by trying to redo work the house failed to do by not aeking evidence and not doing fair and legitimate process to bring the articles of impeachment here. thank you. anchor: that scope to capitol hill. the senate voted to block any further witnesses coming, appearing at this trial. where do we go from here? reporter: the result of that vote was no surprise given that

the moderate republicans who had been seen as the swing voters on that quest decided to side with the republican caucus, at least two of them decided to side with the republican caucus which was enough to shutdown the possibility of more witnesses. now we are waiting for this recess to result in more instructions whether or not that means having the senate come back today and move toward a vote on whether or not to acquit the president or to deferred that final decision to the coming days as mitch mcconnell, the senate majority leader, has said in his statement. but, chuck schumer, the minority leader, the top democrat in the tabor has voiced the disappointment of his party immediately after this boat concluded. he said this was a tragedy and a day that americans will remember of congress having failed them and not delivering a fair trial. it is interesting because one of the key swing votes on this

question was republican senator lisa murkowski who is a moderate and prior to voting no on witnesses, she explained in a statement that she believes this is not a fair trial. she said it is set for me to admit as an institution, the congress has failed. congressriticizing having failed to deliver a fair trial, she in essence participated in that by voting no on letting additional witnesses come forward. democrats certainly reeling from that decision and saying they are very disappointed. now with president trump's acquittal all but certain in the coming days, if not the coming hours. anchor: what will voters make of all of this, do you think? heidi: the polling has been pretty consistent since the ukrainian allegation surfaced against trump. that has been a near even divide

among the greater american public. 50-50. those who supported impeachment and removal, and those will post both of those measures. what voters did seem to agree on to a degree was having a more witnesses because 75% of those who responded said they had wanted the senate to vote yes on this question of getting more witnesses. ultimately, it appears that 75% of those polled voters did not get their way today. anchor: thank you very much. special impeachment counsel for the house of representatives joins us live from washington, d.c. what do you think swung it for the people who were wavering at one stage and thought they may allow witnesses? what do you think turned their minds against it? guest: one possible thing is they don't want to be on mitch mcconnell's bedside. you can make their life pretty

miserable and sort of marginalize them in the future. the may have felt there was really not enough of a percentage to seek witnesses. with their own constituents. it is hard to read their minds but clearly, they were under enormous pressure to back mcconnell and his caucus. anchor: in terms of the potential damage from witnesses, was the concern for the republicans the fact that john bolton might be called? alan: oh, i think he was the primary reason they didn't want to go there. trumpare indications that specifically said to him -- that has been a little piece that was missing in the democratic case -- that he would withhold the support for ukraine unless they put the bullseye on the bidens. that would have been right from

trump's mouth. another thing came out today tot trump had asked bolton kind of big into the ukraine situation to try to find dirt. few very serious points to make, but what i don't understand clearly is there was no question that they were going to lose 20 votes which is what it would have taken to impeach. i thought the republicans made a mistake. why wouldn't they let the testimony come in? the result is still a foregone conclusion. they look as though they have tried to do it on a fair basis. this way, not only have they let trump off the hook but they didn't let the evidence come in that might have been relevant. he doesn't seem to be a very smart move. they will pay for that in november. anchor: how important is precedent in impeachment trials?

does it amount to a people can look back and say you did at this time and it has to be this way the next time or is it different every time you have an impeachment trial? alan: there is no binding precedent. even as the context and procedure. it is almost a basic handbook for the senate but they are not bound by it. it was something that was drawn up by senate counsel maybe 20, 30 years ago. it is somewhat freewheeling. in the clinton impeachment, they didn't have any live witnesses. the report of 700 pages. it's kind of freewheeling. there's really no appeal to any court to say this is not fair. anchor: tell me about the timing of what is next. we expect the vote on the charges themselves to be quite -- it's sounding as though it can be anywhere between tonight and wednesday or something like that.

