>> you're watching "france 24" live from paris." here's the stories making headlines. you drug agency says it needs at least a month to approve a new vaccine, putting rollout in the eu behind the united states and britain. lockdown ending. anglin's stay-at-home order expires at midnight tonight local time. -- england's stay-at-home order expires midnight tonight. this is world aids day, a time to look back on lives lost and look ahead continuing the fight against the disease.

hello, everyone. thanks for joining us. in the race for a covert vaccine, the european union does not appear to be first in line -- in the race for a covid vaccine. it may need another month to decide on granting approval for a shot. meantime, the united states and britain are aiming to get the green light to a vaccine before christmas. the eu is not far behind with a meeting scheduled for december 20 92 consider approval for the shot developed by pfizer. our correspondent dave keating has more on how the process will play out. >> it certainly is not the normal process. these processes could normally take years, but, obviously, exceptional circumstances call or exceptional measures. all along, we have known that

the eu's regulatory bodies, just like those of the u.s., u.k., and other countries, would perform a special authorization process for these vaccines. basically, the regulator would approve the vaccine, but the maker of the vaccine would continue conducting tests to make sure they spot any kind of side effects that were not obvious from the initial tests. that may sound kind of offputting to ople. it's not all that unusual for these types of situations where they might need a piece of medicine to be out there very quick, but although the process will be speeded up here in the eu, it's not going to be speeded up as much as what we are looking at in the u.k. and the u.s., both of which are expecting regulators to approve the vaccine within the next week possibly. the eis taking a more cautious approach here.

that approval date of december 29 for the pfizer vaccine a january 12 for the moderna vaccine means vaccines would not actually start being distributed to people at the very earliest in late january. we are probably looking at more like early february. it is a distinct possibility people will be getting there vaccines in the u.s., u.k., or other places before they are getting them in the eu, but the leaders have continually cautioned they want to make absolutely sure any vaccine is safe before goes out into the eu market. better safe than sorry. it is worth it to take these extra couple of weeks just to make sure -- the commission president has stressed repeatedly saying they will not let consumers in europeown on this, and it matters a lot because they are worried about public trust in these vaccines. surveys show a lot of skepticism about these vaccines going through the process so hurriedly. in the -- in particular, they need the trust of that first

wave of people who will be the first asked to take this vaccine early next year. >> it was one year ago wuhan, china, became the first region affected by the virus. as we know well, those initial infections developed into a global pandemic as the rest of the world are struggling to contain the disease. chinese officials claim the city of wuhan has reported zero new cases of covid-19 since june. >> it was ground zero of the global pandemic, but a year on from when the coronavirus was first detected, authorities say wuhan has so far avoided the resurgence seen in other parts of the world. the city and its residents have largely moved on. >> wuhan did not act badly but not great either. later he got better. compared to the united states, we have done a good job taking control. >> officially, wuhan has not

reported any new cases of covid-19 since june. there do remain widespread suspicions about the local government, given how it mismanaged the initial outbreak last year. this woman lost her son in that outbreak. >> if the wuhan government, the authorities was known -- had known this virus was transmissible between humans and told us to protect ourselves as soon as possible just like the way they are now, the tragedy could have an input -- could have been avoided, but we got infected without knowing anything about the virus. >> even though transmission is low in china, fear of the virus lingers with people rushing to queue up for vaccines which have yet to complete testing. despite unknowns such as their effectiveness and side effects, high risk groups have been authorized, including medical and transportation workers. the emergency green light has since been extended to

government officials, overseas travelers, and students. one of three chinese pharmaceutical companies with covid-19 vaccines in the final phase of testing says its doses have been used by nearly one million people in china. >> and national lockdown in england and's at midnight tonight local time. the stay-at-home order lasted one month. starting tomorrow, a or regional restrictions will be put in place. the three-tier protocol will require certain regions to shut down. even though lawmakers approved the plan, prime minister boris johnson expressed frustration that the labour party abstained from voting. >> mr. speaker, the labour proposition has decided tonight heroically to abstain, mr. speaker, and i think when the history of this pandemic comes to be written, i think the people of this country will observe that instead of having

published all parties coming together, they had one party heroically deciding to abstain, mr. speaker. >> how would this new regional system work? our correspondent in london explains. >> it has been a real important day for this government, for the opposition as well. what has happened? mp's just approved this new, much tougher three-tier system of covid restrictions in england. there was quite a l of drama becae as you say, there was real dissension, rebellion even, and huge criticism within the governing party itself. when we look at the result, mp's

backed the vote these plans that will kick in at one minute past midnight. that means that becomes law and we go from this one-month lockdown we have been in to this new tough three-tiered system. as you mention, 55 million people across england will be in the toughest two tears -- tiers. that is considerable. we know the main opposition party, the labour party, abstained, so if we look at that, we think there were 56 conservative rebels. that's the most significant rebellion in the tory party since boris johnson became prime minister. let's remember, it was just under a yeaago that h called an early general election and actually won a huge majority of 80 seats. were it not for the labour party

