on vaccines raises tensions with the united kingdom. ♪ hello. you're watching "al jazeera." also coming up, the cost of covid. mexico reports its worst economic slump since the 1930's. and gamestop's continued surge causes concern on wall street. and why namibia's government is auctioning off elephants despite appeals by conservationists.

♪ anchor: welcome to the program. the european union is imposing export controls on vaccines made within the block limiting shipments to dozens of countries including the u.s., australia, japan, and the united kingdom. raising diplomatic tensions because the controls could prevent vaccines from entering the rest of the country through northern ireland. the eu has since clarified that it will not use emergency clauses in the brexit deal to block access. it is under increasing pressure. they want the pharmaceutical company, astrazeneca to stick to its contractual delivery schedule but the company says it will apply british orders for us. they eu has just approved astrazeneca's vaccine for adults and now the process is beginning

for two new vaccines one from johnson and -- johnson & johnson. we begin our coverage from berlin. reporter: this is the astrazeneca vaccine and use, available to british patients. and from now on, officially also for many eu citizens, most at risk from the pandemic. >> it is a real pleasure to be here and to announce the third positive opinion for the authorization of the astrazeneca covid-19vaccine. this expounds the range of vaccines available to eu member states which will all help to bring the pandemic under control and protect the citizens of the eu. reporter: except that far fewer eu citizens will be able to receive the vaccine for the next few months after the company cut back on what it could deliver to

the block. astrazeneca blames production problems at some of its plants and said it could only deliver fewer than half of the 80 million doses promised. the europeans have complained and decided to protect all vaccine stocks made on their territory. >> this will allow us to gather information about the production of vaccines and where manufacturers intend to ship them. the measure is time limited and specifically applies to the vaccines agreed to buy advance purchase agreements. reporter: although on the face of it, this measure could apply to pfizer, moderna, and astrazeneca, it appears to be most targeted against astrazeneca. the disagreement lies in the contract. the company said it promised its

best reasonable efforts. the europeans disagree saying the deal is binding to both. they say the company agreed to use its plants in the eu and in britain in order to guarantee supply. >> the europeans have also asked how astrazeneca could have insufficient product for the eu and still -- but still supply the british who are immunizing far more people than in the eu. and in this contract, the company confirmed it has no other contractual obligation with any other party to prevent it fulfilling its obligations to the european union. reporter: while this rages on, the measures to deal with the pandemic are intensifying in places. germany has announced that from saturday it will ban travel from seven countries where mutations have been reported. anchor: kenya's health-care and

security personnel will be first in line when it starts inoculating people next month. vaccines are being secured through the african union and the who. but officials say it will take until june of next year to vaccinate about one third of the population. >> kenya has made an initial commitment to procure vaccines through this facility. with this commitment, the country will receive 24 million doses from the facility and procure 11 million doses from other mechanisms to vaccinate nearly 16 million people, 30% of our population over a period of 18 months. anchor: the president has warned that hospitals across southern africa are under severe strain. 22% of the infections were in the first two weeks of january. doctors in zimbabwe have hit back against a government spokesperson who h suggested

that the deaths of several ruling party officials may have been the work of medical assassins. a joint funeral was held this week for two cabinet officials. with orders closed, many of the elite has been forced to use the public health system for the first time instead of traveling abroad for treatment. medical workers say it has been a rude awakening for the government. >> we have been waking the government telling them that the system is causing people to die. and now, these people can still go to south africa or indonesia. now, they are facing the same system we are talking about, it is a result of a broken system. anchor: mexico's economy has suffered its biggest contraction since the great depression of the 1930's. it's coronavirus death toll

surpassed that of india this week. it has the third highest number of fatalities in the world with more than 155,000 confirmed deaths. reporter: this is a scene that plays out every day in mexico. each time, it is a different family saying their goodbyes to a loved one lost through covid-19. ♪ >> before come if we had 10 funeral services, two of them would've been covid. and now it is 8 for covid. it is a big increase in deaths. reporter: the death toll in mexico has risen dramatically and on thursday, the country overtook india for the third highest death toll in the world. >> if we keep on going like this, we will be the first in the world for deaths. a piece of advice that people keep on looking after themselves