what more will they be thrashing out to make that decision? alan: i would think a critical issue for the republicans is to get this out of the way before the state of the union address so that the president can crow to his backers that, look, i was vindicated. it was all fake news, whatever else he would call it. you know, it is a big moment for him regardless of how he got there. i would say the republicans, tops on their agenda would be to give him that speech point so that he can take a victory lap with the congress, with all the congressmen. anchor: alan, thank you for your analysis. trump's impeachment trial continues in washington, secretary of state mike pompeo has pledged unwavering support for ukraine on a visit to kiev. pompeo met president volodymyr

zelensky and called for the u.s. to be more involved in settling its conflict with russian backed separatists. pompeo is the highest-ranking u.s. official to visit ukraine since trump's impeachment trial began. he faces allegations that he pressured zielinski to investigate joe biden's son. pompeo insist any future visit to the white house is not dependent on the investigation into the biden family. >> i'm unsurprised by your question. i suspect you will not be unsurprised by my answer as well. condition of the nature you describe for president zielinski to come to washington and have that visit. that is not the case. we will find the appropriate opportunity. anchor: still to come, anger in south korea as the first batch of people evacuated from the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak remind -- arrived home

under tight security. the rally against u.s. president trump plans to end the israel-palestine crisis. fits, it doese not mean you can wear it. one model of nike trainers as another pair passes the test. ♪ ♪ >> things remain fairly quiet across much of the united states. no warnings in place for any severe weather anywhere into the south. we have this system going its way off the coast of the northeast. a fairly mild hermas behind that. seven degrees in new york. we have had some showers to the southeast but we've also got another pacific storm work its

way inland. that will bring more in the way of snow and strong winds all the way along the coast. 30 celsius in san francisco. as that system goes up the eastern seaboard, it will push into newfoundland. that is where we can see snow developing in the latter part of the weekend. very heavy amounts of rain across much of florida. this could lead to localized flooding. it will work its way down across into mexico, the yucatan peninsula and work its way east saturday into sunday. by sunday, it tends to really die away from areas of cuba, the bahamas, working into the atlantic. we will have some rather heavy amounts of rain pushing into honduras. we could have some localized flooding but drying out across the yucatan peninsula. a high of 23 in cancun. ♪

♪ anchor: our top stories on al jazeera -- u.s. senate has voted to block any witnesses or additional evidence in the impeachment trial of u.s. president donald trump. senators are likely to acquit trump in the coming days. the u.k. has officially exited the european union. the countdown was projected in front of 10 downing street. he has called this a moment of national renewal. brexit has been one of the most divisive issues in recent british history. we visited the seaside town on england's east coast where more than 70% of people voted to leave the eu. now that it has happened, those voters could not be happier. reporter: breaking away from what many have known for nearly a lifetime. there is an appetite for a different future, one very much

outside the eu in the seaside town were just over 70% of people voted to leave 3.5 years ago. the desire for brexit is still strong. >> i think it is about time it started to happen. the uncertainty of the last few years has not been good for anybody really. >> nothing about immigration. it is about being controlled by people who have no interest in this country whatsoever. >> i just think the european rule too much. we should be all independent. >> businesses and everything. just everything we want brexit for. >> no one knows. i think it'll be ok short-term but long-term, who knows? reporter: in the winter months, it can feel like this is a place time forgot. the energy sectors help ring money in but there are pockets

of poverty and wages lower than the national average. many people are pinning their hopes on brexit, hoping that somehow it will transform their lives on a local and national level. that it will bring prosperity to this town. that is not just here. it is in communities up and down the country. the if rio hotel has been in the same family since the 1930's. it is busy all year. there are concerns about what brexit might bring. >> i voted against to leave because i felt we were better off in the eu. i recognize the fact we are leaving but i am greatly concerned about what the future will hold. with the future will hold for this business, with the future will hold from getting supplies in from europe. getting my staff to come work here that we need. emma: no one knows exactly what brexit will bring. what impact it will have. only the changes will not be felt in the next few months, but decades to come. several countries have now placed restrictions on

travel to and from china as the number of coronavirus cases worldwide passes those of the sars epidemic in 2003. the death toll from the virus has risen to 258, with nearly 10,000 confirmed cases in china. those on lockdown in the province where the virus was first detected are waiting for action. and some committees are taking matters into their own hands. reporter: the lockdown of wuhan city, origin of the coronavirus and the surrounding province is now in its second week. how are the more than 50 million people their coping? we spoke with a few through video chat to get an idea. he and his wife live in wuhan. they postponed their trip from hong kong for the lunar new year because of the virus. the dates keep getting pushed back and the biggest concern is the uncertainty. >> the obvious stress of being concerned with infected, but what is it like, the other