abstaining, which is the first time they have done that since the beginning of the pandemic, not helping to vote through key measures on the plans of the government to try and curb the rise of covid-19, it could have been a very different story. what everyone will be watching is very much the letter the prime minister wrote to mp's, to the zoom call i understand he did with them, to even standing and begging themo vote for this. we've got this significant rebellion, a i understand there will be continued out each to those mp's who are really happy that their area, their constituency has been put in one of the two top, tougher tears -- tiers. >> in germany, 4 people are dead after an suv sped through a pedestrian area. among the dead is a nine month

old child. at least 15 others were seriously injured. police arrested a 51-year-old german men. he was set to undergo a psychiatric examination. he also had a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit. there's no word on a motive. growing worse by the hour -- that's how the united nations is describing the situation in ethiopia where someone hundred thousand refugees from neighboring eritrea have run out of food. there are also some 40,000 who have fled to sudan to escape ethiopia's civil war. >> a feweeks ago, an empty lascape w transfmed. tens of thousands of ethiopian refugees flee into sudan. life here is hard. there's not enough food or water to go around, but many believe it is better than the alternative.

>> [speaking foreign language] >> government forces launched an offensive against the region last month, and although it's cu off fm the outside world, the information that does make it out is bleak. hospitals are running out of body bags an medical supplies with most patients coming in for trauma injuries. nearly one million people have been displaced, and up to 600 refugees per day are crossing into sudan. many here are farmers forced to abandon their field to during harvest time and are separated from their families. the government says it has captured the capital of the region, but the refugees here don't believe it. >> [speaking foreign language]

>> the prime minister insists no civilians have been killed in the conflict, but human rights organizations worry that when communications with the region are reestablished, evidence of war crimes on both sides could emerge. >> today is world aids day, a time for nations across the globe to come together in the fight against the hiv epidemic. it's also an occasion to support those living with the disease and to remember the hundreds of thousands of people whose lives were lost. the world health organization is urging global solidarity to maintain hiv services during the covid-19 pandemic. despite that advice, across latin america, the coronavirus has made hiv drugs harder to

access. now health restrictions are keeping hiv patients out of hospitals. >> jesus rodriguez recently left prison. hiv-positive made incarceration especially difficult for him. he had no access to medical care, nor to the treatments needed to control the virus. >> [speaking foreign language] >> over 100,000 people living with hiv in venezuela are unable to see doctors or access antiretrovirals because of the lockdown. according to ngo figures, between january and october 2020, more than 1000 hiv patients died due to lack of care, but in reality, there could be many more victims.

>> [speaking foreign language] >> mauricio gutierrez is hiv positive. to draw attention to the fight against aids, he decided to launch his candacy for the next national assembly elections. he hopes to help limit the number of deaths. >> [speaking foreign language] >> as of 2016, the venezuelan

government no longer buys hiv drugs or tests. hiv organizations are trying to compensate for the need, but every year in the country, the number of people affected by hiv rises, and they feel increasingly abandoned and stigmatized. >> for more on this story, we are joined by cesar antonio nunez, the director of the united nations aids regional support team for latin america. he joins us from dallas, texas. thanks so much for being with us. as we just heard, there are specific challenges in venezuela. how is the rest of latin america balancing treatment of hiv and the coronavirus? >> sure, great to be with you. with all the attention focused on covid-19, if thins as a reminder of -- it stands as a reminder of the need to pay attention to another pandemic that has been with us for over 30 years.

we report over 100,000 new infections per year, a 23% increase from 10 years ago in 2010. that means that prevention overall in the region is not progressing as fast as we should be seeing it. on the other hand, the region has been able to provide treatment to citizens at a much better rate, so we have seen an 8% decline in deaths in the past 10 years in the same period. the situation in venezuela does not only imply what you have described in your report, but also the migration of venezuelans to neighboring countries, which account for about 4.5 million people, most in colombia and peru. >> hiv continues to affect young people at very high rates in latin america. can you tell us about the scope of the problem regarding young people and what is being done to

fight it? >> part of the challenge we are facing is that our recommendation for education is not always embraced by those responsible for the national response, and messages for women and young girls do not necessarily make it to them. the use of condoms, for instance, it is not widely available, and the fact that adolescents still require parents' consent for an hiv test present a challenge when adolescents are young people and come forward to help service to identify if they are infected or not. >> all of these years later, there is still stigma associated with aids. how is that stigma -- how has that stigma affected prevention efforts in latin america?

>> i believe one important factor is inequality. latin america is the most unequal region in the world, and inequalities mean those who are least able to stand up for their rights are still the most affected. as you have rightly said, we know that to end aids and also to eliminate covid-19, we must eliminate stigma, put people at the center and ground our response in human rights approaches. we still see in latin america a push particularly against what we call key populations. people who are from sexual diversity, particularly transgender women and gay men. >> we want to thank you for your comments there. >> my pleasure. >> it's not something you think about every day, but there are almost one million pieces of space junk orbiting the earth. the european space agency has

signed a deal to help clean up that waste. sharon gaffney has the story. >> it's an out of this world mission to clean up space. an estimated 3000 satellites and up to 2 million pieces of smaller debris continually orbit the earth, hurtling around the climate at speeds up to 32,000 kilometers per hour. even the smallest pieces of waste can be catastrophic. >> could be capable of totally shattering a spacecraft when it impacts the stage. >> the european space agency has signed a deal with swiss start of clear space to do just that. it is to launch a device which will grab cosmic waste and steer it back into the earth's atmosphere where both robot and space junk will ignite and burn.