come a use face masks and follow the orders because if not, we will be first in the world. reporter: in the mexican capital, hospitals are nearing their occupancy limits. many are already full. ambulance drivers have been reporting difficulties in finding hospitals with empty beds. many fear the public health system is nearing collapse. mexico's president this week tested positive for the virus and has since been out of the public eye. >> let me just close with a report as we do every day about the health of the president. he has had some brief episodes of fever. tactically no other discomfort. reporter: the president has been widely criticized for downplaying the severity of the outbreak in his country. the still worsening death toll highlights the enormous

challenge that mexico continues to face in curbing contagion. anchor: andmanuel joins me now live. the economic woes that this country is dealing with. reporter: that is right. like many countries in the world, the pandemic has been devastating on the mexican economy. the big difference with mexico and other countries that may have fared that are is a result of the pandemic of 2020 is because mexico was already on the precipice of an economic crisis even before the pandemic arrived. the big concern now is that many that any economic recovery that could've been predict did would be wiped by this ongoing surge in cases that we continue to see in the mexican capital and nationwide across the country. we should note that mexico, specifically here in mexico

city, has been on high alert. the highest alert since mid-december. we continued busy record numbers of coronavirus cases and record numbers of cases surpassing india. now come it represents the third highest coronavirus death toll in the world. this first months of 2021 has been especially hard. i think many people are not surprised to see the death toll go beyond that of india but this is the second-largest economy in latin america. the impact this is having on the daily lives of average mexicans has been devastating. and it is the worst economic downturn that the country has seen since the great depression some 90 years ago. anchor: the light at the end of the tunnel for latin america. let us had over to the middle east, lebanon, where a caretaker prime minister has condemned

violent demonstrations in tripoli after protesters clashed with security forces. the city is seeing its fifth consecutive night of unrest. demonstrators are angry with the government for imposing a strict lockdown without providing any financial relief. hundreds have been injured and at least two killed after security forces used live and minas and to disperse demonstrators. -- used live ammunition to disperse demonstrators. >> we will stand up to them and confront them. demonstrating is acceptable. we are for peaceful protests but against any attack on private or public facilities. anchor: still ahead on "al jazeera," how a project in argentina is helping jaguars for the first time in several years. stay with "al jazeera."

♪ >> hello, we have quiet weather pushing into eastern parts of the u.s. there is a dark low. wintry weather easing off the eastern seaboard. we will pull in a northerly wind so it will be cold for the next day or two. in new york, minus one celsius in the heat of the day. not a whole lot better in d.c. disturbed weather pushing across the great plains. heavy rain bumping into the colbert. the winds coming in from the southerly direction bringing in moisture and hitting the cold air with significant snowfall. causing major disruptions. we have seen some disruptions in

california. temperatures getting up to 16 celsius in san francisco on sunday. a rise in temperatures. somewhat drier and brighter. not so as you push north. more snow in northern california, oregon, and washington state. as for central areas in between come it is largely fine and dry with crisp sunshine coming through. >> it is 10 years since revolutions traveled across the arab world. >> the principle of the dictator before he was a did hader is to be patient. they play their game very carefully. >> and how they stay in control. >> the common thing among arabic dictators is an incredible will to survive. >> the arab awakening, absolute

power on "al jazeera." ♪ ♪ anchor: welcome back. you're watching "al jazeera." the european union has reserved -- reversed a trip -- a decision -- which would've invoked an emergency clause in the brexit deal. controls would've prevented back scenes from entering the u.k. through northern ireland. drug companies including johnson & johnson have introduced vaccines to fight the pandemic. johnson & johnson's and occupation is a single shot jab.

mexico's economy last year suffered its biggest contraction since the 1930's. it's coronavirus death toll surpassed that of india this week and a has the third highest number of fatalities across the world. u.s. stock markets remain volatile as concern grows on wall street. over how much damage could be done in a battle between multibillion dollar hedge funds and smalltime traders. an online campaign to buy shocks -- shares in gamestop has seen prices rally by 1700% in a week. small traders have in trying to push up prices and have been able to thwart wall street hedge funds. kristen joins me now from new york. the market as we can see has been up and down but it has all

been driven by individuals, so-called retail investors. where does it end? ? how high could the market go? reporter: overall, the market is down. it was the worst week for wall street since october with all three major indexes closing 2% lower. even as gamestop and other stocks that are considered overpriced and overvalued continue to soar. gamestop was considered overvalued when it was trading at $40 a share and it is now trading at 320 five dollars a share. and amc, a troubled theater chain in the u.s., is up 50% despite difficulties with its business. all of this is causing great concerns for hedge funds and institutional investors who were