stress of supplies, your daily life? we worry about how long i will have to stay at home. this is making me nervous. the dates change and change. reporter: he says he gets his information from friends outside china and contact of the local hospital. the city next to wuhan is sealed off and its streets empty. this video was shot. he has a supply of food in the fridge. his wife and young daughter are with her parents outside the province. >> i feel more relaxed because hubei provovince is seriously ht by the epidemic. the place where they are now has far fewer cases so i i feel a bt relieved they are not with me. they are safer at the moment. our biggest concern is when will we have medication for the virus? this is what we care about most. reporter: for those people under

a force lockdown, there are some communities across china were self imposing a lockdown like this one on the outskirts of beijing. they are not letting anyone into this community on the outside. they're worried someone else might carry the virus inside. no matter the type of lockdown, government curfews self imposed by the threat of the virus exhilarating. no one knows how long these communities will remain safe. anchor: there are at least 131 cases of the virus in 25 countries outside mainland china, including spain, sweden, italy and the u.k. 14 are in thailand, where a taxi driver contracted the virus through human to human transition. japan, turkey and the united kingdom are amongst the nations who have evacuated their citizens from wuhan, the city at the heart of the outbreak. the u.k. evacuated were thrown report ono where we the international evacuation efforts. reporter: a mission to get

foreign nationals out of wuhan as quickly as possible. at this german air force plane departed from cologne airport, it was one of a number of countries that intensified efforts to get its citizens out of this city at the center of the outbreak. >> there are more than 100 people, none of whom infected. there are no suspected cases among these people. in order to guarantee the safety of the people in germany, evacuees will be quarantined for two weeks to ensure none of the evacuees is infected. at least half a dozen people in germany were confirmed to have tested positive for the virus and the pressure to contain it is urgent. in the u.k. on friday, the first cases of the illness appeared. the same day as the british government transported it citizens back from the lockdown region. aboard the plane are the 110 evacuees who managed to make it out of wuhan.

there are still many other foreign nationals trapped in the city, unable as of yet to get out. those who arrived were immediately taken away by coach to a health facility in the northwest of england. they will now spend the next two weeks in corentin, monitored for any sign of disease. and if any of them develop symptoms, they will be taken to one of four specialized hospitals for treatment. with a vaccine still months away from being remotely ready, countries are focusing on containment and management of any outbreaks. masks are becoming prevalent in high-risk areas such as airports as the threat of the virus is still to be assessed. more than one trillion u.s. dollars have been wiped off the global stock markets because of fears over the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on global growth. european markets have been hit the hardest as many companies are dependent on beijing's

economy. china is the world's fastest growing consumer market. in the u.s., stocks have reported some of the worst results since october. the united states is banning foreign nationals who traveled to china the past 14 days from entering the country. the comes as i have declared it official public health emergency after the discovery of six coronavirus creations. u.s. citizen to have been in china in the past two weeks will also be screened and quarantined. other officials say these are just preventative measures. >> the risk of infection for americans remains low. with these and our previous actions, we are working to keep the risks low. it is likely that we will continue to see more cases in the united states in the coming days and weeks including some limited person-to-person transition. the american public and be assured the full weight of the u.s. government is working to safeguard the health and safety of the american people.

hasor: the u.s. government announced it is extending the controversial travel ban to include six more countries. acting homeland security secretary says the u.s. will suspend visas that can lead to permanent residency for nationals from myanmar and nigeria. he also says sudan and tanzania. will stop receiving visas. we have more on the homeland security announcement from washington, d.c. reporter: the administration officials are saying, in their words, it is not a travel ban. they are saying it is just travel restrictions and only applies in theory, at least, to a certain group of people when it want to come to the u.s.. it would be citizens of these six countries you mentioned but it only applies to immigrant visas, people for most countries

that wanted to move to the united states. administer should officials are quick to point out that it will not apply to people that are applying for student visas more work visas. they also say it will not affect any of the citizens currently in the united states from the six countries that are legally here on valid visas. they are saying it will only affect those that are applying for new visas to immigrate to the united states but that still potentially is a lot of people. thousands of people potentially. any people from the six countries that will be applying for immigrantut visas with a few exceptions will have those visas denied. administer should officials are saying is trying to avoid the situation in 2017 and the so-called muslim ban on the seven predominantly muslim countries when they were coming to the u.s., being detained and held, sent back to their countries.