>> [speaking foreign language] >> space junk is a well-known hazard for astronauts. >> [speaking foreign language] >> the one-time mission, the first of its kind, is scheduled to begin in 2025 at an estimated cost of 86 million euros with up to 100 space launch is taking place each year. scientists say the dangers posed by space junk are becoming more acute.

>> christmas will look a lot different this year in the holy city of bethlehem. coronavirus restrictions mean the normally vibrant celebrations will be somber, and thousands of tourists will be missing. still, leaders say the holiday will go on. charli james with the story. >> unlike for the baby jesus, there is plenty of room at the end this year in bethlehem. the city celebrated by christians as the birthplace of christ, but now the shepherds are under lockdown, and there are few visitors to pay homage to their king. officials are putting on a brave face. >> [speaking foreign language] >> for some residents, it is too late for hope.

the west bank is in the grips of a coronavirus spike and tourism halted in march. businesses are use to ups and downs because of the israeli-palestinian conflict, but nothing like this. >> [speaking foreign language] >> this christmas will be less festive and much more private. bethlehem's famed tree lighting will be limited to just 15 guests, and christmas eve midnight mass has also been scaled back with the -- scaled back. with the epidemic, palestinian officials say the lockdown could be extended through christmas into the new year. >> time now for business with kate moody. the u.s. congress has been deadlocked for months over another stimulus plan, but there

are some signs of progress today. >> yeah, some signs of progress and also huge signs of divisions that still remain. we had a compromise proposal put forth by a bipartisan group of lawmakers who are hoping to split the difference between the democrats' $2.2 trillion plan and the republicans' $500 billion proposal. that's where talks broke down a the compromise is a $908 billion belief package, and it is being framed as emergency support rather than stimulus for the medium to longer term. the draft could include more funds for small businesses, airlines, and local governments as well as a scaled-back but unemployment benefits.ent for it does not include direct stimulus checks to american families. the stakes are very high. millions of people could lose their access to unemployment benefits at the end of the year if some of the unemployment measures that were enacted

earlier this year are not renewed by december. there's no certainty the bill would pass either the democratic house of representatives or the republican senate. in fact, mitch mcconnell has already shut down the offer. it underscores that a month after the election, some lawmakers are really the king to move on from the hyper-partisan divisions that have characterized the last few months and bring some good news to their constituents before christmas break and before the biden administration takes office. take a listen. >> recognize that families all across america are struggling, that businesses are closing, that hospitals are overwhelmed. >> it's not the time for political brinksmanship. we don't want to see any of that here on this stage today. we intend to move this forward after months of failing to act

for one reason or another. >> you mentioned that millions of people could lose their unemployment benefits at the end of the year. what exactly are the stakes? >> some 12 million people stand to lose out on these emergency benefits that were brought in in the month of march. we saw, for example, new measures that extended the period of timeuring which people could claim unemployment benefits. that was broadened in march. that could expire athe end of december, as could a measure that extends coverage to independent and gig economy workers who are not usually eligible. the u.s. labor market has been strengthening gradually, but this really underscores the depth of the current jobs crisis, which economists warn could last for some time. separately, the heads of the u.s.reasury anu.s. federal reserve are continuing a spat over their emergency lending program, which also will expire at the end of december.

treasury secrery steven mnuchin, part of the trump admistration, refused to extend those programs last month. he said he believed they were no loer necessary. jerome powell, the head of the central bank, said small and medium-sized businesses might close down if they cant access those funds. a rare public split. >> meantime, there have been some major developments from the president-elect joe biden, that he has filled more of his team what does that look like? familiar team.irse but we saw joe biden speaking along his nominee to replace mnuchin as treasury secretary, former fed chief janet yellen. he told americans help isn the way. his name is already working on relief measures. he says anything that passes before he takes oice is just a

start. he introduced five more members of his team, economiadvisors it is a diverse group that includes women and minorities. we could see the first black deputy treasury secretary and the first woman of color to leave the office of management and budget. some of those positions would have to be confirmed by the senate. many of these are familiar faces. we saw donald trump drawing on political neophytes from the world ofusiness. many of biden's team have served under previous democratic administrations including barack obama. janet yellen's tenure was cut short by donald trump. she says if she will comfort -- if she is confirmed to the head of the treasury, she will devote herself to rebuilding the action is needed to address at tragedy of economic crisis brough on by this pandemic. in particular, she says she will focus on making sure this

recovery reaches everybody, noting that the pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on the most needy. >> thank you so much, and thank you for watching. stay tuned for more world news here on france 24.

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12/01/20 12/01/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> [indiscernible] amy: as moderna seeks emergency authorization for its covid-19 vaccine, the cdc is meeting