betting that the stocks would go down. one hedge fund had to vacate its positions on gamestop after losing literally billions of dollars. some of these other hedge funds are hanging on hoping the price will eventually drop and they will be able to recoup their losses. all of this is weighing on the broader market as it challenges some basic assumptions about wall street namely that for a stock to be valuable, it has to meet certain so-called fundamentals -- there has to be profitability, assets, and growth possibilities and so on. all of that is something that is new to the marketplace here. sec, the security and exchange commission and the treasury department other regulators are all grappling with this, how hard this can go and what it means to a system that until now has been largely controlled

these institutional investors. heart of the issue here is that you have people rallying trades on social media and apps that allow amateur investors to easily get into the marketplace. one of them is called robinhood and it came under fire when it tried to dial back the ability to put restrictions on people to trade in the stocks saying it was worried about liquidity and that it would have enough money to cover these bats. there was a huge pushback from investors and also from politicians. on the left and the right, they both came out and said that this was undemocratic. and the app's claim to fame is the democratization of finance. that is its whole reason for existence. it was worried about being able to cover these margins. it scaled back the limits after those protests and now it has

reinstated them. you have the sec saying they are monitoring the situation to make sure that retail investors can get their say. but at some point, the prices are going to drop in the question is -- who is going to be hurt more -- institutional investors or individuals? it really upsets the order of things. the concern for the regulators is the impact on the broader market. they are trying to answer this in question you asked -- where does it end? anchor: interesting times for the u.s. stock market. thank you, kristin. the u.s. has a new special envoy for iran who will be tasked with navigating one of the most controversial foreign policy files for the biden administration. and that is to revive the iranian nuclear deal. reporter: he now has one of the

most important roles in global diplomacy. he has been serving as the head of the thing tank, the international crisis group, and is a veteran diplomat. he was one of the members of the obama administration who brokered the iran nuclear deal. his job according to jake sullivan will be to focus on the nuclear agreement first and then to deal with the other issues the u.s. has with iran. >> we can get back to diplomacy that can put iran's nuclear program into a box. that will create a platform on which to build global agreement. to take on the other significant threats iran poses including the ballistic missile. reporter: president trump who called it the worst deal in history pulled the u.s. out of the deal in 2018. in an interview in 2019, he told

me that he thought that was a big mistake. >> iran itself is moving away from the deal. we are having a worse reality. and second, just listen to what the u.s. administration is saying that iran is escalating its behavior. reporter: since the u.s. pulled out, things have further unraveled. i ran has slowly -- iran has slowly reneged on the conditions of the agreement. much less the weapons grade night -- 90%. not only does he have a very tough job, potentially he also has a very tight deadline to get things done. the u.s. elections may be over but the presidential elections in iran take place in june.

there are hardliners in iran who want to abandon all diplomacy with the u.s. most republicans oppose the nuclear deal and abroad where some of the most powerful countries in the middle east, saudi arabia, united arab emirates, and israel are for -- are firmly against further negotiations. anchor: the united nations has more than 200,000 people that have fled violence in the central african republic. the military backed by u.n. peacekeepers have been battling a coalition of armed groups trying to overturn the presidential elections. reporter: a small town in the democratic republic of congo used to be home to less than 1500 people. it is now sheltering 30,000 refugees from central african

republic. they crossed this river in dugout canoes after their homes were attacked by armed groups. >> i fled with just the kids. i took my kids and my little sisters. reporter: the united nations say that more than 200,000 people that have fled violence in the past two months. tens of thousands are displaced inside the country. >> the refugee agency is warning that tens of thousands of refugee arrivals into the democratic republic of congo. 13,000 people have crossed into cameroon, chad. refugees continue to arrive. reporter: most refugees arrived here with nothing. conditions are dyer. there is -- conditions are dire. there is not enough food or housing. rates of malaria and dysentery