all sorts of confusion and heartache for many families. the department of homeland security is saying they are specifically trying to avoid that by making this a little more clear. the big question is when this goes into effect, which is february 22, how will it play out in airports in reality? anchor: president trump is also rolling back obama-era restrictions on the use of landmines which are being banned more more than 100 countries. trump says the policy which wasn't limited in 2014 has put american troops at a severe disadvantage. arms control proponents have been quick to criticize the move which will allow the use of landmines in exceptional circumstances. the u.s. is not a signatory to the 1997 mine ban treaty. israel's military says it launched airstrikes on target in the gaza strip in response to three rockets fired by palestinians. there were no reports of casualties or major damage in

the exchange of fire. israel says it hit targets linked to hamas, including underground infrastructure used to manufacture weapons. tensions are high because u.s. president donald trump's middle east peace plan. palestine's ambassador to the u.s. has refused to engage in talks with washington. palestinian protesters have been rallying against the plan in gaza, lebanon and turkey. thousands of supporters demonstrated in the gaza strip where they burned u.s. and israeli flags. they also torched pictures of donald trump and benjamin netanyahu. the proposal allows israel to maintain the control of all of its settlements in the occupied west bank. >> the plan that was released this week is extremely settlement for the palestine refugees living under occupation and after crisis after crisis. hoping for justice and human rights. with the constant fear of it, the international committee will one day abandon them. today, more than ever, there is

instability. today, the international community must send a clear message to the palestine refugees and to the world at large that the international community stands firmly behind them. anchor: stephanie decker was at the protest in the gaza strip. stephanie: a few thousand people came out to the northern part of the gaza strip to protest the proposal by hamas. people -- it started across aboutfocusing on talking this is palestinian land that they totally reject it and it will remain steadfast. a few thousand. it is not indicative of the population. almost 2 million people. this. did not expect >> we participated today to express our objection of the

same field deal that trump and then yahoo! made. we are here to say palestine from the river to the sea and no one has the right to sell or give away any part of it. >> these public activities will be followed by fighters in these public movements in preparation for all the forces we have in gaza and the west bank. the armed resistance will undermine can the deal. stefanie: another thing that hamas is focused on, complete access of the nation of the arab world and arab leaders. something a lot of people have highlighted. they also say all they want to focus on is to try to ease the blockade, lift the blockade and give them the opportunities that everyone else has. this plan hast done -- people didn't expect anything different. it has only highlighted how far away from a political solution we are. anchor: australia's capital is under a state of emergency as bushfires threatened its

southern suburbs. the concern with hot weather and strong wind over the weekend will spread a fire that is currently burning out of control south of the city. people are being advised to prepare for possible evacuations. we have more. smoke billowing towards the australian capital. bushfires in a national park to the south poses a more serious threat to the australian capital territory in nearly 20 years. government officials fear that strong winds blowing over parched land combined with high summer temperatures can make the fires even more unpredictable and difficult to control. >> the ict is now facing the worst bushfires threatens the devastating fires of 2003. the combination of extreme heat, wind and a dry landscape will place suburbs to the south at risk in the coming days.

the fire has grown to 18,500 hectares. 125 square kilometers or nearly 80% of the total landmass of the territory. reporter: people preparing for the worst and stocking up on water. many remember the 2003 bushfires that killed four people and destroyed hundreds of homes. >> i'm concerned that the ict does not have the ability to put the fire out. 2003, it burned for over 10 days. no attention given to it. reporter: the unpredictable weather through the summer has made the fight more difficult. this video shows how bushfires have exploded in minutes. this is the southern gust of wind. about 90 bushfires are burning in different parts of the country. the largest are in new south wales where high temperatures are returning back in the 40's for the next week or hours.