are common. >> given the physical constraints, it is very difficult to get assistance into this area. we are very aware that the needs of the refugees are enormous. reporter: violence has escalated since elections last month. the armed groups say the government must go. u.n. peacekeepers, russian mercenaries and ronda and troops support the government. a former prime minister has disguised -- has described the situation and the country as apocalyptic. the armed groups have been urged to stop the attacks. the refugees have no idea when it will be safe to go home. while they wait, they desperately need help to survive. victoria, al jazeera. anchor: dozens of endangered wild elephants are being sold at auction and namibia despite the

appeal of many conservationists. the government says the country has too many elephants and needs to reduce conflict between them and humans. namibia has been praised for its conservation efforts. there were 7500 in 1995 and over to the 4000 in 2019. the park rescue charity says the vast majority of those are migratory herds meaning the actual population is much smaller. the group says the auction is linked to corruption and a continent that has lost 95% of its elephant population in the last 100 years. we have an environmental investigative reporter who says human-elephant conflicts are relatively rare in the region. reporter: it will likely greatly reduce the genetic diversity because there has been a somewhat systematic overhunting

in this population. it also raises serious questions about the actual number of elephants that we have. the greater part of this population is a migratory population. which means that we are basically shooting our neighbors' elephants. many of these elephants track among the countries. removing this large, last free ranging population could be devastating. if there would be a threefold increase in the elephant population, we should see an increase in the number of conflict reports.

and that has not been the case at all. i have been reporting on this all my life. we are seeing a dwindling [indiscernible] once or twice a year come but we have reports of elephants causing problems somewhere but there has never been a threat to human life in recent months. anchor: from elephants to jaguars. the first time they have been successfully reintroduced into argentina's wetlands after becoming extinct months it -- decades ago in a certain province. reporter: free to roam more than 1.5 million acres in northern comic eastern argentina. this female jaguar is back in the wild with her new additions. both cubs were born in captivity. it has been several decades since they warned freely.

hunting and loss of habitat drove them to extinction but now for the first time, a conservation program has managed to reintroduce the jaguars to their natural habitat. >> these first 20 days have been very good for the mother. she has established herself very quickly in a territory that she is getting to know little by little. we have already recorded her hunting and feeding. reporter: she was rescued after poachers killed her mother. she was brought to argentina to be rehabilitated. the project has taken years of painstaking conservation work and fees major challenges -- and faced major challenges. >> seeing those jaguars walk through that gate was kind of an epiphany that these things that just 10 or 15 years ago we thought -- i don't know if we thought it was impossible, but

we thought it was a long shot. we have come over the last 28 years am a done a lot of things that most people -- half of them thought it wasn't possible and the other half did not like it and would come to like it. but this one is -- this is something. reporter: ecosystems are perishing at a staggering rate across the southernmost regions of south america. loggers, farmers, and miners are turning the areas into grasslands and have become the biggest threat to the biggest predator. only 200 are left in argentina's wild. other jaguars will join these in the year. they will be monitored using collars. the jaguar is at the top of the food chain and their presence in

the wild is really important. other species and plants may not survive without them. anchor: from a happy story to a not so happy when -- amsterdam's zoo says it can no longer keep its liens. attendance was down by half and the zoo is now closed to the public. it's a three lions will be taken to a zoo in france next month. -- its three lions will be taken to a zoo in france next month. ♪ anchor: you're watching "al jazeera." the european union has reversed a decision to impose export controls on vaccines made within the block to the united kingdom. the earlier move would've prevented vaccines from entering the u.k. through northern ireland. johnson & johnson and another

company have introduced vaccines to fight the pandemic. johnson & johnson's inoculation is a single shot but both produced weaker results on the more infectious south african strain. mexico's economy last year suffered its biggest contraction since the 1930's. it's coronavirus death toll surpassed that of india this year and it has the third number of fidelity's in the world. can you says health care and security personnel will be first in line when it starts inoculating people next month. vaccines are being secured through the african union and the who but held a vigil say it will take until june next year to vaccinate about one third of the population. >> kenya is a member of the facility and has made an initial commitment to procure vaccines through this facility. with this commitment, the country will receive two 4 million doses from the facility and will procure 11 million

doses from other mechanisms to vaccinate nearly 16 million people, that is 30% of our population over 18 months. anchor: lebanon's caretaker prime minister has condemned a violent demonstrations in aaa after protesters clashed with security forces. the city is seeing its fifth consecutive night of unrest. demonstrators are angry with the government for imposing a strict coronavirus lockdown without providing any financial relief. hundreds have been injured and at least two people killed after security forces used live ammunition to disperse the protesters. you can follow those stories on our website. i will be back in a half an hour with more news. next is risking it all. >> the american people have finally spoken. >> the world is looking at us with a mixture of sadness and hate. >> with the election behind us,

will the republican party? -- >> that is the bottom line ♪

>> this year, winter has come early to this narrow strip in afghanistan. here in this corridor, the temperature is unseasonably cold. minas 15 degrees celsius. -- -15 degrees celsius. ♪ early winter could be a problem. at any moment, heavy snowfall could block the only road into the valley trapping them and their goods for several months.

[speaking a non-english language] >> he has been traveling through this corridor for well over a decade. the elderly merchant drove from village to village selling and trading his merchandise. this year, he took a chance and hired a young driver. >> [speaking a non-english language]

>> [speaking a non-english

language] ♪ >> this corridor, a mountainous region situated in the far northeast of afghanistan. it is bordered by the hindu kush mountains and peaks. some reaching close to 5000 meters. battling extreme conditions, these men will have to cross the only road that cuts through this corridor. a 350 kilometer path. cut through the mountains and covered with snow. if it were not for the few willing to take this route, the villagers would have to go without basic necessities such

as salt and flour. without these goods, these inhabitants would struggle to survive the harsh winter with temperatures often dropping below 90 degrees. >> [speaking a non-english language]

>> [speaking a non-english language]

>> [speaking a non-english language] >> in his rickety truck, he carries with him all sorts of merchandise -- rice,, foulour, shoes and car parts. he does not only sell his merchandise. he hopes to exchange it.

>> [speaking non-english language] >> [speaking non-english language]

>> this is commonplace. >> [speaking non-english language] ♪

♪ >> back on the road, the men continue to the next village. ♪ >> [speaking non-english language] >> in this part of afghanistan, salt comes directly from the salt mines in the mountains on the other end of the country.

>> 300 kilos are loaded into the back of the truck. the carriers are too proud to ask anything in exchange but he still makes a small gesture. >> [speaking non-english language] >> nightfall is fast approaching. he and his driver are invited to spend the night at the home of the village leader. >> [speaking non-english language]

>> he is well known in this corridor. every time he does his rounds, villagers offer him a place to stay. >> [speaking non-english language] >> rice and potatoes are the base of every meal. >> [speaking non-english language]

♪ >> a very cold night has caused

some unexpected problems. the poor quality diesel has frozen and the truck won't start. >> [speaking non-english language] ♪

>> as he and his driver move higher in the mountains, a layer of snow has covered the roads. it may already be too late to get through. ♪ >> [speaking non-english language] >> he is teaching his young driver to because schist. ms. reading the dangers -- misreading the dangers could

lead to serious accidents.

>> at an altitude of more than 3500 meters, even the smallest movement is tiring for him. ♪ >> [speaking non-english language] >> each journey gets harder and harder for him. on this trip, he makes a stop at the only health clinic in the corridor. >> [speaking non-english

language] >> there is still a day's worth of travel before they reach the end of the corridor.

the most dangerous part of the trip. >> [speaking non-english language]

>> a rest stop near a village. for him, an opportunity to make a bit of money and for the villagers, a chance to stock up on much-needed supplies. >> [speaking non-english language]

♪ >> he has not always been a tradesman. as a young man, he fought against the soviet union under the leadership of afghanistan's most respected military leader. >> [speaking non-english language]

♪ >> after 10 days of traveling, they finally reach the end of the corridor. the last of the flour sold in barely a few minutes. ♪ >> [speaking non-english

language] ♪ >> it will now take them another perilous week to get home.

♪ ♪

natasha del toro: new orleans: a city that's been called one of the murder capitals of america. news anchor: a wild night across metro new orleans. someone sprays a crowd with bullets as they were leaving a high school basketball game. i'm natasha del toro, and tonight on america reframed, we'll look at what's behind this epidemic of violence. i would say a gun is way easier to get than a textbook down here. del toro: frustrated students, grieving mothers, a mayor, and a community pleading for help. man: how much murder can you tolerate as a neighborhood? the children have to see this day after day. del toro: shell shocked. and after the film, please stick around. i'll be talking with journalist carla murphy