the fire threatening is also moving towards new south wales. the government is investigating why this fire season is so bad. >> we've got everything to gain from this process and nothing to lose. we will not let any stone unturned. to find out everything we can and to bring forward those recommendations that are critical for the future. reporter: this has been australia's most devastating summer in decades. dozens of people have been killed by the fires. thousands of homes have been destroyed, and more than 11 million hecatres of land scored street with summer far from over, there are many more testing days ahead. anchor: still to come on al jazeera, the los angeles lakers basketball team prepared to make an emotional return to competitive action. ♪

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♪ anchor: now for sports, here is andy. andy: thank you. the match for sunday's australian open men's final has been decided. dominic thiem will take on novak djokovic for the title. asem late alexander zverev tennis got a glimpse of its future of its current trio. tennis next generation is an increasingly familiar scent in the later stages of grand slam's, but friday's match against alexander zverev and

dominic thiem the first time they have faced off in a major final. it was first blood to the younger zverev, in his first ever semi and taking the first set. the 22-year-old german is four years younger and two ranking places below thiem, but no fear as he battled to stay in the second set. tworia's thiem has been to previous grand slam finals and which began to tell as he leveled the match. he would win the third on a tiebreaker before zverev forced another decider in the fourth. given the chance to win it, his rival and friend showed no mercy. thiem taking it in four sets which sets up a final against defending champion novak djokovic. he is thenovak here,

king of australia. he's won seven titles, more than any other man. i'm facing the king of this grand slam in the finals. reporter: with two french open defeats against nadal part of his learning curb. thiem hopes he can finally beat one of the best to become one of the best. andy: the women's doubles title has been decided. seeds. beating top a pretty one-sided final, winning this one in straight sets. it is the second time in three years this pair has won the melbourne title. >> we all have our ups and downs. we headed here, both of us. still, each match we went there and gave our best. we help each other. in the end, it turned out pretty

solid because we went all the way without dropping a set. that actually never happened to us. andy: saturday's women's final will be hard to predict. is a two-timeza champion but a huge drop last season and she was unseated for this event. she will be taking on sofia kenin. at 21, she is the youngest australian open singles finalist since 2008. >> of course, didn't have a book, i didn't know exactly when. i feel like at this young age, it is incredible. get to live this moment and this dream. i am really grateful for it. i have worked so hard and put all the efforts into my practices, my fitness. all that i have been doing got me here. it is just paying off and that is a dream come true for me. andy: the l.a. lakers had to play their first game since the death of kobe bryant. the lakers faced a portland trail blazers. bryant spent 20 years with the team before retiring in 2016.

he was killed in a helicopter crash on sunday. a ceremony to honor his life will take place before the game. in anoes he used historic match has been banned. grown-up x has introduced an immediate ban on the shoes like the nikes worn for the run in austria last october. soles thicker than 40 millimeters. nike's shoes which have been used to set a number of other records would have given the all clear. the northern hemisphere's biggest international rugby tournament gets underway on saturday. in the aftermath of last year's world cup, four new head coaches in place for this year's six nations championship. eddie jones still there to guide england. they play france on sunday. a new era for wales with wayne replacing warren gatlin. >> we are a new management group . new players.

some players that have won it. we want to go out there and try to win it this year. we'vetainly don't see -- got a guy in place with good rubbing along the way. andy: france holds a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the saudi international. the raining opening champion took a few unwelcome ones during the second round. the irishman's six shots off of the. birdied four of his last six holes to shoot a second straight round of 65. ok, that is all for sports now. more later. anchor: a reminder of our top stories. uk's official exit from the european union just under one hour ago. the countdown was projected onto the front of number 10 downing street, home of boris johnson. he's called this a m

that is what we wanted. that is what we were asked. >> we get our country back. we get sovereignty back. >> we are not going to be dictated to anymore. we can say things freely. told what we have to do. all sorts of things. >> that says a lot. yeah, just being able to say what we want and not have the rest of the world tell us what we should and shouldn't do. anchor: that is it this newshour. thank you for watching. ♪